Queen's Peril (Padmé Amidala, Prequel)

by E.K. Johnston

[Quirky Cat]

Padme Naberrie's adventure continues in Queen's Peril, written by E.K. Johnston. This has been one of my favorite Star Wars novel series to date, and with good reason.

Queen's Shadow introduced fans to a completely different side of Padme, of everything she and her handmaidens had gone through, and were still willing to go through. Now, in Queen's Peril, we're given yet another opportunity to see a different side of her.

This is Padme, the young woman, who at fourteen years old ran for the title of Queen of Naboo – and won. What follows are adventures from her earlier years, when her handmaidens worked hard to create a new method of protecting their queen, and themselves.

"Whatever happened next, however it was recorded and remembered, she was entirely on her own."

Oh my gosh. How have I not reviewed Queen's Peril by now? It'll come as no surprise to those that know me, but I adored Queens' Peril. Realistically, I adore anything revolving around Padme, especially if it is written by E.K. Johnston (she's done so much for some of my favorite Star Wars characters).

The focus of this novel is the earlier years for Queen Amidala. It's all about her and her handmaidens working together to create a complicated and flawless way of concealment and protection. It was absolutely fascinating to see what they came up with in more detail.

Honestly, every chapter seemed to reveal hidden depths to the length in which they all went through. Naturally, there was plenty of time to get to know each and every one of them, and it was so endearing. And perhaps just a little heartbreaking, since we know the fate of several of them. That can't be helped.

That being said, while it certainly would have broken my heart further in the long run, I would have loved to see more perspective from some of those very handmaidens. In truth, I would greedily take a novel from each of them, even though I know that this will probably never happen. But hey, a girl can dream, right?

One of the many highlights from Queen's Peril is the altered perspective to a well-known series of events: The Phantom Menace. We actually get a chance to see a bit of that story from Padme's eyes, and oh my goodness. It added so much! More, please!

In all seriousness, I do not know if there will be more Padme novels in our future. Then again, I didn't know that Queen's Shadow was going to be anything more than a standalone novel. So there's still room for surprises, I hope.

TLDR: If you love Padme and/or her handmaiden, and feel that they have always deserved more screen time, then read Queen's Peril. You won't regret it.

Check out more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks