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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Okay, I am just going to give every Meg Cabot book 5 stars because they're all gold. Even the ones that aren't FANNNNNTASTIC, they're still AWESOME. Even the teeny ones I haven't read (Allie Finkle) I'm sure are just as good. I'm just not allowed to grade them because I am not in 5th grade anymore.
I own multiples of every Meg Cabot book. They're that good.
I own multiples of every Meg Cabot book. They're that good.
I didn't know what to expect with this book.. With the title, I was rooting for a fashion-esque genre with a little marshmallow love line somewhere but oh well, I guess the chapters that followed took me by a pleasant surprise.
As someone with severe second hand embarrassment, I had to read parts of it instead of relying on the audiobook
A delicious & fun mystery read by Meg Cabot. It was funny & had a twist that kept me guessing until that last few chapters. Would I read it again? Maybe not but I do look forward to reading the other 4 books in this series. The story's pace was good, the characters were fun to learn about & get to know and it was a light read I really enjoyed.
I had high hopes for this book. Maybe that's the problem. If I'd gone in expecting it to suck, I'd have been mildly pleased that it wasn't a complete waste of paper. Instead I went in expecting the kick-butt characters, fast pace and intriguing story that have characterized several of Cabot's other series. Sadly the first Heather Wells mystery falls far short on all three.
Heather is a 28-year-old washed-up teen pop-star who use to fill malls with screaming pre-teens and now is assitant director at a college dorm. Girls start ending up dead in Heather's dorm and she just knows it's murder and won't rest until she finds the killer.
There are so many bad things about this book. Let's revert to bullet form so they go faster, shall we?
*Heather comes across as closer to 18 than 28; her speech, mannerisms, inner-thoughts and overall character scream teenager, not adult.
*There are some continuity issues here. She was a popular star at 15. She keeps going on about how all she ever was is a teen-pop star. She's called a one-hit wonder at one point in the book. And yet, according to her age she'd have had a 13-year music career and just gave it up a couple months prior to the novel's start. Erm. Okay. And in that time she released several records. Things just don't jive at all.
*Total pre-occupation with food. OMG. Does anyone obsess over food that much? There's something about food and snacks on almost every page! The worst is when Heather is in a situation where she knows she's about to die any second and suddenly she's thinking how good a can of pringles sounds. WTF?
*The whole size-12-is-not-fat thing, yeah that's a running sentence throughout the book. It comes up almost a much as the food thing. It would have been better as a single line and a running, subtle theme.
*The villian does the whole cliched villian soliloquy thing. And, worse, starts telling blonde jokes. Seriously. Villian is about to bash in a head and is telling a blonde joke. It's very, very left field, trust me.
*The pace is slow and jerky at times.
*Heather's inner monologue makes her seem like a complete airhead. Oh and her total and complete obsession with her male roomate? Don't need to be bashed over the head with that twenty billion times, thanks. I was going to scream if I had to read about Heather wanting to rip Cooper's clothes off with her teeth again.
*Heather's career and life goals are totally based on wanting Cooper to fall in love with her. She has no aspirations, beyond her music, that are totally her own. Worse that is a theme in this book repeated by other characters. Geeze, welcome to the 21st century - women can have a life outside of guys! It's just disgusting how sycophantic Heather and one of the other main character's are. Ugh!
This rant could go on, but I'll stop here. I will NOT be reading the second book.
Heather is a 28-year-old washed-up teen pop-star who use to fill malls with screaming pre-teens and now is assitant director at a college dorm. Girls start ending up dead in Heather's dorm and she just knows it's murder and won't rest until she finds the killer.
There are so many bad things about this book. Let's revert to bullet form so they go faster, shall we?
*Heather comes across as closer to 18 than 28; her speech, mannerisms, inner-thoughts and overall character scream teenager, not adult.
*There are some continuity issues here. She was a popular star at 15. She keeps going on about how all she ever was is a teen-pop star. She's called a one-hit wonder at one point in the book. And yet, according to her age she'd have had a 13-year music career and just gave it up a couple months prior to the novel's start. Erm. Okay. And in that time she released several records. Things just don't jive at all.
