A Reluctant Queen- Joan Wolf

A Reluctant Queen- Joan Wolf

The book of Esther in the Bible has always been a book I longed for more of.. more detail, more insight into the times, more depth to the story. Joan Wolf has taken the book of Esther, created a scene rich in history and added dynamic characters to satisfy our imaginations as readers.

Esther had a Jewish mother and a Persian father. Dad was killed early in Esther’s life, leaving Mom and Esther living with Uncle Mordecai until Mom’s death.  Uncle Mordecai and Esther lived together for many years to come

Uncle Mordecai, years later has a dream that “the whole of the Jewish race was doomed to destruction”.  The Jews need to have someone on the inside to catch the King’s ear. Uncle Mordecai requests of Esther that she enter the competition to become Queen, which the King began when he ousted his last king Vashti for her insubordination. Esther would use her lineage through her Persian father and disregard her Jewish heritage for the time being.

After much prepping and time, Esther of course is chosen by the King Ahasuerus, following the Biblical account. Esther though finds herself falling in love with the King, and he with her.. ahh, the love story component.

The life of a Queen is detailed so exquisitely that I could imagine the Queen’s chambers, her beauty, and her love for the King. The historical places and descriptions brought to life the Biblical Esther in a beautiful novel.

I appreciated the authors note on how she came to write this love story. “To turn the book of Esther into a novel, I had to give the characters humanly understandable reasons for acting as they did”.

Joan Wolf also writes “Where the bible story and novel come together is the underlying premise, God has a plan for the world, and He works His plan through the action of humans. The big question is, will we allow God to work through us?”

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I received a free  copy of A Reluctant Queen from Litfuse Group to review.