TEST
Princess Amelia Mignonette Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldo (or Mia, for short) has returned to keeping a diary the way she did as a girl, and it’s just in time to document some new crazy episodes in her life. Her dad, the Crown Prince, is in jail; her stalker is threatening her, a family secret is coming out and, after an unexpected proposal from her high school boyfriend Michael, she has to put herself together as a royal bride.
Mia is a fun narrator. She’s neurotic and insecure (her two obsessions are using an app called iTriage to decide she has a horrible disease and checking her ranking on a celebrity site called Rate the Royals), but kind and well-intentioned. I appreciated that she’s not unilaterally incompetent, at one point winging a perfect and articulate response to a question about conflict diamonds. She also has a heart and a sense of responsibility, lobbying for her country to take a stronger role in supporting refugees in a crisis that parallels the current Mediterranean situation.
The book centers more on zany happenings than on Mia and Michael’s relationship, because frankly it’s just a good match and therefore not a source of drama. For all that Michael isn’t “on camera” that much, I got a strong sense of him as a big dork who is very good for Mia. I admired Cabot for conveying that so efficiently and making me invested in that relationship when I didn’t have a background in the series. (If, like me, this is your first Princess Diaries book, you’ll be able to follow it just fine. If you’re picking it for a very young fan, you should know that there is sex.)
Cabot has fabulous way with words. An island dining area is “decorated to look like one of those old-timey beach houses from the movies where people wore safari suits and drank gin and tonics to prevent malaria and said things like, ‘I’m terribly worried about the volcano, Christopher.’” The geeky sexy stories Mia makes up with Michael are hysterical, but I won’t quote them so you can enjoy them yourself. Cabot also has a deft hand balancing the light comic elements with perspective. In a scene I particularly liked, Mia’s hairstylist Paolo reminds her that her problems are the problems of privilege:
“For life, you never know where the road will take you. Yours took you to a place where you got the diamond shoes, but now all you can say is, ‘Ow! These diamond shoes! They fit so tight and hurt so much!’ No one wants to hear about how tight your diamond shoes fit. You got the diamond shoes!”
Then he finishes the scene by suggesting that Mia will feel better if she lets Paolo’s boyfriend wave hands over her to correct the flow of the energy of the universe. Because this is Meg Cabot.
I would liked to have seen Mia a bit more grown-up and a bit more polished, since she’s been a princess for nearly half her life. The voice of the narrator still felt more like an awkward high schooler than the twenty-six-year old global figure Mia has become. About two-thirds of the way through the book, Mia does something incredibly impulsive and thoughtless involving another character. It’s not only inappropriate given her royal status, but Mia also doesn’t think enough about the impact her actions will have on the other person. I lost respect for her when she did that.
One other complaint was that some elements of the book were too pat. High school friends were all super-successes (international pop star! Wife of a Rockefeller! Medical equipment millionaire!), to the point that their lives seemed more like a yearbook “crystal ball” future prediction than an actual outcome. In addition to Mia, several other couples get together. Mia’s stalker is revealed to be one of the only two unpleasant people in the book. I like happy endings, but the many plotlines tied up too neatly.
On the whole, though, this book is just plain fun. I haven’t laughed out loud at a book this way in a very long time. I am definitely a Meg Cabot convert.
Buy it at Amazon/Apple Books/Barnes and Noble/Kobo
Grade: B+
Book Type: Contemporary Romance
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 09/10/15
Publication Date: 2015/06
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.
I'm a history geek and educator, and I've lived in five different countries in North America, Asia, and Europe. In addition to the usual subgenres, I'm partial to YA, Sci-fi/Fantasy, and graphic novels. I love to cook.
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I am old enough to remember the endless hoopla of Diana to Charles’s engagement, verses this one’s ho hum reception. The difference is, entirely, IMO, because of the damage the royal family has experienced from relentless and nasty invasion by the press. Between the inappropriate behavior of Harry (Nazi salute, etc.), Fergie (toe sucking), Charles (infidelity, tampon comment), and Diana’s criticism of Charles and others, the royal family has suffered an enormous loss of glamour and prestige. I hope Wills and Kate can bring it back. It will be interesting to see how her fashion choices (especially in hats) will change, after she is married.
