An excellent entry into the Star Wars canon. Senator Amidala and her various handmaidens and assistants engages in a variety of adventures, while her secret marriage to Anakin Skywalker is both celebrated by the few 'in the know' and carefully hidden away from all others. This leads to complications with some of her nearest friends when by accident the truth leaks out - leading to a life changing decision by one of her chief friend and handmaidens. Chilling insights into the evil mind of Palpatine, and how he continues to weave his master web, casting a true shadow over Padme and Anakin's happiness now - and for all readers who know and fear the final catastrophic chapter in this love story.

EK Johnston has done a fantastic job telling Padme’s story throughout this trilogy, and I’ve loved getting more detail about this amazing queen, senator, and woman!

Queen’s Hope wraps up the trilogy, and in addition to focusing on Padme, the story follows several of the handmaidens, both old and new. I would recommend reading (or rereading) the previous Queen’s novels to learn about the different handmaidens—I thought a quick online refresher would be enough, but there are so many little details and so much backstory between these characters that the full story is really needed to catch everything. That being said, this book is a great read all on its own. This book is set at the beginning of the Clone War and explores the onset of the war from a political standpoint, providing motivations and information that ultimately affect the troops on the ground but in a way that feels different from the experience you get when watching The Clone Wars television show.

This book also features Padme and Anakin’s wedding and the beginning of their married life. It was interesting to see more intimate moments between these two and also see how their relationship affected the relationships between Padme and her handmaidens. It’s an aspect that I hadn’t considered before, and I found the shift in Padme’s priorities realistic, of course, but also a bit bittersweet.

I’ve been loving all the new Star Wars canon books, and the Padme trilogy are some of my favorites. Padme is an amazing character, and Johnston has done a fantastic job of expanding on her story and creating a true legend of a woman. Fans of Star Wars and strong women will enjoy Queen’s Hope as well as its predecessors.

The events of this novel take place between Episode II Attack of the Clones and Episode III Revenge of the Sith, and are centered around the clandestine marriage of Padme Amidala and Anakin Skywalker. It is aimed at readers familiar with the Star Wars universe, and some of the details may only make sense to those familiar with the characters and events of the named movies, and the novelization of those movies. For those familiar with the Star Wars universe, this is a nice bridge between the two movies, covering events referred to but never detailed in the Revenge of the Sith. For those not familiar with the events of the two movies, some of the references may go unseen.

Told from multiple perspectives, Queen's Hope expands on the relationship between Padme and Anakin in ways for which there was not time in the movies. It covers how their marriage occurred, and what happened immediately after. While it could be viewed as a stand-along novel, the events of this book will be of interest primarily to those who enjoy the Star Wars universe and who want more information about this pair of primary characters, as well as about other characters for whom little information is otherwise available. It fills in the back story of Luke Skywalker's Aunt Berru, explaining how exactly Luke is related to her, and provides information about her activities beyond raising Luke to young adulthood. Recommended for those who are interested in the Star Wars canon, as well as those who enjoy a well-written space opera.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I absolutely loved this book. I'm a big fan of the first two novels in this trilogy as well, and I thought this was the perfect conclusion.
All three books do a great job of giving us a deeper look at Padmé's character in a way that we don't get to see in the movies and shows. E.K. Johnston's characterization of Padmé is definitely my favorite, and I love that we've gotten three books to really explore that.
This book gives us a great look at how Padmé herself views the growing conflict in the galaxy, as well as how her friends and colleagues view it. The politics of this era are very fascinating, and this book really delves into what that looks like for different people in different places in the galaxy. The collection of characters that this book focuses on is what makes it so interesting because we get to see the early days of the Clone Wars through many different perspectives.
Sabé really shines in this book, too. She is such a great character, and I absolutely love the way her story wraps up in this book. It was very emotional but also a perfect conclusion to the character arc that was created for her in the last two books.
The book also had a lot of great emotional moments. They were written so beautifully, and I was very moved by several of the scenes.
Overall, I loved this conclusion to this trilogy of books, and it gave us a good resolution as well as tying back into the movies and TV shows in a satisfying way.
My full review will be on my Podcast, Fulcrum Transmissions, after the book is out.

This book was another wonderful installment in the series. I really enjoyed the additional world-building and exploration of Padme's perspective. Her handmaidens were all great characters as well. This book is one of my favorite Star Wars books. I highly recommend it to fans of Star Wars and strong female protagonists.

