At this stage, we really thought we couldn't be surprised by Sweet Valley's approach to law enforcement and detective work. But then we learned that the only person investigating the crime scene at Fowler Crest, which was almost burned to the ground by an unknown arsonist, is... Steven Wakefield. Yes, who better to figure out how and why a fire started than an 18-year-old intern? And that's just one of the many preposterous things that happen in the latter half of this book! As an increasingly worried Lila starts to wonder if the arsonist is still after her, she and Steven get closer - but he's not totally convinced of her innocence. Meanwhile Jessica proves herself to be a surprisingly good friend, Liz and Todd continue to be deeply annoying, and Devon is betrayed (although he's so insufferable we simply can't be outraged on his behalf).  Remember, if you can help us expand our SVU collection, which we would really appreciate, you can see what we need here and mail us at [email protected]: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wgq5a-0C3zoTC065tOzJmSkI2kNBBe2K38Hu8jn8qg8/edit?usp=sharing  This show is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. For more, go to HeadStuffPodcasts.com, where you can also become a member of HeadStuff+ and get exclusive access to bonus material and lots more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At last, we're back in Sweet Valley! What with Flair and the Chateau, it feels like we haven't seen the SVH cafeteria in months, but the gang's all here this week, and there's only one topic of conversation: the fire that just destroyed Fowler Crest! Yes, after a sorrowful Lila burns her love letters from Bo while home alone one night, she wakes to find her home in ablaze. She assumes it was an accident - but the DA's office is sure it was arson, and, for some preposterous reason, they enlist none other than Stephen Wakefield to investigate the case. Why? Don't ask us, we've given up hoping for any semblance of logic from the Sweet Valley justice system. Meanwhile, Pob II: The Revenge, aka Devon Whitelaw, is making his way across the country and being absolutely insufferable.  Remember, if you can help us expand our SVU collection, which we would really appreciate, you can see what we need here and mail us at [email protected]: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wgq5a-0C3zoTC065tOzJmSkI2kNBBe2K38Hu8jn8qg8/edit?usp=sharing  This show is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. For more, go to HeadStuffPodcasts.com, where you can also become a member of HeadStuff+ and get exclusive access to bonus material and lots more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's our last visit to the Chateau d'Amour Inconnu, and we're leaving on a high note, because the second half of the book is full of unhinged drama, including one scene which immediately earns its place in the Sweet Valley gallery of iconic moments. With Jacques nobly sacrificing himself to prove the twins' innocence, will he spend the rest of his days in the dungeon? Will Laurent grow a spine? And will we ever find out the source of the Countess's seemingly limitless power? The answer to all three questions is no! Remember, if you can help us expand our SVU collection, which we would really appreciate, you can see what we need here and mail us at [email protected]: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wgq5a-0C3zoTC065tOzJmSkI2kNBBe2K38Hu8jn8qg8/edit?usp=sharing This show is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. For more, go to HeadStuffPodcasts.com, where you can also become a member of HeadStuff+ and get exclusive access to bonus material and lots more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Release the hounds! The twins have escaped the dungeon, but being the big eejits they are, they can't resist returning to the Chateau for... reasons. Don't expect anything here to make sense, especially the geography of the de Sainte-Maries' kingdom which becomes even more confusing in this book. But there's still a lot to enjoy/mock, including Jessica's surprising bushcraft skills, Laurent having the backbone of a jellyfish (seriously, he might be the biggest sap we've ever encountered in this series and that's saying something) and Jacques's 19th century-style origin story. Remember, if you can help us expand our SVU collection, which we would really appreciate, you can see what we need here and mail us at [email protected]: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wgq5a-0C3zoTC065tOzJmSkI2kNBBe2K38Hu8jn8qg8/edit?usp=sharing  This show is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. For more, go to HeadStuffPodcasts.com, where you can also become a member of HeadStuff+ and get exclusive access to bonus material and lots more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alas, our hopes for some Frank Cobra level excitement in the second half of this book were not realised, as most of it consists of Jessica being unbearable, Jacques acting like a prize fool, Laurent being a spineless embarrassment and Liz running away crying. Only the constantly shrieking Countess di Rimini and her total disregard for the laws of France bring the drama, and boy does she leave the best until last - yes, it may have been (insanely) spoilered in the book, and yes, we may have to wait until the very end of the book to see it happen, but we do get the see the Wakefield twins where they belong - chained to the walls of a medieval dungeon! Remember, if you can help us expand our SVU collection, which we would really appreciate, you can see what we need here and mail us at [email protected]: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wgq5a-0C3zoTC065tOzJmSkI2kNBBe2K38Hu8jn8qg8/edit?usp=sharing This show is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. For more, go to HeadStuffPodcasts.com, where you can also become a member of HeadStuff+ and get exclusive access to bonus material and lots more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're back at the Château, where both twins feel like they've found their happily ever afters with handsome Frenchmen (is Laurent actually French or is he a citizen of the unnamed principality? Unclear). But there's trouble in paradise. Jessica's dreams of being accepted by her royal bosses as the girlfriend of the heir to the Norveaux dukedom are shattered when Jacques spins her a preposterous yarn about ancient feuds, while Liz's initially fairy tale romance with Prince Laurent takes a turn when his parents give him a preposterous ultimatum. This book is full of tedious banter, annoying children and a shameful retconning of the previously charming Louis and Jacques but don't lose hope - the blurb promises us that the twins will end up imprisoned in a dungeon in part two!  