Hi there!=)

Since I’m one of the lucky ones that got to read Bloodline one week before the U.S release (in Sweden), I’ve decided to share a few things while doing a proper book review of it. But since that means spoilers, I’ve hidden the rest of the review under the cut. So if you don’t want to be spoiled – stop reading now!

I’ve divided this text into four parts to make it easier for you to read and follow.

- Before and while reading Bloodline



- The storyline

- List of spoilers and confirmations

- Final thoughts and conclusions

* I will update this post for spelling errors or things I want to add.







Before and while reading Bloodline

Before I ran all the way to the book store and bought my own copy of Bloodline, I had zero expectations on the novel and its storyline. Looking back I think it was wise to do so. Because having high expectations on a book is never good if you don’t wish to be disappointed. Yes, there are certain things in this novel that I would love to know more about, but a woman can’t have everything, can she? It became very clear to me while reading this book that Lucasfilm is saving the major twists and events for the upcoming movies VIII and IX. But I think the book itself was very good as a standalone - given how little material the author was given before writing this book. And I have to say that Claudia Gray did an amazing job portraying Leia as a woman with a rich personality and depth. And after finnishing the book - I truly felt that the last piece that was missing in my understanding of Leia, finally was found and put on its right place.

Looking back I honestly can’t believe that I read this book for 12 hours straight. Let’s just say my eyes were very tired and sore afterwards. But thanks to the support and encouragement of my dear followers, I kept going. The beginning of Bloodline was a bit “slow” to read and for a second I wondered if this storyline would work and be interesting enough to read, given how politics in general make most people yawn (including me) - and it would now be the main topic of this book.



BUT, I was pleasantly surprised because it turned out to be VERY good and contains good and important information about the events that would eventually lead up to The Force Awakens. After about 50 pages things started to get very intense and real. And halfway through I was so lost in it, and that’s when the big plot twists started to hit me like a bus and made me react in certain ways. I cursed, screamed, cried and even threw the book away from me a few times because it really had me on the edge the whole time.



The story was also well written and emotional. It even made me angry because of the injustice that exists in it and how much the people suffer because of politics and corruption. You can relate to it since it describes the same problems we face today in our own society. I also came to love and embrace the new characters and I would love if they made a movie of this novel later on.



In other words, it was really hard for me to put down the book, even for some hours of sleep. And when things got pretty intense I couldn’t stop thinking about how the tumblr people would react once I shared the storyline with them. And because of that, I felt this huge responsibility resting on my shoulders - considering I was given an opportunity to read it much earlier than the others, which I’m very grateful for by the way.



Anyway, I really enjoyed this book and now I can’t wait any longer to share it with YOU.=)







The storyline

”An entire generation has prospered during an era of peace. The New Republic, governed by the Galactic Senate, has held power for more than two decades. The wars that divided the galaxy are fading into legend. Yet conflict has begun to take shape within the Senate. In the absence of Mon Mothma, former leader of the Rebellion and first chancellor of the New Republic, two unofficial but powerful factions have formed – the Populists, who believe individual planets should retain almost all authority, and the Centrists, who favor a stronger galactic government and a more powerful military. Only the greatest heroes of the war are still honored by all. A cermony honoring the memory of Bail Organa has drawn the Senate together in rare harmony. It is a day of celebration, but even now, the divisions among the worlds of the galaxy are growing wider…” - Page 3 (Bloodline)



Bloodline takes place about six years before the events of The Force Awakens. Leia is now in her late fourties and a well respected senator in the New Republic. She’s a populist, but also tired of the Senate, where the politicians never take any real action to change things and instead spend their time arguing and discussing the problems without really solving them. (The populists/centrists honestly reminds me of the U.S democrats/republicans). Leia thinks about retiring and spending more time with her family who she misses dearly. Ben is away training with Luke while Han is flying around in the galaxy running his own shipping company (there’s no talk of the Millennial Falcon) and spends his freetime watching races. Chewie has settled back into a peaceful domestic life on the planet Kashyyyk and R2D2 seems to be with Luke and Ben, while C-3PO is with Leia. She’s in regular contact with Han but hasn’t heard much from Luke and Ben for a while. Last time she heard anything from them she talked with Luke, but she doesn’t seem worried about it.



Meanwhile, a senator from planet Ryloth is asking the Senate for help to investigate the Niktos and their illegal cartels that are growing and threatening the independence on Ryloth. Leia sees a last opportunity to do something meaningful before retiring. So she offers to lead an investigation of it. Thinking she will investigate it alone with her staff, a young centrist named Ransolm Casterfo - volunteers to lead it with her. Unfortunately they start on the wrong foot in the beginning and Leia thinks he’s an ignorant spoiled brat who only wants more attention as a politician. And it doesn’t get any better when she discovers that he also collects historical relics from the Empire which she thinks he glorifies. But as they investigate the cartels together, they start getting along and ultimately become friends. Together with Casterfo and her crew - pilot Greer Sonnel, her intern Korr Sella and other pilot Joph Seastriker and C-3PO, they go on an adventure to find out the truth about the cartels. But the closer they get to the truth, the more they find out that the growing cartels is in fact only a coverup for something much bigger (a military - ready to attack the New Republic. They’re called the Amaxines warriors, and are helping The First Order to rise from their shadows).



