A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall

This is the tale of a sweet burgeoning romance between two college students, Gabe and Lea.  Unique in it's style, the story is not told from Lea's perspective, nor from Gabe's.  Instead, author Sandy Hall follows her two love birds through the eyes of those around them: the waitress at the local diner, Gabe's older brother, friends and roommates, the Starbucks barista, a college professor and even the squirrel who gathers food in the quad. Through conversations with friends and observances by strangers, we get to catch snippets of their first meeting and growing attraction. Soon it seems as though everyone but Lea and Gabe can see that they belong together. The unusual telling brings a fresh look at young love and what it takes to move from first glance to first date while dealing with insecurities, course assignments and  life in general. Hall delivers a light yet interesting romance told from 14 different perspectives. some sympathetic, some hostile and others merely curious or with nothing better to do than people watch. Pure fluff, but adorable and different enough to keep readers turning those pages.

The creative writing teacher, the delivery guy, the local Starbucks baristas, his best friend, her roommate, and the squirrel in the park all have one thing in common—they believe that Gabe and Lea should get together. Lea and Gabe are in the same creative writing class. They get the same pop culture references, order the same Chinese food, and hang out in the same places. Unfortunately, Lea is reserved, Gabe has issues, and despite their initial mutual crush, it looks like they are never going to work things out. But somehow even when nothing is going on, something is happening between them, and everyone can see it. You'll be rooting for Gabe and Lea too, in Sandy Hall's quirky, completely original novel A Little Something Different. 

The Bride Wore Size 12 by Meg Cabot

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.

Book 5 in the Heather Wells Mysteries.

This entry into the Heather Wells series delivers well, continuing to fuse humour, college life, family drama and, of course, a murder mystery.  I have enjoyed this series.  It is a quick, light, fun read with enough mystery and wit to keep me coming back.  My only complaint, and that is a bit strong of a description, is that Cabot has pretty much left the romance between Heather and Cooper as is.  Their relationship was established and solidified in the previous volume so in The Bride Wore Size 12 we must settle for the subtle treats of  Cooper protecting his girl from afar (and without her okay). Despite the books back burner status for their romance, my favorite part of the story is still the subtle interactions between Coop and Heather.  Their shared looks, his quiet presence, Heather weaving thoughts of Cooper into her everyday actions and - almost as an afterthought -the wedding sated (although just) the reader's appetite for the duo.  Check out the other books in the series.

Heather Wells Mystery Series by Meg Cabot

Seriously. I just don’t get it. I go for months—literally—where nothing at all unusual happens to me. My days are a blur of dog-walking, work, and Golden Girl reruns. And then WHAM! In one day, I find ahead in a pot on a stove; get asked to play my songs at Joe’s Pub with none other than super-mega-rock-star Frank Robillard; and my dad gets out of jail, shows up in my local coffee shop,and asks to see me.

Why can’t things happen a little at a time? Like one day I find the head; another day Frank asks me to jam with him onstage; and another day my dad calls to let me know he’s out of jail and in my hometown. But I guess we don’t get to choose how things transpire (Size 14 is not Fat Either)

After talking about the book Jemima J by Jane Green, my Public Librarian mentioned I should give Meg Cabot's Heather Mills series a try.  I downloaded the first in the series, Size 12 is Not Fat, and quickly devoured this lite mix of Mystery and Chick-Lit.  It was like taking a bit  of one of those frozen cream puffs you can find at Costco.  Tasty, scrumptious, lite as air, and gone to quick.  So I downloaded the second in the series, Size 14 is Not Fat either.  Now I have holds on books #3 and #4 in the series. (There's  a romance looming and I want to see where it goes next!)

This is definitely light fare, but the star of the series, Heather Wells, is immediately likable, funny, doesn't take herself to seriously and is crushing on her local Barista.  I like that in my accidental sleuths.  I also like the pop culture references sprinkled throughout the series and her love of all things yummy.  

“Grande café mocha, please,” I say. I’m totally not into foamy drinks with whipped cream on top of them, but it’s the first official day of spring semester (spring! Right!), and it’s really cold out and supposed to blizzard later... and I REALLY need a little pick-me-up to help me quit feeling so sorry for myself. Plus, you know, as long as I’m blowing five bucks on a cup of coffee, I might as well go for the gold. 

“One grande café mocha, coming up,” Barista Boy says, doing one of those flippy things with my cup.You know, twirling it, like it’s a gun and he’s an outlaw in a western. ...“Soy or nonfat?” he asks. Oh, God. I can’t face my first day back to work after break on nonfat milk. And soy?Soy? “Whole milk, please,” I say. I’ll be good later. At lunch I’ll just have a chicken parm and a salad, and maybe just a BITE of lo-cal frozen yogurt…(Size 14 is not Fat Either)

I sat on my couch this past Saturday and read this whole book in a few hours.  Easy to follow yet an always titillating mystery, Heather Wells again kept my interest and had me softly laughing out loud the much of the time.This book was airy, silly, yet still kept me interested in solving the crime du jour. It was the perfect brain candy for a relaxing afternoon.

About the Series:
Heather Wells used to be a teen pop sensation...until her label dropped her for gaining a few extra pounds. Now Heather's walked out on her famous ex,moved in with his brother (but will things stay platonic with Cooper forever?), lost a recording contract, and her life savings (when Mom took the money and ran off to Argentina). Now that the glamour and glory days of endless mall appearances are in the past, Heather's perfectly happy with her new size 12 shape (the average for the American woman!) and her new job as an assistant dorm director at one of New York's top colleges...who knew it was nicknamed Death Dorm?

 So Heather makes the decision to take on yet another new career: as spunky girl detective! But her new job comes with few benefits, no cheering crowds, and lots of liabilities, some of them potentially fatal. And nothing ticks off a killer more than a portly ex-pop star who's sticking her nose where it doesn't belong . . 

NEW #5: The Bride Wore Size 12 (due out in Sept 2013)