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hdkroon's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Terminal illness, Death of parent, Violence, Grief, Alcohol, Death, Gun violence, and Murder
Minor: Trafficking, Addiction, Medical content, Blood, Kidnapping, Torture, and Vomit
melsage1823's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
A fantastic tense political thriller that actually makes Star Wars politics interesting.
This is the third Claudia Gray book I have picked up and I have to say her writing is an absolute delight. She definitely has to be one of my favourite Star Wars authors, she gets Leia and who she is as a character.
I had a really good time with this. My only negative is Han and Leia's relationship. Disney cannon has ruined them and have also completely misunderstood the couples dynamic. Can't fault Gray for this as the books a prequel to the Force Awakens but its still highly frustrating. Han would not ever chose racing over his wife. There relationship feels like what would have happened if we all stayed in lockdown forever. The holocalls did not work for me at all. I would have rather that been how she communicated with Luke and Ben as its in character but for Han it isn't. Bloodline wants to treat Han/Leia like Obitine (Obi Wan X Satine) when they are the furthest thing from that. Leia is a person of duty but she would never be content to put the senate over her husband. My hope is that The Princess And The Scoundrel can do their relationship justice as in this book it just doesn't work.
Apart from that I absolutely adored this book. Gray has created a galaxy in tense political turmoil showing how The First Order managed to rise to power and how Leia lost all power despite her heroics defeating the empire. My first praise has to be the world building. Bloodline is able to put the final pieces together about the failures of The New Republic and how it managed to fall so far. Without giving away spoilers it reminded of the shocking twists featured in Captain America The Winter Soldier. Everything feels wrapped up like a neat boat. Even better is the fact that through The Populists and Centrists being metaphors for the state of politics today it feels freshly relatable and not yawn worthy. Like Filoni, Gray has made me care about the galatic politics which is an absolute miracle.
Secondly, I loved all of the cast of characters including Leia herself. Every character was well developed and fleshed out as well as being more complex as the story progessed. I found my self going from hating to respecting to despising to sympathising with Ranslom Casterfo in the matter of pages. You at first think he's very evil but Gray manages to show us and Leia that things are not as black and white as they seem. Leia had great character development too, we get to see how she went from Senator to General and her coming to terms with the political state of the galaxy. We also get to understand her relationship with Bail and Anakin. They're present can be felt throughout the whole book. Greer, Joph and Korr were amazing characters too and had amazing dynamics with Leia as members of her staff. Through them you could definitely see the seeds of the resistance. Greers story especially once you get to know her more is definitely a tear breaker. As a disabled person I could really relate to her struggles. I hope people with chronic illnesses can relate to her too. Didn't expect it but Gray handled that rep extremely well. Expect to fall in love with every character. Even the horrible characters like Lady Carise are super interesting.
Again I have to complement Gray for the way she visualises the different planets for the reader. Like she did with Aldderan, I began to care for Hosnian Prime with the way it was described and developed as a setting itself. Through spending a lot of time on Hosnian Prime through the good and bad it makes the reader able to care about what happened to the planet in The Force Awakens. It also shows why we should and shouldn't feel bad about its fate. Its not just Hosnian though, I loved exploring Greers homeworld and Bastha too. Unlike the sequels I actually managed to care for the planets we visited.
Overall a thrilling prequel that developed the character of Leia and the sequels themselves a lot. Highly recommend if your a Leia fan or enjoy high stake political thrillers.
This is the third Claudia Gray book I have picked up and I have to say her writing is an absolute delight. She definitely has to be one of my favourite Star Wars authors, she gets Leia and who she is as a character.
I had a really good time with this. My only negative is Han and Leia's relationship. Disney cannon has ruined them and have also completely misunderstood the couples dynamic. Can't fault Gray for this as the books a prequel to the Force Awakens but its still highly frustrating. Han would not ever chose racing over his wife. There relationship feels like what would have happened if we all stayed in lockdown forever. The holocalls did not work for me at all. I would have rather that been how she communicated with Luke and Ben as its in character but for Han it isn't. Bloodline wants to treat Han/Leia like Obitine (Obi Wan X Satine) when they are the furthest thing from that. Leia is a person of duty but she would never be content to put the senate over her husband. My hope is that The Princess And The Scoundrel can do their relationship justice as in this book it just doesn't work.
