Mini-Review: Forgive My Fins

Mini-reviews are where I write about books that I want to mention but am too lazy or too busy to write a full-length review for. I say what I thought about the book in 5 sentences then share a quote I liked from the book.

Forgive My Fins, by Tera Lynn Childs. The summary:

Lily Sanderson has a secret, and it’s not that she has a huge crush on gorgeous swimming god Brody Bennett, who makes her heart beat flipper-fast. Unrequited love is hard enough when you’re a normal teenage girl, but when you’re half human, half mermaid like Lily, there’s no such thing as a simple crush.

Lily’s mermaid identity is a secret that can’t get out, since she’s not just any mermaid--she’s a Thalassinian princess. When Lily found out three years ago that her mother was actually a human, she finally realized why she didn’t feel quite at home in Thalassinia, and she’s been living on land and going to Seaview high school ever since, hoping to find where she truly belongs. Sure, land has its problems--like her obnoxious, biker boy neighbor Quince Fletcher--but it has that one major perk--Brody. The problem is, mermaids aren’t really the casual dating type--when they “bond,” it’s for life.

When Lily’s attempt to win Brody’s love leads to a tsunami-sized case of mistaken identity, she is in for a tidal wave of relationship drama, and she finds out, quick as a tailfin flick, that happily-ever-after never sails quite as smoothly as you planned.

If I had to pick one word to describe this book it would be “cute”; this book was just so adorable and light and fun. There isn’t much substance to it, but I don’t think all books need to be deep or meaningful or action-packed--sometimes it’s nice to be able to sit down with a book that doesn’t demand anything from you, you know? I liked Lily as a main character generally, but it drove me absolutely crazy that she couldn’t tell that Quince was totally into her--I mean, who’s actually THAT oblivious? But that’s the only thing that bugged me, so definitely pick up this book if you’re in the mood for a fluffy, fun read that you can get through in two hours.

The quote:

“Lily”--his voice drops to an unusually serious level--“was there something more you wanted to tell me?”

“Well, actually,” I reply, unable to look him in the eye any longer, “there was one thing. . . .”

When I don’t finish, he says, “And that would be. . . .?”

I drop my head and mumble into my chest. For the love of Poseidon, this is harder than I ever imagined.

“What was that?” he asks, cupping my chin and forcing me to meet his questioning gaze. “I didn’t quite catch it, since you were speaking to the sand.”

“I said”--I twist out of his grasp and face him with as much fake boldness as I can muster--“I’m a mermaid.”