Description: Princess Jehosheba wants nothing more than to please the harsh and demanding Queen Athaliah, daughter of the notorious Queen Jezebel. Her work as a priestess in the temple of Baal seems to do the trick. But when a mysterious letter from the dead prophet Elijah predicts doom for the royal household, Jehosheba realizes that the dark arts she practices reach beyond the realm of earthly governments. To further Athaliah and Jezebel’s strategies, she is forced to marry Yahweh’s high priest and enters the unfamiliar world of Yahweh’s temple. Can her new husband show her the truth and love she craves? And can Jehosheba overcome her fear and save the family–and the nation–she loves?
My Thoughts: I absolutely loved this story. Finally being able to sort out how a few generations of Judah and Israel's kings is terribly awesome. After reading this, those few chapters in the Bible on King Ahaziah and this relatives at last make sense.
Outside of now being able to interpret a few chapters of 2 Kings, the story is great as well. The conflict between the characters is masterful and sucks you in. You really come to care for people who are ordinarily written off as the villain because Mesu makes them human and relatable.
The one draw back for me was how openly evil Athaliah was and how she got away with it so much. I know that she is his ima, but if I were Hazi, I would have deposed of her once she started to threaten to kill my sister.
Other than that, I loved these characters and wish that there were more books with them!
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Interesting! I like Biblical fiction that's done well. It was all clean, right? Such a dangerous time period, and such a brave heroine!
ReplyDeleteIt is clean. The only thing that might be upsetting in that area is that Hazi has multiple wives, but he did in real life as well.
DeleteGood to know! Perhaps I'll try it!
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