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Ransom My Heart
Ransom My Heart
Author: Mia Thermopolis, Meg Cabot
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 mo...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780061700071
ISBN-10: 006170007X
Publication Date: 1/6/2009
Pages: 432
Rating:
  • Currently 3.4/5 Stars.
 28

3.4 stars, based on 28 ratings
Publisher: Avon A
Book Type: Paperback
Members Wishing: 1
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

GeniusJen avatar reviewed Ransom My Heart on + 5322 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Reviewed by Natalie Tsang for TeensReadToo.com

Girls will laugh and swoon with RANSOM MY HEART. Princess Mia Thermopolis, heroine of Meg Cabot's THE PRINCESS DIARIES, pens a fun, flirty debut novel that's spiced with the occasional mishap.

Finnula Crais is out to catch a rich man. Why has Fair Finn switched from hunting game to hunting men? To help out her beloved sister, of course!

The family beauty, Mellana, has spent her entire dowry and needs Finn to capture and ransom some poor unsuspecting fool so she can marry the man of her dreams. As luck would have it, her prey is none other than the new local lord, Hugo Fitzstephen, a seasoned knight and womanizer who has just returned from the Crusades.

Inevitably, things begin to heat up as Finn uses herself as bait to lure Hugo. Her hostage is all too happy to find himself the center of attention of such a determined huntress.

I blushed and giggled my way through their mutual and often awkward physical attraction as it blossomed into a romantic but still comedic courtship. I really liked that there were quite a few rocks and some hard slogging to get to true love. There were moments when I envied Finn, but there were also times when I was so glad that I was not in her shoes.

While RANSOM MY HEART has its share of historical romance tropes - scheming teenage girls, corrupt bailiffs, mistaken identity, and disastrous miscommunication - readers will find these as familiar landmarks rather than repetitive scenery. Meg Cabot seems to have a lot of fun playing with our expectations and then subverting them.

Finn may be a seventeen-year-old tomboy, but even when head-over-heels in love, she knows better than to compromise herself or her family over some guy. Likewise, it's super-refreshing to have a hero and heroine who have lives and dreams outside of each other.

Readers, beware! There is a high chance of silly smiles, laugh-out-loud moments, and holding your breath as you frantically turn the pages. Five Stars!
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skywriter319 avatar reviewed Ransom My Heart on + 784 more book reviews
When her sister Mellana tearfully needs money for her dowry, the feisty and independent Finnula has no choice but to kidnap a rich man and hold him for ransom to get the money. She finds Sir Hugh Fitzwilliam, a knight just returning from the Holy Wars, and makes him her hostage. Perfect.

However, her hostage is hiding a few secrets. For one, his real name is Lord Hugo Fitzstephen, and he is the heir to Stephensgate Manor, the town where Finnula resides as the miller's sister. Hugo has had his fair share of women, but not capture his attention so much as the Fair Finn, whose acerbic manner and complete unawareness of her beauty make him practically unable to keep his hands off her.

There are more than a few reasons why Finnula wants nothing to do with the future Earl of Stephensgate, though, because of a disturbing past that may threaten to destroy everyone's present and future happiness if someone doesn't do something about it...

If you want a light, frothy, and fun historical romance, look no further than RANSOM MY HEART. I'm not a big romance novel reader, but this book completely won me over with the strong of the attraction between Finnula and Hugo. They are arresting and appealing, if somewhat stereotypical, characters--Finnula is the willful free spirit, Hugo the dangerously sexy royalty guy. However, that didn't bother me much at all, simply because their story was so fun to read.

This novel is actually the senior project of Mia Thermopolis (from The Princess Diaries), and so of course there are some aspects of it that are rather cliche: the romance-y terms, the faux-Olde English speech. Additionally, the second half of the novel drags a bit, and the ending felt a bit too well wrapped up. Overall, however, RANSOM MY HEART is a truly enjoyable and fun romantic romp, and it's going to stay on my bookshelf when I need a lighthearted and sexy escapism read.


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