Confessions of a Bibliophile

If I had to pick favorites, the Heather Wells trilogy is probably my favorite adult Meg Cabot series. It’s frothy and fun, and just damn enjoyable. Heather’s an engaging character in her own right; she has a lot of the good girl qualities of a chick-lit heroine, but you really see her faults and frustrations. She’s been burned in one fell swoop—by both her ex and her record company—but she’s genuinely trying to move on and become something more than a twee-pop singer. Of course, she’s still insecure about how people view her, but given her backstory, it feels genuine. A lot of her attitude is shaped by her pop star past, and I like that she still sees singing as something good.As far as love interests go, I like Cooper, but whenever I read him, I know I’ve read his character before. (Meg Cabot is big on the dark, bossy, black-sheep types.) I like his character; again, he’s fun, a lot of his dialogue with Heather feels natural, and you can see that he really looks out for her. It’s just that I’ve read the character in other Cabot books, and it becomes a little boring after a while. On the other hand, I love Jordan—not as a love interest, but as blatant comic relief. For starters, it’s so obvious that he’s the guy who’s always got what he wanted, so Heather striking out on her own is intriguing. The whole “I still love you, baby!” act is just that, but it’s so over-the-top that everyone in the books know that it’s fake. He’s hilarious, I crack up every time he shows up.Like Cooper, a lot of the supporting cast are characters I’ve seen in other Meg Cabot books—the know-it-all wannabe psychologist, the supportive best friend, the kooky work friend—but a lot of it almost feels like she’s parodying her own stereotypes. Sarah’s pretty much a grown-up Lilly Moscowitz, and Magda…well, Magda’s Magda. She’s funny, but I will say that she’s my least favorite character in the series. (Not that I don’t like her, she just doesn’t do much.)As for the murder mystery plot, I generally like. I have some problems with the motives of the killer, but it does seem like a bit of a surprise. The lead up with Christopher Allington has been done before, but the way Heather approaches the case and her suspect is interesting. I would have liked not have seen the “cops are useless!” trope—like, why wouldn’t they check up on a strange mark on both victims? (I’m trying not to spoil the murderer and their weapons, sorry.) I really like this book—it’s one of my favorite comfort reads. The writing and characterization are solid (for the most part), it’s funny, and the twists still surprise me a little even after the nth millionth time I’ve read it. This is what I expect from Meg Cabot—frothy, yet still very filling.