Review: The Bride Wore Size 12, by Meg Cabot

This is the fifth in the Heather Wells mystery series, of which I think I read three others. Meg Cabot is also the author of The Princess Diaries, so you'll be unsurprised to hear that this is a cozy/amateur-sleuth series, with a little romance as well.

Not going to lie, I thought I was going to have to pan this book when I went to write it up. The other books, although readable, have always left me with a bit of a wrinkled nose: it felt like they sold the series based on "she's heavier than average and it ruined her singing career, now she works in a university res building!" and it meant the author had the main character heavily focused on her weight and also having unrealistic thoughts about food constantly. "I'll just have a doughnut... or 12" sort of crap. I realize I'm not the norm for my general disinterest in food, but it never felt right to me and was distracting.

Thankfully, once the series took off, that faded away. In this book, which I quite enjoyed, the character is focused on reasonable things and, mystery-wise, she doesn't go off on stupid (clearly wrong) suspects. There's amusement in her going up against spoiled first years and their helicopter parents (book was published this year), and the mystery moved along nicely without contrived situations. My only complaint was the use of the "nice shot / I was aiming for his head" bit at the end... I'm tired of that trope.