Margins
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Fins
Series · 5 books · 2010-2020

Books in series

Forgive My Fins book cover
#1

Forgive My Fins

2010

Unrequited love is hard enough when you’re a normal teenage girl, but for mermaid Lily Sanderson, there’s no such thing as a simple crush. Lily has a secret, and it’s not her huge crush on gorgeous swimming god Brody Bennett, who makes her heart beat flipper-fast. 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 she discovered three years ago that her mother was actually a human, Lily finally realized why she didn’t feel quite at home in Thalassinia, and she’s been going to Seaview High ever since. Living on land has its problems—like her obnoxious biker-boy neighbor, Quince Fletcher—but it has that one major 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 case of mistaken identity, she finds out, quick as a tailfin flick, that happily ever after never sails quite as smoothly as you planned.
Fins Are Forever book cover
#2

Fins Are Forever

2011

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?
Just for Fins book cover
#3

Just for Fins

2012

When Lily Sanderson decided to remain Crown Princess Waterlily of the mermaid kingdom Thalassinia, she knew she couldn’t just coast along in the current. But since she’s spent the last couple of years on land—with gorgeous human Quince by her side—Lily’s not sure she has the fins to lead a kingdom. Even her maddeningly pretentious cousin Dosinia seems to know more about ruling than she does. But Lily has to dive in deep to keep her promise to Tellin, her mer bond in name only, whose kingdom is suffering in the changing ocean climate. Lily knows this is a seven seas–sized problem: from sea animals dying to oil spills and threats to humans. They’ll need to create some serious waves to make the mer community aware and get it to join together to make things right. Even if that means facing one of the iciest queens in the mer kingdoms. Just when Lily thinks her double life on land and sea can’t get any more complicated, an ancient mer law might separate Lily and Quince after all. It feels as if the pair is up against a solid tsunami wave! In this third installment in the series that began with Forgive My Fins and Fins Are Forever, Lily will have to find a way to balance safety and justice for the mer people as well as for the humans she loves.
Pretty in Pearls book cover
#3.1

Pretty in Pearls

2014

Undersea romance with captivating merboys, deep friendship, and spectacular pearls. Set in Tera Lynn Childs’ fin-flicking world that began with Forgive My Fins, this 100-page digital novella focuses on Periwinkle Wentletrap, Princess Lily’s best friend, and is perfect for fans of mermaids, light romance, and mythology retellings. As Princess Lily’s emissary, Peri works hard to make sure her best friend knows all the goings on in the underwater kingdom of Thalassinia. The upcoming Sea Harvest Dance means plenty of fun for them, too, including shopping for jewels, trims, and dress making supplies. Peri especially loves the pearls she finds at Thalassinia’s marketplace—and she might be falling head over fins for Riatus, the thoughtful pearl trader who looks like a dashing pirate. When Lily realizes her friend has a crush, she is determined to help them get together in time for the dance—except her matchmaking efforts backfire, sweeping Peri into dangerous depths and tangled in confusing tides. Should Peri give up on Riatus and find a different date to the Sea Harvest Dance, or will they finally find a way to float along the same current?
What Coral Wants book cover
#3.2

What Coral Wants

2020

Fake dating her real crush. What could go wrong? What straight-A student and all-around good mergirl Coral Ballenato wants is to forget her longtime crush on her best friend’s older brother. Four years of pining from not-so-afar is more than enough. Moving on should be easy now that he’s swum off to college. Until Zak Marlin comes home for a charity event, newly-single and begging her to be his pretend girlfriend for the week. She should say no…but surely she can handle playing the role of Zak’s sweetheart. After all, she’s been dreaming about it for years. She just has to make sure her heart is braced for the inevitable end. But when every minute they spend together makes her fall deeper and deeper for the merguy she’s always loved, how will Coral ever be able to move on when the week is over?

Author

Tera Lynn Childs
Tera Lynn Childs
Author · 32 books
Tera Lynn Childs may pretend to be a goddess, but she’s really just a normal person. Well, maybe not normal. She is a writer, after all. Her works include the mythology-based Oh. My. Gods. series, the Forgive My Fins mermaid romance series, the kick-butt monster-hunting Sweet Venom trilogy, and the Darkly Fae fantasy series. Tera currently parks her laptop in the Seattle area and spends her time writing wherever she can find a comfy chair and a steady stream of caffeinated beverages. Learn more about her magical realms and find behind-the-book extras at teralynnchilds.com.
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