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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It's been a long time since I read the other two books in this series, but I think I like Desmia better than I liked Cecilia.
Desmia is so full of fear it's a wonder that she can function, but it is that fear that allows her to be brave. She isn't so full of sass like Cecilia is, which is kind of a breath of fresh air. For some reason it seems like authors think the only way to create a strong female character is to make her sassy, which isn't true. Desmia might not be obviously strong, but she is strong in less obvious ways. She was raised by a cruel madman, and still managed to remain kind. She understands how many dishonest people think, but that doesn't make her dishonest. I wasn't surprised at all when
Desmia went through a whole lot of character growth in this book, I'm glad she has learned to trust people more, and thank goodness she stopped thinking of herself as better than the commoners. Though I think it'll be a lot of work for her (and her sister princesses) to fix their kingdom, as it stands, thirteen fourteen-year-olds don't seem quite mature enough to rule it.
I really like Herk and Janelia. I didn't like Tog and Herk's names. The only way I remembered Herk's name was to pretend that it was a nickname for Hercules, and I kept forgetting Tog's name when I wasn't reading. I don't know what it is about those two short, inelegant names that made it so hard for me to remember them, but it also seemed odd because all the other names I've come across in this series seem to be either elegant or normal (or both) so I found these two names that were neither appealing nor normal to be rather obnoxious.
Desmia is so full of fear it's a wonder that she can function, but it is that fear that allows her to be brave. She isn't so full of sass like Cecilia is, which is kind of a breath of fresh air. For some reason it seems like authors think the only way to create a strong female character is to make her sassy, which isn't true. Desmia might not be obviously strong, but she is strong in less obvious ways. She was raised by a cruel madman, and still managed to remain kind. She understands how many dishonest people think, but that doesn't make her dishonest. I wasn't surprised at all when
Spoiler
she ended up with Tog. I do like her and Tog together, but there were two problems with the pairing, the first is that they're only fourteen. I'm not much for romantic relationships in characters that young. The other problem is Tog. When he rescued Desmia, he seemed to like her, then, when they were getting ready to leave until about the time Terrance abandoned them, he seemed to hate her, then suddenly he acted like he liked her again, but there was nothing in between either of these opinion changes to indicate why he felt the way that he did about her, or why his opinion changed. I also wasn't at all surprised when Terrance left them, or when he betrayed themDesmia went through a whole lot of character growth in this book, I'm glad she has learned to trust people more, and thank goodness she stopped thinking of herself as better than the commoners. Though I think it'll be a lot of work for her (and her sister princesses) to fix their kingdom, as it stands, thirteen fourteen-year-olds don't seem quite mature enough to rule it.
I really like Herk and Janelia. I didn't like Tog and Herk's names. The only way I remembered Herk's name was to pretend that it was a nickname for Hercules, and I kept forgetting Tog's name when I wasn't reading. I don't know what it is about those two short, inelegant names that made it so hard for me to remember them, but it also seemed odd because all the other names I've come across in this series seem to be either elegant or normal (or both) so I found these two names that were neither appealing nor normal to be rather obnoxious.
Reread 3/12/2025:
The way this is still everything I want in a princess adventure book yayyyy
Original:
Am a sucker for princess books, this was a MS fave.
The way this is still everything I want in a princess adventure book yayyyy
Original:
Am a sucker for princess books, this was a MS fave.
Mild adventure, but I did not like this installment as well as "Just Ella".
i read this not knowing it was a part of a series (i think???) but it was still good just a little boring at times
I found Palace of Lies to be enjoyable as a stand-alone story. (I received it in a check out "grab-bag" of librarian recommendations from my local library.) Desmia's journey over the course of the book was pretty interesting, though I would liked to have seen more of the aftermath of the events at the end of the book. The author provided plenty of information to deduce what had happened in the previous two books, but I'm not sure if I would go back and read them after having read this one first. I would consider reading a sequel though...
Just Ella is my favorite in the series still, but I enjoyed this one and was happy to see more of Desmia. I really enjoyed her character growth and the way she was able to see other people in new ways. It was one I probably would have loved when I was younger, but it was still a pretty fun read as an adult.
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
So there's nothing inherently wrong with this story or plot but it's been several years since I finished [b: Palace of Mirrors|2208767|Palace of Mirrors (The Palace Chronicles, #2)|Margaret Peterson Haddix|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348977828s/2208767.jpg|2214543] and I really wanted to see a fleshing out of the princesses that aren't Cecelia or Desmia. We know barely anything about them from the previous book and while more was added onto here, it was only in snippets. I would have settled for a Cecelia-Desmia team up but even that was denied to me, with Cecelia showing up spoiler: . I think a strength of the book was taking Desmia out of the palace, and thus essentially out of her depth, and I liked the exploration of her backstory. I also liked being able to see how Charming had changed and grown as a character since the last time we saw him. Ultimately, I was hoping for more of an exploration (or I suppose, a deconstruction of sorts) of how the thirteen princesses together ruling together would have looked like, and some kind of court intrigue would have been my idea of a conflict or plot for that story. I think I'd be more satisfied with this book if I could know for sure that it would be the middle story with a more satisfying conclusion in a final Sualan book.
Spoiler
only fifteen pages from the end
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Palace of Lies was such a fun book, and a lovely ending to the Palace Chronicles Triology. I loved getting to learn more about Desmia and see her grow as a person as she learns more about the world outside the castle. The ending was especially fun, as I had no idea what was going to happen next! My only wish is that the Palace Chronicles had been a longer series. I love the characters and think it would have been fun to have more books about the lives of all the different princesses.