Slow start and found it hard to connect to Hadassah at the start. But she grows on you... it's the story of Queen Esther from the Bible, fleshed out, still faithful to the biblical narrative but with more colour and back stories and character development. If you like biblical based fiction, I would recommend this! ( )

I really enjoyed this book. The story of Esther has been one of my favorites in the Bible. Angela Hunt did a great job of bringing us to the biblical account in a believable story of fiction. Can't wait to read the biblical account again. ( )

We all remember the story, so I’ll be brief. Girl meets king; king falls in love with girl; girl becomes queen; girl uses her relationship with the king to save her people; feast of Purim ensues. What’s interesting to me, though, is how (or if) authors weave in the Bible story with historical fact. Hunt, unlike Lofts, follows the conventional identification of Ahasuerus with Xerxes. Her Esther, born Hadassah to a Jewish family, is a native of Susa and is brought up after her parents’ death by her cousin Mordecai and his wife Miriam. Like any young girl she chafes against the restraints of her home and dreams about what it would be like to live in the palaces, but as she grows to womanhood she accepts that her life will be as regimented as many others: she will marry a man chosen for her – in this case the pleasant, eager but uninspiring Binyamin – and become a mother. But Hadassah’s destiny is changed on the very eve of her wedding, when she is among the young women forcibly brought to Xerxes’ court to charm the king. This, she achieves. But can she also manage to save him from himself – and to save all those she loves into the bargain?

For the full review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2017/02/02/esther-royal-beauty-angela-hunt/ ( )

I enjoyed this book. I could not put it down, it was captivating. I like how it was told from Hadassah (Esther) and Harbonah's point of view. It was so detailed, it was almost like you were there. The customs and traditions. The life of a eunuch, concubine, life in the harem, how treacherous a queen could be, that a king was in constant danger of losing his life from those he put trust in. How eunuchs served around the palace. How a young teenager became a wife and a queen. Being captured by ruffians, brought in a slave trader's carriage to the palace.

Esther is one of my favorite women of the bible. She had character, courage and love for her people. This was an emotional and touching portrayal. A young girl taken from the only father she has known, taken from her betrothed, taken from her friends, put in an atmosphere that is strange to her a mere teenager. How was she to cope? What did she have to do to stay alive? What of her betrothed and his father? So much has happened to Hadassah in the short time of her life. There is so much going on, it keeps you spellbound.

Beauty is not always a blessing.

This is my first book by Angela Hunt and I was not disappointed

The front cover was exquisite with its raised lettering and smooth back cover.

I received a free copy from Bethany House for this review. ( )

I finished reading Esther: Royal Beauty by Angela Hunt last night and was completely lost in the telling of this old story. I'm a big fan of Biblical fiction and this will now be on my list of favorites as such.

I have read the Biblical story of Esther and studied it at different times, but after reading this book I will never look at it quite the same again! Angela Hunt brings this old story back to life by letting two characters, Esther (Hadassah) and a eunuch by the name of Harbonah tell the story. I tremendously enjoyed reading this age old story from this perspective. Even though I knew this story, it was still a real page-turner as I read from the view point of Hadassah and Harbonah. It was so easy to love these two, as I read along, crying and laughing with them.


One of my favorite quotes from this book, about this time long since past, so easily fits the Christian life that I walk, today as well.

We walked in it, traded in it, communicated in it, and did acts of kindness for it. To the casual observer, we might have looked like ordinary people, but we were not. About that, at least, Haman was right.
We were children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and we served and invisible God, who remained close to us no matter where we lived. But our hearts did not -- should not -- belong to this world.


I highly recommend this book to everyone who likes Biblical fiction.

I received a free copy of this book from Bethany House in exchange for my honest review rather it be good or bad. Thank you. ( )