Review : The Bride Wore Size 12 by Meg Cabot

Summary (from Goodreads)

Title : The Bride Wore Size 12 (Heather Wells Mysteries #5)
Author : Meg Cabot
Publication Date : September 24th 2013
Publisher : William Morrow
Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes & Noble

Heather Wells is used to having her cake and eating it too, but this time her cake just might be cooked. Her wedding cake, that is.

With her upcoming nuptials to PI Cooper Cartwright only weeks away, Heather's already stressed. And when a pretty junior turns up dead, Heather's sure things can't get worse—until every student in the dorm where she works is a possible suspect, and Heather's long-lost mother shows up.

Heather has no time for a tearful mother and bride reunion. She has a wedding to pull off and a murder to solve. Instead of wedding bells, she might be hearing wedding bullets, but she's determined to bring the bad guys to justice if it's the last thing she does . . . and this time, it just might be.
 
Personal Thoughts

Ah Heather Wells! I had such a fun time with you, Cooper and the gang at Fischer Hall. I can't even tell you guys how much I just adore this cozy mystery series. I've been following it for years now and to finally have it end was quite the happy-sad experience.

Heather has grown so much throughout this series. She started off as a ditzy, naive girl in the first book, but she was so much more mature in The Bride Wore Size 12. She has lost her impulsive nature and has grown into a sensible woman who thought before making a decision. I've always loved Heather, but I think I might have loved her even more in this book. Of course, no matter how sensible Heather was, there was always murders occuring around her. She wouldn't be Heather Wells without them! The secondary characters in The Bride Wore Size 12 were also a blast. I was so excited to be reunited with the gang at Fischer Hall, who have become characters that I cherish throughout the series. Gavin and Magda have always been my favorite and I was glad that they hadn't lost their charm in this book. Gavin was still his flirtatious old self, trying to get Heather to break her engagement to be with him and Magda was still the crazy old lady who told ridiculous stories that made me laugh out loud. Cooper, Heather's fiancee, was so much more swoon-worthy in The Bride Wore Size 12. The P.I stole my heart in the first book and he continued to do so in this one. His protective and supportive nature of Heather made him so endearing. Yes, I loved him with every fiber of my being. There was also new character additions who added entertainment to the story who made me really enjoy the book even more.

The mystery in The Bride Wore Size 12 started when Jasmine, an RA, dies under mysterious conditions. Usually when it comes to this series, I'm quick to correctly guess who the murderer was, but not in this final installment. I had my guess on who it was, but eventually, it turned out I was wrong and that pleased me very much because there's nothing more that I enjoy than being wrong about a murder mystery. Despite the Heather Wells series being a cozy mystery series, it's not the mystery itself that appealed to me the most ; it has always been Heather's interactions with the other characters. As always, Meg Cabot nailed it with the relationships that existed between the different characters. The dialogues were not only realistic, but also very funny. My favorite relationship has always been the romantic one between Heather and Cooper. I will admit that that I would have hoped to have a bit more scenes between the two of them in this one since it is the final book, but the end scene pretty much made up for everything because I loved it so much. What I've always loved about their relationship was how supportive and understanding they were of each other. In this one especially, Cooper really showed how deep his love for her was when an unexpected person from Heather's past arrived and nearly emotionally destroyed her. As always, Meg Cabot's writing was fun and effortless to read. I'm really going to miss these characters because Meg somehow made me emotionally attached to them.

All in all, The Bride Wore Size 12 was a fantastic conclusion to one of my favorite series ever. If you're looking for something light, funny and with a dash of mystery and romance, I won't hesitate to recommend the Heather Wells series at all.

Rating

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 5/5
Characters : 5/5
Writing : 5/5

Thank you to Edelweiss and Williams Morrow for the e-ARC of The Bride Wore Size 12.