Royal Wedding: A Princess Diaries Novel

Please please please let this be the first of many more installments to come. I loved this series growing up and was so excited when Meg announced this book and I've got to say, it didn't disappoint in the least. Usually when a series comes back from a long hiatus things can be a bit off such as characters feeling out of character or the built in world itself feeling completely off; heck sometimes it is even written by a ghost writer (I'm looking at you Secret Circle.) But Meg has managed to keep her voice; her brilliant, witty, and pop cultured influenced voice. Every character felt the same to me, just more grown up and who knew that I would have missed Grandmere so much (to the point that I think all of my highlights include her.) So I hope we get to read many more of installments of Mia's diary especially considering the road that's been laid ahead of her by the end of this book. I mean she has to destress somehow right?

After reading Forever Princess and getting Meg's signature on my blue paperback, I thought we were saying goodbye to Princess Mia and her adventures forever, apart from her blog and Twitter. As it turns out, with this book and From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess, we are getting an enthusiastic welcome from an old friend. Mia is 26, only three years older than I am, and she has her hands full. Her dad, the Prince of Genovia, is suffering a midlife crisis. The press hounds her every where she goes, including when she visits the community center she founded, and she has a stalker that has sent death threats. Mia's been forced to hide out at the Genovian consulate from the press and her stalker, and she rarely gets to see the man she loves. She hopes that at least she and Michael can have the wedding of their dreams-- quiet, with a few family members and family-- but Grandmere gets involved, and the drama ensues. And Mia hasn't even found out about ALL her father's shenanigans, or that a twelve-year old named Olivia needs her help. I don't blame Mia for suffering an eye twitch from all the stress. Like me, she suffers general anxiety and I would have an eye twitch if my dad (RIP, Appa) had gotten arrested driving a race car into New York, in addition to my regular stresses. Honestly, this book packed more than a few punches, and was levels better than the movie sequel that supposedly featured an engagement party, because it talked about real-world issues like oppression and refugees from the Middle East, upper-class snobbery and racism (shame on the fictional people that sent death threats to Mia and her family!) and Internet trolls that have no better things to do than to harass a princess that does a lot more community service than they do. Let the facts state that I hate Internet trolls, and I hate racists that have an Internet connection. Good for Meg to address these issues and show them in a serious light. Even better for Meg was to show that Tina has become Mia's best friend in life, though Lilly and Mia are still on good terms, to show that some things can be forgiven but never forgotten. JP, back from his morally dubious stints in book ten, shows that forgiveness has its limits, even from princesses. Michael is a really amazing boyfriend, though he's certainly got the makings of an evil genius like his sister. If he likes or loves you, he'll use his smarts to make you happy. If you cross him, however, he makes Lilly's brutal moments look tame. Is there anything that I dislike about the book? Actually, yes: the fact that someone dies before the book starts and we only see the aftermath a year later, not to mention what ends up happening with Mia's mom. We didn't see any pain there, though Mia founds the community center in his honor, and it would've been nice to have a proper goodbye with him. Apart from that, Kudos. Also with the twist towards the end of the book, I hope that a sequel will happen during which we see Michael's shenanigans in the Genovian palaces.

I love Princess Mia, and I've loved all the Princess Diaries books. Yes, I even love the movies though the changes didn't make me very happy. So, after years of having read all about Mia's insecurities and foibles, I was a little apprehensive to dive into this one. Was the magic still there? Could she possibly come across well as an adult? I'm very relieved to say YES, this is just as much fun as the other titles, and I'm just as happy with the story. It's been five years since Mia last wrote, and in that time she's graduated college and moved into an apartment in the Genovian Consulate. She's still with Michael and still balancing her princess duties with her real life; she's involved in causes she's always espoused but is also waiting for Michael to pop the question (even though they'd agreed they'd wait until life calmed down for both). Mia has a stalker so it's even more important that she watches where she goes, and her grandmother is as obnoxious as ever. She keeps an eye on her Rate the Royals rating and the stress of her father running for office in Genovia has caused her eye to twitch. Just when she thinks she's going to lose it, Michael whisks her off to a private island and...well, you can guess the rest. Enter Grandmeré, who wants to take everything over, but also has a major announcement about Mia's father that will impact all their lives. There's so much more--there always is with Mia--but it's so much fun to visit with her and hear her thoughts as her world goes haywire. I liked that while it's still basically the same Mia, there's a more adult edge to the story, in both situations and language. If there's some parts that work out a little too conveniently, that's all right because hey, it's Mia, and it's a fantasy. I love how it worked out and I'm hopeful we haven't seen or heard the last of the POG.

I adored this series for years as a teenager. Now, as an adult, I pre-ordered this book (the first adult installment) with high expectations. The Royal Wedding did not disappoint-- it grabbed me instantly and I loved every minute. In this book Cabot did not shy away from taking a few risks/unexpected plot turns. The story picks up 9 years after the end of the last book, re-introducing us to Mia as she is turning 26. Quickly, Cabot catches us up on some of the big changes that have occurred in Mia's life (to readers of the Teen series, these changes are significant). As the story un-folds the surprises keep coming, but Mia, her friends and family are such endearing characters that I found myself devouring every crazy twist. I will admit that by the very nature of this series' story-line (at 14 Mia discovers she is heir to the throne of a small european country) it sometimes falls victim to a few contrivances. BUT Cabot is clever and the outcome of this story feels earned and years in the making. Cabot has aged the young adult characters with such intentionality and accuracy; evolving their relationships, interactions and dialogue with each installment. As a long time reader of this series I have been the same age as these characters as I read each book. Now, in my 20's, I read this installment from a different perspective and had keen appreciation of how Mia as a narrator was as relatable, honest and witty as ever but her motivations had changed. I identified with this evolution and it made me love this book even more. You'll route for Mia cover to cover. I highly recommend-- this was the perfect addition to a heart-warming series.

Princess Mia, age 26, is mostly grown up and happily celebrating her birthday with the love of her life, Michael, when he asks her to marry him! life will never be the same, and all because of circumstances they can't even imagine! A lovely conclusion to this long running series that is filled with so many emotions and interesting characters. New characters and newfound emotions in this volume makes it perfect reading even though it has taken me years to get to this. I've never met a Meg Cabot book that I haven't loved!!

If you read commercial literature, you've no doubt heard of "The Princess Diaries," the fictional journals of a geeky San Francisco girl who discovers she's heir to the throne of a small European country not unlike Monaco. The books, aimed primarily at young girls, have proved wildly popular. "Royal Wedding" is Meg Cabot's first PD book aimed at adults, and since I heard so much about the books this intrigued me enough to pick it up. I'm somewhat familiar with the plot of the PD novels, but I've never read one. It didn't take too long for me to figure out that "Royal Wedding" is not a stand-alone book. I could follow it, but there were a lot of allusions to people and situations that were obviously in previous books which made some scenes puzzling for me. The plot's fairly simple--Mia Thermopolis, the crown princess of Genovia, is now twenty-five, living in the Genovian consulate in New York, running a teen community center, and engaged to her true love. But she has a internet stalker, she obsessively checks a Perez Hilton-type website called Rate The Royals and despairs if her ratings go down, her father likes to do dumb things and her overbearing grandmother is trying to run everything, including Mia's wedding. Cabot does introduce a character that throws a monkey wrench into things (and apparently is the heroine of the next series of Cabot's books) and Mia finds out something that forces the wedding to be moved up. Cabot has a fast-paced and often funny writing style, and she very much has her finger on the pulse of young women today--there are texts, social media posts, and plenty of references to current pop culture. However, for a book ostensibly for adults and with a 25-year-old main character, "Royal Wedding" still reads like a teenager's book. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but if this is supposed to be someone's private journal, why is the (sparse) profanity censored? Seriously, whenever Mia curses, it's [REDACTED]. Then again, perhaps it's hard to shift into grown-up gear when you're used to writing for kids. If "The Princess Diaries" had been around when I was a kid, I probably would have adored the books. If you grew up reading them, you'll enjoy "Royal Wedding," although some longtime readers were disappointed by the admittedly kind of abrupt ending, but this is not a novel into which a newcomer can go in cold.

The Princess' Diaries series has been in my life since I was 14, now a decade later I was extremely anxious to know whatever happened to Princess Mia after she graduated from high school. Finding out about the book immediately made me place a pre order 2 months ago. This book takes you to 8 years later, with Mia is turning 26 years old with a career, paparazzi, royal duties, friends and of course her long time boyfriend Michael. After reading, you'll realise that Mia is still the same impulsive neurotic person that has endeared long series time readers for years, despite being in her mid 20s. Some interesting developments and amusing incidents have occurred over the years in Mia's world, which made this book highly addictive that I couldn't put it down. Read it in 3 days. I won't indulge any of spoilers to ruin the reading experiences of others. In a way the fast paced nature of book (I know that's what all the books in the series are like) especially towards the end has left me hanging. However it doesn't take away the fact that it was refreshing to read Princess Mia's diaries again. If you have not started the series, I would suggest reading the other books first before starting with this one. A humourous and light hearted read. Highly recommended to avid Princess Diaries readers, emphasising that this book's content is mostly geared towards mature readers.

I will admit first that I did not read her entire Princess Diary collection being an adult. I did enjoy the movie, so when I saw that this book was was geared to a slightly older crowd I was intrigued. My daughter (17) and I have both been reading at the same time, on 2 different devices of course. It is quite amusing to hear us giggling at different parts of the story, and also getting frustrated that one or the other didn't read quick enough to discuss a certain part without spilling the beans. Today I finished the book and found that I thoroughly enjoyed it. I enjoyed the story twists, romance, Royal headaches, humor, towns I recognized, and all that is relative to things today. I totally recommend this as a good light read.