carlyw444's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
frispbabe's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
yapha's review against another edition
4.0
This third installment in the Pennyroyal Academy series begins just as Evie and the other second year students have officially advanced and are being sent home for the summer. In a move that no one expects, the witches have launched a coordinated attack against the carriages filled with Pennyroyal students, faculty, and family members. The princesses fight back hard, and return to find Pennyroyal Academy under siege. Evie, Basil, Demetra, Maggie, and Forbes set off on a secret mission to get help before it is too late. The theme of family is woven throughout the book, as each of the Princesses and Knights must decide what influence his/her family has over the person s/he hopes to become. Highly recommended for fans of the series, grades 4 and up. I strongly suggest reading them in order.
Copy provided by publisher.
Copy provided by publisher.
alice19850's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
kapago97's review against another edition
4.0
Not the ending I want. It was closed nicely but there is still more information I want to know and relationships I want to see. I wish there was a 4th book since another epic battle is eluded to.
lenni_loves_literature's review against another edition
4.0
I fell in love with this series from book 1. I don't feel too sad now that it's over now, I'm a little disappointed. The ending...I just didn't like it. I mean, we spent like the whole series thinking that the Warrior Princess was Evie and then, with less than ten pages left, we find out it's DEMETRA. No!!!! Whyyyyy?!?!😫ðŸ˜ðŸ˜« I was going to give this a 4.5, but that ending gave it a 4. Grrrrrrmmmmm
What I DID like about this book was the action and adventure and EVERYTHING except, you know, the end. Evie gets her dragon dad back and her human mom...sort of. But I guess you know that since I put on spoilers and you're still reading this.
I loved this series and I recommend it to every fantasy fan in the whole wide universe.
What I DID like about this book was the action and adventure and EVERYTHING except, you know, the end. Evie gets her dragon dad back and her human mom...sort of. But I guess you know that since I put on spoilers and you're still reading this.
I loved this series and I recommend it to every fantasy fan in the whole wide universe.
erine's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed the whole series, but this final installment really brought a number of things together very nicely.
elephant's review against another edition
4.0
This is a fun to read last book in the series about Pennyroyal Academy. I do think it has potential to be continued if the author chooses to do so though and I would love to see that happen. As the story begins, Evie and Maggie are attacked by witches and rush to the Academy and find that it is under attack by witches as well. There is lots of action, adventure and courage as Evie and her friends try to save the Academy from the witches. They learn again that fear is conquered by love and that kindness and respect are the marks of a true princess.
vanserra's review against another edition
3.0
This definitely wasn't my favorite of the series, but it was a pretty good sendoff. I thought all of the plot lines were wrapped up nicely.
charlottedrummond's review against another edition
5.0
OH HOW LONG I HAVE WAITED FOR THIS.
The process of this waiting was really one of the main things that made my reading experience all the more enjoyable. After finishing Shadow Cadets last June, I had to know when the final installment would arrive. And to my utter dismay, there was no set release date at the time. Every day was long and tedious. I ended up re-reading the first and second books because my hunger for them was so immense. And once August rolled around I WAS READY. I re-read (for the third time) Pennyroyal Academy and the Shadow Cadets of Pennyroyal Academy, just before reading this one. And when I checked my Goodreads, I had already rated it five stars. And it definitely was.
If you haven't read the first or second books in the series, I recommend this thoroughly for those who are getting into fantasy (or those who are simply overwhelmed by high fantasy and intense world building and such). Lovers of middle-grade fantasy will especially appreciate this (even though I'm not quite sure how old the characters are. But it reads like a middle grade, whether or not the main characters are within that age group). But this book got me singing and it's just fantastic.
If you haven't read this one yet - warned of spoilers or talk of events from previous books! I have not hidden this review due to the fact that this series deserves more praise (shout out to M.A. Larson).
I had a number of theories going into this.
1. When I first read the synopsis and found out that witches were taking over the Academy, I PRAYED that they wouldn't stay there the whole time. Too much has to happen in the final book for it to be stuck in a castle.
2. In the first and second books, everyone kept going on and on about how Evie is the Warrior Princess. But I found that a bit suspicious. I mean, why shove it in your face? So I decided that Evie was not the Warrior Princess. Nah, she's just a badass who was raised by dragons. I'm sure she'll have her own cool title.
3. I wanted to know about EVIE'S BIRTH MOTHER. The first time I read Shadow Cadets, I was on a red eye flight for five hours and I really wanted to read that thing. So about halfway through the flight, I just started skimming. After re-reading it a few months later, I found out that I missed quite a bit. For those months, I thought that Evie's dragon mother was actually Evie's birth mother, but she was under a curse or something. I don't know how I came to that conclusion but wow I'm disappointed in myself. Anyway, VORABEND. I had plenty of side theories about who she was. Since her husband, King Callahan, was known to have looked out at the sea for hours at night, I thought that maybe she was a mermaid. Hahahahahha I know. Whatever. Then I thought she might be a sea witch. Anyway, I thought she was some underwater creature. I wanted her back story so freaking badly.
