May 2025 Book Recommendation: Star Wars: The Princess and the Scoundrel by Beth Revis

Intro

In honor of May the Fourth earlier this month, I thought it was a good time to share a Star Wars reading recommendation. And the Princess and the Scoundrel is probably my favorite Star Wars book that I’ve read—at least, of the ones that aren’t novel adaptations of the movies (which are also great and I highly recommend)—so it was the natural choice.

Taking place after the events of Return of the Jedi, the book follows Leia Organa and Han Solo as they embark on their honeymoon. Just given that description, you can probably guess that this is the closest there is to a Star Wars romance novel, which is awesome—and it’s even better given the fact that, even with more romance, it still feels very much like a Star Wars story.

That said, if you haven’t watched the original Star Wars trilogy, I’d say you probably want to watch the movies first before you read this book, because the events in the book are very closely linked to what happened in the movies. Not only would you get some spoilers, but you’d probably be a little confused, so I wouldn’t recommend reading this without knowing the context first. But, if you’ve watched them, then you’ll have no problems.

So let’s get into details.

Star Wars: The Princess and the Scoundrel by Beth Revis Overview

Genre(s): Science fiction

Series: N/A (Standalone)

POV: Third-person past

Length: 400 pages

With the fall of the Empire and the end of the war, the galaxy seems to be—relatively—at peace. Which means that there is finally time for Leia Organa and Han Solo to take some well-deserved time for themselves. When Han proposes on the forest moon of Endor, Leia is swift to accept. It seems to be the perfect happy ending after years of fighting and conflict.

But, of course, things can’t be that simple. When Leia and Han embark on their honeymoon on the luxury vessel known as the Halcyon, it soon becomes obvious that their marriage and everything it represents has attracted the attention of countless people throughout the galaxy—and not all of them are friendly. As the Halcyon takes them to numerous different worlds, they find Imperial loyalists still clinging to power—and who are determined to see the Empire returned to its full glory.

It isn’t long before Leia and Han find that their honeymoon has been turned into another fight against the Empire. Will they manage to defeat the loyalists and secure their happily ever after, or will their life together come to an end when it’s only just begun?

Personal Thoughts

This was one of those books that was just very fun to read. It’s got a perfect blend of action, humor, and romance, and also features at least brief appearances of pretty much all the important characters in the movies, which I always like to see.

Revis does a great job capturing the dynamics of Leia and Han’s relationship, with all its ups and downs, and I really enjoyed having a closer look at it. Books pretty much always give you more details than any other sort of entertainment medium does—that’s part of why I love books set in the universes of movies and games so much—and this one definitely accomplishes that. Aside from just Leia and Han’s relationship, you also get to get into their heads and see how they personally were affected by the events of the movies, which you really didn’t get much of in the movies themselves.

Outro

That’s all for this month’s reading recommendation. If you’ve already read this book and are looking for books like it, feel free to look into the similar titles I’ve listed below. (More Star Wars books, because there are a zillion of them.) As always, thanks for reading!