Customer Reviews

Swimming Without a Net (Wheeler Large Print Book Series)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While I enjoyed the first Fred the Mermaid novel, this was a disappointment. The author herself essentially gives the reader a warning before you begin. The plot is obviously contrived and the 'love triangle' promised never really appears. Fred's attraction to the merman is perplexing (all he does is look sexy and take her swimming) and vague jealousy pangs are the extent of her feelings for the scientist. Fred's best friend and boss appear randomly at the super-secret meeting and no one complains. And the unfinished (and almost completely non-sequitor) subplot with the abused foster child bugged me. This book badly needed another rewrite.

I've enjoyed some of her other books, so I'm not about to write Davidson off my list, but I don't know if I'll be back for Fred's third installment.

Simplistic plot contrivances abound in this fluff of a book about a modern, urban mermaid who is summoned to a big merfolk convention in which the decision will be made whether to "come out" to humans or not.

The characters are paper-thin and the writing uninspired and unimaginative. I didn't expect a whole lot when I picked it up, given the size of the typeface and the number of pages, but I was still disappointed at how little of anything substantial there actually was in this book. There are much better written paranormal romances out there, keep looking, dear reader.

I gave this book one star because I got a genuine laugh out of King Mekkam's 'biped dialect' that he learns from watching DVDs, and one star just because it was about mermaids and I enjoy mermaid stories. This was the first book I've read by Davidson and I do not think I will be picking up a second.

This is the second 'tail' in the Fred the Mermaid Series.

Only a year ago was Fred's world turned upside down when she met for the first time another Merperson, Artur, Prince of the Undersea Folk. Until that time only her mother and her best friend Jonas knew of her scaly secret. Fred helped Artur with a little pollution problem and in the meantime bewitched both he and Thomas, her co-worker, both of them falling for her, head over fins.

But it's been a year, and since then Fred hasn't heard from either one of them. She's been living her life as normal while forced to watch as her best friend and boss swoon over each other. Fred is getting crankier by the day, which thankfully equals big laughs for us readers.

Then one day she is visited by two more of her fellow Merpeople asking her to make a journey to the Caymans for some special meeting known as a Pelagic. Reluctantly Fred agrees and soon she and Jonas are in the Cayman Islands, at a private resort, with none other than Artur, Thomas and a ton of merpeople.

I don't know what it is about MaryJanice Davidson's writing I like the best, the witty dialogue, her sassy characters, her humor, or her vivid imagination. All I do know is book after book she has me laughing out loud and all consumed in the worlds she has created.

This was a wonderful follow up to the first book Sleeping with the Fishes (Fred the Mermaid, Book 1) and Fred is just as fierce and funny as before. Fred learns a little about her past and people, while making the usual waves in the wake of her abrasive but fascinating personality. MaryJanice Davidson makes Fred and her underwater world seem so natural and real, this is a book you can easily enjoy.

Having read the 1st in this series, Sleeping with the Fishes (Fred the Mermaid, Book 1), I went ahead and put this on hold at the library to read while waiting on better books. ( From Dead to Worse (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 8) )

While the mermaid mythos is an interesting one, this book cares less for the character's magical existance and more for her grouchiness. Now, I happen to like girls with a little sass, but one finds it hard to care much for Fred because of her nasty attitude. Possibly the best character in the books is her BFF Jonas who is a crack up - yet all the characters are very flat, 2-d.

This is a fast read as there is little meat to sink your teeth into and at the end of the book what could have been monumental was anti-climatic in an effort to prolong the series. This is def. a 'planned' series, menaing you get very little growth in each book to ensure the printing of the next. I've begun getting all of Ms. Davidson's books via the library as they are not worth the money for a one-time read. Her Betsy series started off well and now merely repeats itself to get you to pony up more moolah. I don't mind buying into a series, but there must be real character growth or I grow bored. I'm already bored with Fred.

I found myself reading Maryjanice Davidson's vampire series almost by accident, and grew to enjoy her writing. Popcorn fiction, but I like popcorn on occasion. When she came out with her first Fred the Mermaid book, I picked it up and enjoyed it.

