This is the third book in the Princess Sofia stories. Princess Sofia of Drachenburg is sick of being used for her older sister’s political gains. In the past, she has been a hostage to invading dragons and betrothed to a wicked fairy. In this tale, she is being sent to Villene for the Diamond Exhibitions to represent her of Drachenburg. However, she instead gets exiled from the city after making the worst impression. After being turned away from the Villene, Princess Sofia meets some new friends along the way. When the Ice Giants threaten her sister and Drachenburg, Sofia uses her unique gifts to save the kingdom and her sister.
Having never read the first two books I found the beginning chapters with Sofia to be annoying due to the whiny nature of the character. However, as you dive deeper into the title you learn more about Sofia and often laugh at the mistakes that she makes that seem to make things worse before they get better. While you could read this book as a standalone I would recommend reading books one and two first.
Older fans of Shannon Hale may relate to more grown-up series. ( )

This story was an excellent middle grade adventure with a heroine to root for. Princess Sofia is the other princess in Drackenheim. Her older sister is the perfect heir who keeps manipulating Sofia into dangerous situations. Sofia would much rather stay in her room sipping hot chocolate and reading philosophy books by Gert van Heidecker.

Sofia's sister decides to sent her on a diplomatic mission to Vallenne to view the Diamond Exhibition and hobnob with other Royals from other kingdoms. However, Sofia arrives after three days of motion sickness in a carriage carried by a dragon and makes a totally awful first impression. She's exiled to a distant house. But Sofia is determined to find her way around the city and meet people. She is especially eager to sit in on a lecture by her favorite philosopher. She doesn't expect to meet and become friends with goblins and see Gert van Heidecker arrested for his revolutionary views.

She also doesn't expect the finally meet her friend Jasper who is a young dragon who has run away from home to come and share adventures with her in Vallenne. Nor does she expect her perfect sister Katrin and Jasper's mother to come chasing after them. And she really doesn't expect the find herself the only Royal left after an attack by Ice Giants who freeze all the other Royals into blocks of ice and take them off to their frozen kingdom.

Sofia is determined to find a way to free her sister and Jasper's mother. She has Jasper as her companion and Fedolia, a kobold girl with her own goals in mind. They face hardships along the way to find the kidnapped Royals but Sofia learns a lot about herself. And her actions with the Ice giants give her a chance to show strengths she didn't know she had.

I loved the setting and Sofia. I liked that she underestimated her talents until she had to show them all. I liked that she learned about friendship and loyalty and learned her place in her family. ( )

A companion/sequel to The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart and The Girl with a Dragon Heart. Princess Sofia is unimpressed when her sister’s latest political plans involve sending Sofia on a diplomatic mission to Villenne. Sofia wants to stay in her room and read, not remind everyone that she struggles to be a perfect princess.

But in Villenne Sofia discovers an unexpected opportunity to attend philosophy lectures and make friends who have no idea who she is. And when calamity strikes, it’s up to Sofia to save the day -- and rescue her big sister.

A solid adventure about friendship and what it means to be a princess, a philosopher and a person all at once. It’s the sort of book I’d like to send back in time to my twelve-year-old self.

It was deafening. Overwhelming. More than anyone could possibly hope to bear.
But I’d been inside a dragon’s mouth, committed a terrifying crime and flown across the world without a chamber pot. I wasn’t hiding from anything any more. ( )

The Princess Who Flew With Dragons by Stephanie Burgis is the third book set in the same world as The Dragon With the Chocolate Heart and The Girl With the Dragon Heart. While the three books follow each other chronologically, they all feature different protagonists, so stand alone well.

The protagonist of this book is Princess Sofia, who was a secondary character in the second book The Girl With the Dragon Heart. The main cast from the first two books don't make much of an appearance in this one and it mainly takes place outside Drachenheim. The new setting really enriches the world, not only by adding kobolds and ice giants but by also showing what other cities look like and what they think of Drachenheim and its denizens. (The last point is something I always find fun.)

I enjoyed reading about Sofia's adventures in Villenne. Back home she'd rather stay in her room reading philosophy books than go to any official state functions. On her adventure, we got to watch Sofia go from being a girl who is always stuffing up and is perpetually burdened by the expectations of her older sister coming out of her shell. As well as visiting the university and mingling with normal people (in goblin and kobold form), she is also given the opportunity to confront her privilege in a way that wasn't possible without a literal journey. Her newfound friends were funny and entertaining to meet and I loved her relationship with Jasper, the young dragon.

If you've enjoyed the other books in this series, I definitely recommend picking up The Princess Who Flew With Dragons. I got the feeling that this might be the end of the series, but I'd be happy to read more if more books were to appear.

4.5 / 5 stars

You can read more of my reviews on my blog. ( )