If you read my review for Hadassah: One Night with the King, you know I had a few minor issues with that book, wishing that they would delve a bit more into the present day character and her pre-wedding situation. Clearly, this book was meant to address that. This book is much more of a political suspense novel than Biblical fiction. Even so, I still liked it. It really was a companion novel to Hadassah and the two go very well together telling a tightly-woven tale that winds its way from ancient Persia to the modern Middle East. I also avoided the whole G-d phrasing that disrupted my reading so much in Hadassah by listening to it in audiobook form the whole way through. I know the history and tradition behind not writing out God's name, but I found that so disruptive reading the last book that I didn't want to mess with it at all this time around.I really liked seeing the behind-the-scenes relationship of modern day Hadassah and her Prime Minister husband. It felt loving and real, seeing their private moments as well as the public ones. I started to really care about them as characters. How would they cope when tragedy and scandal come to their doorstep?It seems the answers might be found once again in Hadassah's family past. This time, we learn more about what might have happened in the days after Esther's famous salvation of her people. It raised an important question: after doing something like that, does the Lord's hand just depart? Is there nothing more for Esther once that glory has past? We see others rise up to do big things in small ways: Mordecai, Nehemiah, Ezra, and even Leah. If there were more to the story, I'd gladly read that too.
Thoughts on the series.I’ve nothing against hype. Sometimes we need to get hyped up about something or other in life to break out of blah.But, of course, hype can’t always be trusted on a rational level, and while hype about the Hadassah novel and its upcoming film was what alerted me to the book’s existence, I stepped away from the hype to read the book and see what I thought about it for myself.Is it okay to admit that it turned out to be better than I thought it would be? Better than its film counterpart as well, though One Night with the King does have its own points of movie merit (including the wedding scene’s music, which I absolutely loved.) Its obvious weaknesses notwithstanding, I still like the film for what it is, and I think it’s a come-up from earlier Christian features.Anyone who enjoys Hadassah must read The Hadassah Covenant, its worthy sequel.
Do You like book The Hadassah Covenant (2006)?
Hadassah: One Night with the King was the incredible story of Queen Esther. In The Hadassah Covenant, Tenney continues the story of Queen Esther as it interplays with the antagonism between Israel and Iraq and the Jewish remnant still hiding in Iraq in modern times. The author wove the discovery of ancient letters from Esther, Leah (a later Jewish concubine in the Persian palace), and Mordecai into a modern day story of intrigue and dissension between the two countries. Both the characters and storyline are very well done, and this book definitely keeps your attention.
—Loraine
The book was good. It was a little confusing at first with the two stories, but it gets you hooked. The ending is both good and sad.
—Erika
I am not completely done reading this book, but it is based upon the Book of Esther from the Bible. It is written as a work of fiction as to what Esther's life really could have been like. I love these types of books because they bring the Bible stories to life in a way we can better understand them. This book holds your attention, right down to the details. This book explains a lot about how Esther was groomed to be Queen. When she becomes Queen, she realizes the power she has and how she can use it to save her people, the people no one knows she is of. The Jewish people.
—Laurie Carlson
