Just for Fins by Tera Lynn Childs

When Lily Sanderson decided to remain Crown Princess Waterlily of the mermaid kingdom Thalassinia, she knew she couldn’t just coast along in the current. But since she’s spent the last couple of years on land—with gorgeous human Quince by her side—Lily’s not sure she has the fins to lead a kingdom. Even her maddeningly pretentious cousin Dosinia seems to know more about ruling than she does.

But Lily has to dive in deep to keep her promise to Tellin, her mer bond in name only, whose kingdom is suffering in the changing ocean climate. Lily knows this is a seven seas–sized problem: from sea animals dying to oil spills and threats to humans. They’ll need to create some serious waves to make the mer community aware and get it to join together to make things right. Even if that means facing one of the iciest queens in the mer kingdoms.

Just when Lily thinks her double life on land and sea can’t get any more complicated, an ancient mer law might separate Lily and Quince after all. It feels as if the pair is up against a solid tsunami wave!

In this third installment in the series that began with Forgive My Fins and Fins Are Forever, Lily will have to find a way to balance safety and justice for the mer people as well as for the humans she loves.
Expected Publication Date:  July 3rd 2012 by Katherine Tegen Books

Okay, I always pick up the books in the Fins series by Tera Lynn Childs a little reluctantly each time, but Ialways end up enjoying them. So chances are, I’ll pick up the third book during this summer. Perfect for reading poolside.

Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols

A sexy and poignant romantic tale of a young daredevil pilot caught between two brothers.

High school senior Leah Jones loves nothing more than flying. While she’s in the air, it’s easy to forget life with her absentee mother at the low-rent end of a South Carolina beach town. When her flight instructor, Mr. Hall, hires her to fly for his banner advertising business, she sees it as her ticket out of the trailer park. And when he dies suddenly, she’s afraid her flying career is gone forever.

But Mr. Hall’s teenage sons, golden boy Alec and adrenaline junkie Grayson, are determined to keep the banner planes flying. Though Leah has crushed on Grayson for years, she’s leery of getting involved in what now seems like a doomed business — until Grayson betrays her by digging up her most damning secret. Holding it over her head, he forces her to fly for secret reasons of his own, reasons involving Alec. Now Leah finds herself drawn into a battle between brothers — and the consequences could be deadly.

Expected Publication Date: July 10th 2012 by MTV Books

I haven’t read as much Echols than I would like, but I’ve been meaning to go through her book list. I don’t know if I’m liking the idea of a possible love triangle between brothers, but I have enough confidence in Jennifer Echols to at least give this one a shot. I absolutely love this cover as well…

The Thing About the Truth by Lauren Barnholdt

In this humorous love story from the author of Two-Way Street, an unlikely romance is the best sort of surprise—but the wrong secret can ruin everything. Kelsey’s not going to let one mistake ruin her life. Sure, she got kicked out of prep school and all her old friends are shutting her out. But Kelsey’s focused on her future, and she’s determined to get back on track at Concordia High.

Isaac’s been kicked out of more schools than he can count. Since his father’s a state senator, Isaac’s life is under constant scrutiny—but Concordia High’s his last stop before boarding school, so Isaac’s hoping to fly under the radar and try to stay put for a change.

When Kelsey and Isaac meet, it’s anything but love at first sight. She thinks he’s an entitled brat, and he thinks she’s a stuck-up snob. So it surprises them both when they start to fall for each other. Kelsey’s happy for the first time in months, and Isaac’s never felt this way about anyone before…But nothing’s ever completely perfect. Everyone has secrets, and Isaac and Kelsey are no exceptions. These two may have fallen hard, but there’s one thing that can ruin it all: the truth.

Expected Publication Date: July 10th 2012 by Simon Pulse

Like Jennifer Echols, Lauren Barnholdt is my other go-to when it comes to contemporary novels. Two-Way Street is one of my favorite contemporary novels ever so I’m always looking forward to the next Barnholdt book.

Meme hosted by Breaking the Spine

1 comment

Be the first to like.

Like

Unlike

Permalink Memes, Waiting on Wednesdays - Author: Jennifer Echols, Author: Lauren Barnholdt, Author: Tera Lynn Childs, Book: Just for Fins, Book: Such a Rush, Book: The Thing About the Truth | 1041 words

FINS ARE FOREVER by Tera Lynn Childs
Series: Forgive My Fins, #2
Publication Date: June 28th 2011 by Katherine Tegen Books
Rating: |

Summary: On Lily Sanderson’s eighteenth birthday she’ll become just a girl—still a mergirl, true, but signing the renunciation will ink Princess Waterlily of Thalassinia out of existence. That leaves plain old Lily living on land, dating the boy she loves, and trying to master this being-human thing once and for all.

Now that Lily and Quince are together, mer bond or not, she’s almost content to give up her place in the royal succession of Thalassinia. But just when she thinks she has everything figured out, the waves start to get rough. Lily’s father sends a certain whirlpool-stirring cousin to stay with her on land. What did Doe do to get herself exiled from Thalassinia and stuck in terraped form when everyone knows how much she hates humans? And why why why is she batting her eyelashes at Lily’s former crush, Brody?

The seafoam on the raging surf comes when a merboy from Lily’s past shows up—Tellin asks Lily for something that clouds her view of the horizon. There’s a future with Quince on land, her loyalty to the kingdom in the sea, and Lily tossing on the waves in the middle. Will she find a way to reconcile her love, her duty, and her own dreams?

Tera Lynn Childs’s sequel to Forgive My Fins offers another tail-flicking romance with plenty of fun, sun, and underwater adventure.

Review Overview:

• Didn’t really like how Doe fit into the story; development fell flat
• Quince is a hottie
• Lots of mermaid fun! Definitely worth reading the sequel

Tera Lynn Childs definitely delivers in FINS ARE FOREVER, the sequel of her fun mermaid tale, Forgive My Fins. Full of sweet romance, a bratty cousin who must learn to appreciate humans, and fun underwater adventures with Princess Waterlily, FINS ARE FOREVER is bound to delight those who enjoyed the first book.

Quince and Lily are utterly adorable. I remember thinking that the first book was overly saccharine that it made me just postively giddy. This one didn’t leave me squealing, but I also couldn’t help but wish that I had a Quince Fletcher of my own. The novel is definitely not as fun as the first since Quince and Lily are already together, but I still loved reading their scenes.

I didn’t like how Doe fit into the story overall. I liked how she ended up on Lily’s doorstep, but I felt that her transgression as a character wasn’t really set up well. To me, her character at the end of the book didn’t seem genuine. She still felt like the same Doe to me. Her development was not convincing at all. I didn’t think that it was enough for me to think that she changed her character and beliefs against humans. I think this is the fatal flaw for me in the book. If Doe was developed more convincingly as a character I would have enjoyed this just as much if not better than the first.

I’m satisfied with the fact that Childs decided to write up a sequel. I loved that Lily stepped up to the plate and really thought about her duties as Princess of Thalassinia. The book really picked up for me in the last third. I definitely found myself saying, OH NO SHE DIDN’T!!!!

Not quite as enjoying as the first one but overall a still sweet mermaid tale. I would definitely recommend this book to those who read and loved and/or liked the first book, Forgive My Fins. I wish I read this on the beach!

2 comments

1 person likes this post.

Like

Unlike

Permalink Book Review, Three Stars - Author: Tera Lynn Childs, Book: Fins Are Forever, Borrow It, Genre: Contemporary, Genre: Fantasy, Genre: Romance, Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books, Series: Forgive My Fins | 748 words

OH. MY. GODS. by Tera Lynn Childs
Series: Oh. My. Gods., #1
Publication Date: May 1st 2008 by Dutton Juvenile
Rating: |

Summary: A modern girl’s comedic odyssey in a school filled with the descendants of Greek gods. When Phoebe’s mom returns from Greece with a new husband and moves them to an island in the Aegean, Phoebe’s plans for her senior year and track season are ancient history. Now she must attend the uberexclusive academy, where admission depends on pedigree, namely, ancestry from Zeus, Hera, and other Greek gods. That’s right, they’re real, not myth, and their teen descendants are like the classical heroes: supersmart and superbeautiful with a few superpowers. And now they’re on her track team! Armed only with her Nikes and the will to win, Phoebe races to find her place among the gods.

Review Overview:

• Fun, light read – I read it in one sitting!
• Hot love interest; I didn’t want to like him, but I couldn’t resist
• Best mythology-based YA I’ve read so far

Though I’ve had my eye on this book for quite some time, I never set my expectations too high when I started to read this one. I found myself increasingly disappointed by the selection of mythology-based YA novels out on the market, so I wasn’t sure how much I would enjoy OH. MY. GODS. I find myself always comparing mythology-based books to Percy Jackson. While it is a hard act to follow, I have hope that there will be a novel in the YA market that will match its brilliance. While OH. MY. GODS. did not surpass my love of Rick Riordan’s series, I ended up enjoying the book very much.

I read this book in one sitting. Childs just sucked me into Phoebe’s story. I found that the “one more chapter” rule to be ineffective. The overall plot seems pretty simple: Phoebe’s life is turned upside down when her mother marries a Greek guy she barely knows and is forced to move from California to Greece. All Phoebe wants to do is graduate as quickly as possible so she can go back to California and attend her dream college: USC. The only problem is: when she gets to Greece she finds out that the students and teachers – including her new stepdad – at her new high school are all descendants of Greek gods.

OH. MY. GODS. was a really fun light read. I had the impression that this book would be uproariously funny. It was amusing, but I never found myself actually laughing out loud. This isn’t a complaint at all, but I thought it should be noted. Furthermore, the big reveal in the end turned out to be something I saw coming but the whole novel was just so much fun, I couldn’t be bothered by getting annoyed at the fact that I guessed the ending. In fact, I was more than happy with how the book ended because I just know that the second book will be even more fun than the first!

There is a tad bit of romance in this book. There could easily have been a messy (groan) love triangle but Childs did not go in that direction! To be honest, I thought that the love interest was a big jerk and I hoped that Phoebe wouldn’t fall for him. However, exactly like the main character, he managed to chip away the ice around my heart. He’s pretty charming and his secret sealed the deal for me.

So far, this is the best mythology-based YA novel that I have read. I am very much looking forward to getting my hands on the sequel, as well as reading more books by Childs.

7 comments

Be the first to like.

Like

Unlike

Permalink Book Review, Four Stars - Audience: Young Adult, Author: Tera Lynn Childs, Book: Oh My Gods, Genre: Contemporary, Genre: Fantasy, Genre: Mythology, Genre: Romance, Page-Turner, Publisher: Dutton Juvenile, Series: Oh My Gods | 747 words