Delilah is such a mysterious character in the Bible: all we really know is that Samson loved and trusted her, and she betrayed him. I always thought it was strange that he would tell her the true secret of his strength after she attempted to trap him multiple times. Angela Hunt does a skillful job of giving this woman a backstory, motivations, and character. Her fear is real, her strength and determination are admirable, and her decisions are difficult but understandable. It’s a fascinating take on the story! ( )

Please note that I gave this book 3.5 stars. I rounded it up to 4 stars on Goodreads.

All in all, an interesting spin at Samson and Delilah. I loved the cover and wish that I had loved the book too. The flow of the book was disjointed a bit anytime the POV switched from Delilah to Samson. And I can honestly say, I don't get why Delilah was attracted to Samson. Based on what I recall from the Bible and even in this book, Samson just wanted a woman, any woman, so I didn't get warm fuzzy feelings with him and Delilah. The whole book also read like this is what happens when you trust women, we just lie for own gain.

Since I have no idea what Delilah looked like in the Bible, and honestly I can't recall if it ever came up, I loved the idea of Ms. Hunt making her a mutli-ethnic character. When we first meet Delilah, she and her mother have moved to live with her mother's new husband. Not liking her new stepbrother, Delilah is concerned about how will the Philistines find her and her mother with their darker skin. After dealing with the unexpected death of her stepfather, Delilah and her mother are treated terribly all because of the color of their skin. Delilah is eventually given a chance to escape, and she does, and continues to cross paths with Samson.

I found the character of Samson to be kind of a cave-man. Our first introduction to him is him wanting to be married to a beautiful woman. After seeing one woman, he decides he will marry her and asks her father's hand in marriage. Even though his new wife is a Philistine and Samson's parents and his servant try to talk him out of it, he is hell-bent on making her his wife. I recall the Bible stories about Samson and he's never been my favorite Biblical figure. It was interesting to see these stories take place in this book though.

Other characters are not really given any depth I thought though. We have an old woman that Delilah comes to live with who ties to get her to see past her own need for vengeance. That whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth. Delilah is made to be in the wrong with wanting justice for her and her mother. And in the end Delilah kind of sort of agrees? I don't know. It was just weird.

The writing was good though I have to say that the flow was all over the place. The back and forth between Delilah and Samson's chapters did not really work. I wish that we had stayed focused on Delilah from beginning to end. It would have worked better I think. Anytime we transitioned to Samson's chapters I lost immediate interest.

I also didn't feel the love story aspect of Samson or Delilah in this one. I needed more development there. I also hated the fact that some of the characters in the book acted as if Delilah was in the wrong for what she felt she had to do, when she correctly mentions how Samson's own people were ready to turn him over to the Philistines.

I found the backstory to Delilah to be intriguing, but since I have never heard or read any books about this I just chalked it up to the author's imagination.

I think that most people who have read the Bible or heard of Samson and Delilah know how the story ends. ( )

I couldn't put this book down. The author does a fantastic job at telling the story of Samson and Delilah in an engaging way, while still using the Bible for basic points of the story. It went above and beyond my expectations. ( )

Whether it’s contemporary women’s fiction or Biblical fiction, I have found all of Angela Hunt’s novels to be excellent choices. Her writing style suits me, and she always has well-developed characters. So when it came to choosing a novel for a Faith And Fiction Bible study I lead, my first choice was Delilah: Treacherous Beauty. Taking a well-known story, Hunt has created a novel with a credible backstory and a lead character more human than the evil harlot most often depicted. My group found the book highly readable, and found it caused us to re-read the Scripture — a double win for us. We rate Delilah highly recommended.

I maintain that writing Biblical fiction is extremely difficult, more so than a more typical historical novel. The writer has to maintain authenticity and keep true to scripture while creating not a dusty commentary, but an intriguing and readable book. Hunt showed she did her homework in her depiction of the culture of the time of the Judges. Her re-telling of the Biblical narrative was faithfully rendered. She didn’t limit her story to only what was going on in Judges 13-16, but included details from other contemporary scripture creating a well-rounded view of the life and times of the characters. Characterization was excellent in Delilah. The story is told from the first person viewpoints of Samson and Delilah giving insight into their motivations and feelings. Yes this book is fiction and some liberty had to be taken, but I never felt anything was inappropriate or unbelievable. As a compliment to the Bible study, Delilah really was a great choice. Even the non-readers of the group enjoyed a fresh look at the Bible. And as stated above, this novel had us double checking what we read in our Bible. We had missed or overlooked some things, that proved to be important to understanding what God was actually doing. One member of my group stated that the story we learned as children was more complex than thought. And God does show up in this novel. Hunt weaves His presence and His truth throughout the book.

For fans of Biblical fiction, Delilah is a must read. It is part of the Dangerous Beauty series, but each book in the series is a standalone novel.

Highly Recommended.

Audience: adults.

(Thanks to Bethany House for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.) ( )

"Perhaps it was his use of the word half-breed, but in that shadowy chamber I realized why Achish hated me. I was not a mistress, not a slave. Not a Philistine, an Israelite, or even a Canaanite. Not a Cushite, not an Egyptian. Not worthy of any kind of respect or recognition.
"I was an other."

I wondered what kind of angle author Angela Hunt would take on such a notorious woman from the Bible in Delilah: Treacherous Beauty. And I respect the angle.

I'll admit I had a hard time deciding whether or not I would read this book. Though I've read and enjoyed many novels from this ChristFic publisher, it's not hard to see they don't put out many books with brown faces on the covers, especially books unrelated to slavery/the American Civil War. I wasn't exactly thrilled when, finally seeing a new release with a brown face, it was there to portray a figure widely regarded as nothing more than a seductress: a woman who must appear in the Scriptures only to warn people of the dangers of unfaithfulness, manipulation, and sexual indiscretion. Because there is a wider problem in the arts world concerning women of color being relegated to sex symbol roles—yeah. I wasn't sure if I'd read this novel.

Yet, considering this is an author whose work I trust, I eventually figured there had to be something deeper she'd be doing with this character. And the author does indeed humanize Delilah. She's not depicted as a perfect person, of course, but she's fully human. As is Samson. They're both outcasts, in different ways. And their artfully woven story is a human story.

Now, I do feel that in a couple places, Delilah and Samson don't make total sense. It seems their characterizations and the story's timing isn't always the most natural, as if the flow of the novel has an awkward time meshing with some of its necessary biblical points. Still, I accept that ancient stories won't always make complete 21st Century sense, and the way the author ultimately brings it all together in the last few chapters is what tipped me over into five stars. In tears.

It's a tragic story in so many ways, but its illustration of the impact of faith and love in imperfect people's lives gives this novel its power. ( )