The 3rd book in the SWCC.
I love Padme so very much. It was really cool to get to see the behind the scenes of her handmaidens, and the way that they dealt with Panaka. It did feel like the later half went by very quickly, but it's things that happen during the movie so it makes sense to expedite the process. ( )

It was an easy read and fun, but more YA than I cared for. Definitely something to be loved by other readers. And there was great background information to Padme and her planet/people. ( )

Was this perfect? No. Did I enjoy it? Yes.

I was giddy before reading this - we learn more of the Planet Naboo and how their govern system works.

I loved how the queen's shadows were found, and the bonds that they had built before everything went to hell.

There were numerous parts - for me - lacking enough or no information. I get that this is in the timeline of Episode 1 (and most has seen the movie), but what about Padmè's inner thoughts when she met Anikin Skywalker?

Why skip those parts? And how about the inner thoughts when they have overthrown the Chancellor?

I will see how well it goes with the second book: Queen's shadow. ( )

Fall 2020 (October || audible & papercopy);

I'm giving this a 4, but I'm leaning more 3.5ish. I love, love, love EK's Padme voice, but this came down to two problems for me --

1. The part before the novelization area started was so fast and so short from anything I'd considered it being timewise between when Padme ascended the throne and the movie happening. Everything was so fast and in that a little less believable for forming the bonds that it relied on in the novelized part.

2. The moment the book becomes the novelization the whole text suffers dramatically in a fashion that never ends. It starts juggling between "outtakes" and narrative summary and I found myself frustrated so many more times than I really allow any books. ( )

2.5★
I hate to give this a low rating because it is very clear E.K. tried to do something the dudebros hate: portray women like regular people. And it's obvious that half of the low reviews are hating on exactly that.

But the weak point in Queen's Peril, obviously, isn't the dresses and periods and make-ups. It is that it's a book that is trying very hard without deciding where it's going. Of course, it's great to see periods incorporated in a story about teenage girls, and crushes, and LGBT representation. But all of this felt like the author was crossing itens out of a "look how aware I am" list without much tought to the actual story.

The plot has no substance, and I could excuse that if the book had a more introspective approach, i.e. Padmé and the handmaidens, what a great opportunity to explore female relationships! But that's not what happens.

The story tries to bring too much to the table at once, and falls flat on every single one of them in one of the biggest examples of telling instead of showing I've seen:
Giving personalities to the handmaidens? They are the same cardboard cutout with their name #uniqueability sticked to the forehead.
Exploring Padmé learning to be Queen? Literally we aren't show a single thing she does. Is this a simbolic title? She gets a vote on the planet council? Has the last word? What's the difference between Queen and Governor? Who knows!
Giving background to TPM? Literally the most confusing 100 pages I've seen, jumping around narrators and brushing over the overall events of the movie without depth on anything.

The author obviously wrote this with extreme love for Padmé, an immaculate girl who is just trying her best and for no apparent reason has automatic devotion (to an extremely creepy extent) of everyone she meets. And then the actual scenes do nothing to convince she is fitting to rule a planet.
If you're saying Nubians become adults at 14, you can't have them ignoring security measures, lying to staff and being petty over anything at the same time. Some immaturity is to be expected (comparing to what would be 18-19 year-olds) but this dissonance makes the plot absolute nonsensical. Is like the story is from a perspective of a 12-year-old who actually thinks "the adults are just boring" without any of the fun that a middle-grade book would provide.

(Really can't believe this just skipped ALL of the training the handmaidens had. Like. Why do we only have the transitional scenes between all the actually interesting stuff?)

P.S: really this book is so mediocre that it didn't even inspire distaste. I can't give it a lower rating and join this with the books that actually made me feel something, even in a bad way. ( )