Review of Esther and Giveaway for $10 Appreciation Certificate #FCBlogger

Disclaimer: Family Christian provided me a free copy of the book "Esther Royal Beauty" by Angela Hunt for review purposes only.  I was not compensated, nor am I required to give a positive review.  The opinions expressed here are my own.  There are NO affliliate links within this post.

Bekah's Rating: 3 Stars

Review:

I have never read a book by Angela Hunt before and was very excited to read about one of my favorite Bible characters, Esther.  Angela Hunt created a story that sort of stayed within the lines of Biblical representation to the real story, but there were some differences too, which I was already expecting.  The beginning part of the book was a little slow and it definitely took time to get to the parts that really captivated you and made you to not want to put the book down.  The beginning was a prelude to Esther becoming queen and you are learning of Vashti and how she became banished as queen.  But once you got past the prelude, then the story got very interesting and hard to put the book down.

I love how Angela Hunt really brought to life the drama involved in the book of Esther.  You can read the account in the Bible and yes, there is drama involved, but Angela Hunt did an amazing job of bringing it to life through two different accounts, the eyes of Hadassah (Esther) and the eunuch Harbonah.  These two have very different viewpoints and it made the story that much more captivating.

Hadassah's viewpoint is how she's taken out of her home to live in the palace in preparation to be chosen as queen to her obedience to God in saving her people by going to the king uninvited to present her petition.

Hardonah's viewpoint gave the details of the action within the palace, from Queen Vashti's dethronement to King Xerxe's army failure in Greece to the king's eventful procession candidates to find the new queen and his relationship with Hadassah.

One part of the book that took me by surprise was Angela Hunt's display of Queen Vashti's envy and hatred towards Hadassah.  This is obviously not Biblical, as the Bible doesn't tell us whether Queen Vashti and Hadassah ever crossed paths.  It gave the story a different twist, made it entertaining, but a little too "wicked stepmother".  I think this could have been left out of the book, in all honesty.  Sure, it adds drama and a different twist to the story of Esther, but it kind of makes Queen Vashti out to be a villain and she wasn't really a villain to begin with.

Overall, the book is an easy read once you get past the beginning prelude, I finished it in 2 days and I have two littles under my feet plus another one on the way!  It's not a Biblical account of the story at all, so it would be an entertaining read for many.  It doesn't have many teaching opportunities within it either.  I could see this book given to non-believers to intrigue them to want to know more about this Esther.  You can purchase a copy of this book from Family Christian here.

Giveaway:

I've been given the opportunity to offer a $10 appreciation certificate for Family Christian, which can be used in stores or online to one lucky reader.  Please enter the giveaway linky below (it may take a moment to load, please be patient).  The winner will be announced on Friday, February 20, 2015.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Happy Reading and Blessings!
~Bekah