Mundie Moms

Monday, June 27, 2011

Book Review: Fins Are Forever

To Be Released on June 28th, 2011 TOMORROW
Source- ARC from publisher to review
4 stars- I adore this series

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?

I really adore this series. Tera's writing makes her books fun, inviting and leaves me wanting more. I really like the series's mermaid mythology and Tera's unique spin with it. I liked how her characters are able to be apart of both the undersea world and the human world. Like many sequels, Fins Are Forever has it's fair share of twists and tough choices that the main character, Lily has to make.

Lily has a lot to deal with. She's not only accepted her fate for wanting to stay on land with Quince, but she has grades to keep up, figuring out what college she wants to go and unexpectedly both her cousin Dosinia and childhood friend Prince Tellin visit her. I liked the twist these two add to the plot. Doe is someone I wanted to despise, but there's just something about her that made me end up liking her. I felt sorry for her and admired her softer side she tries so hard to hide. I'll just say Tellin still has me wondering what his real motives are.

I loved getting to see a lot more of Thalassinia and being able to get more of a glimpse into Lily's royal world. It wasn't hard to envisions Tera's beautifully detailed world, and I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the mermaid kingdoms that are mentioned in the book. Aside from Quince, I really like Lily's father, the King of Thalassinai. I liked that he really wanted what was best for his daughter and let her make her own choices, which I'm sure we'll see the consequences of in the next book in the series. My favorite is still Quince. He still makes me laugh out loud at his lines and actions.

This is a great sequel, and while I didn't love it as much as the first book in the series, it's still one of those really fun, enjoyable, engaging reads. Mermaid books are a must have for summer time reading and I highly recommend picking up this series! Like Forgive My Fins, Fins Are Forever is a delightful, quick read and the perfect book to add to your summer reading lists. Be sure to go pick this book up when it's out tomorrow!

Book Review: Forgive My Fins

Released on May 19th, 2010
Source: Book swap
5 stars- A Fun, Whimsical Summer Read

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.

With fabulous characters, a wonderful romance and laugh out loud moments, Forgive My Fins is a fun, quick, whimsical summer read that I couldn't get enough of.

Seriously, why did I wait to so long to read this book? It's fabulous. I absoultely love Tera's writing style. It's engaging, light, fun and addicting. I loved being sucked into Tera's unique Mermaid mythology, and I enjoyed getting to each of her characters, especially Lily and Quince. The chemistry these two have is brilliant! I could not get enough of them. I completely adore Quince! It's not just his good looks that make him so charming, but he's a fabulously written, genuine character, who also happens to be funny, very caring and down to earth. Not to mention he knows just how to push Lily's buttons.

Lily is a fantastic protagonist and I really enjoyed getting to know her. Even though she's a mermaid princess, I found her teenage insecurities completely relatable and I loved how grounded she is. What made this story for me is Lily and Quince. Seriously, their relationship is fabulous and part of me wants to re-read this story again. They had me laughing out loud, sighing and enjoying each moment they spent together. I really liked the twist Tera gives to mythology with the bonding. It gives a whole new meaning to getting your first kiss. If you haven't already, I highly recommend meeting these two characters.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It's one of those books I sat down to read not thinking I'd have it finished it so quickly, but I couldn't stop reading it. It's truly one of those really fun, engaging books that had me laughing out loud, and enjoying every moment I spent reading it. It's a clean cut book that I'd recommend to tweens, teens and adults who are looking for the perfect book to take to the beach or read by the pool.

I'll be posting my review shortly for the sequel, Fins Are Forever.

Mundane Monday #90- Wednesday's Edition

Happy Monday!!! This scene in City of Fallen Angels is talking about a scene from City of Glass, but to remain spoiler free to those who haven't read COG yet, I didn't quote the whole conversation between Lilith and Jace.

image found here

"...... That is what you thought, isn't it, both of you? Fools." Lilith spat. "You love each other- anyone can see that, looking at you- that kind of love that can burn down the world or raise it up in glory."

- page 385, City of Fallen Angels

Big News from Margie Stohl

We are SO EXCITED for Margie's big news that she posted here on her site yesterday.

My amazing agent, Sarah Burnes of the Gernert Agency, has sold my first solo project, ICONS, a new YA Sci-Fi series, to Little, Brown, which will be edited by my beloved Beautiful Creatures Novels editor, Julie Scheina.Yay!

Here's the full PW announcement!:

Stohl Launches SF Series at LBYR
Margaret Stohl, co-author of the bestselling YA series Beautiful Creatures, sold North American rights to two books in a new series called Icons to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Julie Scheina acquired the novels from agent Sarah Burnes at the Gernert Company, and book one is slated for spring 2013. The YA science fiction series, which is set 16 years after an alien invasion, follows a group of teenagers who become swept up in a resistance movement looking to unseat the extraterrestrials who've taken control of the planet. (quoted from Margie's site).

Beautiful Creatures fans don't need to worry, Kami & Margie are not breaking up. They're both working harder than ever together as well as working on other things on the side. CONGRATULATIONS Margie!!

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