Remember, if you can help us expand our SVU collection, which we would really appreciate, you can see what we need here and mail us at [email protected]: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wgq5a-0C3zoTC065tOzJmSkI2kNBBe2K38Hu8jn8qg8/edit?usp=sharing  This show is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. For more, go to HeadStuffPodcasts.com, where you can also become a member of HeadStuff+ and get exclusive access to bonus material and lots more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Anna is feeling under the weather this week, unfortunately we don't have a new episode for you. However, here is a taste of the bonus podcast with our second episode of the Caitlin series. We hope you enjoy! If you want to listen to the full series become a member at headstuffpodcasts.com/membership. We're back at Highgate Academy, where Caitlin Ryan continues to be (a) absolutely unhinged and (b) as subtle as a brick. Her scheme to woo rootin' tootin' newcomer Jed hits a snag in the form of "mousy" scholarship girl Diana, whose very presence is judged "disgusting" by our raven haired antiheroine. Jed inexplicably seems to prefer Diana's company to the psychotic Caitlin's - but Caitlin won't accept defeat that easily... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're coming to the cottage! No, not the fun romantic one, we're talking about Laurent's mysterious maze-adjacent home, where Liz takes refuge after being caught in a storm. This pair of doses met in their dreams (ugh) and now they're staying up all night engaging in witless banter. Is Liz right when she wonders if Laurent is her destiny? He does know the way to woo a Sweet Valley girl (it involves a basket and some fancy cheese). Meanwhile Jessica is starting to feel guilty about burning Todd's letter (if only the royal family didn't have fires blazing at the height of a Mediterranean summer) and gets a scary shock in her turret...  Remember, if you can help us expand our SVU collection, which we would really appreciate, you can see what we need here and mail us at [email protected]: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wgq5a-0C3zoTC065tOzJmSkI2kNBBe2K38Hu8jn8qg8/edit?usp=sharing  This show is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. For more, go to HeadStuffPodcasts.com, where you can also become a member of HeadStuff+ and get exclusive access to bonus material and lots more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We return to the Escher drawing that is the Chateau d'Amour Inconnu, situated on an island that continues to baffle us with its weird geography. Yes, the twins have arrived at their new royal workplace, where their employers are charming but they are expected to sleep in a filthy garret. While Jessica skives off from her duties - looking after children who reinforce our belief that no one involved in the Pascalverse has ever met an actual child – Liz spots a mysterious stranger thrusting his sword outside a cottage (get your minds out of the gutter, people). Has she met her destiny? Todd was right to set her free...  Remember, if you can help us expand our SVU collection, which we would really appreciate, you can see what we need here and mail us at ⁠[email protected]⁠: ⁠https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wgq5a-0C3zoTC065tOzJmSkI2kNBBe2K38Hu8jn8qg8/edit?usp=sharing⁠  This show is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. For more, go to ⁠HeadStuffPodcasts.com⁠, where you can also become a member of HeadStuff+ and get exclusive access to bonus material and lots more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bienvenue, listeners! Yes, we're living through the longest, grimmest winter ever, but Jessica and Elizabeth are heading to the south of France again (or as the ghostwriter would have us believe, the first time. René who?) to spend the summer (what summer? Who cares!) as au pairs. To our great delight, Todd basically tells Liz he can't trust her and sets her free for the summer. You'd think she'd be delighted given her previous antics but she spends the entire journey to the Chateau d'Amour Inconnu crying and sulking. Unlike Jessica, who strikes up an instant rapport with a hot young Frenchman and his roguish father. Jessica's fallen in love - but can Jacques and Louis be trusted? All we know is they're both too good for the Wakefields. And as they head south, meanwhile, down at the Chateau, a young prince confronts his destiny - and has a prophetic dream...  Remember, if you can help us expand our SVU collection, which we would really appreciate, you can see what we need here and mail us at [email protected]: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wgq5a-0C3zoTC065tOzJmSkI2kNBBe2K38Hu8jn8qg8/edit?usp=sharing  This show is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. For more, go to HeadStuffPodcasts.com, where you can also become a member of HeadStuff+ and get exclusive access to bonus material and lots more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices