The Seduction of Esther
927977
This is the first opportunity I have had to read a book by Jennifer Wilck and I really enjoyed it. She has a nice style of writing that kept me interested in the story from the first page until then end. There was enough drama going on that kept me wondering how things were going to work out for Samara & Nathaniel.

I really liked Samara Goldberg, even though she is a walking disaster waiting to happen. I actually liked that part about her because I have some of that same problems on occasion. Samara's accident prone problems add some humor to the story as well. I always enjoy laughing while I am reading a story. What is really sweet about Samara's accidents is they start to decrease as she gets more comfortable with Nat.

Nathaniel Abramson is a man with a history that he does not want to repeat by any means. His ex-wife created problems for him that has left him really hesitant to enter into another relationship. He has an adorable daughter that is the light of his life. I really admired him for his commitment to his daughter.

I really enjoyed reading Samara & Nathaniel's story and enjoyed watching them work through all the obstacles in their path to each other. There is some that doesn't want them together and does everything in their power to make things hard for Sam & Nat.

I was very excited to receive a copy of this book to read and review for a blog tour.
492609
The Book of Esther in the Bible is a beautiful story of a woman's courage in standing up for her people (the Jews) despite the possibility of losing her own life.  She was the wife of King Xerxes, who had absolute power over those around him.  He decreed that anyone who was not specifically summoned to him was not allowed to approach him, yet Esther dared to go against this edict in order to plead the case of the Jews and her cousin Mordechai who had raised Esther when she became orphaned at an early age.  Haman, Xerxes' trusted advisor, had tricked the king into declaring that all Jews should be killed, not knowing that his wife and her cousin would be included in the death toll.

In Rebecca Kohn's retelling of this story there is lush detail of life in the court of King Xerxes.  The intrigues of Haman, and the courage of Mordechai and Esther to stand up for their faith and their people is chronicled.  Unfortunately, much of the positives in the book are marred by the literary license that the author takes with the plot.  She writes that Esther was betrothed to Mordechai and loved him throughout her life, an assertion which seems to have no basis in fact.  This twists the tale into a love story between a man and a woman, instead of emphasizing Esther's great courage in protecting God's chosen people.  For this reason, I can only give this book an average rating.
4311650
This narrative of Bathsheba's life covers a large portion of Scripture from the moment that King David spies and acquisitions Bathsheba to the moment when Solomon is finally crowned king. It is carefully written not to contradict Scripture, while creatively adding in character and plot details to capture the larger picture of the biblical story.

Those familiar with these Scriptures will remember the prominent sins (lust, rape, murder, jealousy, pride, etc.) that may not be appropriate themes for younger readers. The opening chapters were pretty sensual compared to other fictitious Christian works (i.e. beginning with Bathsheba's marriage to Uriah, her subsequent rape by the king, and an oddly misplaced moment of the prophet Nathan envisioning Bathsheba while being intimate with his own un-loved wife). The story is told in the first person from both Bathsheba and the prophet Nathan's perspective in succinct alternating chapters. The author's choice to cast Nathan as a love-struck guardian over Bathsheba felt inappropriate to me even with the human plausibility factor.

The story also lacked anticipation at times. That is, it moved slowly--not because the details were uninteresting, but because the character motivations were not always strong enough to create enough suspense to pull the story along. It is a captivating narrative because it provides an interesting take on familiar biblical characters; but if it were not for the Bible, the story would not have enough substance to move it forward.

Overall I enjoyed reading this for its intriguing perspective--not just of Bathsheba, but of David, the politics of his kingdom, and the relationships within the royal household. It motivated me to revisit the biblical stories, and (for the most part) kept my attention. But, I also think these characters and this story could be fictionalized better.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House.
158713
What Queen Esther Knew takes the well-known Biblical story of Esther and uses her wisdom, smarts and savvy to relate to our current business world.

