Palace of Stone (Princess Academy #2)

by Shannon Hale

"Coming down from the mountain to a new life in the city is a thrill to Miri. She and her princess academy friends have been brought to Asland to help the future princess Britta prepare for her wedding.There, Miri also has a chance to attend school-at the Queen's Castle. But as Miri befriends students who seem sophisticated and exciting she also learns that they have some frightening plans. 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, Miri looks to find her own way in this new place.

Picking up where "Princess Academy" left off, and celebrating the joys of friendship, romance and the fate of fairy tale kingdoms, this new book delivers the completely delightful new story that fans have been waiting for."

Another slow starter, but that could be blamed, once again, on the lack of momentum from reading book #1 so long ago. Once I got into this book, it did have a compelling plot and lovable characters.  The story was predictable, but not without the charm Hale's Books of Bayern possess.

I enjoyed Miri's journey of self discovery, her coming of age. Specifically, I liked the fact that Miri, while sometimes confused or lost, never wavered in her loyalty and remained herself throughout the story.  I also enjoyed the continuance, although subtle, of Britta and Stephan's romance.  Peder is darling; perhaps the most endearing character.  Another favorite in this story is Frid whose personality shines through the writing.

All in all, a good follow up to The Princess Academy.

Enna Burning

by Shannon Hale

Enna Burning is the sequel to The Goose Girl. The story is told from the perspective of a character, Enna, who played a minor role in the first book.

I really think this type of book is Hale's niche. Very fun to read, well developed plot and characters and a great continuation of the series. One thing I particularly liked is that Hale managed to continue Isi's story as well in this installment, while still allowing Enna to be the main voice.

This book was just a simple, enjoyable read and I don't have a lot of criticism. I'm excited to read the remaining books in the Bayern series.

The Goose Girl

by Shannon Hale

I have had The Goose Girl sitting on my shelf for MONTHS, but for some reason I haven't been able to pick it up. Once I did, I didn't want to put it down.

The book starts off a little slow, typical of Hale. I like that the story starts out in one place and the story evolves from there, creating history and depth as you're reading. I also appreciated the fact that there weren't hundreds of pages dedicated to narrating weeks-long journeys; apples gathered, bales of hay slept in, etc. The best part of this book was the way the protagonist, Ani, changed and gained an awareness of who she was, who she wanted to be and, ultimately, who she became. It was all very subtle and enmeshed in the story.

Hale is a very accomplished writer and the culture of Bayern flowed seamlessly. I liked the characters, although I would have enjoyed a more complete development of Geric. The antagonists were deliciously villainous and possessed intelligence, which I find more realistic than a group of dumb thugs. The jealous goose boy, Conrad, provided some wonderful, if predictable, conflict as well.

The biggest complaint that I have with The Goose Girl is the gory and morbid imagery of punished miscreants and, especially disturbing to me, was the sub-plot involving Ani's horse, Falada. It was heart wrenching, but too graphic and cruel.

This book would have a "G" rating if not for the violence. Excellent and fun read despite.