I wanted to love this story but I feel like it was just ok. This third installment of Padme’s story starts at the beginning of the clone war and the marriage of Padme and Anakin. The republic is trying to figure out the war and how to deal with the separatist, and Padme is trying to find the balance in her life with her secret marriage.

There is a lot good with this story but I felt like they were trying to just fill as many holes created by the movies which led to a lot of jumping around with out much plot movement. It left it feeling like the middle of a story that isn’t concluded. For this reason I feel like there will be another book to finish Padme’s story or a least I hope they will conclude the story.

I did receive this as an ARC digital copy for my honest review.

Star Wars: Queen's Hope is the third book in E.K. Johnston's trilogy of Star Wars novels featuring Padme Amidala and her handmaidens during the times of the prequels (after Queen's Shadow and Queen's Peril). I've actually never read either of those novels, but I know a friend has raved about them, and others I trust have raved about Johnston's work in general. And well my own prior encounter with Johnston, in her book "The Aftermath", was pretty positive, as it featured some really great character work. So I was excited to try this novel out when I got an advance copy, even without having read the prior novels.

And boy do I now want to go back and read those prior two novels, because Queen's Hope is a terrific character-focused novel. The story focuses on Padme and her Handmaidens, many of whom now have gone different ways, right after Attack of the Clones as Padme and her companions try to figure out who they are now with the war, Padme's secret marriage, and all they have gone through. And it's just so easy to care for each of these characters, even the ones I didn't know from the movies, as the story jumps between them frequently - even despite how short the novel is. And the story ends up being one that is surprisingly hopeful, especially given all we know is to come in the third movie after this one. Just a lot to love here.

Note: As you can tell from this review, this novel can be read entirely stand-alone - it certainly seems like some of the handmaiden's characters developed in the prior novels, but you will not be lost if you lack that foreknowledge like I did, and you should really enjoy this novel anyway like I did.


---------------------------------------------Plot Summary--------------------------------------------------------
The Clone Wars have begun and Padmé's finds herself keeping secrets about her life from her closest companions for the first time in her life: most notably about her choice to secretly marry Anakin Skywalker. Padmé hopes that this secret won't change anything among her closest companions, the handmaidens who had once been alongside her - whether they still work for her or not - but as she interacts with them, she feels the guilt of that secret in her heart.

Especially as Padmé begins to need those closest companions once more as her job as a Galactic Senator, as part of the Senate's peaceful faction, requires her to take dangerous action once more. So when a secret mission requires Padmé to once again ask her handmaiden Sabé to assume Sabé's role as her double once more, Padmé, Sabé and the others come face to face with a truth they would rather not face: that they each have changed over the years, and that they are not the people they once were....and that they can never go back to doing things the old way once more, even as they still love each.

But as the secret mission progresses, resulting in a possible galaxy-shifting change in Galactic politics, Padmé and her companions will also discover that change may not necessarily be a bad thing, and that their new selves may be capable of fighting for justice in many different ways throughout the Galaxy....
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Queen's Hope is a story that jumps between characters' perspectives constantly, as it attempts to tell the stories of a multitude of characters in this perilous time of the Galaxy, most notably Padmé and her various former and present handmaidens. The story also tells a couple of interstitial stories about women whose stories are those of women who have faced oppression, or seen the horrors of the Galaxy close up, and who never give up hope and strive to take action for a better future, stories of certain women the reader will recognize as those who may not have ended in good ways, but who made an impact on making the Galaxy in the end a better place.

And those stories frame the stories of the major characters here, who are all working towards that same end, but in very different ways now that things have changed. You have Padme of course, working as a Galactic Senator. But you also have Dormé, Padme's main handmaiden still in charge who has to staff Padme's new handmaiden roster with a group with different talents than they used to back when she was just the Queen of a peaceful planet; you have Saché, who is now a diplomatic agent trying to help Naboo continue to have peaceful relations with its neighbor subordinate worlds, even as the war makes fearful Naboo politicians want to take more control; and you have Sabé, who has begun fighting the slave trade on Tattooine with a man she loves on a more personal level, even as Padmé asks her to help Padme fight on a much greater scope. And there are others, some of whom get point of view chapters, and some of whom didn't, whose stories get featured, like a handmaiden candidate who uses Zhe/Zher pronouns who winds up becoming Saché's personal assistant instead, and who notes zhe wouldn't have thought of the possibility until it was recommended zhe apply and who turns out to be a trusty assistant.

