4.5 stars. I liked this one better than I did Queen's Shadow. I wonder if they should have been released in reverse. This really gives a great origin story for the handmaidens, which I enjoyed.

The author does a terrific job weaving the book into the story of The Phantom Menace (movie) without rehashing any of the content from the movie. I felt compelled to watch the movie after reading so I could put all the pieces of the story together. The book isn't essential to the enjoyment of the movie, but it sure did fill out what was happening on Naboo while Padme was on Tatooine/Coruscant, etc. I also want to go back now and re-read Queen's Shadow and see if some of the issues I had with that one, like keeping track of the girls, go away now that I've read this one. While Queen's Shadow was a quiet novel with more character moments than action, that is not the case here. This has both action and character development. I also thought the author did a great job of naturally including menstruation into the story. Again, it wasn't essential to the understanding of the plot, but it made sense for a novel focused on teen characters who have or start having periods.

(Violence - off page execution and torture. LGBTQ+: F/F relationships)

Queen’s Peril is a sequel to E. K. Johnston’s Queen’s Shadow and covers the time from when Padmé was elected Queen of Naboo up to the last moments of The Phantom Menace. Through this book, fans learn a lot more about Padmé and her haindmaidens. In fact I was rather surprised by how much we did not know considering Queen’s Shadow already dove pretty deep into that territory. Queen’s Peril is an essential companion piece as it puts together a complete picture of how the handmaidens came about, how Padmé came to power, and he she began to establish her rule as queen even as Darth Sidious fast tracked his grand scheme to topple the Republic.

Now Queen’s Peril might not be for everyone. Keep in mind that Padmé was elected queen when she was a teenager, so all her handmaidens are teenagers too. Essentially you’re reading a Star Wars novel about a bunch of female teenagers. That said, if you have an open mind and a deep interest in Star Wars, it might not be a barrier. As an adult male, I actually found the characters to be very interesting. It’s because these are characters who were essential parts to the films, but overlooked by everything, including the expanded universe. Until E. K. Johnston came along, we knew almost nothing about the handmaidens. But Johnston doesn’t just fill out the backstories, she brings these characters to life. They’re each unique with distinct personalities. And it’s not just the handmaidens we learn about, but Padmé as well. I mean, how is a teenager expected to be queen of a planet? How did Padmé of all people get picked for that role? And what’s up with all the different names? This book tackles those questions and more.

So if reading a book about a bunch of teenage girls isn’t a roadblock for you, you may be in for a treat. Keep in mind these aren’t any ordinary women. The handmaidens and Padmé are quite extraordinary. Each of them is talented in their own way, and together, they are a fearsome force. Surprisingly, the book is very much a lead up to The Phantom Menace and explains how they prepared for what was to come even though they had no idea it was coming. Good old Panaka’s paranoia drove them to acquire skills they might ordinarily have overlooked, but thanks to his motivation, he drove Padmé and the handmaidens to be quite prepared for anything and everything.

Beyond the handmaidens and Padmé, Johnston takes some breaks to provide readers a glimpse of other characters in the universe. There’s a few looks at Palpatine and what he’s up to, Darth Maul and his preparations against the Jedi, and even a cool scene between Shmi and Padmé. While there are some very nice breaks earlier in the book, the overlapping parts that highlight scenes that weren’t in the film are some of the best. It’s kind of nerdy, but seeing Maul scope out the palace and pick his battlefield for the inevitable fight against the Jedi was just such a cool and thoughtful touch. Yet those extra bits of attention happen throughout the book. In fact I thought E. K. Johnston’s writing was at the top of her game so far with this book as the prose, storytelling and character development meshed and rolled out superbly.

With great characters, an exploration of an oft overlooked aspect of the Star Wars universe, and smooth, engaging writing, Queen’s Peril scores high marks in my book. It’s a refreshing read that stands out from most other Star Wars books, be they canon or legends. I give Queen’s Peril a four out of five.

I loved E.K. Johnston’s Ahsoka novel so I went into this book with fairly high expectations. Unfortunately Queen’s Peril failed to hit the mark for me.
So this novel focuses on Padme and her handmaidens and takes place before and during Star Wars Episode One. It gives us more of a backstory to Padme and how she was elected Queen and how all of her handmaidens were chosen. I enjoyed this aspect and thought it was really neat to discover how Naboo politics work and how and why some of the things that transpire in Episode One come to pass.

