Name: Marina McLain 's review of Star Wars Queen's Shadow by E. K. Johnston
Item: Star Wars Queen's Shadow
Rating: 3.5
Author: Marina McLain

E. K. Johnston

Written by the #1 New York Times best-selling author of Ahsoka! When Padmé Naberrie, "Queen Amidala" of Naboo, steps down from her position, she is asked by the newly-elected queen to become Naboo's representative in the Galactic Senate. Padmé is unsure about taking on the new role, but cannot turn down the request to serve her people. Together with her most loyal handmaidens, Padmé must figure out how to navigate the treacherous waters of politics and forge a new identity beyond the queen's shadow.

Star Wars Queen's Shadow

When fourteen-year-old Padmé Naberrie wins the election for Queen of Naboo, she adopts the name Amidala and leaves her family to the rule from the royal palace. To keep her safe and secure, she'll need a group of skilled handmaidens who can be her assistants, confidantes, defenders, and decoys. Each girl is selected for her particular talents, but it will be up to Padmé to unite them as a group. When Naboo is invaded by forces of the Trade Federation, Queen Amidala and her handmaidens will face the greatest test--of themselves, and of each other.

Star Wars Queen's Peril

Hannah Williams

Kauffie

A bit disappointing. Thought this was going to be either The Phantom Menace from Amidala’s point of view or even taking place before that. This takes place in between Phantom and Clones, when Padmé is no longer queen and mostly takes place in Coruscant during her first year of being a senator. 

As someone who loves The Phantom Menace movie, it’s annoying to hear people who dislike Phantom complain that there’s too many senate and blockade talks, when that’s only a small part of the movie. This book is what those Phantom haters think Phantom is. There’s a lot of really boring senate discussions, with only a tiny bit of suspenseful intrigue in it. I’m also sad Captain Panaka got sidelined in favor of his wife, which felt a bit anti-male, even though we do have Typho, Tonra, and Bail Organa, who are all great male role models, especially Bail. (I did only recently hear where Panaka ends up, and I don’t know much about Typho and Tonra. But they’re good characters in this at least.) I did end up liking Mariek (Panaka’s wife) though, so no hard feelings toward her.

I did love seeing behind the curtain how Padmé works with, interacts and cares about her handmaidens though. And small Spoiler Alert!: I also loved that she was thinking of Shmi and tried to help her. I just wish this was more interesting and action packed. I will continue with the series. Hopefully it gets better.

Marina McLain 

A bit disappointing. Thought this was going to be either The Phantom Menace from Amidala’s point of view or even taking place before that. This takes place in between Phantom and Clones, when Padmé is no longer queen and mostly takes place in Coruscant during her first year of being a senator. 

As someone who loves The Phantom Menace movie, it’s annoying to hear people who dislike Phantom complain that there’s too many senate and blockade talks, when that’s only a small part of the movie. This book is what those Phantom haters think Phantom is. There’s a lot of really boring senate discussions, with only a tiny bit of suspenseful intrigue in it. I’m also sad Captain Panaka got sidelined in favor of his wife, which felt a bit anti-male, even though we do have Typho, Tonra, and Bail Organa, who are all great male role models, especially Bail. (I did only recently hear where Panaka ends up, and I don’t know much about Typho and Tonra. But they’re good characters in this at least.) I did end up liking Mariek (Panaka’s wife) though, so no hard feelings toward her.

I did love seeing behind the curtain how Padmé works with, interacts and cares about her handmaidens though. And small Spoiler Alert!: I also loved that she was thinking of Shmi and tried to help her. I just wish this was more interesting and action packed. I will continue with the series. Hopefully it gets better.

