Ransom My Heart

by Meg Cabot

Paperback, 2009

Status

Available

Call number

813.54

Publication

William Morrow Paperbacks (2009), Paperback, 432 pages

Description

Finnula needs money for her sister's dowry, and fast. Hugo Fitzstephen, returning home to England from the Crusades with saddlebags of jewels, has money, and lots of it. What could be simpler than to kidnap him and hold him for ransom? Well, for starters, Finnula could make the terrible mistake of falling in love with her hostage.

User reviews

LibraryThing member theepicrat

Ransom My Heart is a light-hearted romp in a world similar to that of Robin Hood. Finn proves to a spirited young woman who is not afraid to speak her mind, and Hugo is the man who proves to be her equal (though she vehemently denies it at first). A charming and bubbly read that you will finish

before you know it! The writing is luscious and the characters very lovable!

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LibraryThing member auntangi

I love Meg Cabot, so I will read just about anything of her's. This book was a fun little romp and a very quick read. Great for a lazy Saturday or a rainy afternoon...not literature by any stretch of the imagination, but worth the time.

LibraryThing member stephxsu

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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LibraryThing member Runa

I am neither a historical fiction reader, nor a romance reader. The sole reason I wanted to read this book was because of the fact that it was written by the great Meg Cabot. Cabot has written young adult historical romances (Nicola and the Viscount, Victoria and the Rogue) and I was not a fan of

those. For the most part, I was completely enchanted by Finnula's story. It's great to see a romance novel that breaks romance novel stereotypes of weak, helpless women waiting for strong burly men to do everything for them. Things like this (and minor anachronisms) remind the reader that this is theoretically being written by a girl in her senior year of high school. It's a fun read, though not entirely suitable for young adults (but you just know Princess Diaries fans are going to ignore this fact and read it anyways). Everything's great until the end approaches. The wedding is skipped over, and then a weird storyline begins. I honestly believe the wedding should have been an ending with an elaborate wedding scene, and then anything after that could have served as either an epilogue or as a sequel. It felt as though it were two entirely different books, and read pretty awkwardly. There's no main idea throughout the entire book, it's two different ones (the first being 'falling in love', the second 'death threats, oh no!').

Rating: 4/5

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LibraryThing member vanedow

The premise of this book is pretty entertaining, even before you get to the story. The book is written by Mia Thermopolis, the main character of Cabot’s Princess Diaries books. Meg Cabot is just helping her write. A chapter from one of the Princess Diaries books is included at the back,

explaining a bit about why Mia is writing.

Therefore, Meg Cabot’s trademark humorous style is toned down quite a bit in this novel, though smile-worthy scenes are found throughout. The main characters are extremely likeable and fun to adventure with. This is a romance novel, yes, but it’s a romance novel with an actual plot and character development! (Of which I’m sure there are many, I’m just addressing comments people made to me when I told them what I was reading.) Reading a romance novel is definitely off the beaten track for me, but I really enjoyed this story.

So, overall, I recommend this book! It’s fun, sexy and definitely worth a read.

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LibraryThing member sarah8888

i read this purely because i had already finished the rest of meg cabot's books, and was surprised by how entertaining it was. It is by no means some great piece of literature but it is a really cute, dirty little read. It is a good fusion between tacky raunchy love story and decent book, combining

dirty humor with character's you actually like.

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LibraryThing member bonbonsandreveries

Finnula Crais is a female Robin Hood, known as Fair Finn. She helps feed the poor (by stealing from the rich). She is a skilled archer. If that isn’t enough to cause the town to gossip, she also wears men’s clothes. gasp The horror! When Finnula’s unwed sister becomes pregnant, Finnula is

forced to help. Finnula goes in search of a rich man to take hostage to pay for her sister’s dowry. She captures Hugo, a knight on his way home from the Crusades. An amused Hugo allows himself to be captured. Their journey back is filled with tension (will they or won’t they)-it is intense. I don’t want to give anything away but that is only the first half of the book. The second half is drenched in mystery, and romance too.
Finnula and Hugo were great characters. Finnula is a redhead tomboy who won’t let anyone push her around. Hugo, on the other hand, is arrogant and bossy. They are constantly arguing. Most of it is playful though. He wants her to wear dresses while she insists on wearing men’s clothes. Underneath all their arguing, they really love each other. The great thing about these characters is that neither changed who they were for the other, they learned to compromise. They both kept their values, which I think makes them work well together-especially for the story. It’s the main cause of their constant head butting.
Ransom My Heart is a great novel filled with romance (lots of it), adventure, suspense, and bit of mystery.
Warning: some sex scenes.

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LibraryThing member princess-starr

Tie-in books are something that I have mixed feelings about, particularly ones that are supposed to be “in-universe” books. I’ve read a handful of titles like these, and most of the time, I find them to be not very good, since a lot of the focus is more on “Shout out! Original source

reference! Pander to the fanbase! Pander!”

Which is why I was surprised that I liked Ransom My Heart so much. It’s set up to be a tie-in with the last Princess Diaries book (as evidenced by the introduction by Meg Cabot), but it feels like an actual book in its own right. A lot of the shout-outs and references to the main series feel more like “Oh, I see what you did there,” instead of being in big, 72 point font so that the reader can notice it. It works because this is a novel by a teenage girl who uses references she knows from her daily life, so I can excuse the obvious references. (And also, I’ve done it in…well, a lot of my own writing.)

The story as a whole is actually enjoyable, as well. I don’t classify myself as a traditional romance fan, so reading this was a different experience for me. Sure, a lot of the story is very predictable and relies heavily on the “Slap slap kiss” trope, but the majority of the main characters are likeable and fun. I enjoyed Finnula and Hugo’s back and forth relationship; I liked Hugo as a main love interest, especially his interactions with some of the other characters; and the plot moves quickly and doesn’t drag. It’s a good book that manages to stand on its own from the main series. (When this was first released, I recommended it to several historical romance fans who had never heard of The Princess Diaries outside of the movies.) A very fun read.

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LibraryThing member mrsdanaalbasha

When the feisty but beautiful maiden Finnula Crais kidnaps a knight on his way home, she has no idea that she has trapped new Earl of Stephensgate. But Hugo Fitzstephen is quite happy to be kidnapped, especially by such a spirited beauty. Before long Finnula realize she is out of her depth, since

Hugo not only wants his freedom but also the possession of her body, soul and heart. Finnula isn't afraid of anything, well except maybe falling in love.

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LibraryThing member mrsdanaalbasha

Hugo not only wants his freedom but also the possession of her body, soul and heart. Finnula isn't afraid of anything, well except maybe falling in love.

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LibraryThing member AllAndAnyBooks

i've read this book twice now and it always gets better. It will always be one of my favorite books. I truly love the characters in this book and Finnula could be an idol to all women and girls. I've always liked books where the female character does what she likes and this book doesn't disappoint.

Meg Cabot and Princess Mia truly did something marvelous to the world by creating this book. I always do and always will recommend this book to everybody who just happens to be near me! Can't help but be in love.

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