Swimming without a Net (Fred the Mermaid, Book 2)

Swimming without a net is book two in the "Fred The Mermaid" series. Fred returns to her crazy life, only to find that she must go to a large meeting of all the MerPeople (off a tropical island and under the water, of course!). At this meeting she finds out about her father(the traitor) and the lives of those whom she shares the oceans with. Of course her crush is there, the prince is there, her best friend is there and so is her boss. This book was just as fantastic as the first.

My 11yr old daughter loved this book, and would like to see more about Mermaids that are not "kiddie" stuff.

Dr. Fredrika Bimm, aka Fred, is a marine biologist. She's also a mermaid toiling away at the New England Aquarium. No one knows her secret, except her best friend Jonas, who is in love with Fred's boss, Dr. Barb. Fred has admirers of her own: Thomas, another marine biologist, and Prince Artur of the Undersea Folk. It's been a year since Fred has seen Artur or Thomas. Then one day two Undersea Folk show up to invite Fred to a Pelagic, a gathering of merepeople in the Cayman Islands. Jonas accompanies Fred, who gets to see Thomas, and his fully-outfitted underwater RV, and Artur, the future King of the Undersea Folk. At the Pelagic, Fred discovers the truth about her unknown father and why she was invited to the prestigious event. She also has to come to terms with her feelings about Thomas and Artur, and decide which one is right for her. Full of MaryJanice Davidson's quirky wit and colorful characters, Swimming Without a Net is a true gem. Fred provided me with more than a few laughs, as did the other characters, including Mekkam, King of the Undersea Folk, who has a fascination with Thomas's RV and the Deadwood discs from his DVD collection. The consequences of the king watching Deadwood kept me laughing through much of the book. Fans of Ms. Davison will love Swimming Without a Net. I know I did, and I eagerly await the third book in the series so I can see what happens next. Definitely a book to write home about, and to recommend to all your friends. Amelia Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

This book was great. I've been waiting quite a while for it and I was happy that MJD didn't disappoint. I was very pleased when I found the first Fred the Mermaid book while searching for mermaid literature. A real novel with a mermaid main character and plot, I could have died of happiness! And now the follow up book is filled with more mermaids! Like a couple thousand of them. The readers will be happy that Fred finally makes a decision in her love life; one that, in my opinion, is the best decision for her (and one that can lead to the most fun for the readers later on). At some points in the story the characters are a little too cartoony, but that's kind of why we like them. I hope that there will be a third book soon with Fred in her new life. It would be so exciting!

Fred attends a conference for the Undersea Folk to discuss the pros and cons of coming out of the water closet! (ha!) She learns more about her heritage and meets some interesting charactors. Her romance finally takes a more committed turn. I am a BIG MJ Davidson fan and have to admit I am impressed with Fred's speech to her fellow mermaids - she uses intelligent thoughts, multi-syllable words with minimal swearing! She does hold a PHD so she's expected to have a brain outside of PMS. A real treat for a MJD heroine. To really appreciate this book it's best to read the first Fred book - Sleeping With The Fishes, which is lol from page one. Good job MJD - looking forward to more from you!!!