Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs (Fins, #1)

"Let me get this straight," he says, recovering himself. "I'm turning into a mermaid because I kissed you?"
"I don't remember asking you to kiss me," I retort.
He scowls and I regret my snide remark. He didn't ask for any of this to happen, either. There was no way he could have known what he was getting himself into.
"Technically I explain, "you're turning into a merman."

Forgive My Fins was another book I picked up a few weeks ago when I was getting ready for Teen Book Con. Tera Lynn Childs was there and I was hoping to read one of her novels before seeing her there. As you can tell, I didn't manage to read it beforehand, but I did finally finish it.

When Lily discovers that she is half human, she decides to live ashore for a time, living with her late mother's sister and attending high school, maybe even finding that special boy that she is going to spend the rest of her life with. After all, if she wants to inherit the throne from her father, she has to have bonded by her eighteenth birthday and that is quickly approaching.

High school is tough for a girl who's half mermaid, half human, but she loves exploring this part of herself. Likewise, she loves Brody, the boy she's been working up the courage to share her feelings and her secret with. Only, when she finally gets close, he rejects her and breaks her heart.

Quince, the boy next door who has done everything in his power to irritate and humiliate Lily, takes this as his cue to step in. He devises a plan with her so that she can win Brody, though he's outspoken in his belief that Brody is not worth a second of her time. But the plan backfires and Quince steps in to be her "knight in shining armor" and kisses her in Brody's place.

Only, Quince didn't know she was a mermaid. And he certainly didn't know that kissing her meant bonding to her and it jumpstarted the process into his becoming mer too. Now, they have to get back to  Thalassinia and fast, before the change and bond are permanent and the two of them are stuck together forever.

Forgive My Fins was, to me, one of those books in which the ending is predictable, but in a totally unpredictable way that makes it totally worth reading. It was a fun, light tale about mermaids and learning who to trust that I really enjoyed reading. It's definitely what I would call a beach read, quick and playful, with some great scenes and interesting characters that I really enjoyed getting to know.

All in all, it's not the best book I've ever read, but one that I'm glad I did. I'll definitely have to keep an eye out for the second book in the series. I'd love to find out what happens to Lily next.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

As if I'd conjured him with magic, the door above swings open and Quince is filling the doorway with his leather-jacket-clad self. 
I practically sag with relief . . . until I sense the fury pounding through his blood. He felt my fear and now he's here to protect me. By any means.
This can't end well for anyone.