I was disappointed in Swimming Without A Net because I felt it didn't stretch Davidson's style very much. There isn't a lot of story or character there; it's just a fish tale without much of a punchline. I read her foreword, where she talks about the difficulty of writing this book and wish she'd spent a few more months. Take a few chances, Ms. Davidson! You can be witty and insightful when you want. This book needed more of an effort.

I will read the next Fred book and hope that Ms. Davidson pushes a little harder.

It really pains me to speak ill of MaryJanice Davidson's writing since some of her books are my favorite books. HOWEVER, Swimming without a Net is just terrible, you'd think she hired someone else to imitate her style and crank out as many new books as possible. The first book in this series wasn't great, but it was still entertaining and when this book came out I was eager to read it. It fell waaaaaaaaaay below my expectations (and having read Swimming with the Fishes, I'd already lowered them drastically). Characters I'd found likeable in the first book became REALLY annoying, there were scenes that weren't necessary and seemed to just be filler so the page count could go beyond 200, UGH! *spoiler alert* 1)What was the point of introducing the foster kids?! 2)Why did Jonah become so whiney? 3)What was the point of Dr. Barb showing up? 4)Why is Thomas so fickle now?! BOOOO!!!!! Is it just me or does it also feel like a setup, that Fred's gonna meet her real dad in the next book? I would've given it 1 star, except I feel bad since MJD has delivered in the past and it feels so wrong being the first person to give her 1 star review. Borrow from the library, don't buy!

for the record, i love fantasy and romance. I am not a tough customer. Unfortunatly this book although ripe with potential, sadly lacks in both. there is very little plot, and even less romance. the only steamy sene occurs in the fist book, and even there its lacking. I actually had to force myself to struggle through till the end, which by the way, left me high and dry.

Swimming Without a Net by Mary Janice Davidson is without a doubt cute, light, fluffy and humorous. By far better than the Undead series.

Fred is a half breed mermaid with green hair and a foul, whiny personality. Working for the New England Aquarium as a marine biologist, she is extremely good at what she does. Socializing with fish instead of humans could create a few slight problems though. Very slim and pretty but insecure because of her heritage, she's not really sure where she fits into society.

Arthur is a red headed Prince who also happens to be a merman. He is totally smitten with Fred to a fault which makes his character a little too good to be true. What girl wouldn't bend over backwards to have her every whim granted by a handsome Prince.

Thomas is another marine biologist and novelist. A wishy-washy character that doesn't have much personality of his own you tend to wonder why bother putting him in the story. Oh yeah, you need an antagonist. Doesn't mean he has to be a good one though.

The story line falls flat of being a great seller but is a nice little tidbit to waste your time on in between better novels. An extremely quick read that you can figure out the end of the book before getting half way through. Not a complete waste of time as the humor that is in the storyline is worth the read.

Well, I enjoyed the book, but I have to agree that the first book was a bit more interesting. Things were just a bit too impractical for my tastes, but makes good chewing gum for the eyes. Some items in the book were not resolved at all (fred's files)and it did seem to come to an abrupt, and not very smooth end. Don't want to share any spoilers, but you can really tell the author did not have an easy time writing this book and I can't understand why she did not expand on some of the story lines. Still, would read another of the Fred novels if it came along. Extensive use of the MF word in this book!

This is the essence of a "light read," low in both carbs AND taste. The premise holds promise, but the author fails to deliver substance. She chooses to write in the first person point of view only, which left me wanting to know what the other characters were thinking and which left them looking like cartoon characters. Though I tried, it was hard to like "Fred," the lead character. I couldn't quite understand why her two boyfriend possibilities found her so charming, since we never get to know what's going on in their minds. Fred comes across as annoying at best and petulant at worst. The only slightly interesting character is Jonas, and it would have been useful to watch the plot unfold from his point of view for a few paragraphs.

The use of Fred's penchance for earthy language, while insuring that the reader understands the contemporary time frame and Fred's rowdiness, is at first amusing, but soon seems gratuitous. The point is made after the first 10 pages, no need to keep clobbering the reader every 5 pages. We "get it."

Ultimately, while the plot had potential, the author failed to use it to her advantage, and I could easliy believe that she wrote it while doing 4 loads at the laundromat on a Saturday to meet a deadline by her publisher.