Customer Reviews

Queen of Babble Gets Hitched

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I've recently become addicted to Meg Cabot's adult books, especially the Heather Wells series. I enjoyed the first two Queen of Babble books, although I was sometimes distracted by the thought that Lizzie's personality is only a slight variation on Heather's. Still, I really liked the books. A plucky heroine who always takes tough situations and makes them work in her favor, romance in a foreign location, a young woman struggling to make her dream career come true -- what's not to like?

So I was anxiously looking forward to seeing how the love triangle would play out in this book: how could a girl choose between Prince Charming and a guy who's been one of her best friends and staunchest supporters?

Simple. You assassinate the character of one of the men. And you have the other two characters indulging in behavior that's not much better.

The Lizzie of this book is an indecisive, neurotic mess. One of the guys is largely absent, and when he does appear he's pretty much unrecognizable as the guy from the first two books. The other guy, at least, emerges with his basically charming personality still intact, but some of his choices aren't likeable at all.

I hate to say it, but this is the only Cabot book I wish I'd left on the shelf. Even Cabot's always engaging writing style and the comic relief of characters like Gran can't make up for the deficiencies in the three main characters.

Meg Cabot, popular author of The Princess Diaries series has crafted a featherweight plot filled with funny, finely drawn characters - suspend belief in rational thought and enjoy, which you surely will.

Lizzie Nichols has hit the big time in the Big Apple. After Vogue's editor called her restoration of an ancestral wedding gown "cunning,"and that comment appeared on Page Six the phone at Chez Henri has been ringing incessantly. Everybody who is anybody wants Lizzie to do her wedding gown.

Regrettably in the midst of this Henri, yes, the Henri immediately following Chez has a heart attack and it's left to Lizzie to take charge. Taking charge isn't such an easy task when one of your clients is Ava Geck, wealthy daughter of the owner of the Walmart-like stores whose motto is "Get It At Geck's." Ava is one of the funniest characters to ever grace pages. "Grace" is not the word to describe Ava - she's a gum chewing gal who is often seen "on the red carpels of movies in which she is not starring, since she has no actual talent." While her dad is worth billions Ava has a personal worth of more than $300,000,000, and she's engaged to marry a Greek prince. She's currently in NY to do a guest shot on Celebrity Pit Fight, and she wants Lizzie to do her gown. Being involved with Ava sets the stage for a series of laugh out loud scenes.

While Lizzie is a whiz in business her romantic life is currently on a fast road to chaos. She is also engaged to a prince, Jean-Luc, aka Luke. It would seem to be what a girl from Ann Arbor Michigan has always dreamed of - her own Prince Charming ready to take her away to France where she will live at Chateau Mirac. Problem is Luke's best friend is Chaz with whom Lizzie has recently shared a bed (only that), and he's the one who makes her heart do flip-flops. Nonetheless, she knows it is Luke she loves or does she?

Meg Cabot is a whiz at creating both fun and fantasy. She does it every which way with Queen of Babble Gets Hitched. A caveat: While some readers of the first two books in this series may have wished for further emphasis on original characters, first-time readers will probably find it a romp.

- Gail Cooke

As the third romp of Meg Cabot's Queen of Babble series begins, Lizzie Nichols's life is on the upswing (well, except for the little detail of the person she just spent the night with). Thanks to her big but friendly mouth, the wedding shop she works in is suddenly a tremendous success. Then, of course, there's her recent acceptance of a fabulous engagement ring from her prince (he literally is a prince), handsome Luke. She is going to get married and is simply thrilled about finally being a bride herself, after working on the wedding gowns of so many other brides.

But back to the man she has spent the night with. It's Chaz, who happens to be not only her best friend's ex but also her fiancé's best friend. In fact, even as Lizzie accepted Luke's ring, the tuxedo-clad, champagne-sodden Chaz snored in her bed. Oops! However, Lizzie is pleased to note that, although there may have been a bit of indiscreet fondling the night before, she is still wearing her Spanx.

Chaz is bewildered when Lizzie urges him to depart quickly before Luke returns. He keeps referring to "us," even as Lizzie replies that there is no "us" in spite of the obvious case of Chaz-induced beard burn inflaming Lizzie's face. Lizzie feels terrible about her drunken carousing and is determined to recommit to Luke.

However, every time Lizzie contemplates her upcoming wedding, she feels a wee bit queasy instead of anticipatory. She is sure that her wedding nausea stems from all the excitement and/or the Chaz guilt. After all, Luke is her dream husband. He not only has the royal title and the looks, but he is dedicated to helping people in his future career as a doctor.

