Audiobook Review: Size 12 and Ready to Rock

Size 12 and Ready to Rock
Heather Wells, Book 4

Author: Meg Cabot
Narrator: Sandy Rustin
Duration: 10 hrs, 4 mins
Publisher: Harper Audio
Source: Harper Audio for review

Description from Goodreads:
Heather Wells used to be a teen pop sensation...until her label dropped her for gaining a few extra pounds, and she walked in on her boy-band boyfriend Jordan Cartwright banging her pint-sized popstar replacement, Tania Trace. In the aftermath of this debacle, the last thing Heather expected were the plus-sized sparks that flared with Jordan’s big brother, Cooper.

But now that Heather and Cooper are ready to tie the knot, she’s determined to keep her new job at New York College’s aptly-nicknamed “Death Dorm” from throwing a wrench (and the many other deadly little surprises it’s thrown in the past) into her happily-ever-after plans. (Maybe not the “ever after” – Heather and Cooper have learned to take the words “until death do us part” very seriously!)

Now, in SIZE 12 AND READY TO ROCK, it’s summer break and the campus is quiet. But that doesn’t mean Heather can relax…because that ambulance she just saw pulling up in front of Death Dorm is there for none other than Tania Trace, now married to – and pregnant by – Heather’s ex…who just happens to be covered in his wife’s bodyguard’s blood.

Just another day at Death Dorm – or has America’s hottest couple got a deadly secret? Soon Heather’s dodging photo-hungry paparazzi and squealing fourteen and fifteen year-old pop star protégés after the first-ever Tania Trace Rock Camp – with its own reality film crew – checks into the dorm. But when one of the producers of Tania’s reality show checks out – on a gurney – it’s clear murder wasn’t taking the summer off.

Can Heather get estranged brothers Cooper and Jordan to bury the hatchet – before someone buries it into Cartwright Record’s biggest star? If the “reality” is that saving Tania’s life is what it takes to get her ex out of her life – and Cooper firmly into it, once and for all – Heather Wells is ready to rock, roll, and right some grievous wrongs!

Review:
When I saw Meg Cabot speak at the Decatur Book Festival last weekend, she spoke about her goals as an author. Unlike some, she doesn't try to write in an effort to win literary acclaim; she writes to entertain. She hopes her books will bring joy and fun into the lives of children, teens and adults. Well, I, for one, think she is entirely successful in this regard and the number of books she's sold indicates that there's a real market for that. She does just for fun books with the best, ranking with Janet Evanovich as an author that I pretty much always enjoy even if I don't get any deeper lessons from her books.
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I have to admit I was a bit concerned about Size 12 and Ready to Rock. It had been so long since the last Heather Wells book, which came out when I was in college, and I didn't remember the series feeling unfinished. When an author revives a series that was closed, it tends to be a mistake. The opening chapters of Size 12 and Ready to Rock upped my levels of concern that this would not be as good as the previous books. It starts with an overly melodramatic scene in which Heather gets shot with a paintball and thinks she's dying. Add to this the fact that she and Cooper are hiding their engagement, making me fear that he's going to turn out to be an awful guy all of a sudden, and some discussion of babies, and I was rolling my eyes.

Thankfully, Meg Cabot didn't take the story down any of those entirely obnoxious plot paths I thought might be coming. I should really have more trust for Meg, given how many of her books I've enjoyed. Heather Wells does have a tendency to melodrama, as the first scene suggests, but that's just who she is and it's part of what makes her a fun main character. I had just forgotten what she was like since I hadn't read one of these books in years. Once I settled into the rhythm, I was able to sit back and enjoy Cabot's humor and characters.

Jordan and Tanya have a much larger role in this one. Jordan is Heather's ex-boyfriend and Cooper's brother, which makes the engagement awkward. Cabot pulls off the Heather having dated brothers thing well, without making it feel completely absurd. I wanted to hate both Tanya and Jordan and was ot thrilled at first that this book's mystery centered around them, but it turned out to be totally amazing.

If you loved the first three Heather Wells books, get excited because there are even more coming after this and they are just as good. If you haven't read them, go start, assuming you enjoy fun. The Heather Wells books are an excellent read-a-like for Evanovich's Stephanie Plum books.

Performance:
This was my first time listening to a Heather Wells book; I read the first three. While the format change was at first a bit disarming, I ended up being pleased with my decision, though I'm sure it would have been fun to read this one as well. With the action and the humor, though, this was a good choice for the audiobook format. I listen on and off while doing chores, and I always looked forward to getting to listen to another chapter or two.

Sandy Rustin does a great job, and is one of the narrators I've been most impressed by so far in my audiobook experience, which, admittedly, is somewhat limited. She does a marvelous job with accents. I loved the way she read for Magda and Sarah. In fact, all of her voices were great, though I wasn't a fan of the Cooper voice. Her voice fits well with Heather Wells' character, sort of chirpy and optimistic.

Size 12 and Ready to Rock was a pleasure on audio, so, if you enjoy listening to books, I highly recommend this one.

Rating: 4/5