This is the second installment in my Princess Diaries Re-Read self-challenge in order to prepare for The Royal Wedding, which comes out in June! In this post I’ll be bundling my reviews for books 6, 6.5, 7, 7.5, and 7.75
Princess in Training (6): This book kicks off Mia’s sophomore year, and centers around another one of Lily’s insane plots she drags Mia into (nominating her to be class president against her will…for Lily’s own benefit of course). While I actually liked the presidency plot because it was nice to see Mia grow into herself more and become more confident in her leadership skills, Lily and Mia’s friendship is just so irritating (the baby licker thing, UGH). Lily’s so selfish and I just want Mia to kick her to the curb! Mia also focuses A LOT on sex (namely feeling pressured to have it thanks to Lana’s comments to Mia about college boyfriend expectations) and while Mia’s neurosis didn’t bother me, her tendencies to obsess over things that other people WHO SHE KNOWS SHE SHOULDN’T TRUST tell her is taxing. Also, Michael seemed a little forward about his expectations considering Mia is 15 years old. It was fun to read about Mia’s interactions with her little brother Rocky, though, and Tina’s relationship with Boris (who is now a hottie, I totally forgot!). 3/5 Stars
The Princess Present (6.5): This is the one installment in the series I do not own, and therefore have not read more than once before this reread. I picked it up from the library remembering literally nothing about it, and was pleasantly surprised. I love that this takes place in Genovia and that Michael and Lily come to the palace for Christmas to visit, as it fleshes out the country more and synthesizes Mia’s New York and royal life. Lily does some truly appalling things that beg the question of WHY Grandmeré doesn’t put a stop to her once and for all, considering she’s so power-crazy and all. This novella is based heavily on the tale of The Gift of the Magi, and it was cute to see how it reflected the traditional holiday story. It was also extremely entertaining to read not-so-subtle cameos of the debauchery real young royals get into while in Genovia. 3.5/5 Stars
Princess in Training (7): This book feels a bit like a filler book. There’s a crazy plotline including a musical based on Genovia’s founding directed by Grandmeré with Mia playing the lead, Mia bankrupting the student council budget of AEHS, and development of the relationship between Mia and J.P. since he enters the scene in this book (even if she doesn’t want to admit it, but hello, she “sexy danced” with him at her own boyfriend’s party). Lily is also increasingly rude and derogatory toward Mia, and it makes me happy for the inevitable dissolving of their relationship in the eighth book. Overall, this may be my least favorite book in the series, though I still love it. 3/5 Stars
Sweet Sixteen Princess (7.5): This is probably the most important novella in the series, and one of the most interesting to read. Grandmeré is trying to get Mia to have her party on MTV”s “My Super Sweet 16” show, which of course Mia wants nothing to do with. Lily is furious with Mia for not wanting to be on the show (for self-serving reasons and a certain rivalry she has with a certain MTV “star”) and continually pressures her about appearing on it, which annoys Mia to no end. Mia grapples with a darker part of herself as she makes Lily a deal: if she tells J.P. she loves him then she will agree to be on the show. Mia finds a nasty satisfaction in making Lily do something she’s so uncomfortable with (a rare occurence with Lily), but I honestly think it’s the result of being, let’s face it, bullied by Lily for years. Michael comes through with a surprise party for Mia, which I was actually really impressed with since he usually doesn’t like to get involved with royal events/the media. 4/5 Stars.
Valentine Princess (#7.75/#4.5): This book’s placement is a bit confusing as it was published after Sweet Sixteen Princess, but it chronologically takes place during Mia’s freshman year (under the guise that Mia found one of her old journals). It’s pretty fluffy and has a lot of the charm of the earlier books (especially like Lily and Boris still being together, Mia’s mom still being pregnant, etc). Mia and Michael solve their Valentine’s day feelings in a cute and compromising way, but I’m sort of tired of how Mia loves all things romantic (holidays, prom, etc) and her having to drag Michael into them since he’s so staunchly opposed (or just generally clueless). I mean, you think he’d realize that these things matter to Mia by now…3/5 Stars.
I’m close to finishing my re-read! I’ll be doing full length reviews for the volumes 8-10, which will be out in the next few weeks!
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- Goodreads Challenge
- Reread Challenge
You are making me want to re-read these books so bad! I don’ think the novellas were ever as good as the books but still a nice addition. 🙂
You should! It’s so much fun to revisit them, and I can’t wait to read The Royal Wedding…I was lucky enough to get an ARC of it at YALLWEST!