Size 12 and Ready to Rock: A Heather Wells Mystery (edition 2012)

Oh La Crack Cabot, you stuck again. Another sassy and fun story in the dishy life of Heather Wells. Some aspects felt a little PSA-ish but another solid read. ( )

I liked this one. It was different than the first three books, but in a good way.

Heather is no longer pining after Cooper, AND, surprisingly is very comfortable in her relationship with him. (I thought for sure, she'd be spazzing about whether or not he really wanted to be with her cuz she's "fat" now and blah blah blah, but nope! YAY!) Jordan is married to Tania and no longer coming around being all needy and annoying. Fischer Hall is empty of almost all the students for the summer (except Gavin, Sarah, the Pansies (basketball team), and a few other favorites). And most importantly, we veer away from the student-gets-murdered-but-only-Heather-thinks-this-is-the-case plot line, like in the first couple books.

When I read the book description, I was afraid Tania was going to try and steal Cooper from Heather Was she one of those crazy man-stealers? But actually, what I enjoyed most in this book is getting to know Tania and her back story better. It doesn't excuse what she did to Heather (although thank goodness she broke Jordan and Heather up!), but she is actually a much more interesting character than the vapid pop princess she's been made out to be (by Heather, I suppose) since Book 1. I quite like her now, and wish her and Jordan the best of luck in the future!

Oh, and the killer? I felt more... involved in the mystery this time. I felt more emotionally connected to the intended victim (Tania) this time and was more sympathetic to her plight... Plus this bad guy was scarier, I thought. I was genuinely scared for her (and Heather and Cooper)! Much more connection there, so it was a better mystery, in my eyes.

Anyway, that wasn't a review of the book as much as a review of my feelings toward the characters, but whatever. Characters are what Meg is best at, I think, so props to her for another success! ( )

Originally reviewed on A Reader of Fictions.

Review:
When I saw Meg Cabot speak at the Decatur Book Festival last weekend, she spoke about her goals as an author. Unlike some, she doesn't try to write in an effort to win literary acclaim; she writes to entertain. She hopes her books will bring joy and fun into the lives of children, teens and adults. Well, I, for one, think she is entirely successful in this regard and the number of books she's sold indicates that there's a real market for that. She does just for fun books with the best, ranking with Janet Evanovich as an author that I pretty much always enjoy even if I don't get any deeper lessons from her books.
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I have to admit I was a bit concerned about Size 12 and Ready to Rock. It had been so long since the last Heather Wells book, which came out when I was in college, and I didn't remember the series feeling unfinished. When an author revives a series that was closed, it tends to be a mistake. The opening chapters of Size 12 and Ready to Rock upped my levels of concern that this would not be as good as the previous books. It starts with an overly melodramatic scene in which Heather gets shot with a paintball and thinks she's dying. Add to this the fact that she and Cooper are hiding their engagement, making me fear that he's going to turn out to be an awful guy all of a sudden, and some discussion of babies, and I was rolling my eyes.

Thankfully, Meg Cabot didn't take the story down any of those entirely obnoxious plot paths I thought might be coming. I should really have more trust for Meg, given how many of her books I've enjoyed. Heather Wells does have a tendency to melodrama, as the first scene suggests, but that's just who she is and it's part of what makes her a fun main character. I had just forgotten what she was like since I hadn't read one of these books in years. Once I settled into the rhythm, I was able to sit back and enjoy Cabot's humor and characters.

Jordan and Tanya have a much larger role in this one. Jordan is Heather's ex-boyfriend and Cooper's brother, which makes the engagement awkward. Cabot pulls off the Heather having dated brothers thing well, without making it feel completely absurd. I wanted to hate both Tanya and Jordan and was ot thrilled at first that this book's mystery centered around them, but it turned out to be totally amazing.

If you loved the first three Heather Wells books, get excited because there are even more coming after this and they are just as good. If you haven't read them, go start, assuming you enjoy fun. The Heather Wells books are an excellent read-a-like for Evanovich's Stephanie Plum books.

Performance:
This was my first time listening to a Heather Wells book; I read the first three. While the format change was at first a bit disarming, I ended up being pleased with my decision, though I'm sure it would have been fun to read this one as well. With the action and the humor, though, this was a good choice for the audiobook format. I listen on and off while doing chores, and I always looked forward to getting to listen to another chapter or two.