*Total pre-occupation with food. OMG. Does anyone obsess over food that much? There's something about food and snacks on almost every page! The worst is when Heather is in a situation where she knows she's about to die any second and suddenly she's thinking how good a can of pringles sounds. WTF?
*The whole size-12-is-not-fat thing, yeah that's a running sentence throughout the book. It comes up almost a much as the food thing. It would have been better as a single line and a running, subtle theme.
*The villian does the whole cliched villian soliloquy thing. And, worse, starts telling blonde jokes. Seriously. Villian is about to bash in a head and is telling a blonde joke. It's very, very left field, trust me.
*The pace is slow and jerky at times.
*Heather's inner monologue makes her seem like a complete airhead. Oh and her total and complete obsession with her male roomate? Don't need to be bashed over the head with that twenty billion times, thanks. I was going to scream if I had to read about Heather wanting to rip Cooper's clothes off with her teeth again.
*Heather's career and life goals are totally based on wanting Cooper to fall in love with her. She has no aspirations, beyond her music, that are totally her own. Worse that is a theme in this book repeated by other characters. Geeze, welcome to the 21st century - women can have a life outside of guys! It's just disgusting how sycophantic Heather and one of the other main character's are. Ugh!
This rant could go on, but I'll stop here. I will NOT be reading the second book.
This is a fun book to read on vacation or while waiting in an airport. It's not the next great American novel, but it never claimed to be. Other reviewers have said that they guessed the murderer early on, but I was completely surprised by the reveal!
All in all, it's a fun, quick read that I would say "yeah, it's alright," to someone asking if I've read it. Plus, it's always refreshing to have a fat protagonist (sorry, Heather, but to many people, size 12 is indeed fat) (well it's certainly not skinny, at the very least)
All in all, it's a fun, quick read that I would say "yeah, it's alright," to someone asking if I've read it. Plus, it's always refreshing to have a fat protagonist (sorry, Heather, but to many people, size 12 is indeed fat) (well it's certainly not skinny, at the very least)
I love these type of romance, chicklit mysteries. I am sure on a roll since yesterday.
I love Heather Wells <3 Onto the next book
I love Heather Wells <3 Onto the next book
Original rating 5 stars
Now: maybe 3.75
This is a reread this year as it has been a while since I read this series. It is definitely a favorite, and I have been a fan of Meg Cabot since my preteens.
Heather Wells is an ex-teen pop star in the vein of Mandy Moore or Britney Spears. Unlike the two of them where they either continued making music or branching out, Heather is working a normal job trying to move forward with her life after her ex boyfriend cheated on her and she lost her record deals.
There is some weird discrepancies in the time line that don't quite make sense. Like they state she mostly did mall tours (those were the days) and she hadn't really worked since her late teens. But she still dated Jordan Cartwright and was trying to get her own songs released fairly recently it seemed, at the age of 28. So how long was she touring? Looked like from the songs added in the books she had at least three albums, though they really only talked about "Sugar Rush".
I don't know just those little things that nag at me.
The mystery is great, though the incompetence of the police force is love of a weird trope to go with. Cooper, Jordan's brother who takes in Heather, is clever but seems a little condescending at times.
I like this book still, and will probably reread the rest of the series, but the little details bugged me more than it has in the past
Now: maybe 3.75
This is a reread this year as it has been a while since I read this series. It is definitely a favorite, and I have been a fan of Meg Cabot since my preteens.
Heather Wells is an ex-teen pop star in the vein of Mandy Moore or Britney Spears. Unlike the two of them where they either continued making music or branching out, Heather is working a normal job trying to move forward with her life after her ex boyfriend cheated on her and she lost her record deals.
There is some weird discrepancies in the time line that don't quite make sense. Like they state she mostly did mall tours (those were the days) and she hadn't really worked since her late teens. But she still dated Jordan Cartwright and was trying to get her own songs released fairly recently it seemed, at the age of 28. So how long was she touring? Looked like from the songs added in the books she had at least three albums, though they really only talked about "Sugar Rush".
I don't know just those little things that nag at me.
The mystery is great, though the incompetence of the police force is love of a weird trope to go with. Cooper, Jordan's brother who takes in Heather, is clever but seems a little condescending at times.
I like this book still, and will probably reread the rest of the series, but the little details bugged me more than it has in the past