Book Review | Star Wars: The Princess and the Scoundrel

Tag along with Princess Leia and Han Solo as they travel the galaxy and fight the Empire while on their honeymoon. Melissa reviews Star Wars: The Princess and the Scoundrel

It’s time to explore the love affair between The Princess and the Scoundrel.

The second Death Star has been destroyed, but the Empire lives on. As the Rebels scramble to find and defeat the remnants, Han Solo spontaneously proposes to Princess Leia. With Mon’s blessing, the two marry and embark on a Honeymoon aboard the Halcyon. But Leia can’t let work go and manages to convince the captain to change the ship’s course to visit Madurs, an ice moon rich with the fuel source Carnium, so she can carry out a diplomatic mission. But things on Madurs aren’t as peaceful as they appear.

The Empire got there first and has been bleeding the world dry of Carnium, a process that has damaged the ecosystem and made the moon unstable. With the help of the local resistance movement and the crew of the Halcyon, Leia and Han hold out long enough for the New Republic Fleet to arrive. But with the damage done, can they truly save the planet from destruction?

Part Action Part Romance

Part romance and part action story, Revis seamlessly blended the various components to make a fun and engaging story. Revis created a truly beautiful, and even funny, wedding scene that combined human and Ewok traditions. Then combined it with a little mystery and a solo adventure for the newlyweds as they continued to fight the Empire. This combo could have gone wrong, but in Revis’s hands, it worked perfectly giving us a romantic adventure story that is perfectly plausible.

Characterizations

Leia is ever the politician here. She enthusiastically wants to marry Han, but can’t seem to get her head out of the war long enough to even plan the event. Luckily for the couple, Mon Mothma is on hand to ensure they get a nice ceremony and even gives them a luxury cruise on the newly reclaimed Halcyon. But Leia, being Leia, can’t enjoy the honeymoon. She brings her work with her and an exasperated Han leaves her to it at first. In a scene that proves she is Padme and Anakin’s daughter, she manages to convince the ship’s captain to detour the ship to Madurs so she can conduct an ambassadorial mission.

As for Han, he impulsively proposes to Leia. Which, let’s face it, is so Han. On his first night on the ship, he finds an illegal Sabacc game and joins in, then threatens the life of a “passenger” that threatened Leia. Classic Han. While he wants to enjoy his time with his wife, he goes along with her diplomatic mission to increase exasperation because it’s Leia. But when it comes to it, he’s just as determined to save Madurs as she is, especially when it’s revealed that the Imperial officer in charge of the strip mining operation has a personal vendetta against him.

Legacy Characters

Leia and Han, and their friends and allies, were perfectly in character in my opinion. From Luke to C-3PO and even the little Ewoks. I especially got a kick out of the new characters though. I really liked the Pantoran officer assigned to the couple as their assistant while on board. Curious, I looked the character up, and you can “meet” her yourself aboard the Galactic Starcruiser in Disney World as the Halcyon’s Captain during the Resistance Era. I also enjoyed the Nautalon chief engineer who befriends Han and helps the couple in their investigation.

Author

Revis is also the author of Rebel Rising, the young adult novel about Jyn Erso. I thoroughly enjoyed that one, so it’s no surprise that I enjoyed this one too. I haven’t gotten around to her non-Star Wars novels, but I’ll be moving them up my list to read next year.