Evergreen by Brenda Pandos

Synopsis:
Ash and Fin’s only desire is to be together and dive into their happily ever after, though their conflicting worlds work to pull them apart. Neither is ready to convert to the other’s life: become a human or a mer. Little do they know that somewhere in Natatoria a secret holds the fine fabric of everyone’s lives together. If the truth is discovered, Ash and Fin will no longer have the luxury of waiting. They’ll be forced to choose. But will it be for loyalty or love? Or will someone else make the choice for them if they can’t decide?
Review:
While I enjoyed this one, I think I liked the first book a little more. This book picks up where the last book ended. Fin and Ash are separated. Fin is on the run with his parents and Ash is attempting to live her normal high school life. They have to deal with their separation with minimal contact. I got a little frustrated with all the secrets. I mean, if you’re supposed to be so in love shouldn’t you trust your partner with anything? I guess it’s just to add some tension, but it did bother me.

I kind of thought the middle started to drag; with them being apart and having to deal with distractions. I thought it was well written and kept me interested, but the middle felt pretty uneventful. With about 80% left it started to get more exciting and there were some fun twists I didn’t see coming. I think it kind of suffered from Middle Book Syndrome, not a lot happening until the end when there is a bunch of stuff that leaves you wanting to read the next book. I still really like the characters and story and will read Everlost when it comes out next February.

Content: Clean, a bit of swearing and some violence.

Mer Tales Reading Order:
Book One: Everblue
Book Two: Evergreen
Book Three: Everlost

Surfacing by Shana Norris

Synopsis:
Sixteen-year-old Mara Westray has just lost her mother, and now, being shipped off to live with the father she doesn’t know is not how she imagined grieving. She’s already counting down the days until she turns eighteen and can leave the tiny island of Swans Landing. But from the moment she steps off the ferry, nothing is as ordinary as it looks. Whispers of a haunting song on the wind make her see impossible things, and she isn’t sure she can trust her judgment about what is real and what isn’t anymore. Maybe she can’t even trust her judgment about quiet Josh Canavan, whose way of speaking in riddles and half-truths only confuses her more, luring her deeper into the secrets hidden beneath the ocean’s surface. As she tries to unravel the events that led to her mom fleeing the island sixteen years ago, Mara finds that the biggest secret of all is only the beginning.

Review:

I’m not sure what to make of this one. I guess overall I did like it and enjoyed the story, but by the end it felt a little uneventful and a bit slow. The first half of the book is about how Mara has lost her mom and has had to move in with her dad on a mysterious island where half the people are keeping secrets from her and the other half hate her. I got a bit frustrated waiting for Mara to just find out all ready. I mean the cover of the book pretty much gives the secret away. The second half of the book was interesting. Mara now knows most of what’s going on, but makes some bad decisions. One big one was with her friend Dylan. I didn’t like that whole situation and how she handled things. Her relationship with Josh was also a bit frustrating. He was kind of a coward in public and had done a few questionable things, but when they were together she never called him on anything. At least not for a long time. I would have liked a bit more confrontation, she didn’t seem like the type to hold things in, so I didn’t get why she put up with some of his shenanigans. Despite the very short time they know each other; I did actually like their relationship and thought they had good chemistry. I don’t think this is too much of a spoiler, but I have to get it out there. I was frustrated with how Mara wanted to leave and runaway with Josh. First, you barely know him despite the “connection” you may feel. Two, it was so selfish of her to ask him to leave his mom. She of all people should know what it is like to take care of an ailing mother and it was just so dumb for her to ask him to abandon his mother for her. It made me like her a lot less. 

Anyway, I did like Mara. I liked Josh. I liked the side characters Dylan, Sailor, Miss Gale and Lake. I thought it was maybe a standalone novel, but there are some cliffhangers at the end so I’m sure there will be at least one more book. I enjoyed this one and will probably read the next. It was an interesting take on mermaids and if you like mermaid stories you’ll probably enjoy it.   

Content: Pretty clean. Some passionate kissing and making out. Mild language, maybe a dozen (or less) swear words.

Everblue by Brenda Pandos

GoodReads Synopsis: Best friends share everything with each other. Or do they? Seventeen-year-old Ashlyn Frances Lanski is tired of her boring, single life. Spending time with her best friend Tatiana, dreaming about kissing Tatiana's twin brother Fin, and swimming competitively are her only sanctuary. The girls plan to leave their drab lakeside town far behind for college. But when Tatchi fails to return home after a family emergency, and no one knows where the family has gone, Ash chooses to do something drastic to find them. Ashlyn is about to discover what she thought to be true her whole life, wasn’t, and the truth, too fantastical to imagine. Secrets lurk beneath the deep blue waters of Lake Tahoe, secrets that will change Ashlyn's life forever.

Kathy’s Review: I really enjoyed this. It was a fun escape and a really fun mermaid story. I haven’t read too many mermaid books, but this one is probably my favorite. I really liked Fin, he was a fun character and the mer world he lives in was fun to read about. Ashlyn was also a good character. I also really liked the supporting characters, especially Fin’s sister Tatiana. I kind of hope the next book is from her perspective, she was feisty and with how this book ends it will be interesting to see what happens next. I thought this was a really fun read.

Bookworm Rating: 4

Genre: YA Fantasy
Publication Date: July 2011
One Word Review: Fun
Author Website: www.brendapandos.blogspot.com

Reading Order:
Book One: Everblue
Book Two:
Book Three:

Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs

Genre: YA Fantasy

Publication Date: May 2010

One Word Review: Original

Author Website: www.teralynnchilds.com

First Line: “Water calms me.”

GoodReads Synopsis: 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.

Kathy’s Review: This was a really unique story that had me hooked from the start. I wasn’t sure where the story was going and enjoyed not knowing what was going to happen next. Overall, I liked Lily, but at times she really frustrated me. She is a little self-involved, but I think she gets better as the story goes on and I think through her experiences she will be a little more open in the next book. I of course I’m on Team Quince, he was a fun character and they had good chemistry together. I liked their bickering, but they could also be really sweet together as well. I wasn’t a fan of Brody’s, but felt a little let down with his storyline. He never really did anything to make me not like him, and I was hoping there would have been a little more reason for Lily not to like him either. Anyway, it was a fun read and I look forward to seeing what happens with Lily next!

Bookworm Rating: 4

Reading Order:
Book One: Forgive My Fins
Book Two: Fins Are Forever