ROYAL WEDDING by Meg Cabot

A Princess Diaries Novel, Vol. 11

William Morrow

June 2^nd, 2015

978-0-06-237908-5

Contemporary New Adult
Paperback
Reviewed by Dawn (love2read28@gmail.com)
Obtained by Publisher

3 Hearts

Princess Mia has graduated from college and is running her new teen center in New York City. Falling in love with Michael felt right and now after he popped the question, Mia finds herself engaged with an epic scandal on the horizon. It seems Mia’s grandmother has ‘leaked’ wedding plans and the press is having a field day. Add in scheming politicians trying to get her father off thee throne due to a royal secret that could leave Genovia with no monarchy at all. Can Princess Mia find a way to show everyone that she is ready to rule as well as wed?

I haven’t read the other Princess Diaries stories and for that alone I was a bit lost while reading ROYAL WEDDING. There places, events mentioned that happened in past books that had me confused at times and I highly recommend reading the series in order so you can get the back story, get to know all the characters, etc. Otherwise you might be as lost as I was while reading the final chapter in the Princess Diaries series. Even though I didn’t have the background of the series as I would have liked, ROYAL WEDDING was a fun and entertaining story none the less. It is written in the form of a diary so some parts of the story set as diary entries. The point of view was fixed on Mia as the reader read Mia’s observations, her thoughts, etc. It was a perfect way to do this as I got to see how Mia felt about a lot of things that were going on around her and to her. The reader gets to know Mia very well and that always scores points to me especially when there is no competing ‘voice’ per say of another character trying to take over the story. The first person POV was a perfect fit for the story and I am assuming this was how the rest of the books in the series were written as well. The reader gets to know Mia very deeply and we can empathize with her as she deals with life in the spotlight as a Princess.

The plot was very busy at times as we see Mia try to balance her public life with her desire for her personal life to be just that-personal and private. Seeing where this character struggled with that right mix of public and private was interesting to read as well as showing the reader a deeper look into Mia and her life in general. I thought focusing on Mia herself rather than some events made the story a more well rounded as well making Mia more human. Life when you are in your twenties is a time of figuring out where you are going and how to get there, I could just imagine trying to figure all that out as well as the glare of the press too. The author does a wonderful job in capturing Mia’s emotions, her reactions and her life in particular in a way that had me empathizing with her as she navigated her place in the world.

ROYAL WEDDING is a perfect ending to a series that showed the readers a princess who was much more than royalty. She was just like you and me, filled with joy, anger, happiness and more. Ms. Cabot delivers a story that the reader will truly enjoy and with a main character that will have you rooting for their happy ending to become a reality. If you enjoy a story or a series with life-like characters, a story line that is at times romantic as well as enjoyable then you should try out ROYAL WEDDING. A perfect end of summer read that will leave a smile on your face at the end.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement

 

OVERBITE by Meg Cabot

Publisher: Harper Collins
Date published: February 7, 2012
ISBN 9780061735110
Paranormal, Romance, Vampire
Paperback
Reviewed by Gina
Obtained via: Publisher


After losing her job as a script writer at Insatiable, the hot soap opera, Meena Harper, is now working for the Palatine Guard, a super-secret branch of the Vatican whose primary function is to track down and eliminate vampires and other demonic life forms. She fought joining up with them but finally gave into Alaric Wulf, their number one vampire hunter’s, requests to join up with the guard. Mostly she spends her days and nights researching obscure texts looking for information the Guard can use. Well that and trying to find proof that the man, well actually vampire, she loves, Lucien Antonescue, isn’t all bad. She firmly believes he has a choice and because of his love for her, he is leaning toward choosing good. Oh, by the way, Lucian happens to be the Prince of Darkness. Yeah, that guy.

Meena’s brother, Jon really wants a job with the Palatine Guard and to that end he’s been working on a super-secret invention guaranteed to destroy vampires. Meanwhile he is supporting himself as a barista and trying to situate himself to ask Yalena, the girl Meena helped rescue in INSATIABLE, (book 1 of this series) out.

Lucien, meanwhile, has been in hiding. He is still watching over Meena, but from a distance, only to appear when she needs him the most. Knowing that Lucien isn’t about to give up on Meena, Alaric is watching her as well. When the three-some meet up again, only one of the men will survive.

I enjoyed Meg Cabot’s INSATIABLE, when I read it a few weeks ago and was looking forward to OVERBITE. From the beginning I wondered where the characters went. It was like they were possessed by two dimensional cardboard replicas of the really fun characters from book 1. Mary Lou and Emil were pretty darn funny in book 1. Their sparse appearances, and granted, they are secondary characters, seemed to be more like place holders than part of the story. Any of the other characters could have filled their roles. Jack Bauer, Meena’s vampire-sensing dog, is in a few scenes, but it seemed more like an afterthought than a real part of the story. I was glad to read he lived to bark another day.