And the result, in a story that takes place in a dark place in the Galaxy, is a story that is hopeful in ways you don't often think about, to the confounding at times of Palpatine, who pops in every now and then to gloat about how things are going bendable to his whims. So you have Padmé and Sabé (and the rest to some extent) realizing how much they've changed, and how they can't simply continue in their old roles as politician and her Shadow, with Sabé unable to think of people as abstractions as necessary for galactic politics and wanting to still help people on a personal level, while Padmé can play the more abstract game....and yet the two realize that both of their ways of making a difference still matter and can improve the Galaxy. And their changing may push the two of them apart, but it doesn't mean that's necessarily a bad thing. And the other plotlines are similar, with Saché for example having to deal with an old law by which Naboo could oppress and use its subordinate worlds, which Palpatine's inspired minions are thinking of using out of terror of what could happen in the Clone Wars, and finding a way to adjust the law to draw the planets closer together instead.

Queen's Hope is very much a short novel, and it doesn't last long, but its character moments work really well and its message of hope amidst drastic change works tremendously. Highly recommended and I'm eager to pick up the prior books in this trilogy.

After the gift that was Queen's Shadow and Queen's Peril, the brilliant E.K. Johnston gives us Queen's Hope. I've talked about this before, but I think Johnston's strength in this series is twofold: smoothing out gaps in cannon and giving us incredibly vivid characterizations for the handmaidens.

This book is incredibly successful in what it is building to. Looking back at it, it's less a conclusion and more of a prelude to Padme's life in the Clone Wars show and Ep. III. I don't think folks going into this hoping for everything to feel like the last book in a trilogy will feel fulfillment. Instead, I think if folks go in thinking about this as setting the stage for what comes next in cannon, they might feel more fulfillment. If you wanna feel some Leia feels, this is for you.

The book ends on a hopeful note, despite all this. Again, I don't think folks going into this wanting joy will be happy. I don't think any book that takes up two characters recovering from capture and battle, and in the midst of a war, will be able to tactfully weave a story that leaves readers with joy. I think it did what it needed to to bridge Padmé between AOTC and ROTS. And I think in that, it was successful. We know where all the players are on the table, and most readers know where they're going after this.

I think this is masterful writing for what had to be traversed and I dearly hope Johnston gets to write more Sabé and handmaidens. Ultimately, I will see this as a love letter to the women of the prequels, and the mothers who had an influence an Leia, the beacon of hope herself, despite early deaths.

Star Wars: Queen's Hope picks up at the ending of Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones. Padme Amidala is on Naboo recovering from her injuries on Geonosis and is not married to Anakin Skywalker yet, but is preparing for her wedding and her return to the galactic senate. After their honeymoon, Anakin must return to the Jedi, and Padme is off on a mission for Ball Organa, causing her to call on her old handmaiden Sabe to play Senator Amidala once again.
While I enjoyed Queen's Hope, it didn't really focus on Padme herself like I would have liked it to have done. We get a look at the beginnings of the Clone War and we see some other loved female characters as well... but overall, I struggle to believe this was a Padme novel because it really didn't feel like one. I would have preferred a bit longer of a story to see more Padme and Anakin, but in general, I really did enjoy the story either way!

I have always been a Padme stan since the very first time I watched the prequels, which were my first step into the Star Wars universe. From those movies to the Clone Wars, I gobble up as much content as I can of my favorite senator. Now I've always wanted to read more about her in the novels, but I haven't taken that step... until this eARC. I know this is essentially the finale to her trilogy, but from what I've seen, they all take place during certain eras of her life. I'm going to need to go back to the first two and check them out, but if they're anything like Queen's Hope, then I'll be greatly entertained and in love!

Queen's Hope is everything I wanted and more of the second and third prequels. Don't get me wrong— I adore Revenge of the Sith dearly, but there's something extremely different and raw in Padme's perspective of the galaxy... and even her life. From senator meetings to her secret marriage and even those relationships with her people and handmaidens, none will be the same as the Clone Wars really start to take their toll. It's hard to see the amount of pain Padme endures in her pursuit of democracy and hope, but it's nonetheless expected of her character. She's so quintessentially her in these moments *no spoilers* and it just makes my grief hurt more for her later on. Padme has always been a symbol of hope and tragedy throughout the franchise for me, and I think this book epitomized that.

I thought this was a great end to the trilogy. The second in the trilogy felt like a retelling of The Phantom Menace whereas I enjoyed the original story in this one. The Clone Wars journey was an interesting story and also, I enjoyed the playful banter between Padme and Anakin at a time when their relationship was great. I also thought the way Padme and Sabes relationship ended was sad, but a great story and was sad to see it come to an end.