Star Wars: Queen's Shadow

Bria

This is my first Star Wars books and it’s for the girls?! I love it 😩

carolina

i love my girl padmé, and i love the handmaiden, i want more of them i NEED more of them <3

britt

i had so much fun reading this book and i will now be devouring the other two.

anne caroline

C. J. Daley 

This book was a fun read about Padmè that most people had been asking for for some time. Taking place in between TPM and AotC—leaving years of time that could have had anything happen within the new canon—had me hopeful for something I didn’t receive. Anakin is mentioned as “the boy” during the story and by name once in the epilogue which really does itself no justice because there seemingly won’t be a sequel? 
Don’t get me wrong I found the story to be worthwhile and entertaining enough to finish it in just a few days. However, I feel as if rating it higher would be offensive to the other Star Wars books because nothing happens. I mean literally nothing at all. 
This is practically a handbook on handmaidens.

Audrey Lord

Such an amazing plot line. So interesting to see the relationships Padmé had with her handmaidens, especially when you knew they risked their lifes for her. It's also so awesome to see the other points of views. If you like Star Wars and wanted more context for Episode 1 this definitely is the book for you

Ashley

Ok I really loved this 😭 I’m quite excited for the next one

Reese Kuck 

Iconic. That's all I have to say. Literally iconic. The bodyguard/decoy/ besties role was amazing. Sabe is my fav. All the girls and their talents 😙🤌 Padme is so much more than just Anakin's wife, or Luke's mom. She is the moment. She is a Queen.

Shawna Delellis

It was a great book, but very rushed in the end. If you didn’t see the phantom menace then you would be very confused.

Kimberly Burgess 

SO GOOD! The audiobooks are the only way to go, it blended the actual phantom menace movie into a better story and was so enjoyable

Eva Bailey

I wish this was longer, I could read a full book of just Padme and her handmaidens hanging out.

Ley Stanton

There were aspects of this book that I really enjoyed and aspects that I absolutely hated. Seeing how Padme got her handmaidens, how they trained, and their side of the events during the Phantom Menace was fascinating. While we do follow Padme during the movie at times, we don't see her thought process or the perspective of her handmaidens. It is revealed during this book that they are just as much the Queen as she is, they all portrayed her together and shaped her image as a group. That was my favorite part of the book. 

I did not enjoy the constant flipping to other perspectives, outside of the handmaidens and Padme. And I really didn't like that they skipped over vast parts of the story just to keep things moving. I would have been perfectly happy just seeing the events prior to Phantom Menace. Instead, they jumped through huge events in the book making it absolutely necessary that you have seen the movie. Now, that's not a big deal because this is obviously a Star Wars book but I'm not a fan of books that require you to have seen/read other things unless that is clearly stated on the book. This is part of a series but it is supposed to a prequel. It just rubbed me the wrong way that there were whole sections missing from the book. It would be one thing if we were seeing the perspective of the handmaidens stuck on Naboo during all the events but the book kept flashing between all the charcters.

Overall, there was just so much potential in this story, showing the perspectives and the personalities of all the handmaidens (and Captain Panaka). Jumping around to other characters, some of which we only see once, is annoying and takes me out of the story. I was really excited to read this, Padme is my favorite character and I wanted to see more of her thoughts on the events of Phantom Menace. I only partially got that. 

I've been contemplating reading the next book in this series but I really don't want more of the same from this book. I don't mind a multi-perspective book but this was simply too much for me. I also want a complete story, not the fragments that this one had. Makes me sad that there aren't more Star Wars books from Padme's perspective.

Livvy 

The 3 things I love the most have been combined into Queen’s Peril. Sci-fi, YA, and Star Wars. Mix in a character I’ve always loved and desperately wanted to know more about and you’ve got yourself a book that could potentially land in my favorites of all time. 

It’s safe to say, this book delivers the high hopes I had for it and much more. 

The handmaiden's intentionally similar names were a tad tricky to get used to when I first began the novel, but the novel does such a great job at differentiating them, it didn’t take me long to get up to speed with who was who.

I absolutely love the characterization of the handmaidens. The interactions between the handmaidens and Padme are realistic and really drive the point that yes, they have a big role in society but they are teenage girls. They have their quiffs and difficulties that anyone who was or is a teenage girl can relate to. The realism in their interactions and the bond they form really moved me.

Overall, the journey this book took me on was amazing. I felt it did an excellent job of capturing what sisterhood is like between young women.