Apart from that I absolutely adored this book. Gray has created a galaxy in tense political turmoil showing how The First Order managed to rise to power and how Leia lost all power despite her heroics defeating the empire. My first praise has to be the world building. Bloodline is able to put the final pieces together about the failures of The New Republic and how it managed to fall so far. Without giving away spoilers it reminded of the shocking twists featured in Captain America The Winter Soldier. Everything feels wrapped up like a neat boat. Even better is the fact that through The Populists and Centrists being metaphors for the state of politics today it feels freshly relatable and not yawn worthy. Like Filoni, Gray has made me care about the galatic politics which is an absolute miracle.
Secondly, I loved all of the cast of characters including Leia herself. Every character was well developed and fleshed out as well as being more complex as the story progessed. I found my self going from hating to respecting to despising to sympathising with Ranslom Casterfo in the matter of pages. You at first think he's very evil but Gray manages to show us and Leia that things are not as black and white as they seem. Leia had great character development too, we get to see how she went from Senator to General and her coming to terms with the political state of the galaxy. We also get to understand her relationship with Bail and Anakin. They're present can be felt throughout the whole book. Greer, Joph and Korr were amazing characters too and had amazing dynamics with Leia as members of her staff. Through them you could definitely see the seeds of the resistance. Greers story especially once you get to know her more is definitely a tear breaker. As a disabled person I could really relate to her struggles. I hope people with chronic illnesses can relate to her too. Didn't expect it but Gray handled that rep extremely well. Expect to fall in love with every character. Even the horrible characters like Lady Carise are super interesting.
Again I have to complement Gray for the way she visualises the different planets for the reader. Like she did with Aldderan, I began to care for Hosnian Prime with the way it was described and developed as a setting itself. Through spending a lot of time on Hosnian Prime through the good and bad it makes the reader able to care about what happened to the planet in The Force Awakens. It also shows why we should and shouldn't feel bad about its fate. Its not just Hosnian though, I loved exploring Greers homeworld and Bastha too. Unlike the sequels I actually managed to care for the planets we visited.
Overall a thrilling prequel that developed the character of Leia and the sequels themselves a lot. Highly recommend if your a Leia fan or enjoy high stake political thrillers.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Medical content, Self harm, War, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Outing
Minor: Toxic friendship, Slavery, Alcohol, Death of parent, Vomit, and Panic attacks/disorders
jenny_librarian's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
It’s been a long time since a book made me that excited. That was a freaking masterpiece by Claudia Gray and I absolutely loved all of it!
The twists left me with my jaw on the floor, and all the details that tie to the sequels (and make them make some kind of sense)…Luke and Ben being AWOL, the thermal detonators It’s genius and it made me rage and cry and want to scream and throw the book.
Has to be my absolute favourite original novel in this universe. The only things we didn’t get that I wish we did were more Han, and a mention of Poe Dameron and Amilyn Holdo. But everything else? *Chief kiss*
The twists left me with my jaw on the floor, and all the details that tie to the sequels (and make them make some kind of sense)…
Has to be my absolute favourite original novel in this universe. The only things we didn’t get that I wish we did were more Han, and a mention of Poe Dameron and Amilyn Holdo. But everything else? *Chief kiss*
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Torture, War, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Death, Death of parent, and Genocide
saurahsaurus's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Man, I really loved this book! Leia is a straight badass, and I really loved that this book centered her character. There’s plenty of action, unexpected friendship, and this book felt more inclusive than a lot of prior canon. TBC
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture, Death, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Violence, War, Drug use, and Murder
Minor: Death of parent, Trafficking, Slavery, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Gore, Terminal illness, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
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