Review: Queen of Babble

Summary: Lizzie Nichols has a problem: she can't keep anything to herself. And when she opens her big mouth on a trip to London, her good intentions get her long-distance beau, Andrew, in major hot water. Now she's stuck in England with no boyfriend and no place to stay until the departure date on her nonrefundable airline ticket. Fortunately, Lizzie's best friend and college roommate, Shari, is spending her summer catering weddings in a sixteenth-century château in southern France. Who cares if Lizzie's never traveled alone in her life and only speaks rudimentary French? She's off to Souillac to lend a helping hand! 

One glimpse of gorgeous Château Mirac—and of gorgeous Luke, the son of the château's owner—and Lizzie's smitten. But thanks to her chronic inability to keep a secret, before the first cork has been popped Luke hates her, the bride is in tears, and Château Mirac is on the road to becoming a lipo-recovery spa. Add to that the arrival of ex-beau Andrew, who's looking for "closure" (or at least a loan), and everything—including Lizzie's shot at true love—is in la toilette . . . unless she can figure out some way to use her big mouth to save the day. -- William Morrow

One of the main reasons that I decided to participate in Book Club Girl's Meg Cabot Read-Along is that I wanted some "fun" books to read this summer. While I do love reading literary fiction, sometimes life is just too crazy (especially when I'm watching kids at the swimming pool) to really concentrate and appreciate novels. And that's one of the reasons that I love Meg Cabot so much. Her books are just pure escapism and perfect for summer reading.

The latest novel that I read of hers and enjoyed is QUEEN OF BABBLE, and it's most definitely a hoot. QUEEN OF BABBLE tells the story of Lizzie a recent college graduate (well, sort of...) who heads to London to stay with her long-distance boyfriend Andrew. When she gets there, she realizes that Andrew isn't quite the guy that she's built him up to be. In fact, he's far from it. He dresses in a Michael Jackson look-alike jacket (tee-hee), lives with his parents, and has exaggerated his career prospects. And even worse, he treats Lizzie horribly!

Lizzie can't just return home to the States, so she hops on a train to visit her best friend who is working at a chateau in France. Along the way, she encounters Luke, a very hot guy who also happens to be a great listener. Lizzie finds herself falling for Luke and basically the whole southern France castle experience; however, her big mouth once again gets her in trouble. Lizzie must scramble to set things straight and hopefully discover true love!

QUEEN OF BABBLE was a very entertaining novel. It is most definitely chick lit (not that there's anything wrong with that!) and I found myself laughing at Lizzie and her antics quite a few times. I actually can't believe that I hadn't read this book when it initially came out a few years ago because I do enjoy books like this every once in awhile. In fact, when I was younger (quite younger), I used to love books just like QUEEN OF BABBLE. Now that I'm older, I have found that I don't relate as much to the characters, but I still enjoy escaping with them for a few hours.

What stood out the most to me about QUEEN OF BABBLE, besides the humor, were the characters. I loved Lizzie despite her naivete (or maybe I should say her stupidity) and her very big mouth. (And if I'm being entirely honest, I could relate a bit to Lizzie and her babbling!) There are no other words for Lizzie except that she was a piece of work, and her thoughts and actions did make for a very funny story. Some of the predicaments Lizzie got herself into were hilarious -- just trust me on this!

In addition, I also thought her male leads were loads of fun. Of course, Luke was the ideal man -- gorgeous, rich, and sweet; and I was seriously hoping that he and Lizzie would end up together. However, Andrew was also pretty darn interesting. He was such a perfect loser and I loved seeing how Lizzie eventually began to realize it. There is a great scene when he makes an appearance later in the novel that still has me shaking my head.

QUEEN OF BABBLE is just a light and breezy book. It's an extremely quick read and chock full of Meg Cabot's trademark humor. I recommend it for fans of chick lit or anyone looking for a fun read!

I read this book as part of Book Club Girl's Meg Cabot Read-Along! It's not too late to join the fun! The next book is SIZE 12 IS NOT FAT!