Monday 23 September 2013

Review: The Bride Wore Size 12 by Meg Cabot

The Bride Wore Size 12 by Meg Cabot
Publisher: William Morrow
Publication date: September 24th 2013.
My rating: 5 stars 


Heather Wells is used to having her cake and eating it too, but this time her cake just might be cooked. Her wedding cake, that is. With her upcoming nuptials to PI Cooper Cartwright only weeks away, Heather's already stressed. And when a pretty junior turns up dead, Heather's sure things can't get worse—until every student in the dorm where she works is a possible suspect, and Heather's long-lost mother shows up. Heather has no time for a tearful mother and bride reunion. She has a wedding to pull off and a murder to solve. Instead of wedding bells, she might be hearing wedding bullets, but she's determined to bring the bad guys to justice if it's the last thing she does . . . and this time, it just might be.

The Bride Wore Size 12 is one of the reasons I love Meg Cabot so much. Her witty writing had me involved with the story from the very beginning, Meg has a great knack of making characters appear so realistic and real and she weaves the best romance and mystery in a story that you could ever ask for. When I first started the Heather Wells series I remember not being the biggest fan. Don’t get me wrong I adored the book, but I didn’t have a calendar made up and counting down the days until the next release. This didn’t happen until the third book. I was really actually feeling really gutted when it was announced that the third book would be the final book. What would I do without fun loving Heather around? But I didn’t have to despair for too long as two more books were announced and let me just say these were the best books in the series. They were actually that good that they had me rethinking my favourite series by Meg Cabot (Queen of Babble was at the top) I honestly don’t know how Meg does it, it’s like each time I come back to this fantastic series I fall in love even more with these fantastic characters all over again.

If you were expecting The Bride Wore Size 12 to be devoid from any drama with Heather’s wedding just around the corner then you couldn’t be more wrong. Heather’s entire wedding was put to the side once again for another murder investigation at Fischer Hall. Things were a lot different this time though as His Highness crown Prince Rashid Ashraf bin Zayed Faisal who preferred to be called Shiraz was also a resident of these halls. There was top level security lurking around where ever he went. And instead they had the bureau of Diplomatic security controlling the murder investigation because of threats being made to the prince!

It was great seeing the mystery behind the murder unravel slowly as the story progressed. One of the best things about this series is that not once have I ever been able to guess the true identity of the killer or his/her motive behind the killings. So it’s always a great surprise when Heather makes this discovery. Once again Heather had been warned by Cooper to not get involved in the case, but maybe it’s her mothering nature for these students (despite not having her own great role model) that Heather has always felt the need to take care of these students. And actually this time around, she actually found herself getting involved through no fault of her own.

Heather has come a long way since the Heather we were introduced to in 2005, she still finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation every single time but she has as many of her colleagues pointed out become a hardened character, which I truly appreciate. Ever since her success and fame people took too much advantage of her, but with unexpected visitors turning up in this book, Heather excelled in finally standing her ground. Heather is definitely one of the best MC’s that you could ever ask for, she’s witty, fun, always has the back of those closest to her covered and is renown to bring you a darn good time. I was actually very close to tears at having to say goodbye to such a fantastic character.

Of course The Bride wore Size 12 couldn’t be complete without the wonderful secondary characters. These characters have played such an integral role to this entire series that I don’t actually consider them to be secondary characters. They have participated in illegal activities when Heather needed them to, saved her in moments of need and have gone on to demonstrate what friends should exactly be like. Cooper as always stole a piece of my heart, if you all think you’ve met the best fictional crush then sorry ladies you haven’t met Cooper yet. Again he showed his love for Heather had no bounds, his scary threats to anyone who harmed Heather in anyway made me love him even more. Honestly his every appearance brought a huge smile to my face. And I couldn’t go without mentioning Gavin, Magda, Lisa, Julio, Detective Canavan, Hal, Pete and so many others who truly made this book a gem of a read.

The Heather Wells series has been a huge part of my life since 2005, with this series finally coming to an end it feels like the end of an era. Meg Cabot has truly created an unforgettable series which I’m sure will hold a special place in my heart and on my book shelf for a very long time.

On a side note, I don’t want to winge, but a special part of this book was actually ruined for me because somebody on Goodreads didn’t use the spoiler tags when discussing it and so it came up on my feed when I was scrolling through. I love Goodreads, but I love reading more and specially reading without being anything spoiled for me. So please in future please use spoiler tags. 



19 comments:

Rachel said...

Aww! Wonderful review! I could feel your deep love for this series. I am glad the finale was able to fill everything you want. Heather sounds amazing and its great that she is strong from everything that has happened earlier in the series. This is definitely a series I want to start and I bet finish!