The characters were great, especially in the first half of the book. I loved learning about all Padme’s handmaidens and how they recruited different experts so they could teach Padme and each other valuable skills. It was really neat to see them work and conspire together to create the perfect persona of “Queen Amidala” so that they could swap out Padme if they ever felt the risk was particularly high.
So when the story focused on Padme and the handmaidens, I really enjoyed the story. I started to lose interest when the POV started jumping to a bunch of characters who I did not feel like needed a POV. I do not want to name all of the characters as they may be spoilers, but if you have seen Episode One you would know them from the movie. Some of the perspectives just felt very unneeded and were so small and miniscule I failed to see the value in adding them. It took away from the focus on Padme and the creation of the Queen’s persona that I had grown to really enjoy reading about.

Another factor I did not particularly enjoy, is that I feel that if you have not seen Episode One (and this relates to the many POV’s) you would not be able to keep up with the story or know why we were reading a seemingly random character’s perspective. I prefer when a story can be read as a stand alone from its respected source material. In the authors previous work: Ahsoka, you can read it without having seen Star Wars: The Clone Wars (though I do not recommend it). With Queen’s Peril I would almost say having seen Episode One is a necessity. Sometimes we would just briefly mention an exchange that happened in the movie and if you had only read this book you may be confused. As a movie companion that is fine I suppose but I just prefer as a personal preference to have books from a movie franchise to be able to stand on its own a bit better.

All in all, I did like the book. It was intriguing to learn more about Padme and Naboo. It is not my favourite Star Wars novel but I do still think it is worth a read for a Star Wars fan, especially if you enjoy the prequels. If you have not seen Star Wars… maybe watch the movies first or at least Episode One.

I wanted to love this book. The cover is absolutely beautiful, and I love the idea of the storyline being about how Queen Amidala built her network of handmaidens. The first two thirds of the novel are strong and interesting, however then we are caught up to the same time period as The Phantom Menace (TPM) and this is when the whole thing falls apart.
The final third of the novel is very disjointed as it jumps around from character to character whose scenes do nothing to forward the actual plot of the novel. It relies heavily on the reader already having a fresh, and vast, amount of knowledge regarding events from The Phantom Menace. Anyone who hasn’t seen TPM within the last few weeks will be extremely confused as the story seems to be missing whole chunks of storytelling when it involves anything that happens in the movie. Even if you have the fresh knowledge of what happens in the movie, the missing chunks of storytelling totally pull you out of the story as you have to then think about the movie, and what happened during the missing scenes. I honestly feel that this must not be entirely the authors fault, because I loved Ahsoka and Queen’s Shadow. But something here went terribly wrong.
I was so very disappointed by this novel. I wanted a strong female lead Star Wars story, and while it started out that way, Queen’s Peril falls profoundly short.
I also have to mention that the Kindle copy I was provided was full of typos and formatting errors that I hope are fixed before publication.
***I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***

In Queen’s Peril (prequel to the beloved Queen’s Shadow), E.K. Johnston brings us back to the gorgeous planet of Naboo, reuniting with the beloved strong female characters of Padmé and her handmaidens at the beginning of her reign.

Seeing Queen Amidala’s transition to power after being elected, I was thrilled to watch the beginnings of the character dynamics seen in the first book. Indicative of Netflix's The Crown, readers are able to witness the incredibly precise protocol behind a beloved Star Wars character and her palace, with Johnston skillfully transitioning the narrative to a political intrigue/war-time story (colliding with the events of The Phantom Menace). While the distinction in names between the handmaidens is sometimes confusing (though, haven't they always been since EP 1 came out?! ), Johnston gives each character their own unique and 3-dimensional personality, giving them their own important space in the story. As someone who has loved Padmé Amidala and her handmaidens ever since I can remember, I had so much fun reading more about them (and seeing cameos from favorite Phantom Menace characters)!

Overall, I fell in love with this novel like I did with Johnston's first, and truly hope that we get to see more Padme in the future! If you want to dip your toes into the Star Wars book universe, I definitely recommend this and the first book, Queen’s Shadow

Thank you so much t for the amazing opportunity to have an early peak into the early life of one of my favorite characters!

Review posted at: https://www.instagram.com/p/CA-xpojALxp/

'Star Wars Queen's Peril' by E.K. Johnston is a story from the other side of Trade Federation's blockade of the planet Naboo during The Phantom Menace era.

