A Novel (Heather Wells Mysteries Book 5) - The Bride Wore Size 12

Firstly, I read this series like 6 years ago, and I totally did not know that this book existed HAHA. I thought that when Heather and Cooper said they were going to get married, that was the happy ending. Little did I know that THIS IS THE LAST BOOK. Even during the preparations for her wedding day, Heather Wells attracted trouble. As always. Even before school started at Fischer Hall, a murder was already commited. Hmm. This book didn't really exude that "OMG" feeling, even though it was the final instalment, but it wasn't bad either. Some parts made me cry, because as always, Meg Cabot is known for her talent in writing the most touching scenes even in between a comedy book. HEHE. But I totally love Cooper. He has gone a long way, from the first book. AND HE IS SOOO SEXY HAHA. I will totally miss this series though, but fear not, HAHA because I vowed to read all Meg Cabot's book. :)

I have really enjoyed every book in the Heather Wells series, but this book in particular, was absolutely my favorite story so far!!!!! It was extremely funny, but a great storyline as well. I would have never guessed it was going to end with this particular person as the killer and why (can't say who or why as I would ruin it for the rest of you, sorry). You've got to read the books by Meg Cabot if you haven't already. They are a hoot!!!!!

Heather Wells is set to marry Cooper Cartwright in a matter of weeks but is finding it next to impossible to plan when her life is no less hectic than normal. With freshmen orientation going on Heather has to deal with overly concerned parents and a new "Very Important Resident" that has moved in making things impossibly more chaotic. And then one of the buildings RA's is found dead in her bed. As if things weren't bad enough, Heather's mom makes her first appearance ever since she stole her entire savings and fled the country.

What's really funny about how much I loved this book was the other installments were only 'meh' for me. I received this for a book tour but because my brain refuses to comply when I start a series and the book is not #1 I figured it was best to go back and read them all in order. There's always this nagging voice in the back of my head telling me I'm missing out on important shit and I'm doing it all wrong. But books 1-4 failed to impress if and if I didn't already sign up to read #5 I doubt I ever would have got there. I know tons of you have loved this series through and through but in my opinion? This installment is the best yet.

So what did I love so much about this one compared to the others? It's possible that by book 5 all of the characters kookiness had finally grown on me because at first I found the vast majority of them to be slightly annoying. I also think it could be because I opted to listen to the first 4 installments on audio and I found the narrators voice to be no bueno. It's also possible that this is simply a better written installment in general. Either way, I loved it.

The Bride Wore Size 12 chock-full of mystery and involves several storylines that may or may not all be linked. It could be said that there was possibly a bit 'too much' going on but I understand the purpose in giving that illusion of an easy answer to the chaos. I'd much rather have that than a mystery I guess from the very beginning. Existing storylines are also dredged up in order to be given proper closure, most significant of those is the re-emergence of her long lost mother. This isn't given a picture perfect ending but it was sufficient enough to give satisfying conclusion.

This series possesses a cast of characters similar to what you would find in a cozy mystery and they're the type that don't always do things rationally but are always hilarious and entertaining nonetheless. Heather is a a fantastically imperfect leading character and despite being a teen pop-star, is now leading a somewhat normal yet happy life. She's engaged to marry Cooper Cartwright who she pined for over the course of the first 3 installments only to realize he's been doing the same. The two are a perfect pair and completely adorable and seeing them finally get their happy ending was the very best of endings. Despite the title though, the romance and wedding planning manages to not overwhelm the story at all and feels more like an anecdote than anything.

I'm extremely pleased at this series ending installment. A delightful and entertaining story with the perfect balance of mystery and romance.

Another adventure in "the Death Dorm"! Heather Wells, onetime pop princess, is now the head of Residential Services at Fischer Hall. Fischer Hall has been the site of several murders and has acquired the nickname of "the Death Dorm". Heather is juggling the arrangements for her long awaited wedding to Cooper Cartwright and the tribulations of coordinating the beginning of the school year at New York College. Students are usually running the other way trying not to get into Fischer. This year, Fischer is the dorm to be in this year because of the arrival of a Middle Eastern Crown Prince and that brings a whole other set of problems. When a RA is found dead in her room, Heather finds herself in the middle of another murder case.
One of the things I love about this series is the sassy attitude Heather has about her job and the upper administration of the college. Her coworkers are pretty funny for the most part and Heather's boss, Lisa, is going through a personal crisis in addition to the latest dead body discovery in the dorm. All of the shenanigans pulled by Cooper's twin sisters to make the wedding fun for Heather add to the mayhem and pluck Heather's last nerve. I enjoy the give and take between Heather and Cooper and how he is able to keep her calm and focused on their wedding. His character is just such a nice influence but Cooper can be a toughie when needed- usually to defend Heather.
There are all kinds of subplots winding through this latest books and a few red herrings to keep it interesting. Readers of the entire series will enjoy this book and the culmination of Heather and Cooper's romance. Newer readers will find enough back story to enjoy the book without feeling lost. I am looking forward to Heather and cooper's future adventures!