The story itself though was labeled as YA but it was clearly written for Middle readers. There is nothing wrong with writing books for middle readers, but telling a complicated story like this, needed to have some more teeth. Also, this was not really a story about Padme, which again is fine, but it is clearly marketed to be her story. Just didn’t work for me. I think there is an audience for this. I love Star Wars and will keep trying all the new books as they come out

Padmé returns for a third and final entry in E.K. Johnston’s trilogy with Queen’s Hope. As I have stated before in my previous reviews of this trilogy, I find it to be a very YA female focused novel that I would absolutely recommend to that group, but others could skip if they aren’t too invested.

For me, I still struggle to fully get involved in the story due to the constant detail on outfits, friend drama, and the ever goofy love story of Anakin and Padme.

However, there are things to enjoy here. Johnston is a fantastic writer and reading her books are always a very smooth experience. She has absolutely taken full ownership of the story of Padmé and her handmaidens. Something that I didn’t realize was needed, but now absolutely feels apart of the larger Star Wars narrative.

My favorite part of this book, and the books before it, is how it feels in gaps between movies and periods we hadn’t seen before. I won’t go in to detail here, but we see a significant moment in Star Wars play out in much more detail in this novel. This also allows us to take a few breaks from Padmé and her handmaidens to see what some of our other favorite characters from Star Wars are doing at this time, and I was always excited to read these portions.

In the end, the question you must ask is, how much am I invested in the story of Padmé? If you love her character or want to know more about her, this book and trilogy is absolutely for you. Are you a girl looking to get in to Star Wars, but not so sure on the “wars” part of it? Than this book is for you. Are you a grown man who really likes Star Wars because of big action scenes and swinging lightsabers? Well…this may not be for you, but if you just love all Star Wars and want to know everything happening in the universe, than you might as well pick it up and you’ll find some enjoyment along the way.

ARC was given by Disney Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

It's incredibly difficult for any author to wrap up a trilogy, especially one with a character as iconic as Padmé Amidala, but since picking up these books, I have found myself reassessing my (formerly) ambivalant stance about the Queen and Senator of the galaxy far far away.

That being said, I still find myself wanting more from these books. Queen's Shadow and Peril did a very neat job of introducing the audience into the mind of Padmé pre-Clone Wars as well as establishing the oft-clamored and desired relationship between the Queen and her mysterious handmaidens. Something I think I was expecting from this final book was to expound on that a little bit further considering this is the final canon book (that we know of) prior to Padmé's death in Revenge of the Sith. For most of the story, it felt as if Padmé was more of a side character, briefly popping in and out and mentioned by others, but rarely given enough of the spotlight of her own that I as a reader was hoping for.

A standout of this series has been Sabé. The queen's shadow, confidant, and friend, she has felt the most complete character of the series and I've enjoyed seeing the continuation of her story within the comic realm. Her devotion to Padmé, while also staying true to herself and discovering who she is outside of the queen's shadow was incredibly fulfilling and it felt as if that was the only neatly-tied bow to this trilogy and only because we have more media on what happened to her post-novels.

For me, these books provided valuable insight into a character that I'd never truly resonated with or looked that deeply into, but I've come out with a greater appreciation and understanding of this character, while also wishing I could have seen so much more.

Queen’s Hope is available April 5, 2022. Special thanks to Disney Books for the advance copy for review purposes.

While I really enjoyed this, more so than the previous two, I wish it had been more focused on Padmé herself. I liked the points of view we got, the glimpses into the beginnings of the Clone War, and small bits of other beloved female characters (redacted for spoilers!!!) but it didn't really feel like a Padmé novel. There was less of her and Anakin than I wanted and it felt like it could have been a bit longer to flesh out certain plot points. I love the detail that's put into the system of the handmaidens and clothing choices, But overall, very good!

Thank you to NetGalley and Disney Publishing for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Queen's Hope was a very quick easy and quick read. I think this book suffered by being told like many vignettes instead of an overarching plot. There were many characters and moments that were quickly abandoned leaving me wondering why they were there in the first place. Considering this book takes place before and after Padme and Anakin's wedding, I expected to read more about the newlyweds. Sabe had more interactions with both Padme and Anakin than they had together. I think this book should've been higher YA or new adult to reflect the maturity of these characters.

I loved this book! Padme is my favourite character in Star Wars and I'm so delighted and grateful that a whole trilogy has now been devoted to her.

In this book we get to see more of Padme's relationship with Anakin, which I was most looking forward to. I think the author did Anakin justice (as in I cringed a lot from his sometimes very awful dialogue, but that's Anakin for you haha). The book starts off with Anakin and Padme at the lake house on Naboo right before they get married and I loved that we got to experience more of their intimacy together.

