Star Wars: The Princess and the Scoundrel - Spoiler-Free Review
A spoiler-free review of Star Wars: The Princess and the Scoundrel by Beth Revis.
If there’s one thing we haven’t gotten nearly enough of in Star Wars storytelling, it’s stories about married couples just going about their business trying to figure it out.
Beth Revis has temporarily rectified this with her new book The Princess and the Scoundrel, which as if this episode releasing, is available for purchase in your favorite formats! I have a brief spoiler-free review of the book for you today, in hopes you’ll pick it up – if you haven’t already – and give it the love and recognition it deserves.
The Princess and the Scoundrel picks up right where Return of the Jedi leaves off – early on, the lingering smell of smoke on Luke’s clothes from Vader’s funeral is mentioned. The Emperor is dead, but the Empire is going to hold onto whatever power they can maintain over the galaxy for as long as it can. The leaders of the rebellion are already formulating plans to rally systems to their side and put the galaxy’s faith in the new government. There’s a lot to do. There’s still a whole galaxy to continue saving.
But first – a wedding.
Han and Leia have been through it all together in the past few years, and the two have decided that a spontaneous Endor wedding is the perfect way to celebrate the end of the war – even if the fighting isn’t yet over. And what better way to follow up a wedding than with a honeymoon on a luxury starcruiser?
What I personally love most about this book is the time period in which it takes place – specifically knowing that, even five years later during The Mandalorian, Imperial forces are still hanging around even long after the New Republic is well-established. This is a rough time in galactic history. The Emperor is dead – but not many people believe it to be true (yet). With a rapid change in power comes the danger that pockets of the galaxy will descend into complete chaos. Leia and her fellow leaders have a huge role to play in keeping everything as orderly and safe as possible. But she and Han also have another set of new rules to live by – the ones that come with marrying the person you want to spend the rest of your life with.
This book once again shows us that love is stronger than hate, than danger, than conflict – it’s a message we really need right now. Plus who doesn’t love reading about Han wandering around on a starcruiser accidentally causing trouble, as he always seems to do?
A few people have asked me: Is Princess and the Scoundrel a romance novel? I would definitely say it falls under the broader category of Star Wars romance. In a Star wars book you’re never going to get anything outright explicit, right? But the story does revolve around Han and Leia’s relationship, not just romantically but also how their relationship is beginning to evolve as partners. These two belong together, but they’re both grown adults who are used to doing things their own way on their own terms. That’s all different now that they’re married. They both have a lot of adjusting to do – even on their fancy star cruiser honeymoon.
If you’ve read books like Lost Stars and A Crash of Fate, it’s a lot like that. In Star Wars, romance is a lot about the people falling in love and the challenges that come along with that, not so much about physical aspects of romance you might think of when you consider a stereotypical romance novel. But a lot of quality romance writing is character-driven – don’t judge it too hard before you read it yourself, is what I always say.
This book is set in a largely unexplored time period in canon, featuring characters you love and conflicts you’re familiar with but seen through the eyes of two rebel heroes who fell in love in the middle of a civil war. Beth Revis does a great job of tying all these elements and more together to create a story you really don’t want to pass up.
Star Wars: The Princess and the Scoundrel is available now wherever you get your Star Wars books.
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