Fish Out of Water

Half mermaid, half human, that's Dr. Frederika Bimm of the New England Aquarium in MaryJanice Davidson's totally entertaining Fish Out of Water (#115).  I bought this paperback as a disposable read for my Australian trek because I have enjoyed her Betsey Taylor vampire Queen Undead and.. series so much.  (See my posts of 12/13/10 & 7/18/11.)  In the end, it was too much fun to just leave behind, so I passed it along to another member of my tour group. 

This is the third book in this series, but Ms. Davidson always brings you up to date on the action in the series so far, so you can join in at any time.  Fred's mother is human but her father is a member of the Undersea Folk, as mermaids prefer to be called.  She'd happily blend totally into the humans around her, but her green hair and eyes (Thanks, Dad!) make that impossible.  She has had contact with her father's people (?), though, and has been able to act on their behalf as a spokesperson as they cautiously come out to humans.  Not all of the Undersea Folk are in favor of this, but Fred has caught the eye of Prince Artur, the heir to the throne.  The problem is that Fred is in love with a dashing doctor/marine biologist who just happens to write best-selling romances in his spare time.  He also doesn't even seem to know that Fred exists beyond casual friendship.  To rub salt into Fred's romantic wounds, her best friend is marrying her boss (yuk!) at her new house in Florida!  And he expects her to wear a salmon pink dress and heels for the occasion.  What could be more distressing?  How about finally meeting dear old dad?  Things don't go quite as planned for Fred, but it's a great ride for the rest of us.

I'll have to go back and hunt up the first two books of this trilogy, it was so entertaining.  It was fun to read the Florida references in this one, but I think more of the action in the first two books takes place in Boston and the New England Aquarium itself.  If you've never been there, it's a wonderful place to visit on the Boston waterfront.  Not that I'm prejudiced, mind you, because I did part of my student teaching there...