What a fun dive back into the world of Princess Diaries. I loved the antics each character got into. While I was a little worried it would be too Quarantine/pandemic heavy, it was fun and a reminder of the crazy everyone felt when the pandemic first hit! I would recommend this for anyone missing Mia's life and friends and family.

Summary:

As the world battles COVID, so does Genovia. Princess Mia has to not only guide her country through a pandemic (with opposition as close to under her own roof), but she also has to deal with her family at the same time. How does she do it? How does everyone handle it all? Thankfully, Mia kept a diary for us to find out.

I have to be honest- this is my first Princess Diaries book. I know it's far into the established series, but I haven't read any of them. I've seen the movies, but haven't read the books. However, I couldn't resist this one. I was so curious to see how Princess Mia handles a pandemic and what it would look like in Genovia. So, I dove right in- having missed quite a book from previous books in the series.

I'm glad I did. Overall, I have to say that I enjoyed the book. There was so much I didn't know- for example, Princess Mia is a married mother now! I worried jumping in so late in the series would l eave me confused, but it didn't. Meg Cabot writes a delightful story and in a way that anyone could follow along to.

Cabot starts you off at the beginning of COVID, so there's no surprise when a family member to Mia has to spend 2 weeks in a separate room because of a possible exposure to the virus. As her country's leader, Mia looks for how to guide the citizens through this extraordinary time. She finds guidance in a book on The Great Influenza of 1918. That and wine. Lots of wine.

While she takes the same protective measures against the virus the rest of the world does, Princess Mia has to deal with critics- as the rest of the world had to. She just may not have expected them to be from her own family. Grandma, for one, is not in support of the lockdowns as it puts a damper on her partying ways.

As Mia's diary continues to document the battle against the virus, it also documents her Grandma's new friends and new fiancé. As well as Mia's Cousin Ivan's not so rational reaction to precautions to stop the spread.

It was fun to revisit Genovia and see what everyone was up to. My favorite character had to be Grandma. Who knew she'd be such a partier?! Her storyline kept you giggling from start to finish. It was weird to see Mia as an adult in her 30s. She's a wife now. She's a mom now. She really likes her wine now. It was fun to relive the pandemic though this lens. Much more fun than when I lived it in real time without a party animal Grandma to entertain me. I think longstanding readers of the series will enjoy this installment. It's a quick, lighthearted read. I just may have to start from the beginning of the series now.

There was so much nostalgia with this book. Growing up with these books, it was so fun to dive back into this world, especially with the characters grown up.

This book was absolutely relatable. I would say that if you don’t like books that talk about the pandemic, pass on this book. This book revolves completely around the pandemic.

This was a quick read, read in the diary setting like all the previous books in this series. Many of our favorite characters in the past are featured, so it was a fun read.

📖 ARC REVIEW 📖

Thank you @avonbooks for an early copy of The Quarantine Princess Diaries by @officialmegcabot. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍

The Quarantine Princess Diaries was a delight to read! It documents Princess Mia’s heartfelt emotions as she deals with the COVID-19 pandemic in her country, dealing with her husband Michael’s quarantine after being exposed to the virus, her personal and political battles while imposing health restrictions, and dealing with the entire royal family.

Though obviously fictional, I applaud Princess Mia who did not hesitate to listen to the advice of her country’s political and medical experts in enforcing a lockdown on Genovia as soon as they heard about the fast spread of the virus. I think that it is what some leaders did not do immediately during the height of the pandemic, which made handling its spread much more difficult than it should have been.

The characters as fun and delightful as always, but after all the years have passed, Mia seemed to still complain a lot like a teenager instead of a mom in her thirties (though I get it, this book is supposed to be diary entries); I felt like it would have been quite interesting to see a much more mature version of Mia.

This was a fun read; perfect for fans of The Princess Diaries! Rating this ⭐⭐⭐/5. Releases March 28th, 2023!