The more Leia finds out - the higher the stakes get, and together with her fellow populist colleagues they’re almost killed by a bomb later on - an assassination attempt to scare and create chaos in the Senate. And as the investigation on the cartels goes on, it’s later revealed that there’s a spy among the senators, who wants the First Order to rise. And it’s the senator of the centrist world Arkanis (Hux’s homeplanet) – Lady Carise Sindian. She doesn’t hold a real grudge against Leia since they’re both nobels. But when Carise is given a governorship of the planet Birren, she sees a box in the royal chamber (intended to be given to Leia), that reveals that Darth Vader is the real father of Leia. and with this information she destroys Leia’s credibility in the Senate and turns the politicians against her. Seeing how hopeless and corrupt the Senate has become, Leia retires and starts her own squad with old and loyal friends such as Ackbar, Dr. Kalonia, Korr Sella, a handful of soldiers and more. And together they become The Resistance.







List of spoilers and confirmations

And now we’ve finally come to my (and your) favorite part.;) I’ve decided to write down a long list of details and spoilers and also add some comments to some – which I hope you don’t mind and if you have any question, you can always send it to my inbox anytime you want.



* There’s no mention of Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, Maz Kanata, Snoke or Phasma in the novel.



* Hux is never mentioned either but his father is on one occasion. It’s when Lady Carise looks back at how she helped founding the First Order by convincing some powerful centrists about the benefits of it. She then thinks about how Brendol Hux, her homeworld academy’s commandant, disappeared right after the Battle of Jakku. He was a hero of the Empire but she suspects he only went underground to help the First Order become even more powerful.



* There’s no mention of Reylo or the future of the Jedi/Sith and Light/Dark side.



* Ben is 23 years old in Bloodline and absent through the whole book - training with Luke. (So my guess is that he didn’t turn to the Dark side and joined The First Order until after this age, meaning that I don’t think he really has a mind of a child like many claims).



* There’s no mention of how old Ben was when Leia sent him away.



* Leia and Han got married but decided early to live their lives separately because of their constant bickering, but they meet and live together occasionally from time to time. But once they are apart for longer periods Leia can’t help but being paranoid on one occasion that someone will think she’s single and therefor ask her out.



* When Han and Leia live together, Han likes to leaves his socks on the floor everywhere in their house. (Lol!)



* Luke likes to keep his life private, and because of this people see him as something of a myth. Not a man of flesh and blood, in other words.



* Han Solo makes a few appearances in Bloodline, and Chewie too. But since Chewie has settled down on the planet Kashyyyk I wonder when and why he and Han later reunite (before The Force Awakens).



* Korr Sella is 16 years old in Bloodline and we actually see her for a moment in The Force Awakens (under tragic circumstances though).



* Just like in our world, the people (especially the young ones like Joph and Korr Sella) in the Star Wars Universe - also freak out about Leia, Han and Luke. They’re famous and well known.;)



* Leia is being called ”The Huttslayer” - a far greater title than princess or senator among the Niktos for killing Jabba the Hutt. There’s also video evidence of her killing him, which Leia gets to see (and Luke being a total badass, lol).



* Leia often thinks about her family during the events of Bloodline and she misses them very much. She also misses being a mother to Ben, and because of this, she acts like one to Korr Sella and Joph Seastriker since they’re around Ben’s age.



* It’s confirmed that Leia started her ”life of duty” when she was only fourteen years old.



* Whenever Leia wants to smile, she only has to think about Ben. (My heart!!)



* When Leia is being asked about Ben succeeding and taking over her royal title, she says that she doesn’t think that would interest him.



* Nobody knows that the Emperor was betrayed by Darth Vader (for saving Luke) but there are rumors that “someone close” betrayed him. (We know better though).



* Leia is once asked about why she didn’t become a Jedi knight herself when she inherited the Force like her twin brother. She answers that her duty has always been to dedicate her life to the politics. But she’s worried about Ben having the force too.



* When Leia told Han about Darth Vader being her real father after the Battle of Endor, he never flinched or reacted in a bad way, he simply held and comforted her.



* Before Bail Organa (Leia’s adoptive father) died, he wanted to find and reunite Leia with Luke and (General) Obi Wan Kenobi once the Empire had fallen and the Dark side been defeated.



* Even though Luke told Leia about their father’s last moment in life and how he turned to the light side, she still can’t understand it, considering how much he took away from her.