Sandy Rustin does a great job, and is one of the narrators I've been most impressed by so far in my audiobook experience, which, admittedly, is somewhat limited. She does a marvelous job with accents. I loved the way she read for Magda and Sarah. In fact, all of her voices were great, though I wasn't a fan of the Cooper voice. Her voice fits well with Heather Wells' character, sort of chirpy and optimistic.

Size 12 and Ready to Rock was a pleasure on audio, so, if you enjoy listening to books, I highly recommend this one. ( )

Full review to come near release date. ( )

After years of being promised, there IS a fourth Heather Wells book! And there shall be a fifth! *happy dances* (Also, I’d like to point out that in my eyes, Meg Cabot can officially do no wrong. Partially because of how much I enjoyed this, mostly because I didn’t scare her away whenever I burst into tears at her signing.)

So fangirling aside.

My major issue with a lot of chick lit books is that once the heroine finally hooks up with the main love interest, the next step in the fictional relationship is “Well, he said that he loves me but does he really love me? I mean really? OMG there’s a beautiful coworker CLEARLY I MUST AMP MYSELF UP. OTHER WOMEN ARE A THREAT CODE RED.” (This is why I ultimately gave up on Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic series.) And to be honest, I was really worried that Heather would fall into that trap. BUT because Heather is completely awesome and I wish I had her as an assistant dorm director instead of the one I had, she doesn’t do that. As of the start of book four, Heather and Cooper are comfortable with one another, they have a healthy sex life, and they actually talk things over like adults. It’s very easy to write Meg Cabot as being predictable (trust me, I’ve done it), but she can be surprising in her characterization and plot development.

We also finally get to meet Tania Trace, the woman who supposedly ruined Heather’s life, properly in book four. (She has a cameo in the first book.) And again, I was ready to suffer through slut-shaming and treating Tania like an idiot. I won’t say that it’s a perfect characterization, but I did really like Tania, and I loved that she and Heather were able to put their differences aside and become friends. And I liked how the domestic abuse victim was portrayed. It’s a little romanticized with how Tania’s been able to keep her previous marriage out of the tabloids, with her ex-husband threatening to blackmail her, but I liked that she had reasons for keeping the marriage a secret.

I like that Cabot’s been going a little darker with her plots—this is still relatively light-hearted in tone, but a fair amount of Tania’s backstory deals with domestic abuse, and a student-teacher relationship that ends badly. And I like that it doesn’t delve too much into Lifetime Movie of the Week territory, but they do discuss the abuse frankly and without sugar-coating it. I like that there’s even the idea of the pattern repeating with one of the young Tania Trace campers, and it does point out how domestic abuse victims justify their abusers’ actions.

There wasn’t as much of the dorm life in this book, although the newly-christened “island of misfits toys” cast of students returned. Gavin and Jamie do have a great appearance in the first two chapters, but aside from a few plot developments, they’re regulated to background most of the time. The running theme of Fisher Hall getting a new dorm director gets solved, and I liked new boss Lisa—she’s got a good chemistry already with Heather, and I can’t wait to see how that develops in the next book. While I liked that there’s a vastly different student dynamic in this volume—having a bunch of bratty 14-16 year old girls and their fame-mongering mothers in the dorm—I really wanted to smack some of those girls. (Cassidy.)

Overall, this is a welcome addition to the Meg Cabot canon and I applaud her for not going the atypical route of chick lit romances. This is a welcome entry in the Heather Wells series, an overall enjoyable read and when does book 5 come out?
( )

I enjoyed the previous installments in the Heather Wells series, but this one was disappointing. Most of Meg's recent releases seem very short, repetitive, and lack adequate story and character development. Ready to Rock is no exception. The things I enjoyed so much about the initial books in this series now feel stale and contrived. The mystery was dull and predictable, the "bad guy" completely under-developed. Cooper and Heather's relationship was rather bland: the chemistry they used to have just wasn't there.
Jordan and Tania, who have been mere side characters until now, received enough development in this book to become semi-three-dimensional individuals (and yet, for Tania, much of this comes by way of a Behold My Dark and Troubled Past mini-infodump).