We've already seen the ins and outs of the liberation of the Naboo people and the role Amidala plays in standing against that incursion.. to a degree. So, we don't see a lot of that here. Incidents like the ousting of Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum, the introduction of Jar Jar Binks, the Skywalker pod racing, the Maul hangar duel, and the death of Qui-Gon are mentioned.. but mostly they act as historical landmarks on the timeline.. allowing us to draw the parallels between the two stories.. and know where we are.

What's wonderful about this book is that it's more of an intimate portrait of Padme and her inner circle. It begins before she even rises to power. I enjoyed learning about the steps it took her to get there and seeing a bit of what she was like, separated from the Queen persona.

I also learned a lot about things I'd always questioned and that was deeply satisfying.. like the reason she dressed as she did in the first place. I'd always found those costumes of hers to be so.. well.. gaudy. But to learn the extent of their purpose.. which was as heavily layered as the costumes themselves.. that was fascinating. Seeing the group of girls develop the Queen's image together was amazing, how and why they adopted the things they did.

Watching her go in as an idealistic citizen.. a smart, powerful female protagonist.. and surround herself with others like her, that too was intriguing. It gave me a whole new appreciation for a character I'd honestly never been that fond of. She was more than 'able,' she was calculating and driven. She knew how to show humility without seeming weak.

If I'd read this book before The Phantom Menace, I feel like I would have see in through an entirely different set of eyes. Actually, now I think I need to go back and experience The Phantom Menace again armed with the knew knowledge. Some of the early glimpses of Darth Sidious and Maul are especially interesting.

I loved getting to know the handmaidens. Each of them had distinctively different skills they brought to the table and their personalities and backgrounds were just as diverse. This story gave those supporting characters real depth.. and though I started out unsure of one of them, she absolutely had my respect before long.

Watching her build those relationships, along with the relationships between herself and her Queen's Guard was so much fun. She was at times.. frustrating.. for her protectors because she didn't just let them walk all over her, but she chose her battles carefully.. giving in on some issues and standing strong on others.

In hindsight, I picked up this title thinking I was going to read a story about the Queen.. and I did.. but I had no idea how well I'd get to know all those close to her. How much I'd come to like the handmaidens and Captain Panaka and his intelligence officer wife. This story isn't just hers, it's theirs.. and I loved every minute of it.

We are brave (and hungry for good Star Wars content) your Highness.

And, yet again, E.K. Johnston delivers with Queen’s Peril, her second book about Padmé, which starts the day Padmé Amidala is elected Queen of Naboo. In this novel we get to follow the forming of the handmaidens, the maturation of a young queen and the lead-up to the invasion of Naboo (and beyond).

What Johnston has given us here, and in her other Star Wars novels, is a wonderful embroidery stitch that fills in the spaces between content, and deftly smooths over plot inconsistencies and questions we’ve been sitting on for years, while still delivering on great new content and delicious character development.

The canon threads that Johnston wove together to make this story would make even the finest Naboo fiber artists stop in awe.

[This is the text version of the review. I will also discuss this on upcoming episodes of the Steele Wars podcast and The Sith List Podcast]

When I first heard that E.K. Johnston would be following up last year’s solid Star Wars novel Queen’s Shadow with a prequel, I was very skeptical. But after reading the book, I was happily proven wrong.

Queen’s Shadow (released July 2, 2020 by Disney Lucasfilm Press) expands on the story told in Shadow while at the same time tying Padme and Naboo into the larger Star Wars narrative even better than its predecessor.

Queen’s Shadow took place after The Phantom Menace, telling the story of Padme’s transition from Queen to Senator and how vital her handmaidens were in every aspect of her life. Queen’s Peril is the story of how Padme transitioned from citizen to Queen, the first days of her working with her handmaidens and how the early days of her reign led right into the events of The Phantom Menace.

Cover of Queens Peril Cover
At its heart, this is a book about Padme and how she forms a routine and relationships with her handmaidens. While they are a bit hard to tell apart at times, they do have their individual personalities, talents and back stories. Just like in Shadow, Peril gives us a Padme more relatable than her onscreen incarnation. Padme is the idealist who wants to do what she can to make things better. She takes a situation- her security- and inventively changes it through the handmaidens to better suit her. Certain scenes, such as the first time she gathers her new team, or when they decide to buck authority for a simple night out, are very well-written and help make the galaxy far, far away feel more down to earth.

However, the novel is not just about Padme. Nearly every character from the Phantom Menace makes an appearance at one point or another, with many given weighty moments. This book made me want to watch The Phantom Menace again. The moments relate not just to the first Star Wars episode, but provide insight into other events throughout the saga (however, one of Jar Jar’s interests comes off as totally out of left field).

