Series Review - Switching Places by Christina Dodd

Okay, it isn't a long series, more like a duology but felt like reviewing them together.

Scandalous Again
After four years of traveling the continent, Lady Madeline, future duchess of Magnus, is finally back home. She rather not talk about why she left - a.k.a. her blotched engagement to a man she loved - and rather just wants to enjoy being home for a while. Not that it will be possible, since her loving but unreliable father lost her in a game of cards and now she's betrothed to a complete stranger.

Not one to sit on her hands and let things happen, Madeline sets out with her cousin/companion Eleanor, to find Mr. Knight, her new betrothed and set things to rights.

However, on her way there. Eleanor and Madeline learn that some notorious gentleman has organized The Game of the Century. Maddie, knowing that her father is likely to show up since he can't resist a good gamble, and that he'll probably gamble away her most prized possession, decides to switch places with Eleanor, sending her ahead to meet and dissuade Mr. Knight from marrying her while Maddie stays behind to intercept her father and make him leave.

Maddie is hired as a companion for young Lady Thomasin and goes to the house party organized in celebration of The Game. Once there she comes face to face with the reason she left England: Gabriel Ansell, Earl of Campion.

Gabriel has his own agenda to be at the party but he's rather pleased that fate put Maddie back into his path, for he has many unresolved business with her and he shall have his revenge, one way or another.

One Kiss From You
Miss Eleanor de Lacy has seen her share of her cousin Lady Maddie's crazy schemes and she's sure this one is the craziest one yet. However, she finds herself she's powerless to fight her off once Maddie decides to change places with her. So she's sent off to London, impersonating her cousin, to try to stall Maddie's unwanted betrothed.

Once in London, Eleanor meets Mr. Remington Knight - a.k.a. the man who won Maddie's hand in a game of cards - and finds herself semi-imprisoned in his house. Fabulously wealthy, Mr. Knight is intent on marrying the future duchess of Magnus and extract vengeance on her father, for he holds the entire de Lacy family responsible for the tragedies of his past.

However, Mr. Knight is quickly fascinated by this Lady Madelaine and will use anything and everything at his disposal to tie her to him. But, as the wedding day approaches and the real Maddie doesn't show up, Eleanor must decide how far will she take this masquerade and how much is she willing to risk to gain her heart's desire.

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Okay, so I'm reviewing these two books together because they go together.

I just read them back to back and I have to say that they are both funny and entertaining. I felt more connected to Eleanor's story because I found Maddie a bit selfish at times but they were both nice heroines. In the hero department, however, I found Gabriel more charming than Remington - I liked his sense of humor more.

There is intrigue and romance in both these stories and they are good options to spend a nice afternoon reading.
1/2

Series Review - The Bridgertons by Julia Quinn, Part 3

The Meh

These are the ones that I didn't like-like, that were less than ok but not bad. You can check Part 1 and Part 2.

It's In His Kiss (Book 7)
Hyacinth Birdgerton, the youngest daughter of the Bridgerton family, finally meets her match thanks to the ever fabulous and outspoken Lady Danbury who introduces Hyacinth to one of her grandsons: Garret St. Claire.

Garret is one of the few men ever to make Hyacinth nervous and, in the past, Hyacinth always made sure to stay away from such men, but she just can't stay away from Garret.

Then he asks her help to translate a book left by his grandmother (written in Italian) which tells the secrets of his family and might finally unearth the reason why his father hates him so much.

On the Way to the Wedding (Book 8)
Gregory Bridgerton - the last man standing of the Bridgerton Clan - is a fashionable man about town, young and carefree, he has never worried too much about finding love, after all, all of his 7 siblings managed to find it. Gregory thinks that, when he meets the right woman, he'll know.

So happens that he 'knows' while at a party given by her sister-in-law Kate, when he sees Hermione Watson and he instantly knows. Since Hermione is swamped by suitors, Gregory forms an alliance of sorts with Lucy Abernathy - Hermione's best friend - to court Hermione, and, since he does like Lucy quite a bit, ends up forming a friendship with her.
But then the eternal question springs forth, what will happen on the way to the wedding? and, more important, Whose Wedding?


It's in His Kiss and On the Way to the Wedding were my least favorite books of the series for two very different reasons. It's in his Kiss was much awaited, because we had all seen Hyacinth grow up and she was the cheekiest most adorable girl of the B-Clan, but in her book, it just didn't come across. Oh, there are some nice moments in the book - like when Lady Bridgerton talks about when Hyacinth was born, a few weeks after her husband had died - but in the end it just wasn't as charming as I hoped it would be.

And, On the Way to the Wedding, well here what happened was that we never really got to know Gregory, he's 16 years younger than Anthony, so for the majority of the B-clan's series, he wasn't around, he was too young to hang out with his other brothers, and during the girls' books he was away at school or university and we never got to know him before his book. And you have to admit the plot is a bit convoluted.

Again, kudos to Mrs. Quinn because she has enough talent to pull the books off, and I did finish them - I don't think I would have finished them had they been by another, less talented author - but they weren't her better efforts, sorry to say.

And that's it!!
We are done with the Bridgertons! Honestly, most of the books are delightful reads and I do hope you pick them up.

Series Review - The Bridgertons by Julia Quinn, Part 2

The Okay - These are the books that, though they weren't as amazing to me as the ones for Part 1, are still pretty okay.

The Duke and I (Book 1)
Daphne Bridgerton is probably one of the best liked debutantes of her season, and that is precisely her problem. Everyone thinks she's nice, almost like one of the guys, the perfect girl to be friends with but not really the type to inspire great passion.

Enter Simon Basset, the Duke of Leeds. Simon is as big as catch as anything in the marriage mart, and he happens to be Daphne's brother's best friend. And since he doesn't really want to get married, now or ever, he and Daphne strike a bargain: they shall pretend to be courting, nothing serious, so Daphne's status goes up and so Simon is spared from being accosted by every marriageable girl in London, and her mother.

But, what started as a convenient arrangement might turn into so much more.

To Sir Phillip With Love (Book 5)
Eloise Bridgerton likes to write letters and she particularly likes to write letters to Sir Phillip Crane, a recent widower who was married to one of her distant cousins. What started as a sympathy letter turned into friendship, though they had never met. And when Sir Phillip asks Eloise to come visit him so they can see if they might suit well, Eloise is very tempted to go.

Phillip isn't exactly looking for romance, but he would dearly like some help in raising his unruly children - twins, boy and girl - and he does think he might like to be married to someone happy (unlike his first wife) as Eloise sounds in her letters.

What he doesn't know is that nothing is simple when it comes to Eloise Bridgerton

When He Was Wicked (Book 6)
Francesca Bridgerton thought she had her happy ending when she married John, earl of Kilmartin just a few months after they met. But John died soon after, leaving her alone save for Michael, John's cousin and her dear friend.

Michael has a secret though, he has been in love with Francesca since they first met, during her engagement ball.

Unable to cope with his cousin's death, Michael leaves for India, where he spends many years while Francesca stays in England -and Scotland - coming to terms with what she lost and deciding what she wants for the rest of her life.

And then Michael comes back...


Alright, it's not that I don't love these Bridgerton girls, it's just that for some reason or another, I didn't love their books, I just liked them. Oddly enough, the girls don't seem quite as close as the brothers, I don't know why but that's how I feel. Simon and Phillip are adequate heroes - I mean, they are heroic enough - but well, I don't know, they aren't as charming as the Bridgerton brothers. Michael is a very good hero though! I do have to say that.

So, there you have it. These books are okay, not remarkable but nice enough reads.

Series Review - The Bridgertons by Julia Quinn, Part 1

Part 1 - The Good

The stories about the Eight Bridgerton siblings form one of my favorite family sagas ever. However, as it's with very long series, it's a bit uneven so I decided to divide these reviews in The Good, the OK, the Meh. So, to start with the Good!!

The Viscount Who Loved Me (Book 2)
Anthony, Viscount Bridgerton has decided he's going to marry this year, he's twenty-nine and thinks it's time he started having children, especially since he doesn't expect to live to be 40 and does want to have and heir and all that. Since the Belle of the Season is Edwina Sheffield, Anthony decides she's the one he's going to marry but there is a small obstacle in his plan: Kate Sheffield, Edwina's older sister who doesn't think rakes - and Anthony is a rake - make good husbands and it's not about to let her little sister ruin her life with a bad marriage.

Only that, on further acquittance, Anthony is not the big rake Kate thinks he is, hes quite devoted to his family, just as she is, and they might like each other far more than what is wise.

An Offer From a Gentleman (Book 3)
Sophie Beckett's life has never been particularly happy, born the bastard daughter of the Earl of Penwood, Sophie went from being regarded as a daughter of the house - the earl said she was his ward - to being little more than a slave once her father dies, leaving her at the mercy of his wife. When the other servants help her sneak out and go to Lady Bridgerton's famous masquerade ball, Sophie is just thinking of having a good time for a change.

Instead, she met Bennedict Bridgerton and experienced the kind of love at first sight that one only reads about in fairy tales... at least for one night.

Romancing Mr. Bridgerton (Book 4)
Colin Bridgerton has known Penelope Featherington most of his life, as she is his sister's Eloise best friend, and he once went as far as to declare that he was never going to marry Penelope Featherington... but Penelope has been in love with him from the moment she met him, and though she doesn't hope he'll love her back, she's quite sure she can't love anyone else.

Since Colin likes to travel, he and Penelope have seen each other as friends over the years, and now that Colin is 33 and Penelope 28, suddenly something is different between them. Maybe Penelope finally grew into herself, maybe Colin is just seeing her - really seeing her - for the first time.


One of the things I love the most about The Bridgertons is the deep sense of family they have, oh, you can read each book by itself - I started with Benedict's story, myself - but once you read it in order, you get a greater feeling of whom they are and enjoy the book so much more.

Anthony, Benedict and Colin are the oldest siblings of the B-Clan, and they pop into each others' stories often, which is quite fun. You do get to know them better through their interactions. And their heroines are super good, too. My favorite book is Anthony's, but my favorite heroine is definitely Penelope she was a huge secret that I think delighted everyone who had been following this family.

Julia Quinn writes lightly, her books are funny, her characters likable and in these books, she even sounded quite fresh. I often re-read these three, they are just so much fun.
Personal Favorite

Series Review: The Prince Trilogy

Three friends, three loves stories, three fairy tales.

I admit I was quite late in join the ranks of Elizabeth Hoyt's fans. I had heard lots of praise for her debut, The Raven Prince, but since I famously dislike most buzzed-about books I was a bit reluctant to read it. Eventually I did take the plunge and never regretted it.

The Raven Prince is the story of Edward de Raaf, Earl of Swartingham, whom -after surviving a small pox epidemic that killed his entire family, and the death of his first wife (who died in childbirth some ten years prior) - is ready to move on and start a new family, he wants his family's home, the Abbey, to be full of children and happiness once more. As such, the last woman he should be interested in is Anna Wren, a young widow who works as his secretary (Edward is an Agricultural scholar, and often writes papers about such matters, needing someone to transcribe them in a clear hand). Anna has no connections or money, and she's quite sure she can't have children, still some attractions are undeniable and this is one of them.

After The Raven Prince, comes the Leopard Prince, about one of Edward's friends, Harry Pye; he's introduced in the first story, along with Viscount Simon Iddesleigh, the three gentlemen are friends and agrarians. Harry works as an estate manager for Lady Georgina Maitland, a relationship that turns quite complicated when they begin to feel attraction for each other. Georgina is a bit eccentric and never really thought about getting married, she knows engaging in a liaison with Harry isn't the smartest move but she can't help herself, and neither can Harry. But where will that take them?

Finally, The Serpent Prince kicks off when Lucy Craddock-Hayes finds Viscount Simon Iddesleigh half-dead on her doorstep. After finding out some finer points regarding the death of his beloved brother Ethan a few years before, Simon is bent on revenge and the people he wants to take revenge from are beginning to take notice, which lead to his half-death estate. Lucy is for the most part quite happy living with her father in their small town, but meeting Simon changes everything...

Well, of course I'm not going to spoil or anything, but all these three books were wonderful and in some way unusual. Plus, Mrs. Hoyt wove these funny little tales into her books (the titles of the books come from said 'tales') and it's a trait that has carried on to her other works, and I often find myself re-reading them.

Recently, all three books were given a cover make over (the ones posted above) which was why I decided to do this series review.

Original Covers:

The Bard Academy Series by Cara Lockwood

The Bard Academy Series by Cara Lockwood

After crashing her father's car and putting a few chargers into her step-mother's credit card, Miranda Tate gets sent to the Bard Academy, settled in a small island off the coast of Maine. Beyond the natural annoyance Miranda feels at being sent to what she sees as 'reform school' when the whole thing wasn't even really her fault, there is something very strange about Shipwreck Island, the Bard Academy and it's teachers, not to mention Heathcliff, a guy she meets there and who's Wuthering Heights' Heathcliff come to life.

See, one of the best kept secrets of Bard Academy is that, in reality, it's faculty is made out of famous authors who died untimely deaths (like Virginia Woof, Sylvia Platt, Hemingway, etc.), but now Miranda, her friends Hannah and Samir and her roommate Blade, know the secret and they also find out that Miranda is partially fictional, related to Heathcliff's beloved Cathy in Wuthering Heights.

Okay, I spoiled a little right there. Sorry.

Anyway, as the books progress we find out more about the fictional realm and what the ghostly faculty is capable of for good and bad.

I've been pimping this series ever since I discovered it last year - shortly after the last book, Moby Clique was published - and I absolutely love it. Miranda is a great protagonist funny and smart. And Heathcliff makes one heck of a hero/love interest.

When I picked up the first book I couldn't put it down and less than a day later I was already ordering the other too. And I'm still crazy mad at MTV Books for not putting out more of them even though there is still a ton of story to tell.

So, I'm going to cut it here before I go into one of my MTV Books hate fests.

But before that allow me to completely recommend this series, specially if you're looking for some paranormal/teen book with romantic elements and WITHOUT vampires.

AnimeGirl's Personal Favorite

The Mediator Series by Meg Cabot

The Mediator Series by Meg Cabot

Meet Suze Simon: she's sixteen, her Mom just married a man with three sons, and moved her from New York City to Carmel-by-the-Sea in California. Oh, and she she is a Mediator, which means she can see and touch ghosts. In fact there is a ghost in her new bedroom.

Jesse de Silva was a young rancher who was killed at the age of 20 circa 1850 in Suze's bedroom back when her house was a boarding house. Ever since his untimely death, Jesse has stayed there not sure why he isn't anywhere else.

When Jesse first sees Suze - whom he calls Susannah, as in the song "Don't you cry for me" - and realizes she can see him and touch him, he's thrilled, even though, at first, Suze isn't so happy with the idea of a ghostly roommate.

Through the course of the six books that make this series, we get to know Suze and her new family, her friends old and new, her ghostly dad, and Jesse's past; not to mention Paul Slater, and the extent of a Mediator's powers.

Mediator is likely my favorite Meg Cabot Series so far - Airhead is running a close second right now, tied with 1-800-Where-R-U - Suze is the type of heroine more books should have: strong, smart and butt-kicking; she kind of reminds me of Buffy at times. And Jesse... well, he makes for a GREAT leading guy.

If you're looking for a series that's paranormal, has great characters, romance and a satisfying ending, pick up Mediator. You won't regret it one bit.

AnimeGirl's Personal Favorite

1-800-Where-R-U By Meg Cabot

The first time Rob Wilkins offered Jess Mastriani a ride from school, her life changed completely but it had little to do with that ride she didn't take. Instead -and even though she really liked Rob - Jess found herself walking home with her best friend Ruth when they got caught in the middle of a thunderstorm.

That day Jess got struck by lighting - literally - and the next morning, when she woke up, she knew exactly where to find a couple of missing kids. That skill turned her life upside down.

1-800-Where-Are-You is one of my favorite series by Meg Cabot, mostly because I loved Jess from the start. From the first book when she discovers her abilities, through books 2, 3 and 4, when she struggled with them and finally in book 5, Missing You, when she embraced her rare gift and found the most important person of all: herself.

Jess is a girl anyone can look up to, she looks after herself and those she loves. Sure, sometimes she gets in trouble but she still kicks ass. Another thing I love about this series is Rob Wilkins, gotta love a guy who tries to do the right thing and who is constant.

This is one of my Personal Faves.

The Princess Diaries Series by Meg Cabot

The Princess Diaries & Me

Like with many books I've come to adore over the years (like Jane Eyre and Ivanhoe) it all started with a movie. I was in Prep School, a sixteen year old freak with too much time on her hands who disregarded school, even as a junior, and spent every Wednesday at the movies and the rest of the time trying to wrestle the remote out of her grandmother's hand so she could watch Card Captor Sakura instead of the talk shows Grandma liked so much.

One day I had gone with my cousin Betty to see some movie and I saw the trailer for The Princess Diaries (And, really, how cute was Anne Hathaway back then?) and of course I wanted to see the movie, so when it opened I was there. I Adored it, and googled it (I had just gotten internet at home) and came across www.MegCabot.com which back then wasn't as it is now and mostly only featured these super long excerpts of The Princess Diaries and Princess in the Spotlight (and pictures of Tiaras and combat boots, I remember that).

I was intrigued but ultimately, we didn't have the books here in my country and I hadn't discovered amazon yet, so a couple of years passed before I actually picked one of the books.

I was 18 and lots of thing had happened, like my Grandma had recently died and I was thinking of dropping out of college since I totally wasn't feeling it. In the midst of this I left my country for the first time ever and went to Spain. It so happened that it was Book Week in Spain, and while I was wandering inside of a book store (I had never been inside of one that carried books published after 1980 that weren't on politics) I came across a blue book called Princess in the Spotlight (see left) and I bought it, I couldn't find the first one since apparently they ran out of them in Spain, or something, and I figured I had seen the movie, I should be able to follow the book (I was) and I loved it! I read i once on a long train ride from Granada to Madrid and then twice over during the 12 hour flight back back home.