It was a decent, entertaining read, but it's far from good and it's way below the standard of Meg's earlier books. So far below, actually, that I find myself wondering if she's even writing her own material anymore. ( )

Heather is all set to enjoy the quietness that comes during summer term and her new relationship with Cooper Cartwright. Of course, that quiet doesn't last when Heather finds out that Fischer Hall will be hosting Tania Trace Rock Star Camp, playing host to 50 teenage girls and bringing Heather into frequent contact with her ex, Jordan Cartwright and his expectant wife, Tania. Adding to the headache is when one of Tania's producers is murdered, pulling Heather into investigating yet another death in Death Dorm.

The newest installment in the Heather Wells mystery series doesn't disappoint loyal readers of the series. Heather and Cooper are adorable, Heather's crew of nutty friends and family are entertaining as ever, and the mystery keeps everything interesting. Delicious comfort reading at its best. ( )

This is actually the first Heather Wells mystery I read and I have to say I’m pleasantly surprised. Heather was very funny and I didn’t feel lost by not reading the previous novels. The plot was silly, but it was the perfect book to take to the beach.

What I Liked: Cabot gives readers a great cast of characters. They are colorful and funny with quirky personalities. Heather’s inner thoughts were very entertaining and I particularly enjoyed her relationship with Cooper. I thought the two of them shared great chemistry and their scenes together were my favorite. The mystery aspect of the novel wasn’t very suspenseful, but entertaining nonetheless. It also ended in a great way that tied everything up nicely.

What I Didn’t Like: A few of the jokes really fell flat for me and became way too repetitive. There were these pages long diatribes on silly things like man purses and cargo pants. I think one or two jokes would have sufficed. I also wasn’t a fan of the goofy song lyrics that started each chapter. I remember Cabot doing a similar thing with book excerpts in the Queen of Babble series. After the first couple, I skipped them altogether.

Star Rating: Four out of five stars ( )

Misplaced my copy that I got for Early Reviewers. As soon as it is found, I'll be writing and posting my review--so sorry I haven't done it earlier.

Heather Wells has had a lot of drama during her employment as the Assistant Dorm Director, excuse me... Assistant Residence Hall Director of the "Death Dorm" at New York College. But things seem to be back to normal. Cooper and Heather are talking about getting married, there is a new Director of the Residence Hall who is younger than Heather, and the dorm is being painted for the summer. Everything seems to be going fine until Heather's ex-boyfriend Jordan Cartwright and his new wife Tanya Trace show up unexpectedly, as they are filming a reality tv show. Soon after, Cartwright Records sets up the Tania Trace Rock Camp for aspiring female girls in the dorm and everything spirals out of control as Tania starts to receive death threats. As one would expect, Heather cannot keep from investigating these threats to Tania's life, even if Tania did steal Jordan from her, leading to the end of her pop star career. Though silly and lighthearted, you have to love the endearing personality of Heather, who just wants to watch some ridculous reality tv while irritating Cooper in the process. After all, if it's on tv, it absolutely must be true, right? ( )

Only a few months have passed in Heather's life as an assistant director at a residence hall for New York College, but five long years have passed for the rest of us. Heather's ex, Jordan, and his new wife, Tania play big roles in this story, as her Rock Camp for Teens is actually a vehicle for a reality type television show. The "Death Dorm" is under renovation, so we don't see a lot of some of the secondary characters from before, but the reality/camp subjects provide plenty of material. Not just about murder, Cabot touches on a couple serious subjects as well, with some success. One wonders why the return to Heather at all after five years, but in Cabot's capable hands it becomes clear. It's an enjoyable read about a familiar character. Thanks for bringing her back. ( )

It has been almost five years since we last saw Heather Wells. Not much has changed since then. She is happily and secretly engaged to sexy private eye Cooper, she’s still the Assistant Director of the “Death” Dorm, err I mean Residence Hall at fictional New York College, and she’s still funny.

I really enjoy this series. Heather’s shenanigans are what keep me coming back. In this adventure, Jordan (International Pop star, Coopers’s brother, and Heather’s ex-boyfriend) is back with his now wife Tania Trance (the very one who stole Jordan from Heather). Tania is pregnant and someone is out to get her. For reasons Heather can’t explain, Tania feels safe with her and knows she’ll help her. Let the drama ensue.

