Bloodline

Bloodline by Claudia Gray is a canon novel set six years before Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens and focuses on Leia and her place within the New Republic. The book features the birth of the Resistance seen in The Force Awakens as they come together to fight growing threat of the First order.

It was originally titled New Republic: Bloodline, suggesting that it may have been conceived as part of a series.

Publisher's summary

Witness the birth of the Resistance.

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 that fledging 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....