When Meena decides which man holds her heart I felt nothing. It was more like “well he’s dead so I’ll be with you.” There were none of the fireworks of a love story or even good vampire drama. It felt to me that the author needed to complete the story but wasn’t really in the mood to do so. It was really disappointing.

I would say to read it if only to find out how the story begun in INSATIABLE ends. That said, if there is a third book or a spin off with Mary Lou and Emil I would read it if only to see where Ms. Cabot goes with it.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

INSATIABLE by Meg Cabot

Publisher: Harper Collins
Date published: June 2011
ISBN 9780061735080
Paranormal, Romance, Vampire
Paperback
Reviewed by Gina
Obtained Via Publisher



Meena Harper has a really cool job. Well it’s almost really cool. It will be as soon as she gets the head writer gig for Insatiable, the soap opera she writes for. She writes the dialogue for the lead actress, Victoria Worthington Stone and boy has she put Victoria through the mill over the years – plane crashes, torrid love affairs, terminal illnesses and a daughter named Taylor. Every time Victoria comes out of one scrape Meena has her plunged into another. Meena strives to be the best and given the fact that her co-worker Shoshona hardly ever shows up for work and can’t cobble together a coherent sentence Meena is fairly certain she’s going to get the head writer job.

Well, she doesn’t get it. Worse than that, Shoshona has a…brilliant…idea. At least Shoshona and her aunt and uncle who own Insatiable, think it’s brilliant. The main competition, Lust, has a vampire story line and the viewers are eating it up. Shoshona’s first task upon becoming head writer is to decide it’s time for Insatiable to get its own vampire. Not only that, she plans to hire the best friend of Lust’s vampire to star. Meena can hardly believe her ears. Certain things can’t get much worse, Meena plods on.

Lucien Antonescu has led a rather staid life as a professor of history in Romania. Sought after by his female students Lucien hasn’t met the right woman. They can’t seem to stay away from the handsome, enigmatic professor. When the family business draws him to New York she just may walk into his life.

Oh, did I mention Meena has a rather amazing gift? Yup, she does. She knows how people are going to die. Especially if their death is imminent. So why can’t she get a read on Lucien? And why is that hunky blond, Alaric so intent on killing Lucien?

INSATIABLE is my first Meg Cabot book. I saw the PRINCESS DIARIES movie and thought it was cute but haven’t read the books yet. Since I’m one of those people who always think the book is better, after reading INSATIABLE I’m thinking I really need to pick up the PRINCESS DIARIES and read them too. If the movie was cute, the book will naturally be cuter.

There is some fun byplay in INSATIABLE. It reminded me of some long running soap operas with a touch of George Hamilton’s LOVE AT FIRST BITE movie. The interactions between the characters are fun and realistic. The paranormal aspects are handled pretty well although Lucien’s shapeshifting scene towards the end kind of pulled me out of the story. It didn’t work for me.

Alaric Wulf definitely caught my attention along with his particular job. The name of his sword didn’t work well for me, but the character himself was intriguing. There was something sweet under his sometimes uncouth and totally dominant personality. Alaric wouldn’t be classified as an alpha male (Lucien definitely is) but he is definitely dominant.

INSATIABLE is a fun read and I already have OVERBITE, book 2, ready to read. Based on what I’ve seen so far I hope this is a series that continues for several more books.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

INSATIABLE by Meg Cabot

Publisher: W. Morrow-a Harper Collins imprint
Date: 2010
ISBN: 978-0-06-173506-6
Paranormal Romance
Hardcover
Reviewed by Pam
Obtained from Publisher


The heroine is an unexpected type of girl, especially when she gets involved with, Lucien, a vampire. After the hero saves her and her dog from what she thinks are angry bats, her life seems to get out of control. Meena is able to see when people she meets are going to die, although nobody believes her.

When she meets Lucien Antonescu a vampire prince with a very dark background, Meena can’t understand why she can’t see when he’s going to die. Not realizing he’s already dead, she finds herself falling in love with him. He’s a tender lover, handsome and a man most women would fall for.He’s also everything Meena has been looking for in a man, it’s as if all her dreams have come true. Maybe he’ll soon reveal his darker side, while turning into her worst nightmare.

INSATIABLE is an interesting take on Vlad the Destroyer’s offspring, despite getting a little bogged down in places. It often feels like a tongue in cheek tale, as the reader becomes engrossed and meets more of the vampire clan. With different types of vampires running around in America’s largest cities, it did leave me wondering if it was safe after sundown.

The romance was a little different from the average, without all the usual blood and gore associated with this type of story. It has well written love scenes, believable neighbors and interesting secondary characters. I enjoyed the journey as she becomes besotted with Lucien and chased around town by his enemies. When Meena finds herself along with her brother, living with monks and nuns for protection, it takes on a whole different perspective.

I found this book had an interesting tale between the pages, one that may let you think outside the usual vampire myths.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.