We also got to see some of the handmaidens again! That's what I loved most about Queen's Peril, seeing how Padme and the haindmaidens established relationships with each other. I honestly think Sabe deserves her own book. I love her relationship with Padme and it was nice to see them together again in this book. One thing I've always appreciated about the Padme books are the female relationships within them. I think platonic love needs to be spoken about more in stories. Even though Padme loves Anakin romantically, she doesn't let that get in the way of her love for her friends and family as well.

Lastly, we got a brief glimpse of Beru Lars in this and that's now making me wonder if one day her story will also be told?? Only time will tell I suppose.
Also, Idda made me laugh out loud more than once, she was such a fun character!

In all, Queen's Hope is a gem of a Star Wars novel and I hope this isn't the end for books on Padme. I loved the multiple storylines and perspectives from each character and the writing was simple and straightforward. My only critique is that I wish this book had been written for a more mature audience as I think I would have loved it even more, but I still thoroughly enjoyed all of it.

Thank you to Disney Publishing Worldwide and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

me every time anakin and padme had a scene together which stole my heart: 🥰
me every time I thought about their future: 😭

clone wars is easily one of my favorite eras in star wars (and I fully blame dave filoni for creating such a great series) so a clone wars era padmé story? say less.

and I knew I was going to love it and I was right lol

padmé is a woman of many many faces - a queen, a senator, a wife, a fighter, a spy, I could go on and on forever!! and I loved how this trilogy showcased every single one of her strengths and weaknesses.

this time, padmé is juggling her new life with anakin with her life attempting to make a difference in the senate. at the same time, padmé’s former handmaidens are making their differences in the world from sabé to saché and her new wife yané, to dormé.

what I love most about this series is that yes, it’s a padmé story but her handmaidens / body doubles are a huge part of her. and now they’re all on their own with their own lives and stories - but they all want to help the galaxy as much as padmé constantly did.

this series is a MUST for anyone as obsessed with star wars and our queen and savior, padmé, and while this ending was so bittersweet because I know what happens next, I loved every moment of it!!!

thank you to netgalley and disney hyperion publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. you don’t want to miss this one in april!!

rating: 4.5 stars

Star Wars : Queen’s Hope was written by bestselling author E.K. Johnston. This YA novel is published by Disney-Lucasfilm Press. Queen’s Hope is the final Padme book, in the YA series.

SUMMARY: Padme and Anakin are in love. They want to live a life of secrecy and risk by fulfilling their personal desires by committing themselves to each other in marriage. This is forbidden in the Jedi Order, but it’s a risk Anakin is willing to take. When they return to Coruscant the first true test of how they will maintain their relationship begins. Anakin is shipped out to fight in the Clone Wars and Padme goes on a secret mission behind Separatist lines.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: The Padme trilogy, is one the most bizarre trilogies we’ve had. One book was a retelling of The Phantom Menace through a different perspective. One book jumps back in time as Padme adjusts to being Queen, and finally we close out the trilogy with the start of the Clone Wars.

Padme is tired of serving others before herself. She does like being a servant of the people, but she also wants to fulfill her own desires. When facing death on Geonosis, she realized the love of Anakin Skywalker, is just what she needs. Padme touts that she handles aggressive negotiations. In this story, she has no fear, but she risks exposing so much, with her decision to go on a secret mission.

There is something that felt off with this story, and that would be the timeframe. Little things don’t balance well with timeline of the relationship status between Anakin and Padme. This book suggests they had a lot more time together than what we witnessed in Attack of the Clones. They knew so much about each other and how each other would react to specific things, it was strange.

I’ve always felt that Padme’s character is mistreated. I don’t believe an author has truly been able to tap into the character and give her an appropriate story that feels realistic or isn’t full of cringey fluff. I really don’t think anyone knows how to write the character of Padme. She’s a senator, not a secret agent… or is she? She is treated like an errand-girl, doing work that she shouldn’t be doing.

RATING: This book receives a D+. I really didn’t understand the point of telling this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was fast-paced and exciting. The story gave so much more depth to Padme than audiences ever got in the Star Wars films and that was wonderful! I wish there would have been more sections from Padme’s point of view because she is a very interesting character and her drive to help the people of her galaxy is great. The only downside was at times there seemed to be too many character’s that the book bounced between and at times it was difficult to keep track of who was who. But I do hope for more wonderful books to that explore more of the Star Wars universe because it is a vast world with so many wonderful stories that could be told.