It kept me sane. I loved Mia right away, she was awkward and funny and reminded me of a period of my life in which I had been very happy: High School (and I'm not even lying). When I came home -and dropped out of college much to my Mom's disgust - I devoted my newly freed time to hunt down book One and I learned how Mia discovered she was a Princess). It took me about a month, and many trips downtown but I found it and read it and then re-read book two.

For a long time that was it, my parents weren't thrilled with my not going to college-not doing anything for a while plan; so I was broke (even though I had finally discovered amazon and stopped being bitter about the sad state of publishing in my country, it sucked then and it still sucks now) and eventually got tired of vegging out home, reading fanfiction and decided to go back to college and my parents gave me back my allowance and I blew it pretty much on books. I got Princess in Love and I squealed like Tina Hakim Baba almost all the way through. And that bit near the end about how Fat Louie came to Mia? One of the sweetest tid bits I've ever read.

Then, I suppose, we come to Book 4: Princess in Training a lot of people have told me this is not their favorite book but I actually really liked it, again, it spoke about being awkward at 14 and unsure. And it mentioned Star Wars heavily, I'm a SW sucker.

Also, around the time I read it I became really involved with Meg Cabot Book Club and I've made some seriously awesome friends at it (I know the rules, so I'll stop babbling about the MCBC, but I'll answer something a few people have asked me: How was the forum when it first started? Answer: Pink).

And Pink features prominently on the next book Book 5: Princess in Pink which relates Mia's quest to go to Prom with her boyfriend Michael! And one of Grandmere's many lies came out on the open! and Rocky arrived!

Oh, and the Snowflake Necklace makes its first appearance and Mia turns fifteen. Half way through and I was still laughing. Even though I was starting to dislike Lily at this point. I was becoming more and more a fan of Tina. Tina the world rules.

And so we reach books 6 and 7: Princess in Training and Party Princess, by this point, though I'm still laughing, I'm starting to get very annoyed at Lily and a little at Mia with all the whinnying. I guess everything does seem life and death at that age. In a nutshell: Tina and Boris are going out (Lily dumps him in Princess in Pink), Mia ends up as student body president thanks to Lily's machinations. Then in Party Princess Hate-When-They-Put-Corn-in-the-Chili-Guy gets a name: J.P. and Lily takes up with him. At this point I'm not yet annoyed with J.P.; and Mia and Michael talk about sex: yes, he expects they'll have it some day, but he's also willing to wait until she's ready, though he want's to keep taking about it. Which actually does make sense.

By the time I got to Book 8: Princess on the Brink, I admit it had been a while since I had kept up with the series, I was a bit busy with school, finally deciding I was more than half way through with the necessary credits to finish and that it would be dumb if I didn't finish it. And my expectations were a little low, I have to admit. Yet, when I did get around reading the book I loved it!!! Mia is finally an upper class person, Michael has this huge project he wants to do... in Japan and Mia is debating weather or not is time to go ahead and do it, and if that will be enough to make Michael stay.

In short, lots of things are happening all at once and Mia is trying to catch up and though she means well she ends up making a big mistake. A trademark Mia freak out might have ruined her life! (I actually reviewed this here)

And now we come to Book 9: Princess Mia (also more detailed review here) and this is the point were I fell in love with the series again, all my faith restored. Mia's battle with depression, Dr. Knuts, Michael being gone and wanting to stay broken up! Lily being mean. and J.P. -who, by the end, was beginning to annoy me - starting to show his true colors; and Mia *gasp* befriending her former nemesis Lana. This book, I think, it's a lot about Mia finding her way on her own (with help of those that love her, but without using them as emotional clutches). And, of course, the humor is still there.

This book was like meeting an old friend again, and I found myself wanting to hug Mia and tell her everything would be all right. I was emotional all the way trough, I won't deny it.

And now we reach the end Book 10: Forever Princess (which I just read and reviewed here). Like I said, Michael is back, J.P. reached new heights of jerkiness, I actually came to like Lily again (or for the first time if I am to be absolutely honest). Tina keeps beeing the sweetest friend ever. There is plenty of Fat Louie and Rocky.

Basically, all I ever hoped would happen came to pass and it was great!!!!

Along with one of my favorite book quotes ever, courtesy of Mia:"Life is not easy for us unicorns, you know. We are a dying breed."

In a many of ways, HRH Princess Mia has been with me through a lot, just as I like to think I went through a lot with her, too. And for me, and for a tons of fans, she's not only a character in a book but a friend, and though I'm not exactly expecting to have more books about her int he future, I do hope to hear from her again, someday.