Alice's Review: The Bride Wore Size 12

Summary: 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 and 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. ~ powells.com

Review:  The start of The Bride Wore Size 12 finds Heather happily engaged and soon to be married to her true love Cooper Cartwright.  It’s also the start of the new school year and of course that means a new set of challenges for Heather and her crew at Fisher Hall.

When I started reading this novel, I questioned whether I would keep reading this series.  How many people have to die in this dorm before they finally shut this thing down?  It felt a bit repetitive and done.  However, as I kept reading, I knew why I’ll read as many Heather Wells novels as Meg Cabot writes.   That reason is simple… I just adore Heather Wells.  Meg Cabot created a winner with her.  She’s quirky, funny, with a big heart and great friends, and the kind of life that constantly keeps her on her toes.  And I love, LOVE, her relationship with Cooper.  The more I read, the more I liked that this installment focused more on Heather and her friends and less on the actual mystery, which truth be told, was underwhelming.  By the end of the novel, I nearly forgot about Heather’s sleuthing skills and newest casualty at Death Dorm because the subplot was so good. 

I was glad to see the usual suspects back for this installment:   Magda is fantastic as usual, as is Gavin.  That kid genuinely cracks me up.  And it was nice to see a cameo by Canavan.  I love that he always tells it like it is and will forever have Heather’s back.  I also loved the introduction of Coop’s sisters, Jessica and Nicole. 

You don’t have to read the series to appreciate this novel but it does help.  The Size 12  novels (Size 12 Is Not Fat, Size 14 Is Not Fat Either, Big Boned, and Size 12 And Ready To Rock) are all quick reads.  They are perfect weekend books for winter when there isn’t a lot going on or you might be snowed in.   Although truth is unless you are a huge Meg Cabot fan, I would recommend picking them up at the library.   These are the kind of novels you read and share, rather than add to your personal library.  I can’t imagine picking them up to read again. 

I read that The Bride Wore Size 12 is the last installment of this series and if that is true, I am sad to see it go.  Life shouldn’t stop at happily ever after, especially if you’re Heather Wells.  Here’s hoping we see her again in the future.

Final Take:  4/5
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