Meg Cabot doesn’t waste any time throwing us into Heather’s newest adventure. Although this is the fourth book in the Heather Wells Mysteries series, Ms. Cabot gives her readers enough background to follow along without feeling lost or confused. Keeping with the theme of the other books, each chapter starts with song lyrics written by the characters. Some of the songs are heartfelt and warm, others are laced with humor. I like to figure out how they are linked to the chapters.

Although I enjoyed this novel, there was one thing that disappointed me. I thought the novel was very short. I realize it’s supposed to be a quick, fun read but it was too short. It’s the kind of book you take with you for a long weekend to read while you are lounging at the beach or pool. The substance however, is funny and well written. On one hand, I’m glad it wasn’t a drawn out mystery but on the other, it would have been nice to spend a little more time with Heather, Cooper and the NYC gang. ( )

This is one of my most anticipated books of 2012. I am such a huge fan of the Heather Wells series (and Heather Wells) and back in February when I met Meg Cabot at the Passion and Prose event and she was talking about the book, I was on pins and needles. I couldn't contain my excitement.

So when I finally cracked this sucker open, I thought I would inhale it but that wasn't what happened. This book is filled with Cabots hystrical sense of humor but for some reason, I wasn't as invested in this book as I was with the other books in this series. It was good and I'm glad that I read it but for some reason, it took me forever to get through this book.

So in this book, we're thrown back into Heather Wells world and she's engaged to be married to Cooper Cartwright (YAY). She's also still the assistant dorm director for Death Dorm and a lot of drama surrounding Tania Trace. Tania's filming a reality show with Heather's ex-boyfriend (and Cooper's brother), Jordan and somehow, they end up shooting their show in the President's apartments above the dorm and when one of Tania's bodyguards gets shot, Heather gets curious. So does Cooper.

Someone is after Tania Trace and since Tania's holding her Rock Camp at New York College, specifically Heather's dorm, both Cooper and Heather want to find out what's going on and figure out how to keep everyone safe.

Heather is such a great character. She's lovable, caring and dependable. She's got a big heart and those college kids are really lucky to have her on their side as Sarah and Gavin know. She's got the love of one of the most stand up and sexy guys on the planet and he's super protective of her. He trusts her and wants to take care of her and I absolutely love him. Seeing what they're up to in this book was a treat because I've missed these guys. I was so wrapped up in catching up with all of the characters that the story took a back seat to that.

Both Tania and Jordan were background characters for me. I didn't care for them in any of the books before this one so for this book to kind of focus on them, I just couldn't bring myself to care one way or the other. Now, I don't hate them and I don't wish them ill but they're not characters that I'd look forward to reading about so with someone stalking Tania Trace and then reading and finding out that Jordan is an ass makes me roll my eyes more than anything else. I totally see why Cooper thinks the way that he does about Jordan.

All in all, this was a good addition to the Heather Wells series because it brings the gang back but I spent more time so happy to be reading about these guys again that the story took a back seat to my happy dancing that I get more Heather and Cooper. I'm glad that I read it, though. I'd recommend this book to fans of the series and to fans of Meg Cabot but it's not my favorite.

Grade: C

Heather Wells is finally back! It is summer and her dorm, I mean Residence Hall, is being remodeled. Things should be pretty uneventful until Tania Trace, pop star, and wife of Heather's former fiance, Jordan Cartwright, decides she has to hold her first ever Rock Star Camp there. Now the peaceful summer Heather was expecting has turned into a nightmare because someone is out to get Tania, as in kill. So far Tania has been safe, but none of those around her are. Her body guard is shot and the director of the reality show Jordan Loves Tania dies after eating a poisoned cupcake. So now Heather finds herself trying to solve another mystery before the body count at Death Dorm goes any higher.

Love Heather Wells! These stories are so entertaining. I love the person that Heather is becoming. I also love that she manages to think of others even when those others are totally messing with her life. And the stories are always entertaining with some twists that keep things interesting. I hope we don't have to wait so long for another Heather adventure. ( )

