A Reluctant Queen

A Reluctant Queen
Joan Wolf
(Thomas Nelson)
June, 2011/384 pages/$15.99

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.


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 visit her website.


MY THOUGHTS:
My thoughts about this book can best be summed up in the initial description above - a "reimagining" of the story of Esther. This is an interesting fiction book - but it is fiction. While based on the story of Esther from the Bible, there are a number of areas in which it departs from the Biblical account. While I understand that Biblical fiction obviously needs to insert imagined conversations and feelings, this book stretches that a bit too far in some aspects. For example, I didn't care for the portrayal of Mordecai as being a bit devious and conniving in placing Esther in the "contest" to be considered for queen. Additionally, some aspects of the story as presented in the Bible were omitted from the novel. Enjoy this as a work of fiction, but don't mistake it for the beautiful story of Esther in the Old Testament.


A Reluctant Queen KINDLE Giveaway & Facebook Party

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!

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!


Visit the other bloggers participating in this tour by clicking here.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers and Litfuse Publicity Group 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.”