Love. Duty. Fear. Courage. In the court of the king, which will prevail?
In an effort to complete a war his father had planned to win, King Xerxes calls every governor, satrap, and official in his vast kingdom to his palace in Susa to strategize and feast. When they finally leave, he decides on one more week of frivolity, which ends in the banishment of his favorite wife, something he never intended to do. But when he discovers Esther, Xerxes is sure he has a second chance at happiness.
In her wildest dreams, Esther could never have imagined that she would end up as queen of Persia. Yet she knows better than to become complacent. Another of Xerxes' wives is vying for position, and his closest advisor has a deep and dangerous grudge against Esther's adoptive father. Caught in the middle of palace politics, Esther will find herself in an impossible position: risk her life or consign her people to annihilation.
Lovely depiction of my favorite Bible heroine. Awesome job, Jill!
Published by Nikita Wells , 5 years ago
Prepare to be swept into the palace of Xerxes, King of Persia. Having lost his first love at a drunken party, by the advice of men he was never sure if he could trust, Xerxes is determined to find happiness again, whatever it takes..
And that's where Esther, pardon me, Hadassah, comes in. A sweet Jewish orphan with simple hopes and dreams, lives in the city nearby, right under the nose of this lonely king. But she has never once dreamed of marrying a king, much less becoming queen. And her world is about to turn upside down.
Plots, treachery, greed and a constant thirst for power run wild quite commonly in palace walls and corridors, where no believes the royal ear would hear. But things are about to get more interesting yet.
Jill paints a marvelous portrait of the life of Jewish Queen Esther, and her selfless sacrifice for her people, and has exquisite taste in bringing heroes of the Bible to life in pristine color. You will feel as though you walk beside Esther every step of the way.
Biblical Fiction
Published by Kim Potter , 5 years ago
Star of Persia by Jill Eileen Smith is a stand-alone Biblical story. Ms. Smith tells the Biblical story of Esther from the scriptural view with bits of history thrown in. The story had plenty of palace intrigue and followed pretty closely to the Biblical account. I’m not sure I agree with the way Xerxes was portrayed, but it made for a very interesting read. I really enjoyed reading this version of the story. The love between Esther and Xerxes is something that a lot of authors leave out of the story of Esther because they are writing from the Biblical account. So to have that woven into this story was a very nice touch.
I received this book LibraryThing for my honest review.
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