Star Wars: The Princess and the Scoundrel
You are cordially invited to the wedding of Princess Leia Organa and Han Solo.
The Death Star is destroyed. Darth Vader is dead. The Empire is desolate. But on the forest moon of Endor, among the chaos of a changing galaxy, time stands still for a princess and her scoundrel.
After being frozen in carbonite, then risking everything for the Rebellion, Han is eager to stop living his life for other people. He and Leia have earned their future together, a thousand times over. And when he proposes to Leia, it’s the first time in a long time he’s had a good feeling about this. For Leia, a lifetime of fighting doesn’t seem truly over. There is work still to do, penance to pay for the dark secret that she now knows runs through her veins. Her brother, Luke, is offering her that chance—one that comes with family and the promise of the Force. But when Han asks her to marry him, Leia finds her answer immediately on her lips . . . Yes.
Yet happily ever after doesn’t come easily. As soon as Han and Leia depart their idyllic ceremony for their honeymoon, they find themselves on the grandest and most glamorous stage of all: the Halcyon, a luxury vessel on a very public journey to the most wondrous worlds in the galaxy. Their marriage, and the peace and prosperity it represents, are a lightning rod for all—including Imperial remnants still clinging to power.
Facing their most desperate hour, the soldiers of the Empire have dispersed across the galaxy, retrenching on isolated planets vulnerable to their influence. As the Halcyon travels from world to world, one thing becomes abundantly clear: The war is not over. But as danger draws closer, Han and Leia find that they fight their best battles not alone, but as husband and wife.
Author: Beth Revis
Cover artist: Oliver Cuthbertson
Release date: 16th August 2022
Pages: 304
ISBN: 9780593498491
Newly released from Del Rey, The Princess and the Scoundrel gives us the story of Han and Leia’s wedding and honeymoon in the days following the battle of Endor. The novel is written by Beth Revis, whose most notable previous contribution to the galaxy was the memorable Rebel Rising. The story follows Han and Leia as they struggle to balance their new married life with the continuing war, exemplified by their honeymoon aboard the Halcyon being disrupted by the continuing attempts by Imperial holdouts.
Something that I realized quickly while reading the novel is that its tone feels very different from the prose of an average Star Wars novel. It makes a lighter, sillier, more romantic approach to the characters and setting than most of its counterparts do, and though it took a bit for me to adjust I was happy with how it made the book stand out. I really enjoyed what this tone did for Han and Leia, and how it made their relationship even more endearing than ever before.
The biggest pill to swallow with this book for most people will be the large involvement of the Halcyon, from the very pricey Galactic Starcruiser experience. Many have already raised concerns about the book feeling like an ad for the experience. Those feelings can be hard to avoid, but I do also think the book manages to be much more than just that. A few sections will likely cause eyes to roll, but the book doesn’t dwell on the ship enough for it to be limited to being a tie-in novel.
While I initially wondered if there was enough space in the timeline for this story to fit in comfortably, I’m impressed with how it manages to slot itself into a time period that is already very heavily explored, offering satisfying connections and subtle setups for the stories that have already been told.
The actual plot and opposing forces in the book aren’t much of anything new, with the romantic style being what really sets it apart. While The Princess and the Scoundrel doesn’t end up being groundbreaking or my favorite release of the year, it does more than justify itself for me and cement a memorable place in the arcs of its protagonists. Revis has shown she knows how to write Star Wars, and I’d never complain about getting more from her.
