Everything I know about Queen Esther, I got from Veggie Tales. I think I’ve mentioned before that I’m loving biblical fiction because I cannot read the bible as a story. But I love the fiction that cements the stories and characters for me. When I was sent a copy of A Reluctant Queen: The Love Story of Esther, I couldn’t wait to read it!
Written by Joan Wolf, this is an excellent story about Queen Esther. For those who aren’t familiar with the original, the King of Persia (King Xerxes) who has just ousted his queen for disobeying him and goes out to look for a new queen. He decides to bring women from all over the kingdom to find one to be suitable to him. By a series of impossibilities, a Jewish girl named Esther becomes his new Queen and stops a plot by the kings right hand man (Haman) to kill all the Jews.
In this particular book, the author has taken a few liberties with the story of Esther. First, Esther does not actually marry Xerxes. I think he was kind of a drip, but instead a man named Ahasuerus. Xerxes was passed up in favor of him by his father at the end of his reign. She also had to make up some reasons for the conflict between Haman and Mordecai (Esther’s uncle) and other things to give the book substance. After all, there is an original and it doesn’t read as well as this ;).
I really enjoyed reading this book. In fact, I was in bed with a mini-Maglight trying to finish it last week because it was so good I couldn’t put it down. Joan did a great job of illustrating how impossible it was that Esther was chosen in the first place and making her seem as headstrong as I pictured her. I loved the details she came up with for the animosity between Haman and Mordecai and how all the related turmoil unfolded. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reading the bible but just can’t get into it. I would also recommend it to anyone who likes historical fiction. It was a great read!
About the Author
Joan Wolf was born in New York City but has lived most of her adult life with her husband in Connecticut, where she raised two children and countless numbers of assorted animals. Joan is the author of numerous historical novels including The Road to Avalon which Publishers Weekly lauded as “historical fiction at its finest.”For more about Joan and her other books, please visithttp://www.joanwolf.com.
You can find out what others thought of it at the other stops in the LitFuse Blog Tour. Interested in winning a copy?
To celebrate Joan Wolf’s debut Christian Fiction title, A Reluctant Queen
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!
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!
Disclaimer: A copy of the book was received in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.