Johnston and Taber have done it again! Queen’s Hope is another fantastic story about Padme Amidala and her ups and downs as senator of Naboo and wife of Anakin Skywalker. Honestly, this book had me sold when I found it was partly about Padme and Anakin’s wedding. I wanted ALL the details, all the behind the scenes info the movies don’t give us. And it did not disappoint.

I adore that this book also focuses on Padme’s handmaidens too, especially Sabe and her learning about Padme and Anakin and finding her own way. It was so fun to see how they came together in different ways to help Padme with her wedding. Some of the reasons I adore Johnston’s Star Wars books is because of the level of detail that goes into everything.

As for the audiobook narration, it was spectacular. Catherine Taber does such a great job capturing Padme’s voice along with the other characters. They couldn’t have found a better voice actress to narrate these books.

My only hesitation is something that happens a lot with Star Wars books. When picking up this book to read or listen to, I want this book to be about Padme. That’s why I’m reading it. But this book randomly has chapters about other characters. Anyone from Shmi Skywalker to Yoda and Bail Organa to Sidious/Palpatine. I understand that every Star Wars book is trying to tie together with the bigger universe of Star Wars and the movies, but it just throws me out of the story so quickly when it suddenly switches to a completely different point of view about events that may or may not be connected to the main plot. I love that we get to see the handmaidens. That feels like it fits with the story line and should be represented. But it’s all the other parts that I confuse me. What was the point of including Shmi’s perspective? Why do we need to know Sidious/Palpatine is trying to mess with people? This is information we already know if we’ve seen Star Wars movies. (And who is reading this book if they haven't seen the movies??) It’s not necessary for a book about Padme’s struggles to balance her public and private life as a senator.

Obviously, this doesn’t change anything about the book as a whole and I will 100% read anything else Johnston writes about Padme, especially if Catherine Taber continues to narrate the audiobooks.

EK Johnson does a marvelous job continuing to give us insight into what challenges Padme faced before her time as a senator. This one is great for any Padme fan, I recommend the audio book. They include cool sounds and narrations that just make it “feel” more Star Wars.

E. K. Johnston does it again.

Was a huge fan of Ahoksa and Queen's Shadow.
Loved her work in Whatever Sun - From a Certain Point of View.

This book gets me more excited about one of the strongest women in the galaxy during the clone wars. It did start out a little slow but that is more of a nitpick.

Go out and get this book!

I’ve had the privilege of being able to read almost the entire Star Wars books and comics canon at this point, and I often say that my top tier is the Thrawn novels, the Padmé novels, and the High Republic. This novel is no exception. It’s a wonderful ending to a trilogy that has done the incredible work of trying to give so many women in Star Wars, not just Padmé, additional screentime and development. My jaw truly drops every time someone else is brought into play, and how it makes the universe richer for it. It makes sense for these women to interact with and know each other and for their effects on different generations to be felt. Reading these books feels like someone really understands the full picture of Star Wars.
Much like how the Clone Wars TV show was really about Ahsoka and the clones, this novel and trilogy was just as much about Sabé as it was Padmé, and the message for teens reading, or an adult like myself about determining who you are as an individual, and as a queer woman, was so wonderful to see in Star Wars. In general, the queer representation in the Padmé trilogy, and the High Republic, is astounding. This novel has Star Wars’ first canonical trans woman, and a trans woman of color at that. It also has other queer and trans characters woven into the story in a natural and interesting way.
One of the things I loved in this novel was how when queer identity was brought up, it was a part of character or world building, for the character themself, someone around them, or an important part of Star Wars. It made it clear how queer identity can be used as storytelling and how queerness is inherent to Star Wars, something I loved dearly about another recent Star Wars YA favorite, Midnight Horizon. When gender was discussed, it was to give depth to clone or handmaiden identity, to show the development of the Jedi’s early relationship with clones, and to further develop this novel’s main question of what it means to be a handmaiden once you’re all grown up. Chosen names are reiterated as respected on Naboo, which reverberates throughout Star Wars to future generations of women like Rey, who is a descendant of Naboo herself. This is what representation is about - that identity is inherent to who you are and the world you inhabit, fictional or otherwise.
There is just so much to love about this novel, and since I am currently reading the Star Wars (2020) comics run where Sabé appears in the time of the Empire with Vader, it made it all the more bittersweet. I could talk about this novel and its parallels to the High Republic for days as well. An all around wonderful end to a tremendous trilogy.

