PT Club Jocasta: Queen's Shadow

@Subtext Mining, I also am a huge Prequel and Padme fa, so like you I was absolutely thrilled to get a novel focusing on Padme, and you are totally right that this one does a great job bridging the gap between Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones.

I agree that the tone worked well for a book about Padme, and I appreciated that the attention was on politics, thoughts, and feelings more so than actions as you point out, since to me, Padme's greatest achievements were always in that political sphere rather than the battlefield, and her compassion was as fundamental to her character as her courage. I felt this book was able to shine a light on that effectively by spotlighting her work on Naboo and in the Senate as well as exploring her interactions with her family, fellow Senators, and handmaidens.

I really enjoyed Depa's brief appearance. I always delight in reading about Prequel era Jedi and their missions.

You also make some interesting connections between Padme and Anakin based on this book. This book definitely feels like it is about Padme/Anakin as well as Padme even if Anakin never appears and perhaps helps readers better understand Padme's relationship with Anakin and her motivations for entangling herself romantically with him.