Tanja - Tanychy said...

I've just read Renu's review for this one and honestly I'm really intrigued. I've been avoiding Meg's works because they sound too girly for my taste. This one sounds like a wonderful read though. Great review Jasprit :)

Carina Olsen said...

Aw, glad you loved this book so much :D Not a book for me yet, but it does seem a bit sweet. I'm sorry though, that someone spoiled it for you :\ Grr. Evil people :) Thank you for sharing. <3

Melanie said...

I must say, Meg Cabot has the most strangest of titles, well maybe strange isn't the right word, unique? The characters seems to be something that most people are saying that is the strongest point.

So sorry someone ruined it for you, Jasprit. Lovely review! <33

Siiri said...

I trust you when you say that Heather is a gteat MC. Nick said it in her review as well that this series hilarious, suspenseful and entertaining. I love a good mystery, hence me being a massive A. Christie fan. I'm glad I bumped into your conversation on Twitter and asked about this series. Definitely will give this a try someday :)

Keertana said...

Gah, I hate when people don't use spoiler tags! >.< Anyway, I'm so glad that you enjoyed this one! I keep hearing about this series from you, so I'm going to have to make time for it when I'm in the mood for something light and fun. I love that this series has such a solid character growth arc too, as those are my favorites. Lovely review, Jasprit!

Melissa (i swim for oceans) said...

I love love love me some Meg Cabot! I've never heard of this book before, but I swear her books just soar because everything is so dang well-rounded. We get not only exceptional primary characters, but the secondary characters rock, too. I'm totally adding this to my TBR. Fantastic review :)

Mary @ BookSwarm said...

I definitely enjoyed this one! I've loved the whole series and Heather's great. I love that she's at a point in her life where she's accepted who she is and enjoys where she is. But that mother of hers! God, I wanted to punch that woman in the throat!

Jenny said...

I had no idea this was a murder mystery series Jasprit, I thought it was more chick lit! I love a good murder mystery, but clearly I need to go back and start from the beginning as I haven't read any of these books. I'm so glad this book was everything you'd hoped it would be (aside from the spoiler situation) and that it holds a special place in your heart. Those are the best kinds of series:)

brandileigh2003 said...

The witty writing and the cast of secondary characters makes me want to pick it up

Heidi@Rainy Day Ramblings said...

I am so happy to hear that you got a solid ending to a series you love. I have these books and I am looking forward to pluning in very soon. Super lame that someone spoiled it for you on GR.

Maja (The Nocturnal Library) said...

Now I'm going to thoroughly embarass myself (again) and say that I've never read a Meg Cabot book in my life. It's great that this combines romance and murder mystery. I should probably strat from the first one, though, and familiarize myself with the characters.
Lovely review, Jasprit. And yeah, that happens a lot on GR.

Shooting Stars Mag said...

Lovely review!! I've only ever read YA books by Meg, so I know I need to change that and finally start checking out some of her adult series. I'm glad to hear this was a winner for you, since it was the last one!

Anonymous said...

Yes, I'm definitely rethinking my favorite Meg Cabot series as well although Chaz was pretty darn cute too. ;)
I'm so happy that you enjoyed this as much I did, Jasprit. I had so much fun with this one and this is one of those series that became better as it progressed. I love how each and every character was important to the seres.
Lovely review, Jasprit!

Henrietta @ Leisure Reads said...

While I have all the intention to get to know Heather, things often came up and then my copy of Size 12 Is Not Fat would stay on my shelf. *sigh* So excited to see that the series concludes at a high note! Cooper sounds so swoon-worthy - thanks for sharing :)

Unknown said...

Can you believe I've never read Meg Cabot? I've heard such good things, too. This seems like a story I would definitely enjoy. I'm so happy you loved it so. And yes, I hate spoilers too!

Unknown said...

Absolutely love Meg Cabot! I started reading this series, but I don't think I ever finished. Now I know I have to and I love that YOU love this series so much, Jasprit! Great review :)

Wendy Darling said...

Oh no, I'm sorry the ending was spoiled for you--I HATE it when that happens. :(

It sounds like this is an amazing read, though. I didn't realize this author also wrote adult books, what rock have I been under?! I'm glad you loved it.

Wendy @ The Midnight Garden

Book Blather said...

I keep trying Meg Cabot's adult series, but nothing ever seems to live up to her YA books (in particular Missing and Mediator), they were just so amazing. :-( I'm glad this one really impressed you - it's nice when a series takes a turn for the 'even better'! Great review honey. I might have to give her adult books another shot.

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