The courtship of Princess Leia has been covered before in Star Wars. But with the old expanded universe having been made legends, the story was ripe for the re-telling. Thankfully Beth Revis, who’s previous Star Wars story, Rebel Rising was fantastic, is up to the challenge in, The Princess and the Scoundrel.
Revis nails the characters of Han and Leia and she doesn’t take the easy road with either of them. Both of them are damaged individuals who have learned to cope with life by pushing aside their pain and never stopping long enough to deal with the trauma. On top of that, they’ve become fiercely independent people, to a fault. Their love for one another and choice to marry doesn’t magically bring about healing. In fact, it actually exacerbates their issues by bringing them to the surface. Revis deftly handles their relationship, allowing the characters some painful refection on who they are and who they want to be, especially if they want to make this marriage work.
One of the best parts of the book, outside the character work, is the way the story delves into the tentative first days of a fledgling new republic. The Emperor and Vader may be gone, the second Death Star may be destroyed but that doesn’t mean the Empire is history. The war is far from over. It is nice that fans are finally getting a peak at the foundation of the new republic. One can only hope that this time period will get more books to flesh out this story.
There are a lot of nice surprises and easter eggs for those that have been reading the new canon novels from the beginning. As a reviewer, I could go into some depth on it all, but books like this should be read and experienced rather than ruined in a review. The Princess and the Scoundrel is a fun book that is worth the read and rated 4 out of 5 stars!
This review was completed using a copy of The Princess and the Scoundrel provided by Del Rey Press.
[…] This review originally appeared on The Star Wars Report. […]