The book is an entertaining, quick read. However, there are some times, particularly with the character asides, where the pacing feels off. There was a concept or two (notably the idea that very few people know of the Queen’s true identity- based on my understanding, the candidates for Queen take a pseudonym when they run for office and don’t give it up) that went over my head. And if you haven’t read other Star Wars books, some references might not make a ton of sense. But none of this detracts from the whole reading experience.

Queen’s Peril is out this week. If you want to explore the state of the Star Wars galaxy right before the movie saga begins, these pages are definitely worth turning.

Anther great installment in the Star Wars book-verse from E.K. Johnston. I really enjoyed her previous book and was so excited to get an ARC of this one! I really enjoyed seeing more of Naboo and their electoral process, seeing how Padmé and Panaka form her handmaiden group. This book has a wide range of voices and great characterization. I also loved the fast pace and the way that Johnston chose to unfold the plot, with glimpses of behind-the-scenes moments from the Phantom Menace. I think this book will be enjoyed by any young Star Wars fan.

I have such nostalgia for The Phantom Menace that it was heartwarming to travel back to the invasion of Naboo through the Queen's eyes. This book tells the story of not only Padmé but all of her handmaidens. It was a joy to uncover their individual backstories, personalities, and skills as they grow into the unit that saves their planet. Queen's Peril is a fascinating exploration of female friendship and loyalty, as well as a deep-dive into the decoy process that is glossed over in the film.

To not be too repetitive in regards to the film, the book skips many chunks of time, particularly the invasion and their time on Tatooine/Coruscant. This was my first time experiencing this phenomenon (large gaps in a book), but I believe it comes with the territory of such a large franchise trying to intertwine books and graphic novels and films all together. A quick rewatch of The Phantom Menace quickly put my mind at ease with the large time jumps in the later sections of this book.

Welcome back to Padme is the most intriguing character in Star Wars. (Don't @ me!) First, let me say that if you are looking to read this series, start here with Queen's Peril and then read Queen's Shadow as that is the true order of the story. I might reread Shadow just to catch things I did not get beforehand.

The Amadala's Handmaidens in the movie are used as props and decorations. Most casual fans do not know Keira Knightley played the decoy maiden and most people do not know the name of this handmaiden (it is Tsabin/Sabe). We meet the five handmaidens, how they were picked, why they were picked, and how they ended up with matching names. It really goes to a private and personal look into a group of highly capable teenage girls who make the perfect team. How they got decaying down and how each has a role to play in the new government.

It starts with the events leading up to the election to the events running parallel with the Phantom Menace. Parallel as we do not rehash the scenes in the movie but the behind the curtain conversations pertaining to these events as well as events not shown.

Kudos to the author for not shying away from honest content about periods. Also, bonus points for showing us how a medically advanced civilization would take care of a woman's cycle.

Lastly, on a fun note, if you are playing the game of Disney nods in Star Wars books there are the lion's share of points to be had early on in this book.

Thank you to Disney Publishing Worldwide and NetGalley for the ARC. This book comes out on June 2nd.

Padmé Amidala is young and ambitious, ascending to the throne as Queen of Naboo at the age of 14. Though the pacifist planet of Naboo seems entirely peaceful, General Panaka does not take his responsibility of protecting the Queen lightly. At Amidala’s suggestion, he finds her five handmaidens who support and protect the Queen, even serving as body doubles when necessary. These six teenagers must put aside their squabbles, families, and personal desires to rule a planet and administrate its foreign relations. What they prepared for but never expected comes to pass – Naboo is invaded and the Queen must protect her citizens at all costs, even as her handmaidens protect her.

Queen’s Peril, a new Star Wars novel by E.K. Johnston, takes place prior to and during The Phantom Menace, providing us the perspective of Padmé and her handmaidens. For me, this connection to Episode I was both the best and the worst part about this book. Padmé’s relationship with her handmaidens has always been intriguing to me, and I was eager to learn more about them. This provided me with an attachment to the characters before I even got started. I enjoyed getting to know each of the handmaidens and how they, together with Padmé, created the persona of the Queen. This character development is the main focus of the novel, along with some political subplots. This was perfect for what I wanted but might seem a bit slow to those looking for a more plot-focused read.

In the final fourth of the novel, the events of The Phantom Menace take place. This is the first true action we see and, to me, the weakest part of the book. It’s merely a quick replay of events I’d already watched (and read about) with a slightly different perspective. It feels rushed and forced. I imagine it’s hard to rewrite part of a movie without it feeling forced, but personally I’d rather this section was just left out and replaced with an original, somewhat more minor crisis that the girls had to work through together.

