Book Review and Giveaway Opportunity: Joan Wolf’s A Reluctant Queen

To celebrate Joan Wolf’s debut Christian Fiction title, A Reluctant Queen, Joan and her publisher, Thomas Nelson, have teamed up to give away A Reluctant Queen prize package worth over $150!

One grand prize winner will receive:

* A brand new Latest Generation KINDLE with Wi-Fi and Pearl Screen

* A Reluctant Queen by Joan Wolf (for KINDLE)

To enter, just click one of the icons below. But, hurry, the contest ends on June 20th. Winner will be announced on June 21st during Joan’s A Reluctant Queen Book Club Party on Facebook (details below)! Hope to see you there – bring your friends!

Join the fun on June 21st!

Joan will be wrapping up the blog tour and Kindle giveaway promotion during her A Reluctant Queen FACEBOOK party on her FB author page. During the party she’ll announce the winner of the Kindle, host a book chat discussion, test your trivia skills (Is Esther’s story in A Reluctant Queen fact or fiction?), and more. Don’t miss this chance to meet the author and make some new friends!

More about A Reluctant Queen:

You know the Bible story. Now discover the love story.

Experience the intimate, profoundly stirring story of Esther, a simple Jewish girl, and the Great King of Persia, who finds in her the companion of his soul.

In this meticulously researched novel, you’ll journey into the mind and heart of Esther. Experience her first frightened days in the king’s harem and her gradual awakening love, her anguished realization that she is God’s chosen instrument, and her courageous defiance of Persian law that ultimately saved her people from destruction.

What has for been a powerful historical story for thousands of years will come alive when seen through fresh eyes as a tender love story. Be immersed in the richness of the culture, be thrilled with the political and personal intrigues, and be inspired by the incredible act of faith of one young woman-chosen by God “for such a time as this.”

From Julie:

Joan Wolf has made a name for herself as a historical novelist with starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and bestselling novels that hit the USA Today, Washington Post, and NYT Extended Bestseller lists. A Reluctant Queen is her debut with Christian Historical Fiction.

The back cover makes it clear this is about Esther’s love story and it is a captivating romance that makes a romance fan like me turn the pages with anticipation and hope. For a romance reader with no background on Esther’s story it’s a classic tale of an orphan girl chosen to be queen. She captures the king’s heart but she also has to learn as close as their love is, their backgrounds appear to be too wide for Esther to be at peace. She is a Jew and her Persian King has a confidante who wants to see all Jews annihilated. Will this threat over her people be her own death by her very own husband?

Joan delivers intrigue, a royal setting with all the customs and yes, a perfect romance to read.  I can envision beach goers looking for a book taking A Reluctant Queen with them and enjoying the romance.  I hope once readers finish if they aren’t familiar with the Biblical story of Esther they would research that aspect of her life further. That’s just as fascinating as her romantic life.

At the end of the book the author explains the challenge of writing a novel based on a Bible story and she’s right. I’m not a Bible scholar but for years I’ve picked up all commentaries and Bible versions to learn all I could about Esther and Biblical accuracy. A novel is fiction and the author admits she had to change things to make it a novel. For those that are well versed in the Bible who know the Biblical account of Esther, this may be jarring.

But for anyone looking for a royal romance not from William and Kate, I think A Reluctant Queen is a sweet tale to start off your summer reading season.

Joan Wolf was born in New York City but has lived most of her adult life with her husband in Connecticut, where she raised two children and countless numbers of assorted animals. Joan is the author of numerous historical novels including The Road to Avalon which Publishers Weekly lauded as “historical fiction at its finest.”

For more about Joan and her other books, please visit www.joanwolf.com

To visit the other great blogs participating in A Reluctant Queen blog tour, click here.

To purchase, click here.

I received an Advanced Reader’s Copy from Litfuse Publicity/Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

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