Somehow, in the year 2022, we are getting our third book centered around Padmé Amidala and honestly, what a world we live in. Out today, Queen’s Hope by E.K. Johnston gives us more of the story of Padmé and some of her handmaidens as the galaxy becomes a less friendly place.
As the Clone Wars begin, it is a time of change for the galaxy… especially if your name happens to be Anakin Skywalker or Padmé Amidala. There’s now a war going on and they have to figure out how to make time for a secret wedding and then they have to figure out how to go about their lives while being secretly married. Meanwhile, Sabé and Saché both find themselves drawn into events swirling around the rapidly changing galactic situation that might have larger ramifications than any of them realize. Continue reading
Fifteen months ago, I wrote a review of Queen’s Shadow in which I expressed a hope that we might get both a prequel and sequel to that book. Mission (halfway) accomplished because Queen’s Peril by E.K. Johnston was published today and it is indeed a prequel to the 2019 novel, covering the time in Padmé’s life from when she was first elected queen through dealing with the Trade Federation’s invasion. (If I close my eyes and wish real hard again, will I also be able to will a sequel into existence too? This is the trilogy we deserve, dang it!) It is precisely the book you think it is and that is a very good thing. 
Queen’s Shadow is the book I’ve been waiting twenty years to get to read.