We also got single brief glimpses of perspective from other characters in The Phantom Menace such as Palpatine, Obi-Wan, and Jar Jar. These seemed very out of place and unnecessary. They contributed nothing significant, and the book would flow much better without them.

If you like Padmé already, then you’ll probably enjoy this book. I loved learning more about Naboo’s culture, seeing Padmé’s ascent to the throne, and finding out who each of her handmaidens were. Otherwise, however, the story doesn’t contribute much to the Star Wars canon, nor is it a great read on its own merit (if you don’t care about Star Wars). Altogether, I give Queen’s Peril 3 out of 5 stars for being an enjoyable but unremarkable read for Star Wars fans.

Many thanks to Disney Publishing and Netgalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

WOW. I loved this book. I've always loved Padme Amidala, and I felt like she didn't get to shine as much as she could in the Star Wars prequels. This was kind of like her superhero origin story. I love that you got to know about her AND her handmaidens. For the first time, I got to see them all as individuals. And I got to see them as actual teenagers. It was so much fun seeing the woman behind the stiff politician. And my favorite part was the female friendships. So often, girls in books try to bring each other down, but in this book, all of the girls trust each other completely. I love the first one that came out, but this one fills in so many gaps. Plus, it was cool to read about the events of Phantom Menace (the last part of the book) from different perspectives.

Padme Amidala has quickly become one of my favorite characters in the entire Star Wars universe and this book took another deep dive into her character and her past before she became known as the wife of Anakin and the senator of Naboo. I loved how much we got to learn about her and how she really is her own character. I loved the writing and the setting and E.K. Johnston always manages to make the characters come to life.

Queen’s Peril starts as the story of how Padme becomes queen of Naboo. What I expected to be a feminine focused book on the beginnings of Padme, quickly became more than just that in surprising ways.

A prequel to Queen’s Shadow, this novel takes place in the year 32 BBY, not long before The Phantom Menace. While the focus is on Padme and how she becomes queen, it is also heavily focused on her handmaidens and their relationships (especially Sabe). I began reading this story expecting the previously mentioned topics and also understanding that this YA novel is focused on female readers and reads as much.

What I was not expecting was how this story is much more than just a prequel to Queens Shadow, but also a prequel to The Phantom Menace. Not only does it lead into the movie, but it overlaps and shows things from new perspectives.

But, the surprises did not stop there. While you mostly read from Padme’s perspective, you also get into the heads of around ten others, and some were an absolute delight to read.

I believe this book was written with YA girls in mind, and I think it is written well. However, I have to compliment E.K. Johnston because, with this novel, I believe she has added just enough elements to appeal to a much wider audience than her previous novel.

While this novel will never be considered one of my favorites, I give it a high recommendation for any young woman who is interested in Star Wars, or maybe is looking to get interested. For everyone else, there are enough surprises and new additions to the lore that I believe everyone should give it a chance.

Among the first Star Wars books that I read were the prequel novelizations. What I loved about these was the added depth of storytelling and insight into the perspective of the characters in the films, especially their emotional lives. I also appreciated how characters whose scenes consisted of walking down the hallway or standing in the background suddenly came to life. This added context changed how I viewed them, made the Galaxy Far, Far Away seem more real and in some cases, all the added insight almost made it feel like watching the film again for the first time.

In Queen’s Peril, Padmé transitions from an independent and confident teen to a powerful woman that has considerable influence over the future direction of her planet. And while the transformation to Amidala was fascinating and new insight into Padmé is certainly provided, the stars of this book are the handmaidens. Who they are, where they came from, how they related to each other and also, how important they actually were to the events that we witnessed in the films. If you found Sabé interesting in Queen’s Shadow I recommend reading this book. I also loved learning more about Naboo and the culture, customs, and politics.

Interestingly, this book integrates into a film to a degree I have not seen before. If it has been a while since you watched The Phantom Menace you may want to consider revisiting to refresh your memory before reading. There is considerable overlap with the timeline, though the these are largely the events that happen in the background. There were a few moments when I had to stop and think about where we were at in the timeline of the film but there are prompts to guide you. Overall, I thought that this was a creative approach and I appreciate the risks taken to try something more experimental.

This book was an all-around decent read. I read Queen's Shadow a few months after its release, so it's been a while and I had to take a moment to remember who the characters were. I enjoyed the handmaidens' dynamic, and being back on Naboo was wonderful - it's my favorite planet from the SW universe.

