*Many thanks to HarperCollins for this review copy!
This was one of my most anticipated books of 2015.
There were literally squeals of happiness when I found out I was getting more of Mia's story. And it did not disappoint. I was thrilled to have gotten an ARC of this at YALLWEST considering I was in the middle of an entire series re-read in preparation for the new installment. I was over the moon and rushed home and binge read the last few installments so I could get to this one. I had 100% faith in Meg Cabot that she'd do the transition from teen to adulthood for Mia flawlessly (unlike sometimes in tv shows when they try to jump ahead six years between seasons and it just feels chunky and disjointed). Royal Wedding had the charm of reading Mia's journals from her teen years while showing a much more mature (if still stressed-out) heir to the Genovian throne.
Character development was on point.
One of my favorite parts of reading the novel was seeing how the characters progressed several years later. From page 3 I was already completely shocked about some of the fates of the characters (this is so hard to talk about without spoilers!) Yet while some of the character's futures were shocking, they were also totally believable in a crazy Princess Diaries universe sort of way. Everyone's overbearing personality traits from the series really blossomed into the perfect (if crazy) career choices for them. There were also some long-awaited couplings that happened, along with the introduction of some very central characters to the plot, but they felt like they fit right in. I felt like I was visiting old friends who I had grown up with while reading this, and it felt so, so good.
Mia & Micheal's romance was swoon-worthy
I was probably the only person NOT sad when I first read Princess on the Brink to see Mia break up with Micheal and sever ties with a lot of toxic yet long standing relationships in her life. (Micheal was right, they both had a LOT of growing up to do). Now that I'm n my 20s, reading about Mia and Micheal's relationship in their 20s feels so right, and I love how truly in love you can still tell they are (Mia's occasional insecurities aside!) I love reading about their adult relationship, I love their inside jokes and Micheal's complete desiring of Mia, and I love how you can tell they're seamlessly a couple, truly with one ending where the other begins. To top it off, Michael is a mature, intelligent, responsible adult who is concerned with things like price per square footage and financial responsibility. I love YA but you never see guys like this deemed as the sexy love interests. It was so refreshing to have such a well-written swoon-inducing yet responsible and practical love interest.
I couldn't stop laughing.
The great thing about rereading The Princess Diaries series is all of the early 2000's pop culture references Meg Cabot is known for in her writing (and even pokes fun at herself by making Mia be criticized for doing the same thing by her English teacher). It's so much fun, and so nostalgia-inducing to read all of Mia's references to celebrity drama of the time, Lifetime movies, political scandals, etc. Royal Wedding had all sorts of pop culture references too, but the great thing is that they were current, and so, so funny.
Jet? He’s hired a private jet? Who does he think he is all of a sudden, Christian Grey? I am not okay with this. I'm not some shy virginal college student who only owns one shirt."
You see why this book had me in stitches the whole time?
Plot twists...well, kind of.
This book wins the "novel that kept me up all night " award for 2015. I could not stop reading! There were also some things that happened that I WAS NOT expecting going in (although I picked up on the clues pretty fast, but that may be because I'm so used to Mia's narration style after binge reading the first ten books and four novellas). Some of the things that happened would be a great reason for sequels...(Please, please, please make there be sequels!)
It was FUN to read!
It was bottom line just a really fun read. It was so interesting to see Mia as a public figure, using her royal status to impact the world and help causes, like she was always saying she was going to in high school. I loved getting a more in-depth look at the aspects of how Genovia's run, from the new democracy to the antics of the Royal Genovian Guard. I would LOVE a book set in Genovia from Mia's perspective.
There was something that slightly let me down though...
I went to bed at 5AM because of this book. I am so, so tired writing this right now (although this post is being per-scheduled for closer to it's release date, but still). There's no doubt that it had me hooked and I'll be sure to reread it. However, my one tiny complaint is that I wish some of the events had been described more in detail by Mia, rather than just the aftermath. That's all I can say without spoilers!
Overall: It's no secret that I grew up reading The Princess Diaries all though my pre-teen and teenage years, and the ability to continue Mia's story with her in her twenties while I'm in my twenties is an amazing experience. I loved the more adult storylines that still manage to capture the zany charm of the previous books, and I think Cabot pulled off aging all of her characters gracefully and believably. I will be hoping against hope for a sequel to this installment, because now that I've had a taste of an adult Princess Diaries book I'm hooked. I'll definitely be picking up Cabot's middle grade series set in the Princess Diaries universe, From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess. Until then, I'll have to continue to rave over this installment!
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