I’ve been a fan of this series since it debuted in 2006. The books tell the story of Heather Wells, one time teen pop star, now Assistant Dorm director at Fischer Hall in NYC. Heather has not had an easy time of it, her mom ran off with her money, her record company cheated her out of royalties, and her pop star boyfriend of ten years got caught with another singers head in his crotch. Heather is over Jordan Cartwright and has no anger toward Tania Trace, now a famous teen idol. One reason why is that she is unofficially engaged to Cooper Cartwright, Jordan’s brother and her landlord.
Unfortunately for Heather, the dorm she is in charge of is called “Death dorm” for a good reason and she has her hands full with assorted residents, the college president and his spoiled son. To her chagrin, she discovers that Cartwright Records is filming a reality show called Jordan Loves Tania in the dorm with the college administrations blessing. After the shooting of Tania’s body guard, the show which was supposed to end up at a camp setting, ends up in “Death Dorm” for the summer. Now Heather has to deal with TV producers, camera people, screaming teen age girls and stage mothers that would give piranhas a run for their money. Add to the mix that Cooper is Tania’s new bodyguard and it’s going to be a great summer for Heather. Did I mention that there is a new dorm director coming on board…..?
It has been 5 years since the third book in the series “Big Boned “and I thought that there would never be another one. I was excited when I saw that this one was coming and it was worth waiting for. Heather is a feisty woman who has dealt with the hard knocks life gave her and found happiness (mostly) in her job and love with Cooper. Cooper is a handsome, pragmatic private investigator who loves Heather and grudgingly puts up with her amateur detecting. Being the brother of her ex-boyfriend and the son of the owners of the record company that stiffed her has been difficult for Heather to work around but they have a great relationship with normal ups and downs.
In this book, Heather gets a chance to tie up loose ends and deal with Jordan and Tania’s betrayal for the last time. Jordan is a bratty jerk who starts to show a little maturity now that he is going to be a father. Tania is a talented singer who has some big secrets in her past and one of them is out to kill her. Heather really gets a chance to know Tania and realizes that there is a nice person behind the teen princess façade. There are elements of suspense and of humor in this book and the mystery is light but satisfying. New characters are introduced and are a good fit with the older ones. The whole inside look at the workings of a reality show and the show participants is also a successful plot device.
I hope that there will be more books in the series and not such a wait between them. ( )

In Meg Cabot’s fourth installment of the Heather Wells series, trouble finds this former pop star once again. However, this time the crime hits closer to home. Newly engaged to her ex-boyfriend’s brother Cooper, Heather feels happier than she has in ages. Unfortunately, her ex-boyfriend Jordan’s new wife Tania Trace may be the target of a crazed fan turned stalker. To add chaos to her already chaotic life, Tania decides to move her rock camp for teens to the dorm, I mean residence hall, where Heather works as assistant residence hall director, bringing with her an entire television crew filming a reality series featuring none other than Tania and Jordan. Surrounded by spoiled fifteen and sixteen year olds, Heather once again finds herself trying to protect those around her as danger brings the Cartwright family together once again.

This book provides a closer look at several characters that played only minor roles in the previous novels. It was nice to see the humanity of Tania Trace and to see Cooper in a role other than that of the guy who always seems to come to the rescue of Heather. I was also happy that several annoying character quirks were mentioned less, like Heather’s incessant need to correct herself when accidentally saying dorm instead of residence hall. There were a few inconsistencies that drove me crazy, but I will put those down to the copy I read being a galley version. I did feel like this installment was a bit lacking in that page-turning action that makes it impossible for you to put down a novel. I think that this is largely due to the fact that the killer is revealed about half way through the novel. The interesting plotline involving Tania, the witty dialogue, and the endearing characters make this novel an enjoyable read. ( )

Heather Well sis back in a fourth mystery. This time around she has to deal with her ex-fiancé and a bunch of teen girls participating in a rock camp. This is a light, fun and quirky story and since I haven’t read the previous three books, didn’t know the characters as well (although there is some development in this book). I was intrigued by the story line but it didn’t hold enough interest for me. ( )

Cute and frothy, yet she still manages to inject some tension in the storyline. I really do tend to enjoy these books, even though I couldn't tell you why. They don't tend to fit the kinds of things I like and the main character is pretty ditzy, actually, most of the characters are rather flighty. Yet Cabot still manages to make it endearing.

That is a LOT harder than it sounds, trust me.

Anyway, not high lit (but did you expect it to be?) and it won't change your life (ditto), but if you want something enjoyable to read and devour, this could be it. ( )

God, I love this series.

Heather Wells is one of my favorite heroines. She's comfortable with herself despite her faults. She's intelligent and brave and funny. She's supportive and can be motherly...but also likes to have a strong drink sometimes to get away from the stupid. Heather makes the narration feel like I'm sitting around, listening to my friend's story.