**2.5 stars
Mia Thermopolis is back, and she is quarantined with her friends and family in Genovia.
While I have not read all the books in the series, I was excited to receive this ARC of The Quarantine Princess Diaries.
I, unfortunately, did not enjoy this one that much. While I did enjoy seeing how Mia and the country of Genovia responded to COVID-19, I thought this installment was tedious and would have been better as a novella. I did love the cameos of the wide variety of characters we know and love from The Princess Diaries. Overall, it just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon US for the ARC.

I’ve been a Princess Diaries fan since the second book came out when I was in middle school. I love following Mia’s journey throughout the years.

This book brought all of the fun characters and antics back with the typical sprinkling of pop culture references and current events relevant at the time (in this case- COVID) I really enjoyed the nostalgia and popping back into the world.

My only complaint is that I felt like Mia was still whining and complaining like her teenage self and not like a mom in her thirties. While we whine and complain too, I feel like the seriousness of her being in charge of the country and two whole human beings lives was missing and it it felt like watching your favorite childhood sitcom’s new reboot- there was just something missing. In this case, I think Mia’s character just wasn’t realistic as a thirty something millennial Mom.

"Mia Thermopolis knows just what to do in a crisis: Rule.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, a section of the diary of Princess Mia Thermopolis of Genovia fell into the hands of Meg Cabot, the Princess's royal biographer.

As reported in media outlets such as Entertainment Weekly, The Mary Sue, Refinery 29, Bustle, and more, from March until June of 2020, sixteen entries of the princess's diary were leaked onto Ms. Cabot's blog, to the delight of over a million fans.

In these entries, titled The Coronavirus Princess Diaries, the princess recorded her most heartfelt emotions while dealing with her husband's quarantine after exposure to the virus; her personal (and political) battles while imposing health restrictions on her small European nation; life during lockdown (even in as idyllic a location as a palace on the Riviera); and of course, dealing with her demanding royal family, especially her grandmother.

Since then, readers have been clamoring for more chapters of Mia's coronavirus diary...and here they are at last: The Quarantine Princess Diaries include not only the previously released entries (now edited and updated with new content), but two hundred more pages of entirely original, never-before-seen entries, including the princess's worries over a possible royal affair; a showdown between Mia and Grandmère over the latter's intended nuptials; the eventual development and distribution of a groundbreaking intranasal vaccine for every citizen in Genovia; and, as always, a royally happy ending.

After all we've been through, what could be more comforting for any lover of royal romance than snuggling up with a brand new installment of the diary of Mia Thermopolis, the princess who started it all?"

So excited to be back with Mia... But I kind of wish it was the third movie...

Updated review now that Harper Collins Union has received a contract.

It was stressful in a way to kind of relieve the early days of the pandemic in this factionalized setting, especially since Mia is such a worrier. I despite that, it really nice to be back in Genovia with Mia and the gang. Really, this was a comfort read, I’ve been a Princess Diaries reader from almost the beginning and I enjoyed every bit of the read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for the eRC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed going back to see Mia! This was a fun book with my old beloved characters, trying to manage a kingdom through Covid-19. It was light, fun, and just want I liked about the original books.

I greatly enjoyed reading this collection from Meg Cabot. Having read The Princess Diaries as a young girl it was exciting to hear Mia's perspective on current events.

I've always been a huge Princess Diaries fan and despite never wanting to think about the pandemic again, this book was so good! Loved it!

2 stars

This Is an installment of the princess diaries where Mia is princess of genovia and they are going through the coronavirus as a country. She has many obstacles similar to what the world experienced in the heat of the pandemic.

I found it to be a bit light and annoying with no real theme.

I appreciate netgalley allowing me to read it for an honest review.

The year was 2020 and Queen Mia Thermopolis was beginning to struggle with the Covid 19 pandemic like the rest of the world. Mia was now in her 30's, married to Michael Moscovitz and the mother of twins. Mia wrote in her diary the daily events documenting how she tried to keep the citizens of Genovia safe from disease while dealing with the antics of those living with her in the palace. She is met with resistance and support while trying her best to keep everyone happy.

