Quick Synopsis – A real problematic queen Jezebel brings her religion and her ideas to Israel. It doesn’t end well.

Song This Remains Me Of – Take Me to Church by Hozier

Review- Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Books for this E-ARC

Y’all. This is a historical re-telling of biblical proportions (see what I did there). Jezebel is the harlot queen in the bible whose wicked ways will bring ruin to Israel. Megan Barnard wants us to ask ourselves what if the story was more complicated than religion? What if the idea of who women were supposed to be and how they should act also played a big part of how we remember our dear Jezebel?

I mostly enjoyed this story because it puts a spin on history. Much of what we know from this age is written by men and stories by women were either oral or “rarely” written down. I say rarely because we will never know what’s been destroyed over-time. My biggest gripe is that Jezebel is so self-centered. She wants these big things for herself that she can’t see how it effects anyone around her and that almost never changes. It’s just frustrating to see a character almost never act in the interest of someone else. I don’t want to spoil the book, which is strange to say because most of the events have been spoiled by ya know the Bible, but there are just places where Jezebel could grow but she’s just selfish.

I like that I’m in a complicated frame of mind trying to decide if the selfishness was truly an act of preservation or self-promotion. Books like this are good not because you love the main character, but because they make you question. I would definitely recommend this for fans of historical fiction.

3.5 out of 5 stars.