And guess what? I CAUGHT THEM ALL. They left the castle, Evie was not the Warrior Princess, AND VORABEND IS FREAKING PRINCESS MIDDLEMISS. (I totally didn't catch that AT ALL).
And I completely forgot about the Queen of the Academy.
GOsh some much happened in this book.
Well, at first I was scared that it would end too soon because of the long journey to Goblin's Glade and such. But it ended up working out really well.
There was a whole lotta drama in this book. A lot of people died.
Remington's dad (yep he's king now poor child)
Basil's sister (yep she got a sister, but apparently she's been dead for a bit. well, turned into stone but I count that. Also she got the same name as meee)
Forbes's mom (killed by a dragon OF COURSE - no wonder he hated them. also Forbes had a fantastic character/redemption arc damn son)
Sage (I think, though she was also turned to stone. we don't know what happened to her. honestly)
Marline??? (poor girl, what a great character. pretty sure she's dead since she doesn't show up again. I really thought she would. plus basil left her stone hawk brother in the woods. this family was screwed over them we must avenge them)
Calivigne (well duh she's the villain. though i wish there was more of her. I felt like I knew Javotte more than Calivigne, and apparently she was a distraction of whatever.)
Countess Hardcastle(honestly thought she was dead already but nope. Evie snatched her from this world when she started spewing bs about how "Callahan was supposed to be hers" that sounds familiar...cough cough Malora wow some mother
Also Malora (poor Malora. I really loved her. she's the prime example that witches can be good. apparently no one else gets that and now demetera's gonna kill them all. I really don't how she'll do that. also, Malora is so confusing but i get i mean she's confused. she was confused until the end. poor baby her sacrifice killed me ah)
I think that's it?? i mean a lot more must've died the entire castle basically burned to the ground.
But wow I loved this book. Vorabend did not end up being a supernatural creature, just a Princess of the Shield who married for love (and then got screwed over by being painted and then being sucked into said painting). And poor Callahan had to choose between his daughter (cause Vora was preggers) and his wife. He chose the daughter cause that was the thing he talked about in the letters (how Vora would hate him if he made a different choice). But SHES STILL ALIVE. PLOT TWISTT. She's Middlemiss and she's marrying some guy (a wealthy king I must say) I was wondering why they mentioned the royal wedding but now I get it.
Demetera and Basil. Good for them. Super subtle, but I caught on. I was glad they kissed (I saw it coming guys I saw it coming!!) Maggie is the next Headmistress, I swear to you. Poor girl went through a lotta stuff. Evie is still my fav and is still not treated right. Remington is the only good one. Also he was yet again removed from the plot for a good portion of the story ( i say again because this has happened too many times). BUt they're together at the end no matter what Evie's dragon parents say!!!
There was stuff I kinda wanted to be resolved. Like what was Cinderella doing? She didn't show up til the end like what. Also, is Remington's mom still alive? I guess the kingdoms are patrilineal but whatever. I wanted to meet Remington's little brother, they talked about him a lot. :( But oh well. Also Maggie's dad? Is he still cool or just an annoying parent? But I guess it'll only be resolved in my imagination.
Overall IT WAS AMAZING. Lots of action, fun dialogue, DRAMAAA. I only wish they were longer (like 700 pages or something...sorry Mitchell I know writing books can be difficult)
I love it so much and very satisfied. Evie still deserves better
The process of this waiting was really one of the main things that made my reading experience all the more enjoyable. After finishing Shadow Cadets last June, I had to know when the final installment would arrive. And to my utter dismay, there was no set release date at the time. Every day was long and tedious. I ended up re-reading the first and second books because my hunger for them was so immense. And once August rolled around I WAS READY. I re-read (for the third time) Pennyroyal Academy and the Shadow Cadets of Pennyroyal Academy, just before reading this one. And when I checked my Goodreads, I had already rated it five stars. And it definitely was.
If you haven't read the first or second books in the series, I recommend this thoroughly for those who are getting into fantasy (or those who are simply overwhelmed by high fantasy and intense world building and such). Lovers of middle-grade fantasy will especially appreciate this (even though I'm not quite sure how old the characters are. But it reads like a middle grade, whether or not the main characters are within that age group). But this book got me singing and it's just fantastic.
