darynnmark 's review for:

Leia, Princess of Alderaan by Claudia Gray
5.0

Gray nails Leia's character perfectly, just like in Bloodline. This time, since it takes place between Episodes III and IV, she's obviously learning about politics and the rebellion, as opposed to leading it. The book serves as a great tablesetter for how she ended up as the most important person in the rebellion.

This book was trending toward a solid 4* for the first 80%. Then Gray kicks in the hyperdrive, and I zoomed through the last 20% in less than 12 parsecs. I was wondering what the climax was going to be at that point, and then bam the stakes ratchet way up and lead to a great ending.

The last line alone would've been enough to go up to a 5*. Since this takes place before A New Hope, everyone knows what happens to her "next" (though there is a small gap between the end of this book and the end of Rogue One). So the last line isn't really a spoiler, and it hits all the feels:

"My parents. My friends. My world. These are the things the empire can never take away."