I’ll admit, the first time I read Princess in Waiting, volume 4 of the Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot, I wasn’t that excited. Don’t get me wrong, I think the series as a whole is great! But there’s something about book 4 that makes it different from the rest of the books. I thought about what that might be during this current read and I think it’s the fact that book 4 is missing controversy and build up to some big event.

In Princess in Waiting the big event is Mia and Michael’s first date and the only controversy is Mia’s insecurities about how much Michael likes her. The first time I read this book I was kind of disappointed with the lack of excitement but this time around I kind of liked that quality. With all the drama and surprises of the first three books I was glad to relax a little in book 4 where Mia settles in for her second semester of high school and finds out what it’s like to be Michael Moscovitz’s girlfriend.

The other big difference about Princess in Waiting is the first half which takes place in Genovia, not New York City. Mia is, of course, bored to tears spending her Winter Break in Genovia, not to mention wild to see Michael. I, of course, loved reading about all the princessy deliciousness of the royal palace and all the activities Grandmère has lined up for Mia.

Mia’s neuroses, especially where her relationship with Michael is concerned, did get a tad on my nerves in this book. However, her constant advice seeking about romance did make for an amusing quote:

Somewhere between the two of them – Grandmère and Lilly – must lie the truth to maintaining a successful relationship with a man.

Hesitation notwithstanding , I still give this book a Shrimp Coma Mrs. B.

Have you read Princess in the Spotlight yet? If not, you better go do that before you read this review because I’m going to break it wide open with all sorts of SPOILERS with my review of book three in the Princess Diaries series, Princess in Love. OK, you’ve been warned. Here we go….

If you already read Princess in the Spotlight you know that Mia’s mom and Mr. G got married and Mia is going to be a big sister. (wow, felt good finally letting that all out) You also know that Mia’s secret admirer is….drum roll please….Kenny! Oh.

Yep, Mia has a boyfriend and he’s her lab partner Kenny. That must be why the book is called Princess in Love, because Mia is in love with Kenny. Or is she? We all know that Mia has had a crush on someone else for some time now. While she spends a lot of time thinking about this other guy, she also has plenty of other things to worry about in this book. Really important things like finals and Christmas shopping and her trip to Genovia where she will be officially presented to the Genovian people as Her Royal Highness Princess Amelia Mignonette Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldo. Oh, and let’s not forget about French kissing.

Yes, even though Mia finally has a boyfriend, she still hasn’t entered the territory of French kissing and she’s quite concerned about it. She not only has no expertise in this area (thus the need for a well written how-to guide from the fabulous Tina Hakim Baba) but Mia is not even sure she wants to share her tongue with Kenny. She eventually does get to experience kissing of the French variety but you will have to read for yourself to find out who the lucky garcon is. I will tell you what Mia learns about the art of French kissing though:

“It isn’t gross if you’re in love with the guy.” *

Want to know what my rating is? Like you even have to ask! I give Princess in Love a Shrimp Coma Mrs. B all the way!

*or as I discovered in 1984, you’ve had a California Cooler or two.

Volume 2 of the Princess Diaries series, Princess in the Spotlight, starts up with some really big news, another huge life event that Mia has to get used to. I won’t tell you what it is but I’ll tell you this much: Mia takes the news a lot better than she did when she first found out she was a princess.

On the royal side, Mia is getting ready for her first big interview with Beverly Bellerieve on the prime time news show, “Twenty Four/Seven.” Unfortunately the interview doesn’t go very well. Mia ends up blurting out all sorts of information that makes life rather difficult for her.

Besides the interview there’s plenty of other fun things going on in the book. There’s sleepovers and weddings AND Mia starts getting notes from a secret admirer! He’s someone who professes to like Mia well before she became a princess. I know who you’re thinking…I thought it was that same person as well when I read the book the first time. I won’t spoil it for you now, but you better hurry up and read it because I’m going to break open this whole thing when I talk about book 3, Princess in Love.

It was during this second read of Princess in the Spotlight that I remembered why I love Grandmere so much. During the wedding scene (I won’t tell you who’s, you’ll have to read to find out) Mia gets a chance to show Grandmere how much she’s learned about being a princess in such a short time with this beautiful quote:

‘’”…a princess, no matter what kind of adversity she is facing, has to put on a brave face and not hide behind her wealth and privilege.”

There’s no question about the rating, of course. It get’s a Shrimp Coma Mrs. B all the way. 

Like many of her devoted fans, my first introduction to Meg Cabot was The Princess Diaries. I read the series several years ago and oh my what a joy! I’ve been looking forward to reading the series again and the anticipation of book 11, Royal Wedding which releases on June 2, 2015 seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Just like the first time, my second read of The Princess Diaries did not disappoint. Written in the first person, the book is the diary of high school freshman Mia Thermopolis. Starting on September 23 we find that it is the first few weeks into the school year of New York City’s Albert Einstein High School and Mia has a big problem: Algebra. She is not only flunking the class but she has just learned that her mother is dating the teacher, Mr. Gianni.

As if the Algebra problem isn’t enough, Mia then finds out that her father has been keeping a very important secret from her: he is the Prince of a small European country, Genovia and as his sole heir Mia is a Princess who is one day expected to take over the reign.

Finding out that you are a princess sounds like every girl’s dream, but Mia is smart enough to see past the glamour and money. Being the ruler of an entire country sounds like a horribly stressful proposition!

Despite the seriousness of the matter, the tale of Mia’s first month of royalty is delightful and funny. As she struggles with this new identity Mia finds out who her true friends are and also meets a few new ones.

While Meg Cabot wrote several great books before this, The Princess Diaries which was published in 2000 is truly her best work. In all of Meg Cabot’s books you can tell there is a little piece of herself in the main characters but Mia and her friends have a little something else that makes them very special. I’m not sure what it is but maybe in this next read I’ll find out.

If you are looking for a fun teen read, or want to find out what I find so special about Meg Cabot, please do read The Princess Diaries. I’m sure it’s no secret that I give this one a full fledged Shrimp Coma Mrs. B.