Although Star Wars has plenty of well-known romances, it could always use another love story. Thankfully, Lucasfilm is giving us exactly that this summer with one of its Galaxy’s Edge tie-ins A Crash of Fate by Zoraida Córdova. Out today, the novel tells the story of Izzy Garsea and Jules Rakab, two childhood friends who are brought back together thirteen years later for one wild day on Batuu that neither of them ever saw coming. To get out of the fine mess they’ve found themselves in, they’re going to have to trust each other and hope luck’s on their side… and just maybe also see if love’s around the corner too.
Jules and Izzy’s love story is sweet and adorable. This is the sort of story that Star Wars could use more of. It’s set during the Sequel Trilogy but they’re relatively removed from the war. The stakes are high for both of them on a personal level but if they fail, there aren’t galactic shattering ramifications. There are a lot of people in the galaxy who aren’t Jedi or Rebellion heroes and hearing their stories too is just as important.
But back to Jules and Izzy. Who are both precious.
From the moment they collide into each other again for the first time in over a decade, it’s immediately obvious that there’s a spark between them even though they’ve changed over the years. They’ve been separated for far longer than they’d known each other but they clearly never forgot the other person even if their lives took them in very different directions. Córdova does a careful balancing act between that initial moment of physical attraction with letting them figure out that they love each other as more than friends. The trouble they find themselves wrapped up in is certainly key to the story but this angry girl who’s seen the galaxy and this soft boy who still yearns to see it are why readers will care.
It’s not just a love story. As a part of the Lucasfilm Publishing’s endeavor to let us visit Galaxy’s Edge from afar, A Crash of Fate is most set in locations people could potentially one day “visit” if they go to the park. Unsurprisingly, one area where the book excels is with its use of Batuu. While Córdova certainly uses whatever the Disney Imagineers gave her to flesh out the planet, it never feels like we’re getting a guided tour through the city. We visit landmarks that anyone who’s read any sort of coverage of Galaxy’s Edge will recognize such as Dok-Ondar’s shop and Oga’s Cantina but Izzy and Jules going there feels like a very organic part of their very, very busy day. (And it could have very easily veered the other way.) Perhaps the naming of specific drinks feels a little obvious but who wouldn’t want to work those in? Plus, the descriptions definitely do the job of enticing readers who might be inclined to try them at the park.
A Crash of Fate feels like the perfect balance between being a tie-in to a tie-in and a delightful story in its own right. It’s the perfect way to either visit Batuu without making the trek to California or Florida or to enhance your visit to the parks. Oh. And Izzy and Jules are the cutest. Have we mentioned that yet?
Thank you to Disney Lucasfilm Press for providing an early copy of the book for review purposes.
