Bloodline by Claudia Gray

When the Rebellion defeated the Empire in the skies above Endor, Leia Organa believed it was the beginning to a lasting peace. But after decades of vicious infighting and partisan gridlock in the New Republic Senate, that hope seems like a distant memory. Now a respected senator, Leia must grapple with the dangers that threaten to cripple the fledgling democracy -- from both within and without. Underworld kingpins, treacherous politicians, and Imperial loyalists are sowing chaos in the galaxy. Desperate to take action, senators are calling for the election of a First Senator. It is their hope that this influential post will bring strong leadership to a divided galaxy. As the daughter of Darth Vader, Leia faces with distrust the prospect of any one person holding such a powerful position -- even when supporters suggest Leia herself for the job. But a new enemy may make this path Leia's only option. For at the edges of the galaxy, a mysterious threat is growing.

Important to know: Lando lives.
Less surprising: no one likes you if Darth Vader is your father.

This book was incredibly lovely, moving, sad and powerful. I love everything it represents and how well it is executed. Amazing how she made a galaxy far far away feel so close to home, commenting on our times in insightful ways. The new characters were fantastic and the old ones were perfectly done. It genuinely made me cry in many places. Love love love it

Preface: I've read 90+% of the Star Wars Legends books.

Star Wars: Bloodlines is by far the best book I've read from the new Star Wars continuity. It pulls the right strings for Space Opera, has a healthy blend of influence from the original trilogy as well as the Legends material.

I like how this book portrays Leia. It gives her a proper badass vibe, as both a powerful political figure as well as a war hero.

Well, that's 2 for 2 for Claudia Gray on the Star Wars front.

I had been looking forward to this one a long time, and I was not disappointed. It answered a lot of the questions people had after viewing TFA, like how long ago Luke had disappeared or when the temple massacre happened, and more on the state of the politics, like how The First Order came to be and why there was a need for the Resistance. Politics are a huge part of this book, but there's so much more.

What I was mostly excited about was more insight on Leia's character, and how she experienced the events in the Original Trilogy. Combine that with some really great side characters (that I came to care about deeply), that were either new or from the movies or other novels, and a great story, and you get this great gem of a book.
Though I was kind of hoping (and I realize this is entirely my fault) that we'd get a bit more on Ben and Luke and Snoke and that entire situation, but we'll likely get into that more in the following two Episodes so they can't exactly spill the beans on that one. The information we did get though, did ruin some popular theories out there (especially for the timeline!), so the mystery thickens!