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!
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!
