Princess in Love

Yes! This book was the one I was waiting for. Mia finally starts to show us who she really is - strong, courageous, and honest. Grandmere takes a stand in the wrong way but with the exactly right intentions. And Mia's friends are more than just props; they become people. This book is written through the eyes of a young woman coming to grips with reality, shedding her naivete, and blossoming into adulthood. About damn time.

Mia can be a little bit annoying,, especially when she puts things off, but I remember the intensity of my feelings in high school, and I can really feel for her. Actually, listening to this makes me feel a bit guilty about I few things I did when I was the same age - watching Mia do the same things lets me see it from the other people's point of view!
While the story is primarily a romance, I really like the way that Mia, while thinking about her Michael 24/7, remains an individual, she's more than her romance, she's got a rounded life, and doesn't just identify herself by her crush. There's a lovely scene where she gets her algebra results that highlights what I like about this series - Mia's not just a princess, she's a very grounded show more girl. show less

I am constantly reminding myself that Mia is 16. A lot of her thought processes feel utterly foreign, even thinking back to my own high school days. She is so self absorbed and transparent and the I'm the ugly duckling routine gets old by entry 2.

I do appreciate the differences from the movie though. Such as one of her neighbors being trans. That never should have gotten eliminated. And apparently fat Louis is a tabby?! Blow my mind, why don't you.

As I said for the review of the last book, I consider the first three Princess Diaries books to be a mini-trilogy in themselves. Princess in Love has to be one of my favorite entries in the whole series. (Because I can be a total girl sometimes.) This is the first time in the series where you see Mia as a flawed character, in her unintentional leading-on of Kenny, as well as her being able to stand up for herself with more confidence. I’m not a huge fan of the extended Renaldo family, particularly the introduction of Sebastino, as he seems to serve his purpose and then disappears for a few books. But the end still gets to me, and I can’t help but have my heart soar reading the last entry in this book. (Again, total girl.) This is show more another of those books that’s just pure fun from beginning to end. show less

I decided to re-live a little bit of my youth by reading this. The story was decent enough but it's so friggin' preachy. You can't go a page without hearing about vegetarianism, save the earth, save the horseshoe crabs, fight the corporate machine, sell-outs, blah, blah, blah. It's a young adult book Cabot, stop trying to sell your agenda. I'm pretty damn liberal, but this just had me gagging. It was like reading the leftist equivalent of Westboro Baptist Church. The whole book even began with a rant about Thanksgiving and genocide. We are ALL aware of the fact that years AFTER the first Thanksgiving, European settlers basically destroyed the natives, but I hate to break it to you, Thanksgiving was possibly the ONE time we DID have a show more good, working relationship with the Native Americans. I can't believe I used to enjoy this. show less

The third Princess Diaries book sees Mia accidentally dating a boy she doesn't particularly like, trying to figure out how to break up with said boy while also trying to figure out if she should try to tell Michael how she feels, plus preparing for her first visit to Genovia as heir to the throne.

These continue to be fun and I'm sad this is the last audiobook read by Anne Hathaway as her work as narrator is excellent.

Fun and fluffy, and Anne Hathaway's reading does add something to the audiobook. Sure, it's horrifically stereotypical teen problems and longing set to the backdrop of being a princess in new york, but... if you didn't want that, why are you reading volume 3 of the princess diaries?