As a Meg Cabot fan I have the privilege of participating in the 4th annual Meg-A Readers Blog Hop hosted by Mandy at the Romance Bookie and Diana at Little Miss Drama Queen. As an official “Meg-A Reader” can I tell you how thrilled I was to get an advanced reader copy of Royal Wedding? I know ARCs are common place for “real” book bloggers but not me! So when I actually got one from Meg Cabot’s publisher I let out a SQUEEEEE so loud I think the neighbors heard. I then had to put my Princess Diaries binge read into race gear so I could get my “Meg Cabotyness” on and enjoy Royal Wedding in full sequence.

Now that all the reading is done (sniff!) I wanted to share with you the ten things I loved about the book:

1. Limos – No Meg Cabot novel is complete without them and Royal Wedding is no different. Mia actually gets driven around in a Hybrid Electric Livery Vehicle now that she’s an environmentally conscious adult but Grandmère still uses a traditional limo and in this book we get details about what it’s like inside.

2. Food – I love the descriptions of food in fiction novels, especially the delicious meals the royals eat in the Princess Diaries novels. In Royal Wedding we get a delicious list of all the food Marie Rose, chef for the Consulate General of Genovia, leaves in Mia’s fridge. Yum!

3. Romantic Island Vacation – If you’ve read the synopsis of the book you already know that Michael proposes to Mia during a romantic Caribbean getaway. Just wait until you hear about this place! I’ve already gone back and read that section of the book twice in an effort to take a little fantasy vacation myself.

4. Olivia Grace – This is the name of Mia’s long lost half sister who gets introduced in this book. I loved her and you will too. In fact, if you want to get to know her better you can read the middle grade novel with Olivia Grace’s version of the story in From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess. It is of course not the whole story, but is delightful just the same.

5. Rocky – We actually don’t get to see much of him in Royal Wedding but we hear a lot about him. He’s not a baby anymore. He’s an adolescent boy and he’s obsessed with farts. I have a feeling that we may see more of Rocky in the Middle School Princess series. I hope so anyway!

6. Storyline hinted at in the previous books is finally resolved – I’m not going to tell you what storyline I’m talking about but if you think about it enough you’ll know which one I mean. It was just what I wanted to have happen.

7. Lilly – I was never really a fan of Lilly, even after she and Mia patched things up in book 10, Princess Mia. I was therefore pleasantly surprised to find that she finally shows Mia a little respect and compassion in Royal Wedding. It also made up for my disappointment about Tina Hakim Baba whose storyline and lackluster personality at age 25 made me go “m’eh.”

8. Genovian drinking song – Yes there is such a thing. The lyrics are basically “Forgive me Mother for I am drunk again!” I won’t tell you who sings it though.

9. Grandmerè – She’s back and she’s better than ever!

10. And speaking of Grandmerè, she is, of course, the inspiration for my favorite quote: “In Grandmerè’s day, people didn’t take antidepressants or go see therapists when they were distressed about something. They had some sense slapped into them, or they had a drink ‘like a normal person.’” (I am clearly living my life as if it were in Grandmerè’s day.)

What were your favorite things from Royal Wedding?