And can I talk about my love for Cooper? I seriously adore that man. He's snarky and clever and he just GETS Heather. The two of them together are so wonderful and happy making and I just...yes

Welcome to the world of Heather Wells, the new assistant residence hall director for New York College and former pop teen sensation who once more finds that hoping for a nice quiet summer off, isn't going to happen. When she is called by the campus police late one evening for a report of late night partying and an apparent unconscious student, her new life is about to go through the roof. When she learns that the vacant school's building is being used for a paintball party, she immediately tries to get things under control, thanks to her new fiancee' Cooper Cartwright.

While they round up the paint ball teams, Heather learns that the penthouse of the President is now being used for a filming of the husband-wife reality show, Jordan Loves Tania without her knowledge or permission. Seems her ex-boyfriend Jordan is working with Christopher Allington, the son of the college president to loan them the use of the penthouse to wrap up filming of their reality show episode. It seems that earlier in the evening, Tania Trace, best selling pop recording artist was the victim of a random shooting that has injured her bodyguard and left a pregnant Tania, worse for wear. She learns this is the emergency call that was placed for the unconscious person on campus.

As Heather tries to gain control over the chaos on campus, she will soon learn that it will be the new home of the summer camp for Tania Trace's Rock Camp that will host 50 teenage girls between the ages of 14-16 years old to empower them through music education and to provide them with opportunities to express themselves creatively through singing, song writing and performing since their previous location in the Catskills was cancelled.

Now as Heather tries to manage working through a bunch of arrogant music producers that are hosting this camp, she also has to deal with a newly appointed director of the residence hall, Lisa Wu who is more than perky but also way younger than Heather. Not to mention that someone is still out to murder Tania. This will truly be an unforgettable summer for Heather.

I received Size 12 and Ready to Rock by Meg Cabot compliments of William Morrow, a division of Harper Collins for my honest review. Having read previous books from Meg Cabot, I leaped into wanting to add this to my summer reading list. It is a bit risky for this as a young adult novel, even though it is the 4th book in the Heather Wells series. There are some strong subject matters dealing with sexual content and profanity that may cause some readers to be concerned and for that reason offer a rating of 4 out of 5 stars based on my book rating standards. Overall the story has a great plot line and for those looking for an unusual suspense fiction, this one may just fit the bill. ( )

Contains spoilers if you have not read Size 12 is Not Fat, Size 14 is Not Fat Either, and Big Boned Books 1, 2, & 3-

While I'm sure some might lament the fact that Size 12 and Ready to Rock, released almost five years after the third book in the Heather Wells series is more than an extended epilogue to the three previous books, I love it.

It's summer break at New York College but that doesn't mean assistant residence hall director, Heather Wells is prepping for a relaxing few months of vacation time. Far from it, actually, with not only her ex-boyfriend (and current fiance's brother) Jordan Cartwright and his new wife Tania Trace back in her life.

It looks like someone may be out to hurt - or even kill - Tania and as not only her father-in-law but the head of Cartwright records, Grant Cartwright wants to keep her safe. And who better to keep her safe than Cooper.

With Cooper as her new bodyguard, the College involved with Tania's music camp, Heather just can't escape them.

But when someone is murdered, at Fischer Hall, no less - with Tania as the intended victim - Heather knows she has to help.

I've loved this series from the very beginning (from the chipmunk voiced girl trying on jeans) all the way through the ending of Big Boned. While Big Boned did set things up so that Size 12 and Ready to Rocky could have easily been some sort of happily-ever-after epilogue book, it isn't . . . well, not entirely.

Big Boned made me want to read some of the Janet Evanovich 'Stephanie Plum' books. I'd seen comparisons in reviews before but never thought much about it until reading Big Boned. I think the way Heather really got a team together there - from Gavin to Sarah to Cooper and the humor was quicker - made me make the connection.

While Ready to Rock is not quite as funny-funny, it has even more of the group/team dynamic - and is still has Heather and her whit. I like it so much more. This book gives us the different characters relationships finally either coming to a head, maybe ending, resolving some issues, or just actually happening (hello Heather and Cooper), relationships that have started, been hinted at throughout the series.

