Princess in the Spotlight (The Princess Diaries #2) by Meg Cabot

No one ever said being a princess was easy.

Just when Mia thought she had the whole princess thing under control, things get out of hand, fast. First there's an unexpected announcement from her mother. Then Grandmère arranges a national primetime interview for the brand-new crown princess of Genovia. On top of that, intriguing, exasperating letters from a secret admirer begin to arrive.

Before she even has the chance to wonder who those letters are from, Mia is swept up in a whirlwind of royal intrigue the likes of which hasn't been seen since volume I of The Princess Diaries.

Meg Cabot does is again! She was able to create a story which I thoroughly enjoyed and had me laughing the entire time.

Princess in the Spotlight is the second volume of Cabot's Princess Diaries series. In this book, Mia continues to struggle with accepting the fact that she is the heir to the small European country of Genovia. Mia still doesn't want to become a princess, but she still has little say in the matter. She has begun some of her royal duties, such as being interviewed on a high profile talk show, and of course, continuing her princess lessons with her Grandmere.

To add to Mia's stress and anxiety, she learns her mother and Algebra teacher are going to have a baby! This of course leads to the marriage of Mia's mother and Frank. The couple wants a simple wedding done at the city court house. Unfortunately, once Mia blurted out the news on television, her Grandmere decided she was going to plan the wedding. SHe believes the mother of the only heir to Genovia's throne needs a fancy wedding.

But that's not all. Did I mention Mia has a new secret admirer? He goes by the screen name JOC-Rox, as in Josie from Josie and the Pussy Cats. Now Mia is determined to find who exactly is the boy who thinks she is the "Josiest girl" around. Could it be her secret crush Michael, who just happens to be her best friend's brother? I don't know...it's possible, but to find out, you'd have to read the book :-P

Also, since Mia's mother is getting married, her grandparent's from her mother's side come to town. Which is a big deal because apparently they have never left their small town in Indiana. WIth them, they bring along Mia's cousin Hank, who instantly stirs up interest at Mia's school.

I love the style of writing Cabot uses; they are all written in Mia's perspective as diary entries. It's easy to read, and flows. naturally as if a real teenager had written it.

The one thing that bothered me, however, was the fact that Michael created a video game that involved decapitating my favorite boy bands :( I believe level one was the Backstreet Boys, who are my favorite band ever! Then you moved on to 98 Degrees, *NSYNC, and the final level was Ricky Martin. I was horrified by this! (Yes, I am a dork :P)

Overall, this book was just as light and fun as the first one. I look forward to reading volume three.

The Princess Diaries (The Princess Diaries #1) by Meg Cabot

She's just a New York City girl living with her artist mom...

News Flash: Dad is prince of Genovia. (So that's why a limo meets her at the airport!)

Downer: Dad can't have any more kids. (So no heir to the throne.)

Shock of the Century: Like it or not, Mia Thermopolis is prime princess material.

Mia must take princess lessons from her dreaded grandmére, the dowager princess of Genovia, who thinks Mia has a thing or two to learn before she steps up to the throne.

Well, her father can lecture her until he's royal-blue in the face about her princessly duty—no way is she moving to Genovia and leaving Manhattan behind. But what's a girl to do when her name is Princess Amelia Mignonette Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldo?

“Lilly says I have an overactive imagination and a pathological need to invent drama in my life.”
― Meg Cabot, The Princess Diaries

After rewatching Disney's film adaptation of Meg Cabot's The Princess Diaries a few weeks ago, I had this strong urge to give the books a try. And I'm glad I did. I had always wanted to read the books that inspired the movies, but just had never gotten around to it.

Meg Cabot takes us into the world of fourteen year old, high school freshman Mia Thermopolis. Written as Mia's diary entries, the reader really gets to know Mia, and get into her mind; a mind that is full of amusing thoughts. I found myself laughing a lot while reading this book; partly because some of the things going on was ridculous, but largely due to Mia's personality. She tended to freak out about things quite a lot. Which, is understandable when you think about it. I mean, how would you react if you had just found out you were the heir to the throne of a small European country?