However, this story was not as engaging as the first. It wasn't nearly as fleshed out as book one. I didn't feel like we got to see the beginning of Padme's relationship with her handmaidens in any detail. Same with the plot. Everything was just very skimmed over. The events that unfolded in The Phantom Menace were glossed over in this book, and at times I was quite confused by the time jumps since these important events weren't described at all; the book relied solely on readers' knowledge of the movies.

Some OG characters were visited but hardly touched on - Maul and Palpatine/Sidious, in particular. as well as Anakin + Shmi and the Jedi, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. I feel like they were shown so briefly that the author shouldn't have even bothered. I remember wishing, as I read Queen's Shadow, that we could see the beginning of Padme's reign since we explored the end of her reign. But with Queen's Peril, we really didn't get into any details most of us fans already know.

I was confused by Yane and Sache's relationship as well because from the very start they didn't get along very well, but there was no explicit reason for this. I still am not sure why they avoided each other. What was the reason?! If it was stated or implied somewhere I don't recall reading about it, and don't they also start seeing each other at the end of Queen's Shadow once their time as handmaidens came to an end? Very confused.

I wish this story had gone more in-depth with the events of Padme's ascension to queen of Naboo. We see some new things with the handmaidens and a few "behind-the-scenes" with Padme as Amidala, but otherwise I don't think this book was enlightening at all. I was pretty disappointed.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

~Quick Statistics~
Overall: 4.5/5 Stars
Plot: 3/5 Stars
Setting: 5/5 Stars
Characters: 4/5 Stars
Writing: 5/5 Stars
Memorability: 5/5 Stars

~Quick Review~
I absolutely loved Queen’s Peril by E. K. Johnston and cannot wait to see other Star Wars novels that E. K. Johnston will release in the future. However, fans and/or readers who have not watched The Phantom Menace (Episode 1) will most likely be confused in the second half of the novel.

~Other Information~
Publisher: Disney Lucasfilm Press
Page Count: 288 pages
Release Date: June 2, 2020

I would recommend reading Queen’s Peril only if you have watched the Star Wars movies (at least The Phantom Menace). The first half of the novel is focused entirely on Padmé becoming queen and how she acted thereafter. Halfway through the novel it starts overlapping with the events in The Phantom Menace, so watching the movie before reading Queen’s Peril is a really good idea.

~Quick Synopsis~
Padmé Naberrie is a young girl from Naboo who becomes queen at the age of fourteen. She takes on the personality and life of Queen Amidala, relying on her handmaiden’s friendship and skills to not only keep her safe, but provide her with a life outside politics. Everything is going well until the Trade Federation, run by Viceroy Nute Gunray, invades and takes over Naboo, causing her citizens to suffer. Now Padmé must take back her planet before it’s too late. And with the help of her handmaidens, it might just be possible.

~Characters~
Queen’s Peril has multiple points of view throughout the novel. These include Padmé, her handmaidens (honestly, I forget the names but I’ll get to that later), Padmé’s parents, Captain Quarsh Panaka (and his wife, Mariek), Senator Palpatine, Jar Jar Binks, Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Darth Maul, Darth Sidious, etc.

However, our main character, Queen Padmé Amidala Naberrie, is amazing. Obviously, if you are a Star Wars fan you most likely know about how incredible and powerful Padmé is. If you don’t, well, let me just say that Padmé is a strong, empowering, protective, compassionate, selfless woman. I think we should just appreciate that Padmé became the queen of Naboo at the age of fourteen, and she rocked at it. Seriously. Her love for Naboo is unparalleled, and that love for her home planet fuels her to solve all of it’s problems. I can’t express enough how strong and powerful Padmé truly is. Also, since I grew up watching her in Star Wars episodes 1-3, it was really awesome to get to see how she became queen and what she did in her new position immediately after.

An issue that I had with the characters was that there are so many introduced in Queen’s Peril, and yet we hardly get any information about them. Pretty much the other characters besides Padmé are in the novel purely because they were in the movies. Even Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Anakin Skywalker do not get any huge recognition or parts in the novel, even though in The Phantom Menace they are a huge part of the movie and it’s ending. Considering that Anakin Skywalker was the entire reason they won the Battle of Naboo, I find it odd that him winning the war for Padmé isn’t even mentioned. However, many parts in The Phantom Menace were skipped over in Queen’s Peril, which I’ll talk about later.