While the gap between the third book and this fourth one may have been hard for some fans of the series to wait, it was beyond worth it. Meg Cabot's writing seems much better. She obviously wasn't lacking before but Ready to Rock seems deeper overall and gets us more into the characters that have been present from Book One (namely Jordan and Tania but also the Cartwright family) while still giving the awesome humor and mystery.

Surprisingly (or maybe not?), Meg Cabot is incredibly good at thinking up ways for people to die in this series that are unexpected but once they happen don't seem all that far-fetched. They're great mysteries, super fun, have a great bit of humor, and I love that we now have some more story, some more knowledge of the characters as well.

I'm thrilled Heather Wells (and co.) are back!

If you missed by Video Veneris post with Heather Wells' Sugar Rush video (doubling as the Size 12 and Ready to Rock trailer) check it out here - POST

Edit/Update: In my mentioning how much I love the book, I forgot earlier, to include a note regarding the setting: Though Size 12 and Ready to Rock is released about five years after Big Boned, it takes place just months afterwards, albeit in a sort of timewarp. Earlier books mentioned TRL and things relevant to the 2005-2007 time period , this book talks about Katy Perry and other things making it obvious it's set in 2012. If the books are read back to back now it might seem the teeniest bit weird, but I preferred the current setting to trying to set Ready to Rock concurrent with the previous books. ( )

Back in the days when the publishing world was going chick lit crazy, I read a couple of very enjoyable light mystery novels by Meg Cabot called Size 12 Is Not Fat and Size 14 Is Not Fat, Either. I hoped for more, but none seemed to be forthcoming and Ms. Cabot seemed to have abandoned Heather Wells, the teen-pop-star-turned-dorm-advisor protagonist.

When I saw Size 12 and Ready to Rock on the LibraryThing early reviewers list, I was excited and went back to look . . . and indeed, I had missed one of the books (Big Boned), so I read it while I was waiting for Ready to Rock to appear in my mailbox.

The Heather Wells series is listed as an “adult” series, to distinguish it from Cabot’s many YA books, but I don’t think there’s anything offensive or harsh enough to disqualify it from YA status. Indeed, although Heather herself is in her early thirties and an administrator in the fictitious New York College’s “Death Dorm,” she reads much younger. I find this completely believable because of the background Cabot gives her as a teen pop star. Her youth was spent on stage, so she’s just starting her life over at the beginning of the series after her mother/manager has stolen all her money, and she has a rather innocent outlook about the world.

[ read complete review at: http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/06/size-12-and-ready-to-rock-by-meg-ca... ] ( )

Size 12 and Ready to Rock is the fourth in the Heather Wells series by Meg Cabot. I have read all four of the novels and Size 12 and Ready to Rock was as enjoyable as the first three. I enjoy the characters in this series. They are interesting, and I want to continue to follow them. It was a fun read, with a twist that I wasn't expecting. ( )

Heather Wells is back! The fourth book in Meg Cabot's series about a former pop sensation is set over summer break at New York College. Heather is supervising her band of misfits (students who had no place to go over the summer) in the infamous Death Dorm as it’s renovated. There's immediately some much unexpected drama when the university president’s son brings Heather's ex and his new wife, Tania, over to shoot an interview for their new reality show after their bodyguard is shot. Although they initially claim the shooting was random, Heather soon finds herself in the middle of another murder mystery. Heather is further thrust into the mystery when Tania insists on not doing her scheduled teen rock camp without her bodyguard unless it moves locations to Heather’s dorm. So now Heather’s not only looking into who shot at Tania, but also has to figure out how to keep the male basketball team fixing up the rooms away from the teen girls participating in the drama-filled rock camp.

Although I liked the first three books in the series well enough, Size 12 and Ready to Rock blew them away. Heather (and Cooper) completely won me over, especially at the end of the book when the couple discussed having children. ( )

Size 12 and Ready to Rock, by Meg Cabot, is a fun addition to the Heather Wells series. Heather is the same, if not a little more grounded this time around. She is settled in her work and in her relationship with Cooper.

It's been a few years since the third book in the series and I felt a little lost when I started the book. I had a clear picture of main characters but the auxiliary characters were unfamiliar at first. Once I was over that hurdle, I really enjoyed the book.

I like the slightly more mature Heather. I enjoyed her solid relationship with Cooper and was glad that there wasn't anything to shake it up. If you are a fan of the series, it's a worthy addition. If you aren't familiar, I'd start at the beginning. ( )