I just really hope that Peder and Miri’s next adventure is more exciting than the one they just had. It’s not cool how it’s a step down from Princess Academy, but I guess that’s partly my fault that I’m a picky reader. It hurts a lot, but I feel as if Palace of Stone deserves it. I really hate giving Shannon Hale a bad review. They’re blank characters for you to remember, and that’s about it. Another thing to keep in mind is that Katar, Gerti, Esa and Liana aren’t really in the story. It’s not as if I love Peder’s inability to express his feelings for Miri. You have to keep in mind the words “too bad,” though. I missed Peder a lot, and I guess the romance wasn’t too bad. It’s nice to read about Mount Eskel again, no matter how morphed the plot is. However, I did love all the elements with the linder and Britta and the magical touches that are only in Shannon Hale’s books. She’s just not as great of a character anymore. She doesn’t have the right mindset to solving all the problems. She’s annoyingly clingy and underwhelming. She still strong in terms when compared to other protagonists, but that doesn’t cut it. In Palace of Stone, Miri’s nowhere near as strong. She really developed and became a heroine. In Princess Academy, Miri came to be a strong character. I feel like Miri’s not as strong of a character anymore. It’s just that when you have a perfect boy, there’s really no need for a love triangle. Don’t get me wrong, Peder is the perfect boy. However, if Miri really had chosen Timon, I wouldn’t have anything to complain about. Shannon Hale had so much freedom when writing Palace of Stone, yet she just had to put in a love triangle! It’s pretty obvious that Miri would choose Peder that happens in every single novel. I guess there’s nothing else to say about my feelings now. I think Palace of Stone is a great book, but it’s just nowhere close to Princess Academy. You might want a good year or so before reading Palace of Stone if you loved Princess Academy to pieces. It’s disappointing though, especially if you’ve just finished reading Princess Academy. I guess Palace of Stone could be called pretty good. Picking up where Princess Academy left off, this incredible stand-alone story celebrates the joys of friendship, the delight of romance, and the fate of a beloved fairy tale kingdom. Soon Miri finds herself torn between loyalty to the princess and her new friends’ ideas, between an old love and a new crush, and between her small mountain home and the bustling city.

They think that Miri will help them, that she “should “help them. There, Miri befriends students who seem so sophisticated and exciting… until she learns that they have some frightening plans. When Miri and her friends from Mount Eskel set off to help the future princess Britta prepare for her royal wedding, she is happy about her chance to attend school in the capital city. Coming down from the mountain to a new life in the city seems a thrill beyond imagining.

Palace of stone shannon hale