Fins are Forever

FINS ARE FOREVER, by Tera Lynn Childs, is the anticipated sequel to Forgive My Fins (My Review). With Lily and Quince together and Lily willingly giving up her place in succession you would think they could live happily ever after right? Wrong! Once again we are thrown overboard into the deep sea full of troubles for Lily.

It is rare that I like books in a series equally. Usually one book holds prevalence over the other but for once this is not the case! I was wholly impressed with this book just as I was the first. I enjoyed jumping back into the story of Princess Waterlily and experiencing Childs' fantastic world under the sea.

Yay for Lily and Quince! I was so happy to read about their relationship once more, and in this book it was a show more more positive one for sure. With the whole Lily being obsessed with Brody thing over, I was excited to sit back and watch this relationship grow and blossom. But as with any good book, nothing stays perfect for long. Doe, Lily's snobby little cousin, shows up in human form and creates a whirlpool of insanity.

I liked the journey that Childs created for her characters. There were so many twists and turns I did not know what Lily would ultimately do with herself. And with the intrusion of Doe and Tellin in her life, the lines became even more blurred for our heroine.

Fans of the first book will love this one. Childs brought back all of the beloved characters from the first with a few more introduced into the mix. Her talent for creativity flourished once again in her amazing visuals of Lily's home in the water. I am not sure if there are current plans for more books in this series but Childs definitely has a new huge fan!! show less

I loved revisiting mermaid Lily and her on land adventures.

Though this book felt a little bit lacking, as Lily is now in a satisfying relationship and no longer being pined for or tormented by someone who is pining for her. It was much more fun when she was in romantic agony, as she was in book one.

This time, her agony comes from her princess duties under the sea, and the arrival of her bratty cousin. Though as bratty as Dosinia might be, she often stole the show! I find Lily very endearing, despite her flaws, and I gobbled this light-hearted read it as quickly and easily as I did the first installment.

The Scoop:

We pick up a few weeks after Lily and Quince are have their bond severed after the accidental kiss in the prequel, Forgive My Fins. The bond, however, opened Lily's eyes to how she really feels about Quince and they have become very close in a very short time. In Fins are Forever we are joined by Lily's cousin Dosinia (or Doe as she's called) who has been exiled from their underwater kingdom of Thalassinia by Lily's father, King Whelk. As an exile Doe doesn't have any of her mer-powers and must rely upon Lily for guidance on living in the human world. If you read the first book you will know that there is no love lost between the two girls and it is very begrudgingly that Doe accepts Lily's advice and teachings.

As a result of show more Lily's relationship with Quince she has decided to forfeit her reign as a mer-queen to live on land with the boy she loves. The life altering decision must also include what she will do with her life (instead of ruling Thalassinia like it was always expected). Along this path of decision-making Lily must find out the reason Doe was exiled and why she did what she did and determine the real reason her guppyhood friend Tellin has sought her out after all these years. Does he really want to just renew an old friendship or is there something more he isn't telling her?

My Thoughts:

I have to say I was a little disappointed with this sequel. I remember really enjoying the first book--so much so that I went right out and found out what other books had been published by Tera Lynn Childs. Don't get me wrong, some of the things I loved about the first book were still around in this book (the use of underwater world words in place of curses or exclamations such as "Holy bananafish" or "son of a swordfish") and the fun interactions of Lily trying to juggle living life on land and having her roots undersea.

Even with those entertaining and quirky characteristics of the series, for some reason, they didn't seem to shine as brightly as in the first book. I felt the a small part of the story was a bit repetitious from the first book (in the first book Lily and Quince accidentally kiss and bond and must go to her father for a separation and in this book Doe kisses Lily's ex-crush Brody and is bonded with him but, because Doe's stripped of her powers Lily must take Brody to her father in Thalassinia for the separation ceremony). The actual heart of the story was different but the same initial conflict was almost the same. I kept thinking there could have been a different way of getting to the ultimate point of the story rather than having Doe and Brody do something that Lily and Quince already did in the first book.

I feel like I'm judging the book by that one little part but, really, I didn't feel that any of the rest of the story packed enough punch to overcome my issues with the recycled plot point. That's not to say that I hated the book--I still think it was well and funnily written. The characters were amusing, although I think we, as the reader, should have been given a bigger investment in Doe's change of heart towards humans. The story took place over a very short time period and it seems like Doe did a 180 in her feelings for the race that killed her parents in a very short time with very little to change her feelings besides kissing and becoming bonded to a human.

I read the first book a while ago and with all the books I've read in between I can't recall exactly what I was feeling when I was finished but the emotional roller coaster Lily and Quince went on and how it was written was enough to verbally recommend it to several of my friends and co-workers. With this book, though, I think it was a good conclusion to Lily's journey from being a (so-called) fish-out-of-water who didn't know what she wanted to a confident mermaid knowing what her future holds. But, as a stand-alone book (and it really shouldn't be because it heavily relies upon knowing the first book to finish the story) I don't think I would recommend it as highly as I did the first one. show less

Fins are Forever is a sequel to Forgive my Fins. On Lilys 18th birthday she will renounce her title as Princess and future Queen to live life on land with the boy she loves.Or will she. When her father(the king) sends her troubled cousin,who hates humans,to live on land with lily everything changes. While lily struggles with SAT and her cousin, a boy from lilys past shows up. Will lily bond with someone new and be able to stay princess or does she stay on land with Quince? This book still had all the fun along with some twist and mystery that keeps you guessing until the very last pages.

What I liked most about this book is the great plot line. I adore the first book and this book picked up right where it left off. The characters in this book really grew up from the last. I like that this time around there was more drama in the Kingdom and family. This element in the book made for a good read cause it felt more familiar to the reader. We got to see lily struggle family wise as well as other things.

Lily knew more and is more mature than the last book. I like that she understood the consequences and didn't take things lightly. I loved that she tried to help everyone. No matter what she is doing she dropped everything to help. Lily showed some great characters in becoming the future princess if she chose it. She looked at show more situations from every point of view, thought it thoroughly and made the decision.

The love interest in this book is sweet and predictable. I like it like this cause it didn't over power the book or the main plot line. Ms. Childs wrote the book in a perfect balance so it didn't over throw the reader. The reader is able to find drama in the family problems and also find peace in Lily's relationship.

I adored reading this book. It is a perfect sequel to an amazing series. Nothing like your average mermaid tale, Fins Are Forever takes the reader on a great underwater reading adventure! show less

I liked this book even better than the first. I loved that she had options she didn't know about. I loved that she was so fierce and loyal to not only her friends but her kingdom. I also really liked seeing a bit of growth and change in Dosinia's character and am curious to see if it continues. Fantastic 2nd installment!

ISBN: 9780061914683
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 262

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 show more 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?

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Fins Are Forever! It was quite an easy read. The fun fishy references were carried on into this book from the first in the Fins series which was, Forgive My Fins. My favourite character was Doe, because of the trouble she caused for Lily, which helped keep a lighthearted feel to Fins Are Forever. I love the cover of Fins Are Forever! The colours, swirls and fonts are lovely (and are also still inkeeping with the previous book).

Available at Amazon.co.uk. show less