Personally, it was really hard for me to keep all of the handmaidens straight, which I guess their plan was to make it hard to distinguish who was who for the safety of Padmé, but still. I constantly had to go back to the page where the girls decide what their new names are going to be so I could understand who was who throughout the book. It was inconvenient but I guess their plans worked? Anyways, I loved how there was more attention on the handmaidens than there was in the movie. Also, I should mention that there is LGBTQ+ representation in the novel, which I loved (as there is very little representation in the Star Wars universe). Sabé falls in love with the daughter of a neighboring planet’s ruler, and Yané and Saché confess their love for each other before the Battle of Naboo.

Overall, the character building was good, just not perfect.

~Writing and Setting~
I had no issues with the writing; E. K. Johnston described everything perfectly, and I had a clear understanding of what was going on throughout the book.

The setting in Queen’s Peril is amazing. Practically every planet mentioned was described to some amount of detail, even the ones that weren’t necessarily important to the plot. The entire novel is about Padmé doing what she can for Naboo, her home planet, so I’d say that the setting definitely affected Padmé and her choices. We learn a lot more about Naboo than we do in The Phantom Menace, which I greatly appreciated. Not only do we learn about its politics, but we also learn about what Naboo is known for throughout the galaxy, what the citizens do for a living, and how involved Naboo is with other planets in its sector. While not everyone might find this information interesting, it satisfies me to finally be able to learn more about Naboo and how it made its mark on Padmé.

~Plot~
The major issue with Queen’s Peril lies with the plot. Honestly, I feel like E. K. Johnston tried to pack too much into one novel which ended in leaving key details and events out. As mentioned before, Queen’s Peril takes place before and during The Phantom Menace (Episode 1 of Star Wars). The beginning of the novel was at a perfect pace for me and all made sense. However, once you get to the second half of the novel (where it overlaps with The Phantom Menace), it is really hard to keep track of what is happening, even if you have watched the movie. So many events and information is left out during the second half of the book that I constantly had to refer back to my knowledge of The Phantom Menace to understand what was happening. For example, all in one chapter we see Padmé get captured by the Trade Federation, then all of a sudden she is in space with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, then they’re stranded on Tatooine, and all of a sudden they’re at Coruscant. Not a chapter later they’re back on Naboo and in the next chapter they’ve won the battle, but Qui-Gon’s dead so they have to host a funeral for him. There is no mention of how Padmé escapes the Trade Federation, why she’s stranded on or gets off Naboo, why Anakin is at Coruscant and the battle with them, how they win the war, or even how Qui-Gon dies. There’s so many places where critical information is missing that it was slightly confusing to read (even though I’ve watched the movie a bunch of times and knew what was supposed to be happening). I don’t know whether E. K. Johnston didn’t want to bore fans with information they already knew, but then why have the second half of the novel overlap with The Phantom Menace? It would have been much better for the novel to recreate The Phantom Menace but have it from Padme’s point of view. However, I was able to overlook the fact that major events were missed and appreciate the first half of the novel.

~Overall Review~
I really enjoyed Queen’s Peril by E. K. Johnston, but would recommend that the reader be familiar with The Phantom Menace and Star Wars before reading, otherwise they most likely will be confused with the second half of the novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and Disney Lucasfilms Press for providing this eGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Queen's Peril shows Padme Amidala's becoming the Queen of Naboo including moments before her election to the selection of her handmaidens and molding the group of girls into her own personal body doubles and bodyguards if need be. It runs just up to and parallel to The Phantom Menace so there is a lot to digest in the later half of the book.

First I'm going to talk about what I liked. In contrast to Queen's Shadow, there was a lot more action and less politics, even though politics do take up the first half of the book give or take. I felt the pacing was a bit better and it was less dry. I understand something that revolves around intergalactic politics would be a bit dry and boring and it was great to have that perspective in relation to The Phantom Menace, especially with the various figures, Palpatine for one pulling a certain set of strings.

Other than the pacing I did feel like E.K. Johnston captures the characters well. I could almost hear Padme's voice when I read her words the same went for Obi-wan and Qui-gon when they made an appearance. I really liked their banter.

As for everything else. I'm going to parrot other reviewers that I peeked at and say that it does gloss over The Phantom Menace when it is slowly building up the events in the first third or so of the book. All the players were slowly stepping into their places and I felt like there was going to be more of a adaptation or perspective than there really was. You know, from a certain point of view. The events were rushed through at such a rate that I had to wait for certain landmarks from the film to figure out where we really were in the timeline, but maybe that was just me.

