Fish Out of Water (Fred the Mermaid, Book 3) [Mass Market Paperback]

MaryJanice Davidson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 25, 2008

Fred the Mermaid has taken the bait and chosen to date Artur, Prince of the Black Sea, over human marine biologist Thomas. And just in time. The existence of the Undersea Folk is no longer a secret, and someone needs to keep them from floundering in the media spotlight. Fred has all the right skills for that job, but has a hard time when her real father surfaces and tries to overthrow Artur?s regime.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Marine biologist Fredrika “Fred” Binn has a merman father and a human mother. Reviled by some of the Undersea Folk, and perceived as a curiosity by Surface Dwellers, Fred doesn’t fit into either world. Her first fiancé, Thomas, a fellow marine biologist who writes romances under the name Priscilla D’Jacqueline, left her for a full-blooded mermaid. Her current boyfriend, studly merman Prince Artur, wants Fred to be princess in his underwater kingdom. All Fred wants to do is to hide in the swimming pool and sort things out, but her dearest friend, Jonas, a human, is getting married, and she’s expected to help with his wedding plans. Then things get really complicated when Fred’s father, whom she’s never met, shows up, and tries to trick her into helping with his nefarious plans. The third book in Davidson’s Fred the Mermaid trilogy (Sleeping with the Fishes, 2006; Swimming without a Net, 2007 ) makes a swimmingly good finale. --Shelley Mosley

About the Author

MaryJanice Davidson is the New York Times bestselling author of the Undead novels featuring Betsy Taylor; Derik's Bane, and the new young adult novels featuring Jennifer Scales, written with her husband, Anthony Alongi, among other titles.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Jove (November 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0515145491
• ISBN-13: 978-0515145496
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #133,361 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

MaryJanice Davidson has been credited with starting paranormal chick lit. The New York Times bestselling author of the Undead series, she lives in Minnesota. Please visit her on the Web at www.maryjanicedavidson.net.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The end of this mermaid tale, November 25, 2008

By 

S. McCullough "pacey1927" (Indianapolis, IN) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fish Out of Water (Fred the Mermaid, Book 3) (Mass Market Paperback)

I was excited to hear the MJD was ending a series. I was dismayed to find out it was my favorite, Fred the Mermaid. The Fred stories are filled with so much possibility. I could see them going on for quite some time yet before going fishy. It feels closer to time for Betsy the vampire queen (sorry Betz, I really do lurve you) to pack it in. As I grabbed this book off the shelf at the story, I flipped out that this is a Trilogy, as in just three. In all fairness, I am sure that this has been mentioned long before now, and I am just behind times. It was still a surprise to me.

In this 3rd (last..) intallment, Fred the grouchy mermaid, has chosen Arthur the sea prince to be her matey after Thomas, the biologist runs off with another Mermaid. Fred is buying a house, helping the Sea Folk come out to the public, and helping her best friend Jonas plan his wedding. When some sea folk go missing, and Fred's long-lost Sea Folk father shows back into her life with a splash, there is the perfect set up for some good times with Fred and her friends. The book has plenty of MJD's witty dialougue, and all our favorites from the trilogy make an appearance. Its still standard MJD fare here that the humorous situations make up most of the book and the actual 'mystery' is short and sweet. Sometimes that frustrates me, but here it really worked. If Fred must end, this was a good note to end it on. I give it a four star rating, because it was well done, fun, and I got the ending that I wanted from the beginning.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fred the Mermaid Swims Away, January 5, 2009

By 

Sandy Kay (Twin Cities, Minnesota USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Fish Out of Water (Fred the Mermaid, Book 3) (Mass Market Paperback)

In this book, Fred has moved to Florida to be a liaison between the humans and the Undersea Folk now that they have revealed themselves to the world. Soon she is joined there by Jonas, Thomas, and her long-lost banished father. Prince Artur and others of the UF stop by regularly, particularly after Fred agrees to marry Artur and Artur learns from his father that hundreds of UF have dropped off his telepathic radar.

This is the last novel in the Fred the Mermaid series and I'm not particularly sad to see this one end. The characters never resonated with me. A grumpy mermaid is one thing, but Fred doesn't seem to have any charming or otherwise positive qualities to make me care for her. Of the remaining regular characters, only Jonas seemed to have enough personality to stay in my memory.

It never seemed as though MJD cared as much about these characters as she does those in the Betsy Taylor vampire series. By contrast, even peripheral characters in the "Undead" series were written as more than cariactures and all of the main characters have always been more complete and likeable than the main characters in the Fred series. For example, when I thought Betsy's best friend might die, I was upset and when a couple relatively minor characters died in the last "Undead" book, I was sad. I never felt that way about any of the characters in the Fred series. I didn't even feel strongly about which of the guys Fred decided to marry.

It was an OK book and an OK ending to the series, just not as good as the Undead books.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars FRED IS AT AN END, December 23, 2008

By 

Rae (Iowa, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fish Out of Water (Fred the Mermaid, Book 3) (Mass Market Paperback)

This book made me laugh. The main character is lacking in every social grace, but it is commical. There were some darker moments in this book, which I won't go into, but these moments did cause me to wonder about the way MJD is going with her writing. Those of you that have read the last book in the Betsy series saw her put a dark twist in that book. I hope she stays away from this in the future. The one thing that I have always loved about MJD, is her ability to make me laugh.
So all in all this was a good book.