After a week break, I started reading Queen’s Peril. This is the prequel to Queen’s Shadow. Padmé Naberrie has just become the new queen of Naboo. A part of her is excited but not surprised. She knew she was meant for this. A calling to help her people in any sort of way. She is ready to perform her duties as Queen Amidala. Captain Panaka of the Royal Security Forces recruits five young girls each with a special talent and similar looking to the queen. These individuals become the handmaidens to Padmé; Sabé, Saché, Eirtaé, Rabé, and Yané. Their trust and loyalty get put to the test when Naboo is invaded by Viceroy Nute Gunray of the Trade Federation. What the girls experience will forever solidify a bond between them.

Besides Sabé, I didn’t know a thing about the other handmaidens. The Phantom Menace doesn’t really mention much of them and it’s not until I started reading the comics and Queen’s Shadow that I got to learn of the others. Queen’s Peril is the origin of the handmaidens. Before there was Sabé, it was Tsabin. Saché was Sashah, Yané; Suyan, Eirtaé; Eirtama, and Rabé; Rabene. Each girl has a talent that Padmé can learn from. They all teach each other to become one.

I grew to love Padmé’s character even more. She isn’t just a queen/senator. She was molded to be so many different things with the help of her handmaidens; It’s impressive. She’s a lady bound by duties and her people and would put her feelings aside for the greater cause if need be. I found her to be cold hearted and emotionless in the film but now after reading the book, I understand why and I admired her for not letting emotions decide her choices.

As a Star Wars fan, the order to read the books doesn’t matter but personally I think I enjoyed Queen’s Peril better after reading Queen’s Shadow. For someone new to the universe, I think it’s best to read Queen’s Peril first and then Queen’s Shadow. But that’s just my opinion.

I wasn’t expecting to read dialogue from other characters. It’s exciting to read Palpatine’s point of view and his involvement to the Battle of Naboo. He pretty much started the conflict when he asked Viceroy Nute Gunray to invade Naboo under his secret identity Darth Sidious. The guy was playing both sides perfectly. I don’t think he expected for Padmé to be such a strong queen but he used that to his advantage.

It was neat reading about Darth Maul. If I recall, the guy doesn’t say anything in the film so I’m glad we got insight on what he was thinking. I didn’t care much for Maul but once I watched him in Clone Wars and Rebels, I started liking him. The guy is way smarter than the movie makes him seem.

We got a little bit of Anakin dialogue. The slave boy of Tatoonie who loves to build things and discovers how much he loves to fly. His first encounter with Padmé is cute. So innocent.

One more book to the series, Queen’s Hope. I’m very much excited to know how Padmé and Anakin made their secret relationship work. Spoiler alert: it’s complicated. I wonder if Ahsoka gets mentioned in the book since she was Anakin’s Padawan. I’ll just have to read Queen’s Hope to find out. Just thinking about reading the last book makes me feel a little sad because the outcome is tragic.