 |
| Cute cover! |
July 2015, MacMillan, 448 pages, Paperback, Review copy
Summary from Pan MacMillan
From Meg Cabot, the #1 New York Times bestselling
author of the Princess Diaries series, comes the very first new adult
instalment, featuring the now grown-up Princess Mia!
Royal Wedding
follows Princess Mia and her Prince Charming as they plan their fairy
tale wedding - but a few poisoned apples could turn this
happily-ever-after into a royal nightmare.
For
Princess Mia, the past five years since college graduation have been a
whirlwind of activity, what with living in New York City, running her
new teen community centre, being madly in love, and attending royal
engagements. And speaking of engagements, Mia's gorgeous longtime
boyfriend Michael managed to clear both their schedules just long
enough for an exotic (and very private) Caribbean island interlude
where he popped the question! Of course Mia didn't need to consult her
diary to know that her answer was a royal oui.
But
now Mia has a scandal of majestic proportions to contend with: Her
grandmother's leaked "fake" wedding plans to the press that could cause
even normally calm Michael to become a runaway groom. Worse, a
scheming politico is trying to force Mia's father from the throne, all
because of a royal secret that could leave Genovia without a monarch.
Can Mia prove to everyone - especially herself - that she's not only
ready to wed, but ready to rule as well?
Nayu's thoughts
Although this review for the 11th book in this ace series, I have to mention books 1-10 which are for Young Adults since I spent a solid weekend reading most of them in 1 hit in preparation for this July release. I grew up with Princess Diaries, dreaming of being Mia who has a cat (which is the best animal on earth after birds). I thought I'd read all the books, but rereading them proved I hadn't even read half. I have now! For the record, I'm not fond of the new style covers, but #11's cover is fine by me! I've watched the films countless times, and having read the entire series I rewatched them and now fully understand more of the story.
While Royal Wedding can be read on it's own, I do recommend reading some of the
previous books, or at least a summary of what's happened so you
understand why what Mia does is considerable growth from the teen she
used to be. Aye, the teen melodrama did get a tad frustrating at
times, especially when all Mia can think about is boys (not just
Michael either!), hence the slight drop in grade, but overall it was
amusing. I was able to relate to her misadventures and tragedies some
of the time. I liked watching her grow. I felt the period where she
becomes severely depressed was an important part of the tale – one
of the funny moments being when her bodyguard under her father's
orders takes her in her 5+ day old pjs outside in broad daylight to
see a psychologist who is also a cowboy. Much amusement, but Mia
learns to deal with the issues which are real and huge to her.
It might explain which she overreacts on occasion in book 11, where she is an adult so has a lot more say about what she does. Unfortunately her overreacting/rash nature/stubbornness does cos big mishaps to occur when a more reserved approach would have resulted in a less explosive experience, but then Mia wouldn't be Mia, which all those who love her point out and understand. Make that nearly all, as she and Lilly actually fall out which if I'd read those books when I was younger I couldn't have understood, but now I know friends can drift apart - and drift back together after each has grown up a bit.
I accidentally
read a page near the end before reading the book, and was horrified
at the implications what I thought I read had on both Mia and Mia's
mother. Upon reading the book from the start my mind did a 180 degree
turn and fully understood the events of that page when it happened. I
thought the twists in Mia's life was incredible up until book 10, but
probably in accordance with adults going through life events which a
humungous, Mia the adult's family drama is what makes this such an
epic series to read.
Yes, it was a bit more mature than her teen
years, but in some ways the frequency of the relationship issues was
much less and a bit toned down from the hyped up teen years. Mia
learns there is much more to life than boys, and although she kicks off
international incidences she means well and finds a way to recover
and prove that she is a suitable princess of Genovia. She is as
spunky a princess as some of her ancestors (the non boring ones), and more than capable of
reforming Genovia's political system. Yup, you won't be disappointed
by the latest installment in Mia's life! I so hope there will be more
^o^ I would then reread the entire series in a weekend again!
Find out more on Meg's website.
No comments:
Post a Comment