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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
Hoo boy. First of all, let me justify reading this in the first place-- you see, I went to library and was delighted to find that they had brought back the "Staff Picks" section at the front, which has been sorely missed since the beginning of COVID (at least at my regular branch). This very novel was displayed prominently right in the center of the display, and I waffled back and forth about whether to grab it or not because, reading the blurb, it looked quite insipid. I had been going through a lot of self-reflection about the beginning of COVID and my journey throughout COVID (I'm a paramedic, spoiler alert: it was traumatic), and looking at the cover reminded me about how the first time I took a COVID test, I read a Scholastic novelization paperback of The Phantom Menace [b:Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace|897222|Star Wars Episode I - The Phantom Menace|Patricia C. Wrede|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347439125l/897222._SX50_.jpg|1047556] that I found in my car while I was waiting for my turn. I thought about that fondly and figured "hey, what the hell, the staff picks have never led me astray or let me down." Guess there's a first time for everything....
Anyway, this book was frankly Really Bad, and not in a so-bad-it's-good way, just a regular I-wish-I-could-not-finish-this-book-but-I-can't-not-finish-a-book way. Pretty much pure drivel from beginning to end. Couldn't keep the characters straight. Did not really care about anyone. The writing was disjointed and seemed first draft-y. Not Recommended.
I do appreciate that this has shown me how much I've grown since the beginning of COVID so that you for that.
Anyway, this book was frankly Really Bad, and not in a so-bad-it's-good way, just a regular I-wish-I-could-not-finish-this-book-but-I-can't-not-finish-a-book way. Pretty much pure drivel from beginning to end. Couldn't keep the characters straight. Did not really care about anyone. The writing was disjointed and seemed first draft-y. Not Recommended.
I do appreciate that this has shown me how much I've grown since the beginning of COVID so that you for that.
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I was surprised this was a prequel (I rolled right from Queen's Shadow to this) and while I understand the release order, I think this would be okay, and good, read first. However, still a very enjoyable story up to and through the Phantom Menace from the perspectives of Naboo royalty.
Aahh this book is so good I love padme so much and her handmaidens were so cool and the plot was so well written and omg omg it was so good I feel empty now
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Sendo a Padmé a minha personagem favorita de toda a franchise de Star Wars, fiquei muito feliz em saber que havia uma coleção de livros sobre a vida dela. Gostei de ter ficado a saber mais acerca de Padmé se tornou rainha de Naboo e de como ela desenvolveu uma amizade forte com as suas “handmaidens”. O livro teria sido perfeito se tivesse mais pormenores que não envolvessem a Padmé. Quase no final do livro, para quem não viu (ou não se lembra bem do Episódio I de Star Wars) é complicado de perceber certas narrativas que envolvem os Jedi.
Ainda assim, adorei o livro, portanto vou de certeza ler o próximo volume, “Queen’s Shadow”!
Ainda assim, adorei o livro, portanto vou de certeza ler o próximo volume, “Queen’s Shadow”!
adventurous
medium-paced
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
OBI-WAN KENOBI: "At least we'll be less likely to get involved in a local labor disputes."
QUI-GON JINN: "Or kick-start unlikely romances with local nobility."
* "The rebuke in Qui-Gon's tone for Obi-Wan's choice of wording was unmistakable: some things were too serious to be understated. Obi-Wan coughed, and changed the subject."
bahahahaha I loved that comeback from Qui-Gon so much I couldn't resist putting these two gifs up with the reference he made ;) and those who watched Clone Wars will know exactly what this is.
ANYWAY, onto the review: Okay so this was actually pretty interesting and had my attention from the very beginning when I decided to go into this open minded and I did enjoy it until it got towards the end and had some Phantom Menace stuff going on then it felt rushed and went downhill from there even in the little epilogue of sorts. Overall, it was clever before all that and the research for character's personalities, backstory's, and even references was pretty good since I recognized some of them from the animated series The Clone Wars which I liked.
Here's some pros and cons about this for me that I liked/didn't like:
PROS
1- Way to be consistent with Maul's background from Clone Wars and the mere mention of the Witches which I'm assuming were the Night Sisters
2- Loved the friendship and planning of the handmaidens and made Padme's decoy Sabe work great!
3- Geonosis factory making droids also a nice touch
4- Anakin telling his mom he was always going to be with his mom after his legs were twisted after a podrace. All I could think was two things after that: the first being 'too bad his legs got fixed and he was able to walk because then he wouldn't have met Padme and Qui-Gon and events would've changed; but since his legs were fixed, well, then that left one thing. No more mom because years later little Anakin, your mom will be kidnapped by sand people and she'll die and you'll slaughter them like animals, killing all of them. Not just the men, but the women and children too, and you'll hate every single one of them.' ;) hahaha
5- Loved the Darth Sidious moments when he appeared
6- The two blasters in the arm of the throne were added just as we saw in the movie
CONS
1- Two unnecessary lines that was just random in two different spots:
"Anakin Skywalker liked flying."
"Anakin Skywalker really liked flying."
2- The very end that made for a kind of epilogue. I mean, it was an okay touch, but it was also unnecessary and I felt like it had nothing to do with this story. I mean, I got it and what the author was trying to do, but still felt like she didn't know how to end this one.
Overall, it was pretty good for the most part and I did like many other things about it, but then again, towards the end it just felt rushed and bunched up and lacked there until the end. Still, it's worth reading and one even middle grade kids would like sine it was more a mix of that age and YA and not as deep as some few other Star Wars books I read/listened to recently.
Queen’s Peril was an amazing prequel to Queen’s Shadow, but I felt that it was a little inconsistent at times. For example, when it was mentioned that Anakin Skywalker crashed his pod racer, and he broke his legs or something. Then, it was never mentioned again.
Also, it went from them being trapped on Naboo, to going to speak in the Senate on Coruscant, to meeting Anakin on Tatooine, to going back to Coruscant, to back to Naboo, where they were incarcerated.
But I loved the LGBTQ+ representation in this book! I love how all but one, I think, of Padmé Amidala’s handmaidens were lesbians or at least lesbian curious.
Overall, I enjoyed Queen’s Peril, and would give it 4.4/5.
Also, it went from them being trapped on Naboo, to going to speak in the Senate on Coruscant, to meeting Anakin on Tatooine, to going back to Coruscant, to back to Naboo, where they were incarcerated.
But I loved the LGBTQ+ representation in this book! I love how all but one, I think, of Padmé Amidala’s handmaidens were lesbians or at least lesbian curious.
Overall, I enjoyed Queen’s Peril, and would give it 4.4/5.