Heather is getting married, if she can get through this mystery alive AND survive her mother. Weddings are such a great boon to comedy: everything is outsized, everything is heightened, and with amateurs there is always a great deal of room for failure. Actually one of the sweetest stories ever is written by Robert Fulghum in <i>It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It</i>. Amateurs, man. That story is so good I read it to all the brides I've known on their wedding day. Yes, of course, I celebrate special occasions by reading. Everyone always know what I'm going to give them for the holidays, too.

Anyway, Cabot's book is much too long to read to a bride as she gets dressed. It's probably too long to read in just one bath. It does, however, have that mix of screwball comedy and crime which is ideal for distracting a mind from other, more stressful, thoughts. If you're a nervous flyer, for example, this would be good

Library copy

Okay, so this isn't the best cover illustration in the world.  In fact, it's kind of weird and not exactly unique either.  But I have reasons for liking it and not only because the bride-groom figures are in a rather risqué pose.

There is a pistol tucked into the bride's garter belt.

I know.  I'm very easily amused.  But I like it.

The rest of the covers in the Heather Wells series aren't really anything to write home about.  But they're cute in their own way, too.

Heather Wells series

by Meg Cabot
Book #4:  Size 12 and Ready to Rock | Goodreads | Rating:  4.0 Stars
Book #5:  The Bride Wore Size 12 | Goodreads | Rating:  4.0 Stars

See Also Previous Reviews:

• Book #1:  Size 12 Is Not Fat | Rating:  2.5 Stars
• Book #2:  Size 14 Is Not Fat Either | Rating:  4.0 Stars
• Book #3:  Big Boned | Rating:  3.5 Stars

Overall Series Average Rating:  3.6 Stars

The reason why I decided to combine these last two Heather Wells books into one bundled review was because I couldn't really think of much to say about Size 12 and Ready to Rock.  To me, there was really no point in taking up a whole post with the words, "This was a very good book, probably my favorite of the Heather Wells series.  Very enjoyable."

The summary blurb to personal thoughts ratio was just too unbalanced for it to merit a whole individual post.  Because while it's true that I really enjoyed the fourth book in the Heather Wells series, I think I've already said all I need to say about the series overall.

The same goes for The Bride Wore Size 12.

To be totally honest, both books were excellent, enjoyable, entertaining, un-put-down-able.  And to be honest, even while these last two installments of the Heather Wells series seems to be the least liked by many others, I actually found them to be my more favorite of the five book series.

Heather's tacky jokes are toned down a bit.  Heather and Cooper get more time together and we get to see how well they work together both as partners in investigation and as lovers.  At the same time, Heather seems to have grown a lot over the course of these books and has learned to live for herself more than for the sake of being with Cooper.

Really, this is just my opinion, but Book #4 is probably my favorite of the five.  It could just also be that all the characters have grown on me after so many installments.

The Books

Final Thoughts:
Overall, the Heather Wells series was extremely enjoyable, even in spite of my reserves after not quite enjoying the first book.  But things got better, Heather grows on you, and you start to look forward to seeing how things end up for her and her students and her friends.

The final ending in the fifth book might have brought back a bit of the tacky, but I'm completely satisfied enough not to dwell on it.  A lot of things might have been left unresolved, but open-ended-ness isn't all that bad when you're enjoying yourself.

I will definitely be looking forward to another Meg Cabot book or series.

***

2016 Reading Challenges:
• Goodreads Reading Challenge
• BookLikes Reading Challenge
• Bookish Resolutions Challenge

My Teaser Tuesday is from The Bride Wore Size 12 by Meg Cabot, the latest release in her Heather Wells Mystery series -- what I consider a fun bit of chicklit with only a dash of cozy mystery thrown in:

 

"This year, Cooper and I were getting married,

and we lost our first student before classes even started.

 

I should have gone with the bubble wrap after all."

 

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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!