Review: Ransom My Heart by Mia Thermopolis (but really Meg Cabot)

Posted January 6, 2009 by Rowena in Reviews | 12 Comments

Publisher: Avon, Harper Collins


Hero: Hugo Fitzstephen
Heroine: Finnula Crais
Grade: 4.75 out of 5

Mia Thermopolis, Princess of Genovia and star of Meg Cabot’s insanely popular #1 New York Times bestselling Princess Diaries books, has “penned” her first historical romance novel . . . with help from Meg Cabot

He’s a tall, handsome knight with a secret. She’s an adventurous beauty with more than a few secrets of her own. Finnula needs money for her sister’s dowry, and fast. Hugo Fitzstephen, returning home to England from the Crusades with saddlebags of jewels, has money, and lots of it. What could be simpler than to kidnap him and hold him for ransom?

Well, for starters, Finnula could make the terrible mistake of falling in love with her hostage.

Princess Mia Thermopolis, Meg Cabot’s most beloved character, has always been an outspoken animal-rights activist and committed environmentalist. In keeping with Mia’s true spirit, Meg will be donating her advance to Greenpeace.

When I received this book, I wasn’t sure what to expect from it since I’ve never read a historical romance by Mia Thermopolis Meg Cabot. I was hopeful that I would enjoy the book but I wasn’t exactly sure that I would. I mean, I’ve read novels by other authors where I absolutely LOVED their books as historicals but their contemporaries? Not so much and the other way around. As my friend Miah would tell me when I’m horribly wrong, I should…SLAP MYSELF for doubting Meg Cabot’s writing abilities because this book was such a delightful read that I’m finding it hard to find the words to describe just how much I enjoyed this book.

Telling you that I enjoyed this book doesn’t do this book any justice. I mean, sure, I enjoyed the book. I liked the book, but that just doesn’t seem like enough. I liked this book like I like Jordan Farmar from the Lakers (a lot), I liked this book like I like Mango a Go Go smoothies from Jamba Juice, I liked this book like I like David Beckham. Are you seeing the pattern here? I really enjoyed this book.

Finnula was unlike any other heroine that I’ve read about in quite some time. She was kinda like us in our description for this blog, fun and fearless, only she’s way….more. She’s one of those heroines that can probably kick your ass and your husband’s too. She’s one of those heroines that is feisty, stubborn but still not annoying. She had a code of honor that she lived by and she was just a really good woman. I enjoyed getting to know Finnula and I enjoyed watching her interact with the people around her, her brother Robert and her sisters and most especially, Hugo.

Hugo was a hero that at first look, you wouldn’t think much about him because 1) he had a furry beard when we first meet him and 2) when we first meet him, he’s traveling with his squire, Peter and he’s this Earl and he lets Peter talk out of line to him, he lets Peter bitch and moan about every little thing and you sit there while you’re reading this and you wonder why Hugo, as an Earl would stand a mouthy squire. I kept waiting for Hugo to backhand that little shit Peter but he never so much as told him to shut his mouth and that irked me a little. As the book wore on, Hugo’s character just kept getting better and better. By the time the end came around, my ass wanted to marry Hugo my damn self. He wasn’t the perfect hero but that’s what made him even more appealing to me, I love the not perfect heroes.

Ransom My Heart was the perfect title for this book because it was so much of what this book was about and what brought the hero and the heroine together.

This book is really a great book, Mia Thermopolis Meg Cabot did a fantastic job of writing a very engaging story about the town tomboy who has a past and a hero who is tired of the secretive ways women try to get his money. It’s a story that I was totally engrossed in right from the very beginning and I would recommend this book to anyone who wanted to read a delightful historical romance about two unlikely people falling in love with one another even though one is a hostage and the other is just trying to get some money to save her damn sister.

I enjoyed Hugo and Finn but I really enjoyed the chemistry between them together. When Finn first takes him hostage and is riding in front of him and mistakes his glorypole (ETA: TM CJ) for a knife hilt, I laughed for a very long time, that was too funny and there was just so many other scenes between these two and Finn’s family and the book was just filled to the brim with great characters, great scenes and the book in general was fantastic, I’m so glad that I read this book and I definitely recommend this book to all of the fans of the Princess Diaries books because a friendly MC fan informed me that fans will be able to find out who Mia ends up with in the PD books by reading this book, so really it should be a delightful reading experience for anyone, even those of you who will laugh your butts off because the girls in this book actually take rich people and kidnap them and then ransom them back to their families…how dumb is that? But aside from that, it’s an entertaining read. I’m not kidding.

Seriously, if you want to read a great book, this is the book for you and even better, Meg Cabot has promised to donate her advance on this book to Greenpeace so how can you not run out and buy this book?

This book is available from Avon.


Tagged: , , , , , ,

12 responses to “Review: Ransom My Heart by Mia Thermopolis (but really Meg Cabot)

  1. At first I thought this was a YA adult novel and was pleasantly surprised it wasn’t. This is also my first Meg Cabot… er.. Mia read. I am really loving this book. Very funny, cute and overall great romance.

  2. Sounds like a great book and different than most historicals out there! I think I’m going to get it 😀

    Thanks for the review!! and yes, it isn’t a YA!! or chicklit!

  3. Rowena

    KB,

    It’s a cute romance and I’m glad that I could read it! Enjoy it! You should definitely try out The Boy Next Door by Meg Cabot, if you enjoy that book (which I’m sure you will) then you’ll enjoy the rest of her books too. I only wish she’d write more adult books!

    Nath,

    It’s very different from any historical that I’ve read but it was a fun read so you should definitely read it!

  4. Anonymous

    Doesn’t Meg Cabot write romances under another name also? (To distinguish from her YA books.) I thought that was the case, as I’m almost certain I’ve read them and they were excellent. But I’ve been too lazy to look it up since I moved and switched libraries.

    Good to know this one is also well written. Might even give the princess diaries a shot one of these days.

  5. I am looking forward to this book, but I have to say The Princess Diaries are much better than you probably think they are. At the time the first one came out I read it as did my son, my daughter, my husband, and both my parents. They are very funny. Also you learn how to make a Sidecar cocktail.

  6. LOL: like Mango a Go Go smoothies from Jamba Juice?? Like David Beckham? You liiiiiked it. And, oh, thanks for the link luv. Feel free to say glorypole any day of the week.

  7. superhotmel

    She occasionally writes romances under the name of Patricia Cabot, and i think Meggin Cabot too. She hasn’t written them for a while thought, too busy with her many series (allie Finkle for juniors, Princess Diaries for YA’s and her two adult series, Helen Wells and Queen of Babble).
    Meg Cabot is awesome, her books are awesome.
    Great review.

  8. Anonymous

    Rowena, what a great review! As you know, I’m also a big Meg Cabot fan. I can’t wait to read Ransom My Heart. Your review has made me even more excited to read it, if that’s possible. 😉 I’ll let you know when the books that you sent me arrived. Thanks in advance!

    Diana

  9. Anonymous

    i’m a huge fan of meg cabot n i totaly wana get this book n now you’ve made me want it more! was totaly gutted wen i found out it didn’t come to england until december. but i was gona go on holiday 2 america so i thought i could get it then. but then went on the website for it n i was totaly like the english cover more than the american one! so now i’m like wat should i do get the american version n read it sooner or wait till christmas n get the wicked cover?! anyway i’m goin on now but i just REALY WANA READ THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!!

  10. Evangeline

    I love Meg Cabot’s books. They’re genius! I especially love Mia, and when I saw that HER book was on sale I was surprised. I so wanna read it!!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.