 However, this is a YA book. If YA isn’t the type of genre of books you enjoy, I would skip this book. As a lover of YA novels, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, especially with the added sci-fi and Star Wars elements!

 I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Star Wars, YA, or Sci-Fi. The YA element might be a dealbreaker for fans of other Star Wars novels but I would certainly give it a try if you’re interested in Padme and the handmaiden's story.

Haley

I liked how this book told the a part of the story from Padmé’s point of view. It was nice to see the whole process on how she became the queen and the surroundings on her planet.

Amazing!! Enjoyed this book sm! Loved learning more about the handmaidens and how they came to be! Really interesting to learn more about Naboo’s political system!

I finished reading this book in less than 24 hours. I couldn’t put it back, I have a lot to say about it. First of all, I LOVE PADMÉ!
I personally liked this more than Queen’s Shadow. I loved seeing Padmé’s and other girls’, especially Sabé’s, journey of being queen and being in danger at such young age. Also I’m so happy to see other characters from The Phantom Menace as well, I don’t think it was bad at all.
I also love E.K Johnston’s writing. She did an amazing job with Queen’s Shadow and I knew we could trust her with Queen’s Peril too. She put the girls’ emotions, the actions and the places in words so good.

Heather Harrington

**I received a copy of this via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

Padme Naberrie is fourteen-years old and the new Queen of Naboo. After she wins the election, she takes on the name Amidala and leaves her family and her old life behind in order to rule from the royal palace. As another means of protection, Padme and her advisors devise a plan to recruit a group of girls who slightly resemble the new Queen to serve as handmaidens, personal guards, and if the occasion calls for it, decoys. 

Each girl brings their own special set of skills to the table, and have a particular talent that Padme could benefit from. Whether that is lock picking, engineering, or breathing tactics that hide her true feelings. Though the girls were brought together as separate entities, it'll be up to Padme to unite them as one. While trust is slowly building within the group, Naboo is invaded by forces from the Trade Federation. Queen Amidala and her handmaidens have no choice but to face the attack head on, or else let Naboo fall.

If you're a fan of the prequels, namely The Phantom Menace, than this is a book for you. Although, this came out after Johnston's other Padme book, Queen's Shadow, the events in this one actually happen before that. Queen's Peril highlights how Padme came into her power and the formation of her handmaiden security detail. You really get a feel for how much love Padme has for her people and world in this. I loved seeing the backstory for all the handmaids, and how they got recruited to Padme's cause. Every single one is so strong on their own, but when you put them together it takes it to a whole other level. I also liked all the little foreshadowing sprinkled throughout in regards to Palpatine. I loved seeing the events of TPM play out through Padme/the handmaid's perspectives. I did get slightly confused at times with the different perspectives, but other than that I thought this was very solid.

Nikki Sojkowski

I was given an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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.

There were 4 quite short and out of place sections where the focus briefly switched to an Anakin or Darth Maul point of view, and while disorienting, they over all did not detract from an endearing 'biopic' of the Naboo political system.

Darren S. Layne

DNF p. 55. Certainly the worst Star Wars novel I’ve yet read, and I’ve read quite a number of them. Five chapters of nothing happening, twee court fantasy, and far too many detailed descriptions of knowing glances between handmaidens was more than enough for me. The least creative of Star Wars trilogies is somehow made even staler by Johnston’s treatment, and thus I had to bow out before any more damage could be done.

Jane Krauss

After reading Queen's Peril, I knew I needed to read this book too - and wow it didn't disappoint. The storytelling is vivid and picks up just the place I wanted to know about. So often a planets night side is forgotten and completely left out in plot holes, that mistake didn’t happen, in fact it was mart of the plot and it was good. 
I loved getting to see the personality of Sabè shine. I loved the first glimpse of the Confederate of Independent Planets and the workings of the Galactic Senate. Seeing Bail Organa and Mon Mothma was great too.
After reading Queen’s Peril I really enjoyed this too (and es I know they this book was published first). Honestly I laughed and crude reading this book.

Kauffie &
Star Wars Queen's Shadow by E. K. Johnston

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Star Wars Queen's Shadow by E. K. Johnston