A review by rroselia
Queen's Peril, by E.K. Johnston
3.0
2.5 / 5 stars
I got through Queen's Peril more easily than Queen's Shadow, and I'm not sure if that's just because this book was shorter or if it was a better read. I read this book in one sitting, and it was an enjoyable read all around, but like Queen's Shadow, it was just a bit lacking overall. If anything, this book feels more like a love letter to the Phantom Menace and the prequels as a whole with all of its different POVs. This book does its job as that and not much more, and while I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, I was disappointed with what this book could have done.
There isn't much plot here or real conflict, rather this whole story reads like a bunch of random scenes strung together that eventually lead up to the events of the Phantom Menace. This was perhaps the biggest shortcoming of the story—a large chunk of this book simply brushes over the Phantom Menace without offering much more. I wish that this book had been a bit more accurate to the title. I wanted to see every side of Padme's story as she began her term as queen. There was very little of this.
However, I'll give this book credit where it's due. I did enjoy seeing the relationship between all of Padme's handmaidens and especially Padme and Sabe. I enjoyed many aspects of this book simply because they were about Padme, one of my most loved characters of all time. I was a bit disappointed with Padme's portrayal, as this novel did very little with her character. I wish we got to see her struggles and more of how she had to adapt to become queen outside of some breathing exercises from Sabe. It would've been nice to see more from her family. Hell, it would've just been nice to see more of Padme.
The more I keep writing about this book the more I realize that it's objectively very mediocre. I can't rate anything about one of my favorite characters from my favorite media of all time any lower than strictly average, so I'll give it that. I'm hoping Queen's Hope is as good as its cover is pretty.
I got through Queen's Peril more easily than Queen's Shadow, and I'm not sure if that's just because this book was shorter or if it was a better read. I read this book in one sitting, and it was an enjoyable read all around, but like Queen's Shadow, it was just a bit lacking overall. If anything, this book feels more like a love letter to the Phantom Menace and the prequels as a whole with all of its different POVs. This book does its job as that and not much more, and while I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, I was disappointed with what this book could have done.
There isn't much plot here or real conflict, rather this whole story reads like a bunch of random scenes strung together that eventually lead up to the events of the Phantom Menace. This was perhaps the biggest shortcoming of the story—a large chunk of this book simply brushes over the Phantom Menace without offering much more. I wish that this book had been a bit more accurate to the title. I wanted to see every side of Padme's story as she began her term as queen. There was very little of this.
However, I'll give this book credit where it's due. I did enjoy seeing the relationship between all of Padme's handmaidens and especially Padme and Sabe. I enjoyed many aspects of this book simply because they were about Padme, one of my most loved characters of all time. I was a bit disappointed with Padme's portrayal, as this novel did very little with her character. I wish we got to see her struggles and more of how she had to adapt to become queen outside of some breathing exercises from Sabe. It would've been nice to see more from her family. Hell, it would've just been nice to see more of Padme.
The more I keep writing about this book the more I realize that it's objectively very mediocre. I can't rate anything about one of my favorite characters from my favorite media of all time any lower than strictly average, so I'll give it that. I'm hoping Queen's Hope is as good as its cover is pretty.