Lizzie is slightly distracted by her new client, gum-chewing celebrity heiress Ava Geck. Ava is engaged to be married to a Greek prince and insists that Lizzie must make her wedding gown for her. Lizzie reluctantly agrees but is also determined to turn Ava (who is frequently photographed without underpants and commonly referred to as a "skanky crack whore") into a decent, underwear-wearing young woman. Meanwhile, Lizzie is shocked to learn that her boss, Jean Henri, is in the hospital after suffering a heart attack. Both Monsieur and Madame Henri will be unable to work in the shop for an indefinite period --- even as the demand for their shop's services increases. Will Lizzie be able to hold down the fort?

Lizzie's life nosedives in other ways as well. Her new fiancé seems less interested in pursuing medical school and more interested in working overseas. Lizzie cannot move to France to be with Luke while he works for his uncle. At least it's a temporary job, right? Then there's the confusion she experiences every time she runs into Chaz and his new perfect girlfriend. There's also an unfortunate episode with paparazzi, traceable to Lizzie's admittedly big mouth, which causes her to lose a valued friend. When tragedy strikes, at home and at work, Lizzie makes some difficult choices.

QUEEN OF BABBLE GETS HITCHED is the feel-good reading equivalent of a luxurious soak in a fragrant bubble bath with an unending supply of chocolate at hand. Meg Cabot's many fans will treasure yet another good-natured story, complete with her signature humor and irresistible romance. Lizzie is a sympathetic main character with a terrific self-deprecating voice, who triumphs over the rollercoaster plunges of life. Readers will also continue to revel in her supporting cast of friends and family, who are a rambunctious, colorful lot. The various threads of Lizzie's story appear to be resolved by the book's end, giving admirers a worthy conclusion to such an enjoyable trilogy.

--- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon

I looked up this book on the author's website and saw that she had always planned on this being a trilogy. If that is true, then she neglected a good bit of set up. I found this book very hard to swallow. One of the main characters starts acting completely different and I find it hard to believe that it's the same person as it was in previous books. It's as if the author had an outcome in mind and couldn't figure out how to get there because a genuinely likable person stood in the way, so she attempts to sway the reader by assassinating his character (not actually killing him, just his good name). This book just sits wrong with me, and although I'm the first to admit I get too attached to characters in books, I was left with an icky feeling that things just didn't turn out the way they should. I will be keeping the first book and getting rid of the second and third.

When I first read the second book I knew it wasn't going to be the most philosophical book , but I still enjoyed it for what it was. Knowing how the last booked ended it was no suprise that the character ended up with Chaz. Though, to my annoyness there was nothing suprising or new direction that the characters took. The characters are supposed to be in the 20s, but the were incredibly immature besides perhaps Shari. What was even disdainful was the fact the author made a drag of the "what should I do?" for goodness sakes how dense can a character be! We all know that Lizzie is in love with Chaz but she just keeps putting herself in needless difficult situations. Also what abou Luke, hes not even a character he just the guy in the book that needs to be the "bad guy" Besides the fact being in Lizzie head feels like reading teen novel, I feel that that Miss Cabot would have had more strength in her writing. After writing so many books, she should know that this book wasn't good at all.

this review is for all 3 books.

this was the 1st adult meg cabot series i read. i've also read Princess Diaries series, All-American girl series, Nicola and the Viscount and the Airhead series.

i was really surprised that even though Lizzie is 22/23 she still sounds EXACTLY like meg's teen protagonists. The male leads are very similar to her teen male leads. the love triangle (which happens in every book i listed) is still there in this books as is meg's preoccupation with celebrity, wealth and royalty. Lizzie becomes best buds with a paris hiltonesque celeb, becomes a mini-celebrity herself, gets engaged to a wealthy french prince. it felt like i was reading the above listed YA books all over again, except with sex stuff added.

sigh... the sex stuff. i have never been squeamish about sex stuff in books but the way meg writes sex is just... so impersonal. whenever a guy told lizzie what he wanted to "do to her" it just grossed me out. even though meg intended for these guys to seem like they care about lizzie as a person, the way they were pawing at her and trying to take her clothes off and not listening to her just seemed so disrespectful as if they were treating her like a piece of meat. i guess meg finds that sexy but it was a total turn-off for me.

i can't recommend this as anything more than a shallow beach read.

I haven't read the first two of this series in years, but I definitely like them better than this one.

As always, Cabot writes quick, fun chick lit that doesn't require much thinking. Whenever I just want a quick and light read, Cabot would be my choice. Like a romantic comedy movie that really isn't oscar-worthy, but is a fun escape from everyday.

The problem I had with this one, though, is it's lack of really any drama at all. Everything just worked out nicely. The part that was the most interesting was when she had to go back home for some reason I won't say here. But once that was over, the romance just fell in nice and easy, and the inevitable break up had zero drama. I'm sorry, but I read these kinds of novels not for the beautiful prose or complicated plots, but for some great dialogue and some rom-com drama. It was very predictable and there just wasn't a whole lot of conflict, which is necessary for any novel to have. Something I've liked about these books, though, are how she talks about designing dresses. That's really the only interesting thing about this character.