I absolutely loved this book. I'm a big fan of the first two novels in this trilogy as well, and I thought this was the perfect conclusion.
All three books do a great job of giving us a deeper look at Padmé's character in a way that we don't get to see in the movies and shows. E.K. Johnston's characterization of Padmé is definitely my favorite, and I love that we've gotten three books to really explore that.
This book gives us a great look at how Padmé herself views the growing conflict in the galaxy, as well as how her friends and colleagues view it. The politics of this era are very fascinating, and this book really delves into what that looks like for different people in different places in the galaxy. The collection of characters that this book focuses on is what makes it so interesting because we get to see the early days of the Clone Wars through many different perspectives.
Sabé really shines in this book, too. She is such a great character, and I absolutely love the way her story wraps up in this book. It was very emotional but also a perfect conclusion to the character arc that was created for her in the last two books.
The book also had a lot of great emotional moments. They were written so beautifully, and I was very moved by several of the scenes.
Overall, I loved this conclusion to this trilogy of books, and it gave us a good resolution as well as tying back into the movies and TV shows in a satisfying way.
My full review will be on my Podcast, Fulcrum Transmissions, after the book is out.

EK Johnston is a fantastic writer who can handle Star Wars with immense skill. She does wonders with Padme and Sabe here, making them shine. Johnston actually make it make sense that Padme could love Anakin, delivering the first version of Anakin that I don't want to constantly throat punch. If you ever wanted more out of the women in the prequal trilogy, this will not disappoint.

After the gift that was Queen's Shadow and Queen's Peril, the brilliant E.K. Johnston gives us Queen's Hope. I've talked about this before, but I think Johnston's strength in this series is twofold: smoothing out gaps in cannon and giving us incredibly vivid characterizations for the handmaidens.

This book is incredibly successful in what it is building to. Looking back at it, it's less a conclusion and more of a prelude to Padme's life in the Clone Wars show and Ep. III. I don't think folks going into this hoping for everything to feel like the last book in a trilogy will feel fulfillment. Instead, I think if folks go in thinking about this as setting the stage for what comes next in cannon, they might feel more fulfillment. If you wanna feel some Leia feels, this is for you.

The book ends on a hopeful note, despite all this. Again, I don't think folks going into this wanting joy will be happy. I don't think any book that takes up two characters recovering from capture and battle, and in the midst of a war, will be able to tactfully weave a story that leaves readers with joy. I think it did what it needed to to bridge Padmé between AOTC and ROTS. And I think in that, it was successful. We know where all the players are on the table, and most readers know where they're going after this.

I think this is masterful writing for what had to be traversed and I dearly hope Johnston gets to write more Sabé and handmaidens. Ultimately, I will see this as a love letter to the women of the prequels, and the mothers who had an influence an Leia, the beacon of hope herself, despite early deaths.

The sound effects on this were excellent and the narrator was great. The story itself though was labeled as YA but it was clearly written for Middle readers. There is nothing wrong with writing books for middle readers, but telling a complicated story like this, needed to have some more teeth. Also, this was not really a story about Padme, which again is fine, but it is clearly marketed to be her story. Just didn’t work for me. I think there is an audience for this. I love Star Wars and will keep trying all the new books as they come out.

Thank you NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this, such a great addition to the Star Wars universe.

I received an eArc of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Reading this is like watching those videos that are like how I would write the prequels. Like the prequels aren't good but damn they sure could have been. E. K. Johnston makes Anakin/Padme make sense although I love Sabe being like hey dude you married him after he did a massacre??

I will say however having not read the previous books I definitely felt like I was missing... most of the action? Like the subplot about Sashe felt kinda flat to me because I didn't see her backstory and it's like wow she sure did a lobbying for policy. But I now want to read all of the other books.

Audiobook only: I hate the sound effects, sometimes they don't match what's going on and makes it harder to focus on what's happening.

Queen's Hope was a very quick listen. I think this book suffered by being told like many vignettes instead of an overarching plot. There were many characters and moments that were quickly abandoned leaving me wondering why they were there in the first place. Considering this book takes place before and after Padme and Anakin's wedding, I expected to read more about the newlyweds. Sabe had more interactions with both Padme and Anakin than they had together. I think this book should've been higher YA or new adult to reflect the maturity of these characters.