If you haven't read this one yet - warned of spoilers or talk of events from previous books! I have not hidden this review due to the fact that this series deserves more praise (shout out to M.A. Larson).
I had a number of theories going into this.
1. When I first read the synopsis and found out that witches were taking over the Academy, I PRAYED that they wouldn't stay there the whole time. Too much has to happen in the final book for it to be stuck in a castle.
2. In the first and second books, everyone kept going on and on about how Evie is the Warrior Princess. But I found that a bit suspicious. I mean, why shove it in your face? So I decided that Evie was not the Warrior Princess. Nah, she's just a badass who was raised by dragons. I'm sure she'll have her own cool title.
3. I wanted to know about EVIE'S BIRTH MOTHER. The first time I read Shadow Cadets, I was on a red eye flight for five hours and I really wanted to read that thing. So about halfway through the flight, I just started skimming. After re-reading it a few months later, I found out that I missed quite a bit. For those months, I thought that Evie's dragon mother was actually Evie's birth mother, but she was under a curse or something. I don't know how I came to that conclusion but wow I'm disappointed in myself. Anyway, VORABEND. I had plenty of side theories about who she was. Since her husband, King Callahan, was known to have looked out at the sea for hours at night, I thought that maybe she was a mermaid. Hahahahahha I know. Whatever. Then I thought she might be a sea witch. Anyway, I thought she was some underwater creature. I wanted her back story so freaking badly.
And guess what? I CAUGHT THEM ALL. They left the castle, Evie was not the Warrior Princess, AND VORABEND IS FREAKING PRINCESS MIDDLEMISS. (I totally didn't catch that AT ALL).
And I completely forgot about the Queen of the Academy.
GOsh some much happened in this book.
Well, at first I was scared that it would end too soon because of the long journey to Goblin's Glade and such. But it ended up working out really well.
There was a whole lotta drama in this book. A lot of people died.
Remington's dad (yep he's king now poor child)
Basil's sister (yep she got a sister, but apparently she's been dead for a bit. well, turned into stone but I count that. Also she got the same name as meee)
Forbes's mom (killed by a dragon OF COURSE - no wonder he hated them. also Forbes had a fantastic character/redemption arc damn son)
Sage (I think, though she was also turned to stone. we don't know what happened to her. honestly)
Marline??? (poor girl, what a great character. pretty sure she's dead since she doesn't show up again. I really thought she would. plus basil left her stone hawk brother in the woods. this family was screwed over them we must avenge them)
Calivigne (well duh she's the villain. though i wish there was more of her. I felt like I knew Javotte more than Calivigne, and apparently she was a distraction of whatever.)
Countess Hardcastle(honestly thought she was dead already but nope. Evie snatched her from this world when she started spewing bs about how "Callahan was supposed to be hers" that sounds familiar...cough cough Malora wow some mother
Also Malora (poor Malora. I really loved her. she's the prime example that witches can be good. apparently no one else gets that and now demetera's gonna kill them all. I really don't how she'll do that. also, Malora is so confusing but i get i mean she's confused. she was confused until the end. poor baby her sacrifice killed me ah)
I think that's it?? i mean a lot more must've died the entire castle basically burned to the ground.
But wow I loved this book. Vorabend did not end up being a supernatural creature, just a Princess of the Shield who married for love (and then got screwed over by being painted and then being sucked into said painting). And poor Callahan had to choose between his daughter (cause Vora was preggers) and his wife. He chose the daughter cause that was the thing he talked about in the letters (how Vora would hate him if he made a different choice). But SHES STILL ALIVE. PLOT TWISTT. She's Middlemiss and she's marrying some guy (a wealthy king I must say) I was wondering why they mentioned the royal wedding but now I get it.
Demetera and Basil. Good for them. Super subtle, but I caught on. I was glad they kissed (I saw it coming guys I saw it coming!!) Maggie is the next Headmistress, I swear to you. Poor girl went through a lotta stuff. Evie is still my fav and is still not treated right. Remington is the only good one. Also he was yet again removed from the plot for a good portion of the story ( i say again because this has happened too many times). BUt they're together at the end no matter what Evie's dragon parents say!!!
There was stuff I kinda wanted to be resolved. Like what was Cinderella doing? She didn't show up til the end like what. Also, is Remington's mom still alive? I guess the kingdoms are patrilineal but whatever. I wanted to meet Remington's little brother, they talked about him a lot. :( But oh well. Also Maggie's dad? Is he still cool or just an annoying parent? But I guess it'll only be resolved in my imagination.
Overall IT WAS AMAZING. Lots of action, fun dialogue, DRAMAAA. I only wish they were longer (like 700 pages or something...sorry Mitchell I know writing books can be difficult)
I love it so much and very satisfied. Evie still deserves better