* When Leia found out that Padme Amidala was her real mother, she researched a lot about her and found out that she was a royal and senator like her. Also that she had stood up against the Emperor. Even if Leia never knew her biological mother, she still loves her and sees her as a good role model.



* It’s revealed that Luke began to study the old Jedi Knights after the battle of Endor because much of the lore of the Jedi had been lost and destroyed by the Empire. One of his first destinations was the planet Gatalenta were the old religion had remained strong.



* When Ransholm Casterfo was only six years old, he saw Darth Vader choking his own father to death. He also saw that Darth Vader never cared about the poor people and their children that were forced to work for the Empire.



* Imperial artifacts are a real thing in Bloodline and it even exists a big and expensive market for it. (So it wouldn’t surprise me if this is how Snoke/Kylo got their hands on Darth Vader’s helmet or Maz Kanata on Luke’s lightsaber).



* Greer used to work for Han Solo when she was younger and we find out that he took countless of young pilots under his wings, and he remains close to many of them still. We also discover through Leia that Han was also mentoring them and teaching them the same lessons he had wanted to teach Ben. (No wonder he took Rey and Finn under his wings in TFA.)



* Ben doesn’t know that Darth Vader is his grandfather. Only Luke and Han knows (Leia isn’t sure if Han has told Chewie about it or not). Ben also doesn’t know that he was redeemed in the end.



* Leia hints that she’s worried about Ben having the Force.

* Leia is afraid of telling Ben about Darth Vader and is always ”waiting for the right moment” (she never mentions why but I guess it’s because she’s afraid that he will turn to the Dark side once he finds out about it the “wrong” way). But she hopes that once she do, Luke will help and fill her in with the fact that he returned to the light side in the end.



* The truth about Darth Vader being Leia and Luke’s real father is later revealed in the Senate, in the public eye and infront of a shocked Leia. But she is more horrified over the fact that Ben will soon find out about it the wrong way – through the public and that people will start distrusting Luke’s private life and what he’s really up to. (This makes me believe that Snoke took advantage of the situation and turned Ben over to the Dark side that later led to the destruction of Luke’s academy).



* Once it’s revealed that Darth Vader is the twins’ real father, people have a hard time believing that he was capable of love and they start wondering if he ever assualted Padme Amidala. But Leia sets the records straight publicly in the Senate later on, and tells everyone about what truly happened to her and Luke.







Final thoughts and conclusions

I have to be honest, after finnishing the novel I was a total emotional wreck. Leia Organa is my all time heroine and even though she has lost so much, she still moves forward fiercely and never takes shit from anyone. The book was in general funny, dramatic and tragic and I think Claudia balanced these things very well. When Leia finally had a break down about Bail Organa’s last words to her, I started crying too. The way he and his wife loved Leia unconditionally as their own, despite her being the daughter of Darth Vader, made me realise why I love the title of this novel so much. Because it’s all about the bloodline. Loving someone without sharing the same bloodline and hating someone despite sharing it. Our bloodline can define but also redefine who we truly are.



The novel is mainly focused on the backgrounds of how The First Order and The Resistance came to be. And talking about characters I really enjoyed the old ones making an appearance like Han and C-3PO, but also new ones like Ransholm, Greer and Joph. In the beginning I really disliked Ransholm for being such a douche towards Leia. But he really grew on me, and I came to really like him later in the book. I was so sad in the end when Lady Carise planted false evidence and made him take the blame and fall for her betrayal. He was even convicted and sent to prison and possibly a death penalty despite his innocence. Ugh, you have no idea how many times I wanted to rip the book apart and slap Lady Carise for ruining everything and getting away with it..



Talking about Ben Solo and his fall to the Dark side - the book only hints this with Leia being worried about him having the Force and that she’s afraid of telling him about Darth Vader. With other words, there’s not much about Ben’s inner struggles in this book.

Anyway, I thought the book was very entertaining and Claudia Gray really made our beloved characters justice, never writing them out of character or anything *cough* like Alan Dean Foster *cough*. The things Leia says, thinks and does in this novel are something I believe the real (movie) Leia would do. She’s witty, strong and a total badass who’s also vulnerable at the same time. Even if I wish that Claudia Gray had written more about Ben and Luke, I can also see why she didn’t or wasn’t allowed to – they’re saving it for the upcoming movies VIII and IX. Because the question remains - what’s going on during the time Leia hasn’t heard anything from Luke and Ben? Let’s just say I’m dying to know about that.. But even if there was a lack of them in Bloodline, I think the book’s storyline somehow made up for it in a way and that was more than enough for me. And now, I hope that you will also enjoy it, or at least the spoilers that I’ve given away now, lol. Anyway, I really recommend it!



Now…I think I deserve some rest after reading and writing about Bloodline two days in a row. And I hope this it what you’ve been looking for dear readers, and until we meet again…



May the force be with you!;)