Fans of the series will be happy to see old friends in this newest installment of the diaries. There are the usual selfish relatives and the supportive friends which made this story like visiting an old friend. I found myself thinking "___ is still doing/acting like that?" like I was catching up with an old friend.
Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager, Avon Impulse and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this arc

It truly pains me to give a "Princess Diaries" book this low of a rating, but this book is just not up to Cabot's usual standards. I had read quite a few of these lockdown entries during our actual lockdown in the U.S., when Cabot was posting them on her website, and I enjoyed them as casual blog posts. But grouped together into a novel, with new material added, they just don't make for a fun read. Every other page has Cabot hammering home, through her characters, the stupid arguments of anti-vaxxers and those individuals refusing to believe in the science behind the restrictions and proper COVID behavior. It comes across as unceasingly strident and belabored, and doesn't age well past the period of lockdown. I'm assuming that the majority of Cabot's fans already know and believe these things, and since I know and agree with the points she was trying to make, it got old really quickly. Mia and the palace are in lockdown in Genovia! Michael has to isolate so Mia is deprived of his physical presence for 14 days! The whole family is nutso as usual! Grandmere gets engaged to a college student partying in Genovia over spring break right before lockdown! Everyone is angry at Mia for the restrictions and mask mandates! If you want fun and enjoyable adult Mia, go read "Royal Wedding" In fact, I might go reread it just to feel less annoyed. Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager, and Avon Impulse for a digital review copy.

This was definitely a major nostalgia bump. However, now that I've read significantly better writers, I'm not sure Meg Cabot hits very well for me anymore.

I was SO disappointed in this book, and I could not force myself to finish it. I was disappointed in the portrayal of both Mia and felt it was a huge departure from her character in past books.

We all know by the synopsis what this book is about. It's about Mia and her family and extended family living through the first year or so of Covid and being quarantined! This series has now been running for 22 years!

I thought this book was an adult novel, but I'm not sure. The character of Mia is so immature that I wondered if she had ever grown from her introduction to this series. When I looked this up to see how long this series had been running, I was amazed to see that the very first book was for kids 11 years old and up...it sure has changed since Mia is married. However, she still acts very immaturely, and I can't suspend my disbelief enough to envision her running a country.

The issues I had with this book are the massive amounts of politics, political correctness, wokeness, and anti-America/Americans are 'idiots' trope. This is from an author who was born in Indiana!

If you are totally left-wing, you will love this book-if you are very strongly right-wing, you may hate it. Hopefully, you are somewhere in the middle and will find you enjoy the messages you will receive from this novel.

These issues aside, it is a cute, fast-reading book for days when you don't want to overthink what you are reading.

*ARC supplied by the publisher, NetGalley, and the author.

the princess diaries was one of my favorite books and movie growing up, so getting the chance to catch back up with everyone’s favorite queen in the most uncertain of times was fun and nostalgic!

My childhood has come back around - I remember obsessively reading the Princess Diaries series in the early-to-mid 2000s. I can't remember if I was completely caught up, but I definitely read most of them. This is just as I remember it. Very light and easy to read, although, yes, if you find the pandemic triggering then you're probably going to want to avoid this one! I'm not sure a new reader to the series would want to read this, but if you're a Meb Cabot and/or Princess Diaries series fan then go ahead and pick this one up and enjoy!

(Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.)

Seeing a new book with Princess Mia again was like visiting an old friend. I have read all the princess diaries since I was a teenager and it was such a joy to read her diary entries again. I was curious about the quarantine theme as covid was a stressful time but reading Mia’s take on it gave it some humor and a light hearted take. Grandmere was my favorite in this book she had some great lines and gave me a few laughs. I loved that all of the characters made a return.
Readers can expect to laugh and reminisce on the quarantine times, if you have read her past books you will enjoy this one as thank you to netgalley Avon and Harper Voyager, and Avon Impulse for the advanced readers copy, truly an enjoyable read