  It was a pleasure to revisit the story of Queen Esther and learn how ancient wisdom applies to today.  Connie Glaser not only has the  ability to analyze behaviors that succeed and correspond those actions to ones we can take in our lives, she also breathes life into a favorite heroine who rose above adversity and helped save her people.  It is an informative, easy to read book that is an inspiration as well as an education.
959313
Jessamyn does not want to marry the man who will do anything for power.  The princess of Spain decides she would rather face death which is why she runs onto the battlefield between the Templar Knights and the Moors.  She gets rescued by one of Alan, one of the knights.  He has his own journey to take.  Will he take her with him?  And can he protect her?  What follows next is a romantic adventure the pair take in search of the Ark of the Covenant.  This book is reccomended for anyone who likes historical romance or adventure stories.  It was quite an enjoyable read.
1722456
Chuck Swindoll is great teacher & what a great job he did on Esther. Hadn't studied since young & he brings out so much that we wouldn't get just from reading from the Bible.
2763649
As a Jew, who reads the Book of Esther every Purim. I am dumb founded that Christians what to read into this story that its one of christian values.  Well, guess what?  It has NOTHING TO DO WITH Christianity!! Nada, Zip!

It has allot to do with Esther, who because of her actions saves the Jewish People.  Whether the movie is actuate is besides the point, it tries to do something with a story good and bad.  It was also a story of the treatment that we, Jews, have gotten over the thousands of years that we have been in exile, both by christians, and muslims, etc.

L'Chiam To Life!

BTW... the book of Esther is the only book of the Bible that doesn't mention GOD at ALL!!!
1412106
This is an easy book to read, however, it can be very confusing when Esther becomes completely insane. This is the reason I give The Bell Jar only a 4 star rating. While reading this book, one questions whether or not Esther is truly insane. I began to rationalize her thoughts and was pulled into her world.  Are you living in a bell jar?
976841
I've been a fan of Spark's for a while, and this novel is an exceptional treat. I have always been fascinated and a little disturbed by the biblical story of Esther, and Spark's contemporary take on it is both surprising and immensely satisfying to read. Don't miss this book!
874962
This is the story of Rahab.  The unknown story, that is, due to the reason that the bible says so very little about this important woman.  Why is she important?  She, as a Canaanite, helped the Isrealites destroy Jericho.  In return, Rahab's family was spared.

This story fills in the gaps of Rahab's life.  Yes, it is historical fiction which means that the story is based on Rahab while the author weaves a tale to explain Rahab's life.  Using much research on the time period, the author's tale is very plausible.  I applaud her efforts.  The heroine is believable, the story time period is accurate and the plot flows so well one can hardly put the book down.

Joan Wolf shows Rahab as a strong girl and even stronger woman.  The bible considered Rahab a prostitute, Joan Wolf reminds us that Rahab was brilliant.
2143734
For readers of the Hebrew Bible, you may be interested to know that the theme of star-crossed romance between Esther and Mordechai is over 2,000 years old--almost as old as the original Hebrew document.  Rebecca Kohn did not invent it: she borrowed the legend as stated in the Talmud.

First of all, the "Hebraica veritas" (original Hebrew) states that Mordechai was Esther's uncle's son, not her uncle himself (Esther 2:10).  This is important: uncle and niece may not marry, but cousins may.  Now, nowhere in the original Hebrew is it stated that Mordechai loved Esther in any way other than as a daughter, but certain Hebrew phrases in 2:10 and 8:1 are very ambiguous and difficult to translate.  They come across as much more clear cut in the English than the original.  The Hebrew suggests that Mordechai and Esther's feelings may have been more ambiguous than the official plot would have made convenient.

Is this factual?  Not likely.  Historical?  Who knows?  But the rabbis of the Talmud noticed the ambiguities; they also noticed that in their day (and ours to, up until the early 1800's), younger men who became guardians to beautiful, accomplished, (wealthy!) older girls very often married their wards when the young ladies grew old enough to marry.  Older men also indulged in this habit, leading to a very stern rebuke by Mohammed in the Koran, when he demands that the men of his community set free the pretty orphan girls whom they have adopted in order to "take advantage of them."  The rabbis wondered loudly if Mordechai's ambiguous feelings might have been masking a desire for marriage and wondered also whether Esther might have expected a promotion to wife and mistress in return for her domestic services and undying affection for a fine, upstanding, eligible man.