In terms of the audiobook, I think it was adequately read. I think that Cat Taber's voices were a bit distracting.

I love Padmé. She is one of my favorite characters from Star Wars. So, to say I was excited about this finale to her book trilogy would be a massive understatement. This author has done a fabulous job in the past of capturing the essence of Padmé with her words, and this book was no exception to that. I've always wondered about why Padmé chose to be with Anakin given his cringeworthy attempts at romance in Attack of the Clones, and this story satisfied that curiosity. It provided a window into Padmé's mind before, during, and right after her wedding to Anakin, and I found the explanation for her decisions/feelings regarding their relationship to work well and make sense. I loved the snippets of Anakin and Padmé being happy in love and at peace in each other's presence, and they felt bittersweet knowing how their relationship would ultimately end in tragedy. The stories of the handmaidens also continued in this book, and I enjoyed seeing their growth as they stepped out of the shadow of Amidala. The relationship between Padmé and Sabé was just as central to this story as the relationship between Padmé and Anakin, and it highlighted just how much the two women have changed over the course of this trilogy of books as their found family has splintered to some degree as they have all grown up. The plot of the book felt inconsequential compared to the characterizations and relationships, but I did still enjoy it. It had a Clone Wars feel to it that kept my interest. I was floored whenever I realized it was Padmé herself, or at least the voice actress who played her in the Clone Wars, narrating the audiobook. I didn't know that prior to starting it, and it added another layer of awesomeness to the experience. Music and background noises were also inserted throughout the narration, and it really made the story come to life in a way that felt genuinely like Star Wars. I honestly cannot recommend this audiobook enough to all fans of Padmé, The Clone Wars, and the prequel era of Star Wars. It was a short listen and will likely be one I revisit again many times in the future. Therefore, I rate it 5 out of 5 super biased stars. lol.

Thank you so much NetGalley, Disney, LucasFilms and EK Jonston! I have been eagerly awaiting this book and it was everything I hoped for! To get this perspective of this time period is everything I wanted! I am absolutely heartbroken after page 275 and I am not sure how to cope.

My only critical takeaway was the narrator. I did get an ARC of the audiobook and I don't think the narrator was the best choice. It was also different adding the sound effects to it but it wasn't unwelcomed. But the voice of the narrator was like nails on a chalkboard for me.

That being said, the story was amazing and a wonderful end to this series! I am very excited that I preordered the physical copy and can't wait to continue to reread this story forever!

Padme Amidala is an interesting character, and the latest book about her adventures shed more light on her. What was even more interesting, though, was how much this particular book focused on Sabe. And, honestly, those were my favorite parts of the book.

I also liked it when Amidala went on a mission. What I wasn’t that thrilled with was the overly sappy vibe between Amidala and Anakin. But I suppose the author wanted to keep it true to the source material, and we all know that Lucas didn’t exactly write the best dialogue for the secret couple.

The narrator did an adequate job, but may not have been the best choice for this particular title.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

I rally enjoyed this audiobook about Padme's life during the Revenge of the Sith era! The special effects were so fun and distinctive to this audiobook; I felt like I was watching a Star Wars movie, which added so much depth to the experience. I would definitely recommend this audiobook as the primary mode of reading this book for all people, even those who get distracted by audiobooks because this one is very engaging. The narrators are fantastic, a picture was really painted in my head, and I loved the story as a Padme stan. Thanks for the ALC!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this advance listener copy and advance reader copy.

Description from NetGalley:
Padmé is adjusting to being a wartime senator during the Clone Wars. Her secret husband, Anakin Skwyalker, is off fighting the war, and excels at being a wartime Jedi. In contrast, when Padmé gets the opportunity to see the casualties on the war-torn front lines, she is horrified. The stakes have never been higher for the galaxy, or for the newly-married couple.
Meanwhile, with Padmé on a secret mission, her handmaiden Sabé steps into the role of Senator Amidala, something no handmaiden has done for an extended period of time. While in the Senate, Sabé is equally horrified by the machinations that happen there. She comes face to face with a gut-wrenching decision as she realizes that she cannot fight a war this way, not even for Padmé.
And Chancellor Palpatine hovers over it all, manipulating the players to his own ends…
I was able to listen to and read this book, which is a wonderful immersion. I also love Star Wars. I do need to read the previous two books that are before this one; however, it does actually stand pretty well on its own. I was interested in both POVs and have already picked up a previous one to get to know these characters better. This is one of those kind of books that adds to the movies and gives a good idea of what was happening before, after, or during.
This would be a great, quick read for any Star Wars fan.
Overall: 4/5