Mia doesn't believe she is princess material. She doesn't believe she has the beauty or the brains to pull off the job. Unfortunately, no one seems to care what she wants, which is to live out a normal (as normal as possible for her) life. Her Grandmere, however, won't take no for an answer. Since her father became sterile after heavy doses of chemotherapy to get rid of his testicular cancer, Mia is the only heir to the throne.

I really love the characters of the story. Mia is just so entertaining, though a bit extreme sometimes. I think she tends to overreact at times, but once again, she is going through a difficult time in her life. Not only did she find out she was heir to Genovia, but her mother is also dating her Algebra teacher (a class she is failing miserably in), and her Grandmere is rather scary. Grandmere is nothing like Julie Andrew's character in the movies. It took me awhile to adjust to the major differences. Of course, I expected differences, but I was still shocked, but also grateful the amazingly talented Julie Andrews did not have to portray the horrid woman in the book. In the book, Grandmere shaves her eyebrows and paints them on, and also has eyeliner tatooed to her eye-lids. Does that sound freaky or what?

I loved the diary entries and how Mia would write down notes in her diary. Most of them were math formulas. It was actually pretty funny: one of the formulas she wrote down was something I was currently learning in my College Algebra class, so when I read it, I was like, "That's so cool! Now I don't have to study!"

Overall, this book was a light, fun read. Definitely what I needed, what with college being so stressful; it was nice to sit back and enjoy this book. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is a fan of the movies, but would tell them to be sure to seperate the books from the movies because they are completely different.

Supernaturally (Paranormalcy #2) by Kiersten White

(5 out of 5 stars)

Evie finally has the normal life she’s always longed for. But she’s shocked to discover that being ordinary can be...kind of boring. Just when Evie starts to long for her days at the International Paranormal Containment Agency, she’s given a chance to work for them again. Desperate for a break from all the normalcy, she agrees.

But as one disastrous mission leads to another, Evie starts to wonder if she made the right choice. And when Evie’s faerie ex-boyfriend Reth appears with devastating revelations about her past, she discovers that there’s a battle brewing between the faerie courts that could throw the whole supernatural world into chaos. The prize in question? Evie herself.

So much for normal.

Just have to start off by saying that my best friend and I just ADORE this series! It is probably one of our top favorites. After reading Paranormalcy, we both fell instantly in love with the story, and of course, it's quirky characters.

Supernaturally was one of those books I was dying to get my hands on. The first book had left me with so many different thoughts running amuck through my mind and I just couldn't wait to see what else was in store for our witty, amazingly-sarcastic protagonist Evie. One of the things that makes this series so enjoyable is Evie's personality. She was just as snarky and sharp tongued in Supernaturally as she was in the first book; and I absolutely love that about her! She makes the story so much more entertaining, though I personally believe even without her personality it would still be amazing, but it most definitely would not be the same. Her humor resonates throughout the entire book; I would start randomly laughing at something I read half an hour before because I just couldn't get past how funny it was.

Being the middle book in a series, Supernaturally starts off where the last book ended and leaves you with even more questions that you won't have the answer to until you read the next book. Very rarely do I come across a book that fills me with so many tense emotions. One minute I'm laughing, the next minute, I want to scream.

Normally my reviews would be much longer, but I read this book a little over a month ago, and have since then finished the last book, so I don't want to mix up the books. Look for my review for Endlessly soon. It will be much more detailed since it's still fairly fresh in my mind. And please, if you haven't already, check out this series! It truly is one of a kind, and pretty spectacular.

'The Casual Vacancy' Release + Blog Update

When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock.

Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.

Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils...Pagford is not what it first seems.

And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?

The Casual Vacancy is J.K. Rowling’s first novel for adults.

Alright, so who else besides me is eager to get their hands on this book?! I have been patiently awaiting the day Ms Rowling would release a new book and at last, my wait it over! Unfortunately, I have yet to get my greedy little paws on a copy of this book. Being a brand new novel, it's only in hardcover and costs way too much than a poor little college freshmen like myself can afford *sighs*. But when I do finally get around to reading the book, you can all expect a review for it.

Sorry the blog has been lacking in activity the past few months. I had just begun college in the middle of August and have been adjusting to college life ever since. But now I feel inspired to get back into blogging, so expect good things to come! I will try to type up reviews for books I have read over the last few months and have them up here soon. So keep checking back for more updates! :)