Esther (A Dangerous Beauty Novel Book #1)
Royal Beauty
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4.6 • 74 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
When an ambitious tyrant threatens genocide against the Jews, an inexperienced young queen must take a stand for her people.
When Xerxes, king of Persia, issues a call for beautiful young women, Hadassah, a Jewish orphan living in Susa, is forcibly taken to the palace of the pagan ruler. After months of preparation, the girl known to the Persians as Esther wins the king's heart and a queen's crown. But because her situation is uncertain, she keeps her ethnic identity a secret until she learns that an evil and ambitious man has won the king's permission to exterminate all Jews--young and old, powerful and helpless. Purposely violating an ancient Persian law, she risks her life in order to save her people...and bind her husband's heart.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Biblical fiction seems to be on the rise and readers will find nothing better in the genre than bestselling Hunt's interpretation of the biblical book of Esther. Hadassah is a teenager when she is captured by ruffians while on her way to Jerusalem with her betrothed, Binyamin. Instead of escaping the king's call for young virgins, she is brought to the palace in a slave trader's carriage. Harbonah, the king's chamberlain and a eunuch, knows Hadassah's cousin Mordecai and befriends the frightened girl, who takes the name Esther. Esther is chosen as the new queen, adjusts to life in the palace, matures into a thoughtful and brave woman, and does battle with the evil Haman to save the Jewish people. Hunt (Magdalene) handles the tale's nuances with care and openness, presenting readers a beautiful, honest, captivating retelling of a familiar story.
Customer Reviews
Reminds us Esther was a real woman
I got this book from a discount email, and was considering not reading it after reading the reviews here. But after reading the book, i went back and read the Bible Book of Esther, and any part that may differ from the biblical account would be too insignificant to matter. Every step of the story in the biblical account was accurately portrayed in the novel, sometimes almost word for word.
Other historical accounts from non-biblical histories add context and depth to the story. There is quite a bit in the story that is added or embellished, as it would have to be. Historical documents are not going to read like a novel. But the author definitely seems to have done her research.
Esther may not have been just like the girl/woman portrayed here, but it is certainly possible and believable. Biblical characters were human too. And by showing Esther as a human woman, her story comes to life, for me, in a way it hasn’t before.
Not as biblically accurate as I would’ve hoped.
I really like it at first and knew of course it wasn’t going to be spot on as it’s a novel, but I had to stop reading it after the king passed his edict for all the beautiful women no matter if they were married or not. In the Bible he asks for the virgins in the kingdom. It’s entertaining but accuracy is off.
Unbiblical
Not anywhere near the Bible story. Just a cheap dime store novel. If you are writing a Biblical narrative, maybe read the Bible story first.