After an extended visit to the capitol city, Miri is homesick for Mt. Eskel. She's anxious to return to her family and get on with her life -- but a last-minute request from the king throws all of her plans into confusion. With the nation on the brink of war, the king must forge an alliance with a neighboring country, and for that, a royal bride is needed. Miri, as a Princess Academy graduate, is expected to travel to where three royal cousins live in a remote, swampy area, and see that they are trained in all ways befitting princesses. When Miri arrives in the swamp, she discovers that the royal cousins have been living in poverty, hunting their own food, and sleeping on the ground in their little linder house. The girls have as little training as Miri and her friends had at the start of their own Princess Academy days -- and less inclination to cooperate with their tutor! But as Miri gets to know her new charges, she finds herself beginning to care for them and respect them for their unique strengths, and they eventually learn to trust and respect her, too. But, isolated as they are in the swamp, it's hard to know what's happening in the kingdom. Is the Princess Academy still on, or is war already raging through the land?
I do love this series, which is populated throughout with strong female characters in interesting settings. It's not strictly necessary to read the other two books before you read this one -- the story stands on its own -- but the book does frequently reference characters and events from previous books, so I'd recommend starting at the beginning of the series. For readers familiar with the series, I'll say that I liked this one slightly more than Palace of Stone, but not quite as much as the original Princess Academy. But I liked all three quite well, so it's just a matter of degree.
(Reviewed from a copy borrowed through my library system.)
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