Want to read: Fins are Forever by Tera Lynn Childs

Fins are Forever has been at the top of my 2011 want to read list and has been; I pre-ordered my copy and am eager to dig in to this sequel to Forgive My Fins. I got hooked on Tera Lynn Childs' work with her YA novels Oh.My.Gods. and Goddess Boot Camp and have enjoyed every one since. Plus she sends cool swag (I have these bookmarks and temporary tattoos on me, so just ask for one if you see me at an event):





Official description below. Click here to read an excerpt and see author Tera Lynn Child's collages she made for inspiration (and a most excellent example of an author website done perfectly, with everything neatly organized, easy to navigate, fun extras and more)!

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?

And I just found out she's in New York tonight:

* June 28, 2011
* Readers For Life Booksigning
* 5:30-7:30pm
* Marriott Marquis Times Square
* 1535 Broadway
* New York, NY

* July 8, 2011
* Blue Willow Bookshop
* 7:00pm
* 14532 Memorial Drive
* Houston, TX

* July 9, 2011
* Katy Budget Books
* 3:30-5:30pm
* 2450 Fry Road
* Houston, TX


If you're into YA or know someone who is, do check out her work; I have a feeling you'll be hooked too!

And just because it's so gorgeous, here's the cover of Forgive My Fins again and my review. Click here to read an excerpt.



Spoilers. Forgive My Fins features Lily, a half mermaid, half terraped, with the soul of a teenage girl who's desperately in love with Brody. The only problem is, she gets kissed by Quince, the annoying boy who's always spying on her. This wouldn't be such a big deal except that in her world, that means they are bonded for life unless her father, King of Thalassania, gives them a special separation agreement. First, Quince has to learn to swim, as well as absorb the news that Lily is actually a mermaid.

This story was beautifully told, and while elements of special powers will be familiar to readers of Childs' previous books, this one is special and, dare I say, even better and more romantic. Lily insists on thinking that her feelings for Quince are only due to the bond that's been placed on them, which allows them to read each other's thoughts. The reader is treated to umpteen examples of Quince's gentlemanly charm, but Lily persists in her delusions, while also trying to acclimate to being back underwater after three years away at a regular high school. The push/pull between Quince and Lily is beautiful and touching, as he, the supposed tough guy, puts his heart on his sleeve again and again and risks so much, including life on land, to prove his passion for Lily.

This is a charming, delightful book, and I will indeed be reading the 2011 release Fins Are Forever. The only off note in my opinion was the very end, which dealt with a side character, Lily's cousin Dosinia, and seemed to come out of nowhere; it gives a preview of what's to come but I was still blissed out on Lily finally figuring out what's in her heart. Watching stubborn Lily reject Quince again and again, coupled with her fish puns and the descriptions of the magical underwater world, where tears make a mermaid's eyes sparkle, was great fun.