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Joan WolfThomas Nelson / 2011 / Trade PaperbackOur Price$16.194.1 out of 5 stars for A Reluctant Queen, Love Story Series #2. View reviews of this product. 46 Reviews
Retail Price$17.99Save 10% ($1.80)Availability: In StockStock No: WW548764
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Paula JeanFranklinville, NJAge: 45-54Gender: female5 Stars Out Of 5Awesome ReadAugust 22, 2012Paula JeanFranklinville, NJAge: 45-54Gender: femaleQuality: 5Value: 5Meets Expectations: 5I couldn't put this book down. It was simply awesome to read and since I knew the story from the Bible, it was even better!
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AngieAge: 18-24Gender: female5 Stars Out Of 5Bible characters come vivdly aliveJuly 20, 2011AngieAge: 18-24Gender: femaleQuality: 5Value: 4Meets Expectations: 5The word that kept ringing in my mind as I read A Reluctant Queen was "accessible." Joan Wolf has done a marvelous job of taking the biblical story of Esther and making the key historical figures accessible. They are not just words on a page anymore - they seem to be living, breathing people who are following the course that has been set out for them.
The story centers around Esther. In this fictionalized take on the historical Esther, Esther is portrayed as confident but shy, and fairly unassuming. Her uncle, Mordecai, enlists her to enter the king's beauty competition to find a new wife, so that she can be a secret representative of the Jewish people. As most readers already know, the king picks Esther over hundreds of other girls, and Esther unexpectedly becomes queen.
The meat of this book is undoubtedly the growing relationship between the king (Ahasuerus) and Esther. As was customary in that time and region, they barely knew each other when they married. However, Esther finds herself appreciating him more and more, and they begin to form a tentative relationship. I loved the dialogue between these two - alternately formal and informal. It was great to see the relationship take root and finally blossom, and I found myself smiling on more than one occasion.
The only downfall to the book, in my estimation, is how much political talk there is. I recognize that it is historical, and quite central to the story, but I found it to be detracting from the love story. That being said, Wolf does a great job of portraying Haman as an incredibly jealous man, and by the end (*SPOILER*), when he is hanged, the reader is glad to see him go.
I enjoyed this quick read, if for no other reason than to have these characters come alive so vividly. I highly recommend this book! -
mary5 Stars Out Of 5June 22, 2011maryQuality: 3Value: 3Meets Expectations: 3Interesting story. This book didn't follow scripture closley.
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A Simply Enchanted LifeNorth CarolinaAge: 25-34Gender: female5 Stars Out Of 5This is a fantastic fictional account of Esther!February 11, 2014A Simply Enchanted LifeNorth CarolinaAge: 25-34Gender: femaleQuality: 5Value: 5Meets Expectations: 5Wow! This book...
Where do I start? I guess I'll start with the cover. It is so gorgeous that it made me want to read the book.
The story–one of the best I've read so far about a bible character. I couldn't put this book down. Of course I knew that Esther would be queen but I sat on the edge of my seat waiting to see how the king would respond to her.
I'm not one to use made up words but this time I have to because anything less than fantabulous can't be used to describe this book!!! -
debwilsonSummerfield, FLAge: 18-24Gender: female5 Stars Out Of 5December 21, 2013debwilsonSummerfield, FLAge: 18-24Gender: femaleQuality: 5Value: 5Meets Expectations: 5This review was written for A Reluctant Queen: The Love Story of Esther - eBook.Esther is a simple girl; an orphan alone in the world with her uncle Mordecai as guardian, and raised in Jewish faith and traditions. One day, Mordecai has a dream that will change Esther's life forever - he dreams of the complete annihilation of the Jewish people. A solution to the problem comes in the form of the current king of Persia; King Ahasuerus.
When King Ahasuerus puts away Queen Vashti for refusing to appear at a feast, he is on the hunt for a new wife. Woman after woman is paraded in front of him, but no Persian woman catches his eye. Esther enters as a candidate soon after her uncle's dream, hoping the king won't even give her a second glance. She was wrong. Shortly after making her his queen, she is faced with an impossible choice that will forever change history. Save her people, or preserve the love that has blossomed between Ahasuerus and herself. Will telling him she is a Jew forever destroy any love the king has for her? Or will she be executed along with the rest of her people?
As usual, it's the little things that distract me from the bigger picture. The book was very good. I can't deny I laughed a couple times. But Mordecai calling his niece "chicken" was an abrupt and rude awakening to the Biblical time setting and brought the flow of the story to a halt. While the nickname is cute, it just doesn't fit with the time period. It somewhat disruptive to the story as a whole, though thankfully, there is a nice chunk of time where they don't see each other and it is absent from the text. As a whole, the story was entertaining and the love story between Esther and the king was a very satisfying read.
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