A review by orchids
Queen's Peril by E.K. Johnston

adventurous emotional funny tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

i will easily admit that star wars lore confuses me to no end; however, this book was so delightful and easy to digest. for me, the first half of the book was more enjoyable than the second. it revolved around padme's beginnings as queen of naboo and the forming of her handmaid security group which extended beyond the confines of the prequel movies. it's easy to forget that padme and her handmaids are all just young teen girls that were thrown into matters of intergalactic importance, so i loved reading more of these private moments between all the girls that are non existent in the movies, the second half of the book started including beats from the movies, so it took the liberty of jumping around the narrative more which at times was disorienting (which, mind you, is coming from someone who isn't a diehard star wars fan and is instead just a casual viewer). nonetheless, i will give e.k. johnston props for not just solely rewriting events that happened in the movie but instead providing more behind-the-scenes moments and internal monologues during some of the well-known plot points from the movies. i'm looking forward to what the rest of this trilogy has to offer!