In a galaxy far, far away, there was a former queen- turned Senator, named Padme Amidala (or Naberrie, depending on who was asking). She falls in love with a Jedi named Anakin Skywalker; they wish to be married, but it must be in secret and things just keep getting in their way. Silly wars!

I’ve never read any of the books about Padme or by E. K. Johnston for that matter, but I really enjoyed this one. I was pleasantly surprised by how well done this one was, especially since we know what happens in the end for Padme and Anakin. It has a little romance, some action, and a whole heaping pile of Star Wars lore to set the stage.

*** Spoilers Ahead! ***

I was absolutely thrilled at the diversity of the characters and how inclusive it felt. Yes, the main characters are Padme and Anakin and their typical romance, but Johnston gives so much more depth to Padme’s handmaidens that it nearly blows my mind. I found their stories far more interesting than anything Padme or Anakin did. I know where their story goes, but there is still hope (pun intended) for them.

We find out more about some of her original handmaids (one has a wife and has a bunch of adopted kids), but we also meet new ones and learn a little bit about them as well. One notable handmaid seems to identify as nonbinary, but it’s not entirely clear so perhaps genderfluid? It’s less important when she is a Senator for her to have body doubles, so what they look like is less important than what they can do.

The other exciting diversity win is one clone trooper named Sister. Yes, her name is Sister and she is the first trans clone that has been identified in the GFFA. Her brothers call her that to show that they support her and to make sure she feels like one of them. It is also nice to see that the Jedi support her as well, with Anakin telling her that she ‘transcended gender’. Her reply is pretty great! Also, it is rather unreasonable to think that out of a couple million people created by the Kaminoans, that all of them will identify as male, right?

Overall, the book was very enjoyable. I would recommend it to anyone who likes Star Wars novels or Space Operas, although the former might not be a great fit unless they like a nice helping of romance.

I really enjoyed Star Wars: Queens Hope by E.K. Johnson. I like when a Star Wars books adds more to an existing film or book series. This one does both. E.K. puts a lot of care, love and passion for the Star Wars universe. There are details that she adds that a Star Wars fan will love. You don't have to be huge Star Wars fan to enjoy this book. I highly recommend this book! - Art Eddy

I have always wanted to know what Padme's and Anakin's wedding was like and how exactly he turned so completely to the dark side when he was so in love with someone so good. I had high hopes that this one would at least give me all the wedding details I ever hoped for. It did fall a bit short on that front. I got a little bit of what the wedding was like, but it wasn't as in-depth or romansy as I wanted. I was a bit disappointed. I loved the novel overall; however, there wasn't too many details on their wedding or time together, The ending was super cute though and I wish there had been more adorable moments between them.

Padme is back home recovering with a clandestine romance with Anakin. But her revere is disrupted time and time again. Even on their wedding day, Padme and Anakin run a mission for Naboo for the new queen to recover one of her subjects.

This novel focuses on Padme and her politics. She goes on several missions and pulls off another switch-a-roo with the senate with her "shadow". I always enjoy reading about Padme's handmaidens and in this one, we find out even more about where they are and what they have been up to. I love that they all go on to do things they love while still helping the galaxy at large and still loving Padme despite her flaws and secrets.

I LOVE this series. I hope there's another one soon!

Thank you to Disney and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this audiobook.

Johnston's writing and Tabor's reading of the third book in this series is delightful. The sound effects are much less distracting in this one, compared with others in the series. I appreciate the quick references to places, events, and characters in other Star Wars content, like The Clone Wars. The use of neopronouns by a secondary character is amazing and much appreciated!

I loved hearing more background and seeing flashbacks into character's lives. This series has truly developed so much more of the primary, secondary, and new Star Wars characters' emotions, beliefs, lives, and day to day experiences.

I will read anything and everything Johnston writes about in the Star Wars universe.