Aside from those gripes, I enjoyed it enough. If you're thinking of reading Cabot for the first time, I would definitely not recommend this one for your first venture. Still my first and all-time favorite of hers is "The Boy Next Door." That one had actual conflict! Or if you want a series "Heather Wells" series has much more of plot as they are mysteries.

I read the first two books in this series, and while they certainly weren't the best books I've ever read, they were enjoyable. This book, however, was a total drag. I was literally just skimming pages in order to finish the book. It's entirely predictable and the main character is so dense that you wish you could just scream at her...I mean, really... nearly 100 pages of "Why am I getting butterflies around this guy...I can't possibly like him!" Every sentence in this book seems to just serve to move the plot along (although not much of one to begin with). I didn't find anything enjoyable or thought-provoking about the writing. Isn't this too much to expect in a chic lit book, you say? No, I don't think it's too much to expect; I've read plenty of well written chic lit books. Try any of Emily Giffin's books.

The final book of the QoB series finds Lizzie finally getting her proposal from Luke, but unfortunately she has just one small problem. She's already spent the night (without sex) with Chaz, and was planning on dating him. Rushing headfirst into the proposal, Lizzie finds that things aren't as easy as she thought they would be, whether it's at work or at love. Between trying to get over her panic attacks over the idea of marrying Luke or trying to play "My Fair Lady" with a Paris Hilton/Britney Spears-esque heiress, she also has to figure out how to keep the business running.

I've loved the Queen of Babble series ever since I picked up the first book, and from the beginning I knew that Chaz liked Lizzie. It was clear from the get-go, so I was more than willing to embrace the idea of them getting together. I could even see why she would have reasons to pick him over Luke, who is charming... but devoid of any true personality. However, rather than play off the plot idea that Lizzie is with a man who doesn't know her (and whom she in return doesn't really trust enough to reveal herself to him), Cabot decides to (as one reviewer put it) assasinate his character. While I still enjoyed the book immensely (openly giggling at many parts), everyone just seemed incredibly out of character for the majority of the book. Poor Luke got the worst of it, I'm afraid. In fact, the most interesting characters are the ones in the sidelines, such as the socialite heiress Ava & Lizzie's incorrigeable Granny.

Overall? I liked the book, but it just didn't seem to click with the rest of the series. It's good enough to where most people will enjoy it, but many will be scratching their heads wondering what happened to everyone.

4/5

Lizzie Nichols is finally getting her life back together. The wedding gown restoration shop she works in is finally doing well - thanks mostly to her own hard work. Though she has recently broken up with her boyfriend, Luke, she is finding that being available isn't the worst thing imaginable - especially considering that she is starting to see her good friend Chaz in a completely different light. After spending a wonderful night together (in which they just slept - no funny business), their friendship begins to turn into love when someone throws a kink into their newfound happiness. Luke shows up and deposits a three-carat engagement ring on Lizzie's finger. Lizzie convinces herself that Chaz was a mistake and that Luke is the one that she's meant to be with, even as Chaz (ironically, also Luke's best friend) warns her that Luke isn't serious about the engagement; he's just afraid of being alone. And Chaz is convinced that Lizzie isn't happy with Luke, either. Lizzie insists that isn't the case...but then why does she break out in hives every time she thinks about planning her wedding to Luke?

Queen of Babble Gets Hitched is the third and final book in Meg Cabot's hit "Queen of Babble" series. Though it doesn't quite hit the level of the previous two books, it provides a satisfying resolution to the trilogy. The reader leaves confident that Lizzie's story has been told, though a peek into her life after marriage would be more than welcome!

One element that has always been enjoyable about the Queen of Babble series is the quality of secondary characters. From Lizzie's Grandma, forever obsessed with Sully from Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, to Ava Geck, a Paris Hilton-type character whose father owns a major department store, the characters in this book are just as humorous as they have ever been. Cabot's ability to write unique and funny characters who are still relatable is exemplary - most likely, one of the main reasons she is such a phenomenally successful author.

Also, the Lizzie/Chaz relationship seems to come out of left field. Upon consideration, they work well together, but until the suggestions of the previous book and seeing them fleshed out in this one, it really didn't seem viable. Of course, once it was demonstrated how well they work together, this reader was completely on board. One thing that missing from this book is Shari, Lizzie's best friend and Chaz's ex-girlfriend. The absence of her perspective is noticeable, especially since she was such a major player in the first two books.

As always, Lizzie is a wonderful character. Though not always relatable, she is a strong, independent woman who is a great role model. (And let's face it - she's also loads of fun to read about, especially when she talks about her Spanx!) Her indecisiveness is sometimes difficult, but at the same time, it is part of the character's internal debate of what she wants out of her life. In the end, it is a bittersweet finale to the series; the book provides a satisfying conclusion, but readers will be sad to say goodbye to such an appealing character.