Heather really wants the school year to go well for the college where she works. She has about all the stress she can handle dealing with her upcoming wedding. So, when a college student turns up dead before classes even start, her dreams of a peaceful year are shattered. And as if this were not enough trouble, she is stuck dealing with a VIP student, misbehaving RAs, and her long lost mother sweeping back into town. Just what every bride needs.

This is a book in a series, and sadly, I have not read any other books in the series. In some ways, that matters, and in some ways, it does not. I found Heather to be sufficiently developed as a character, as are the other supporting characters in the book; I did not feel like I missed out on any of that because I did not read the previous books in the series. I think the characters and the story sufficiently stand alone.

What I do think I missed out on is a deeper connection to Heather, particularly in regard to her self image. A large portion of the series seems to be related to Heather's weight, hence the title, but it is barely mentioned in this particular book, so for me reading this as a stand alone book, the title makes very little sense.

The book is a fun story, and surprisingly lighthearted considering it deals with murder. There is romance thrown in, and allusions to sex without actual sex scenes, so all in all it is pretty tame. It really was a pretty good chicklit flavored mystery.

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review

Meg Cabot's "Heather Wells" books are fun, easy reads. That said, I never quite manage to solve the mystery, but I always enjoy the journey and the drama that regularly plagues "Death Dorm". One thing that I especially enjoy about this series is that we see character growth. Unlike Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, the characters here experience change and progression in their personal relationships and life situations which I appreciate. Readers were even treated to a story line featuring Heather's mother - a character I've been curious about for quite some time. I recommend this series to anyone that enjoys snarky heroines and a solid cozy mystery that will keep you guessing.

I received this book for free through GoodReads Early Reviewers Program and was really looking forward to reading it. A chick lit mystery seemed like a great combination . "The Bride Wore A Size 12" is part of the Heather Mills Mystery series. It's the first book I've read by Meg Cabot and while I'm familiar with her Princess Diaries series, I've only seen short clips from the subsequent movies

I love mysteries. In fact, nowadays, I'd guess that probably two out of every three books I read are mysteries. British mysteries are my current favorites, but I also enjoy works by several American writers. I even read half a dozen cozies every year - especially in the summertime and around holidays.

A cozy mystery is how I would describe Cabot's new book. And while I really wanted to like this book, I simply didn't. It's not that it was terrible. I just had a hard time connecting with any of the characters and 1/2 way into it, I was still feeling pretty ho-hum about the whole thing. You know how sometimes you read a new book and quickly realize that it's only one in a series? With a really good book, you're so engaged that you immediately want to go out and buy the rest of the series to savor one by one. My most recent experience of this was with Reginald Hill's Dalziel & Pascoe series. I happened across "On Beulah Height" (#15 in the series) and enjoyed it so much that I immediately sought out earlier books in the series and now own almost all of them.

Unfortunately, that wasn't my experience with "The Bride Wore A Size 12." There were so many references to events from earlier books in the series that I found myself growing frustrated and confused, rather than curious. I couldn't relate to Heather or her friends and the central mystery of the story took so long to develop, I lost interest. One other thing bothered me that I feel I should mention. When it became apparent to me that I was reading a book that was part of a series, I checked out the other titles on the store. Frankly, I was surprised by the covers. The titles lead you to believe that the author wants to celebrate women of all shapes and sizes - referring to someone who is a size 12 or larger ("Size 14 is Not Fat Either"). However, the book covers depict glamorous looking women who are obviously NOT a size 14 or even 12. Honestly, if those girls are a size 12, then I'm a size 2 (NOT - I'm more like a 10). I found this disparity disconcerting and disappointing, as it made it appear that selling the books was more important than selling the actual stories.

Meg Cabot is an accomplished writer. She has written several best selling books and she obviously wouldn't be publishing her fifth book in this series if she didn't have many happy readers. I think that part of why this book didn't appeal to me might be my age. I'm 45 and I suspect that this series may be better suited to a younger reader - perhaps someone in her late teens or early twenties.

While "The Bride Wore A Size 12" wasn't for me, I would still recommend it to someone who had enjoyed Cabot's other books. I'd also recommend it to younger readers who were transitioning from YA to adult fiction. However, I suspect that women nearer my own age would be happier sticking with Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series

I received this book for free through GoodReads' reader giveaway program. This is no way affected my review of it.

This we a light chick-lit read. Completely unbelievable,but fun.I did catch myself trying to figure a correlation between some fake and real personalities in the story line.Some of the rich and famous people in the story could have been stand-ins for real-life infamous,or formerly known personalities.It was a refreshing change to read this book,as it isn't a typical storyline.It also has some sassy dialogue to entertain.

Heather Wells is one of my favorite characters. While she prepares for her wedding she deals with the murder of one student and the attempted murder of another, as well as the new resident Prince and her mother. This is a fun read, if you have read this series I suggest you start with the first book Size 12 Is Not Fat.