Many elements of Kohn's elaborated plot are taken from legends of the Talmud and the midrash, including Queen Vashti's vicious temper, her mistreatment of the maids (especially the Jews), and the implication that Bigthan and Teresh were sent by other plotters--possibly even including Haman himself.  Most notable is the rabbinic opinion that life in the harem was an unendurable torture for Hadassah/Esther, who found the forced beauty treatments abusive and demeaning and was not consoled by the fine clothes and perfumes to the loss of her independence and self-respect.

I can't say that I approve of all the changes to the story, but it certainly makes for an engaging read.  It's not The Red Tent--The Red Tent has occasional moments of happiness for its poor female protagonist!--but it's definitely worth a read on a Saturday afternoon, and definitely worth deciding which of Ms. Kohn's artistic images you wish to incorporate into your own reading of the Bible.  So have a look!  You'll find lots to mull over.
4331762
Francine Rivers' Redeeming Love, originally published as a general market romance, has been re-released by Multnomah Publishers for the Christian market.

This edition has new cover design and 6-part study guide added. This book is based on the story of Hosea and Gomer as told in the book Hosea in the Bible. The two characters, Hosea and Gomer, are given recognizable names, Michael and Angel. She also sets the time period within the 1800s California Gold rush, when the land was lawless, and prostitution and gambling was abundant.

Gomer's character, Angel, who at age eight, learned to be prostitute from a man named Duke. To escape Duke, Angel travels by sea to California to start a new life--but winds up doing what she knows. She ends up in a town called Pair-a-Dice, California working for a woman named Duchess.

Hosea's character, Michael Hosea, comes to Pair-a-Dice, California to sell his crops to the mercantile. One day while unloading his crops, he notices a beautiful woman dressed in all black walking down the street. As soon as he sees her, the Lord whispers in his ear that she is the one for him to marry. He is shocked to learn that she is an expensive prostitute working in a Duchess's brothel.

Michael persists that Angel marry him so he can obey God's word, but Angel has no belief in God--and declines him every time--until Michael rescues her from a very severe beating. After they marry, he has to convince her he loves her regardless of who she is and what she's done. For Angel to accept Michael's love, she must first discover what love really is and accept the belief that God is real. Through many trials and separations from Michael, Angel begins to listen to the whispering in her ear and accept God as her savior.

Through questions and discussions, the reader understands a great more of the story and what God is trying to teach each of us about his redeeming love.

Armchair Interviews says: An most interesting and thought-provoking present-day look at characters from the Bible.
1131665
This author brings the sketchy details of the Biblical account of Esther to life.  Ruth's story has always fascinated me.  But I've always wished that the Bible had given us more details.  While we must always be careful to keep in mind that this is a NOVEL based on history, the author gives a perspective on what might have been.  It tells of the fears, the joys, the doubts, the strength of this woman.

This book needs to have some amount of violence in it, as the true story itself is very violent.  But the author does not give sordid details & dwell on the violence.  It's a very small part of the book.  The same goes with the sexual content.  She gives very little details, but does not shy away from the fact that there was a sexual relationship between Esther & the king.  It's part of the real story & again, must be faced.

Ms. Hunt stays true to the Bible as much as is possible.  And yet, she brings this character to life.
1927359
I gave this book to a friend of mine who knew Esther at an old church they went to together. She was so appreciative and really enjoyed the book. She said it meant a lot to her to share something so powerful with someone she knew from way back. Thanks for sharing your experience and your words with us Esther. :)
845084
What a fantastic read!  It made me laugh and cry, but most importantly it made me think.  Thanks for sharing your wonderful story of love, devotion and perseverance.  Can't wait for the next Esther book!
1412331
What a great book about the live of Esther queen of the Persians. I could not put it down. I knew the story of Esther from the Bible and had seen one or two movies about it, but this book brought everything to life. The author B.G. Brainard did so much research and the detail of each aspect of life in Babylon and Susa are wonderful. The life of young Hadassah, an eleven year old girl, taken from her uncle to become part of King Zerses' harem is told in vivid detail. We lean what the girls of the harem ate and how they were treated, the clothes they wore and the servants they had. It is such an interesting book. We are treated to life of Hadasah, who becomes Esther when she is queen, and the 15 years she lived as member of the harem, Great Queen and then as Queen in exile. I highly recommend it to everyone who loves a good story
4085583
We did this book as a Ladies Small Group. It was truly enjoyed and we learned much about Esther and ourselves!