That and I felt that some of the plot points were a bit contrived, especially with the selection of Padme's handmaidens before she was elected, this isn't a spoiler it happens within the prologue. Also, the girls do seem to be a bit juvenile but I overlooked it because Padme was 14 years old even though she did carry herself as much older in some ways. The girls bickered and fought at a couple points and while I did enjoy seeing what happened to her handmaidens during The Phantom Menace when Padme was off with Qui-gon and Obi-wan, I did want to see more of her and Sabe who is the current rising star of the era.

In true Star Wars fashion, while the pacing was good the plot did meander but that is kind of the style of the writing and the movies. They gave you glimpses that stitched together to tell a larger story over the vast expanse of space. I just felt like it was building up, as I said earlier and kind of puttered out. I would have liked to see more.

The handmaidens like in Queen's Shadow were a blur to me. I could really only pick out a couple of them other than Sabe and I did appreciate having them around because it did show how the girls would interact, protect and cover for each other in a way. Some of the girls kind of blended together in my imagination to become one handmaiden. More time or focusing on one other than Sabe might have benefited the plot instead splitting them up and jumping around during The Phantom Menace events.

You're looking at my review then at my rating and going, wait, you gave it four stars. Well, I love Star Wars. I eat this up and I get teary eyed when I read about my favorite characters. I feel this did the era and the characters justice and I did enjoy it and felt like it resonated with me more than Queen's Shadow. I know others are having differing opinions, but those are mine.

3.5 stars!

I was pleasantly surprised when this novel took place from Queen Amidala’s Election Day. I absolutely love reading about politics in Star Wars so it was wonderful to see how Naboo’s elections work. Because of this starting point, you also get to see how Padmé’s group of handmaidens was formed.

I think my favourite thing about the Padmé novels by E.K. Johnston, Queen’s Peril and Queen’s Shadow is getting a deeper look into the group of handmaiden bodyguards. My favourite aspects of the novel were when we got to dive deeper into the handmaidens lives before The Phantom Menace film. The bonds between the girls was so interesting. I laughed, I almost cried, and I found myself always wanting more from this group of fiesty teenagers.

Some of the comedic relief also came from Panaka’s wife, Mariek. There were some decisions and comments that Panaka makes that she rebuttals with humour. I don’t want to go into details and spoil anything but Mariek is truly a wonderful character that I’m so glad was included in this novel.

Despite me loving the parts about the handmaidens and absolutely loving Panaka’s wife, I didn’t enjoy the parts that referenced the film as much as I expected to.

THE BOOK VS THE PHANTOM MENACE

Despite the fact that I was excited to read the invasion of Naboo from Padmé’s perspective, this was the part I was most disappointed with. It was clear there was an assumption that the reader has a deep understanding of the first chronological film in the Star Wars universe. This is where the novel fell short for me.

While I enjoyed the novel overall, it could have benefited from spending a bit more time in the events from the film. Anything that is included in the film is quickly glossed over, including crucial information being left out. This ruined the pacing of the book for me as the time jumps in the second half of the story felt unnatural, which could have been fixed with a little bit more information about the plot of the film included.

In fact, if you aren’t extremely familiar with the events of The Phantom Menace, a lot of the second half of the book could be extremely confusing. It is assumed that the reader has a deep understanding and strong memory of the film. It would have helped the story a lot if the jumps in time were connected by a quick summary paragraph describing what happens in the film. I know some readers may not enjoy that but I feel a bit of exposition here would have greatly improved the reading experience.

Because of these things, the ending of the book was ultimately unsatisfying for me. After reading Queen’s Shadow, I had a lot of expectations for this book because of how much I enjoyed it. I think I enjoyed Queen’s Shadow more because it was not grounded so strongly in a main film. A novel heavily grounded in an existing film and popular canon comes with a lot of expectations.

One of the things that I did enjoy was the little details that I missed in previous viewings of the film. Before reading this book, I never noticed that only 3/5 handmaidens fled Naboo to avoid the Queen being killed and to plead to the senate. After finishing the novel, I immediately started to rewatch The Phantom Menace because I wanted to verify a few facts. This is one of the things I was paying close attention to and was surprised it was a little details I didn’t notice before.

I like that Johnston took that small details and created another storyline from it. It was interesting to see the handmaidens work in camp four (referenced in the film) to prepare for their fights against the invaders. In my rewatch of the film, it really makes me wish that the main films had spent more time diving into the handmaidens. I can only hope that we get a film (like Solo) to go into these strong and fascinating women more.