I was so jaded by the whole Princess Diana marriage (and subsequent divorce) that I’ve become disinterested in the present royal family. I feel kind of sorry for Kate Middleton because her life will never be the same again.
Tee – I remember in the movie King’s Speech, George’s wife (Helena Bonham Carter) says at one point, that she refused his first two proposals because she didn’t want the royal life. But presumably she decided it was worth it. We can only wait to see what Kate and Will will become in thirty years, if a Camilla will crawl out of the woodwork.
Victoria S – I never thought of it that way. I suppose Wills could be a naval officer, if he wasn’t a prince. Somewhere, I heard he was pretty good at it.
Leigh, Lee B – Unique it will be. I went to William Ashley yesterday, and the window display was full of Union Jacks. I can only imagine what it’s like in the UK. I think going to a country during a culturally significant event can be exciting. But the Royal Wedding will be nuts and a half. The crowds, man.
Lynn M – I didn’t know that Obama hadn’t been invited. But I guess restricting the guest list to Commonwealth countries and crowned heads of state (and Kiwi rugby players and, uh, Kanye West) makes the decision easy, if royally unfair. Canada’s current Prime Minister would presumably go, which is really lucky for him because a national election could potentially kick him out three days later.
Margaret – I sometimes wonder how Harry feels. Is he like George VIII, who actually never wanted to be king? Or does he envy his brother? Or both?
AnnJ – 4:00am. Wow. I think the last time I did that was for an Olympic hockey game.
I am excited about the wedding. I will be up to watch at 4:00 am. I did it for Diana’s wedding and will do it again for Kate’s. I think that Kate is level headed and I am sure she knows what she is in for in this marriage, unlike Diana.
Don’t be offended Lynn M…I believe the political invites were based on being a member of the Commonweath countries.
I’m not interested in the wedding, and I find Harry more interesting than William…being second son is more fun, I think.
I’m of the generation that watched Charles and Diana’s wedding, however I didn’t get up early to watch all of the televised coverage. Oddly, I did get up to watch Diana’s funeral events covered on live TV. Guess that makes me really morbid!
Anyway, this is weird to admit, but I’m honestly hurt (offended?) by the fact that our President and First Lady didn’t receive an invitation given the close relationship the US has always had with GB. Other than the initial news coverage of the Obamas not being invited, I have no idea why they were dis-included from the guest list. But I can’t imagine a good reason since this is obviously a public event rather than a private one. And because of my feelings, I have no desire to watch any of the coverage.
I’m not too worried about Kate – she strikes me as a pretty strong lady who’ll be able to handle the annoyances of being Queen very well. Things have changed a lot since Diana.
I have friends who are going over for the wedding too but even though I’m a huge Anglophile, the huge crowds (and higher hotel prices) are a turnoff for me. And no way am I waking up in the middle of the night to watch it on tv.
But other than that, I think it will be a good show and wish the couple the best of luck.
My former neighbor is traveling to England during this time. Now she has friends there that she wants to visit, but she did plan it around the wedding. I am so not into it, I have a difficult time understanding why. She just thinks it will be a unique time there.
Jean, I’m in your camp about the upcoming royal wedding. I haven’t been following it, except when I’m channel surfing and their names pop up. I kinda fell sorry for them actually. I mean, imagine, being in the position that the only way to get the only job you’re qualified for, your parent has to die. That’s kinda creepy to me. And now poor Kate will have her every burp and scratch reported in the papers, again kinda creepy. And being compared to a dead woman for the rest of your life…that’s a losing position!! I prefer my royalty nicely imagined and well fleshed out in a historical by my favorite authors :-)
If no crisis has occurred that day, I will probably be watching it. But, truthfully, I am not following any stories about the upcoming wedding unless they appear while I’m already watching TV, which is rarely. So, I’m definitely not obsessed with the wedding (thank goodness), but I hope to watch at least some of the activities that day, unless, of course, life gets in the way that particular moment. LOL
She seems rather level-headed, certainly more so than Diana was at this same time in her life. But I agree with you that her life is not her own anymore. If that’s what she wants after all she’s seen regarding the complexities of Diana’s life, then let her have a go at it. It won’t be easy.