Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
2.5
sigh. I'm disappointed. When I picked up Queen's Shadow I was a little reticent, because I hadn't been a huge fan of the author's Ahsoka book, but ended up happily charmed by it. It was, weirdly enough, soothing. I was a little disappointed that this one took us back to Phantom Menace era instead of continuing in the timeline, but was also excited to read about the first handmaidens and how it all started. Unfortunately, it just... didn't work for me. I didn't like the writing. Like in the Ahsoka book, it felt childish and clunky at times, and had too many descriptions of clothing and the type of details you could find in the fanfictions I wrote when I was 14yo. The book goes over the events of The Phantom Menace but... weirdly too vaguely? Obviously, I don't necessarily think that the book should stand on its own for people who have never seen the movie, but it really went too much in the other way where it glossed over so much, you almost have to have seen the movie RECENTLY to be able to fill in all the holes. And I still think it should stand a bit more on its own than that.
So yeah. It just didn't give me much. No soothing feeling, no excitement much about the handmaidens because it glossed too much over, preferring to linger over how clever they are and all the ways they were building their codes, instead of something deeper and more meaningful. And then the second half was more of a rehash of the movie, with some interesting moments (those not shown in the movie itself), and an ending that didn't leave me feeling much.
It's a quick read though, and I did like parts of it, as I like Star Wars stuff very easily, but ultimately lacked emotional weight.
sigh. I'm disappointed. When I picked up Queen's Shadow I was a little reticent, because I hadn't been a huge fan of the author's Ahsoka book, but ended up happily charmed by it. It was, weirdly enough, soothing. I was a little disappointed that this one took us back to Phantom Menace era instead of continuing in the timeline, but was also excited to read about the first handmaidens and how it all started. Unfortunately, it just... didn't work for me. I didn't like the writing. Like in the Ahsoka book, it felt childish and clunky at times, and had too many descriptions of clothing and the type of details you could find in the fanfictions I wrote when I was 14yo. The book goes over the events of The Phantom Menace but... weirdly too vaguely? Obviously, I don't necessarily think that the book should stand on its own for people who have never seen the movie, but it really went too much in the other way where it glossed over so much, you almost have to have seen the movie RECENTLY to be able to fill in all the holes. And I still think it should stand a bit more on its own than that.
So yeah. It just didn't give me much. No soothing feeling, no excitement much about the handmaidens because it glossed too much over, preferring to linger over how clever they are and all the ways they were building their codes, instead of something deeper and more meaningful. And then the second half was more of a rehash of the movie, with some interesting moments (those not shown in the movie itself), and an ending that didn't leave me feeling much.
It's a quick read though, and I did like parts of it, as I like Star Wars stuff very easily, but ultimately lacked emotional weight.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
i wanted this to be amazing but i was just so bored
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
they all slay
I enjoyed this book overall, and for me it's 3.5/5 stars.
Chronologically, this book starts in the months before Episode I: The Phantom Menace and then concludes at the end of The Phantom Menace. I wasn't expecting all the overlap.
The best part of the book to me was getting to see how Padme was behind the scenes and how her handmaidens and decoys came to be. It was fun to see her interact with other girls her age and sometimes act like the 14-year-old she was.
There were random points where we followed other characters from The Phantom Menace, and sometimes the snippets felt unnecessary and out of place. I assume they were there to help remind the reader what point of the story we're in because it does regularly time jump forward in the story without much warning. Still, if you haven't actually watched The Phantom Menace, I can't see the last half of this book making much sense.
Overall, I would recommend this book for Star Wars fans. The backstory for Padme was enjoyable!
Chronologically, this book starts in the months before Episode I: The Phantom Menace and then concludes at the end of The Phantom Menace. I wasn't expecting all the overlap.
The best part of the book to me was getting to see how Padme was behind the scenes and how her handmaidens and decoys came to be. It was fun to see her interact with other girls her age and sometimes act like the 14-year-old she was.
There were random points where we followed other characters from The Phantom Menace, and sometimes the snippets felt unnecessary and out of place. I assume they were there to help remind the reader what point of the story we're in because it does regularly time jump forward in the story without much warning. Still, if you haven't actually watched The Phantom Menace, I can't see the last half of this book making much sense.
Overall, I would recommend this book for Star Wars fans. The backstory for Padme was enjoyable!
adventurous
informative
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes