A Reluctant Queen
The Love Story of Esther
by Joan Wolf
I'm not much of a fiction reader, but I thought I would give this one a try...
About the book:
A Reluctant Queen
An inspiring re-imagining of the tale of Esther, a young Jewish woman thrust from a life of obscurity into a life of power, wealth, intrigue . . . and tender love.
See the story of Esther in an entirely new way-with all the political intrigue and tension you remember, but told as a passionate and tender love story between a young man and woman. Misunderstood by many, King Xerxes was a powerful but lonely man. Esther's beauty caught the eye of the young king, but it was her spirit that captured his heart.
Imagine anew the story of Esther, one of our faith's great heroines, destined to play a key role in the history of Christianity.
What I Thought:
BRAVO!! I hands down loved this book!! I have to admit, I'm a bit bias as I love the story of Esther...just the wonderful reminder that God has each of us here at this moment in time for a great purpose always inspires me and this version blessed me in a new way.
It is easy for Fiction books based off of a Bible story to go a bit too far in regards to what might have happened, or for it to become too "romantic". This was just the right balance and it drew me in. I couldn't put the book down!
You could tell that Joan Wolf did a lot of research before she wrote this story. Right off the bat I was encouraged to see that she knew how the Jewish line is traced through the mother...that showed me some credibility in what she was writing was not just what she imagined out of her own mind, but she saught to really know how things worked in that time and part of the world.
As it is easy to guess where the story was going as it is found in the Bible, I was curious to see what twist she spun on her version. It ended up being just as the title says: she was reluctant.
What if Esther was actually in love with another man and they were nearly engaged? What if her Uncle asked her to enter the contest to become queen? What if she hated the idea of going and wasn't thrilled at all? What if she went just to prove that this wasn't God's will, especially as she knew she wouldn't be accepted for there were many far prettier? What if when she was chosen, she didn't enjoy all the beauty treatments? What if she missed practicing her Jewish faith and all the traditions?
I loved the relationship that Wolf created between Esther and her husband and even little details of how the king could have trusted Hamon so much and not seen what was going on behind the scenes.
This story was FABULOUSLY created to reflect not only a wonderful story, but something that is honoring to the Lord and the Bible even if some imaginative liberty was taken.
To celebrate Joan Wolf’s debut Christian Fiction title, A Reluctant Queen, Joan and her publisher, Thomas Nelson, have teamed up to give away A Reluctant Queen prize package worth over $150!
One grand prize winner will receive:
* A brand new Latest Generation KINDLE with Wi-Fi and Pearl Screen
* A Reluctant Queen by Joan Wolf (for KINDLE)
To enter, just click one of the icons below. But, hurry, the contest ends on June 20th. Winner will be announced on June 21st during Joan’s A Reluctant Queen Book Club Party on Facebook (details below)! Hope to see you there – bring your friends!
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Join the fun on June 21st!
Joan will be wrapping up the blog tour and Kindle giveaway promotion during her A Reluctant Queen FACEBOOK party on her FB author page. During the party she'll announce the winner of the Kindle, host a book chat discussion, test your trivia skills (Is Esther's story in A Reluctant Queen fact or fiction?), and more. Don't miss this chance to meet the author and make some new friends!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Litfuse Publicity as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
1 comment:
I also reviewed this book and enjoyed it. Have a super week! :O)
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