**I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for consideration. All thoughts are 100% my own.
Two women occupy a place in Herod's court. The first, Salome, is the king's only sister, a resentful woman who has been told she is from an inferior race, a people God will never accept or approve.
The second woman, Zara, is a lowly handmaid who serves Salome, but where Salome spies conspiracies and treachery, Zara sees hurting people in need of understanding and compassion.
Powerful and powerless, Idumean and Jew, selfish and selfless--both women struggle to reach their goals and survive in Herod the Great's tumultuous court, where no one is trustworthy and no one is safe.
The author of more than 100 published books and with more than 5 million copies of her books sold worldwide, Angela Hunt is the New York Times bestselling author of The Note, The Nativity Story, and Esther: Royal Beauty. Romantic Times Book Club presented Angela with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. In 2008, Angela completed her PhD in biblical studies in theology. She and her husband live in Florida with their mastiffs. She can be found online at www.angelahuntbooks.com.
First and foremost, it is important to note that King's Shadow is book number FOUR in The Silent Years series- a series that takes place in the years of history between the Old Testament and the New. While this is book four, it can be read as a stand alone as well. Personally, this is the first I had read in the series, and did not feel like I had missed anything in not having read the previous first.
I will also say that Biblical fiction is not a genre that I read a lot of so that factors into my thoughts on this book. Angela Hunt did a great job of drawing the reader into this time in history that is hard for many of us to imagine. You can tell that she has done her research on the history and culture and that reflects in the story. There are moments that might seem a little detail heavy, but personally I feel like for those who aren't already familiar with these times that is very important (though some might say it slows the story down a bit too). I will say that I had a hard time keeping up with and getting into this one, which I think in large part had to do with the various names... though I can say it's certainly not as bad as other Biblical names either. Still, when I'm uncertain how to pronounce certain names/places, etc it does make it more difficult to keep things straight as I'm reading and therefor fully enjoy the story as I might have otherwise.
That being said, the writing was fantastic and the story was very interesting, even if it wasn't my own typical read. I love this idea of bringing those Biblical times and people into a story that gives us a better understanding of the culture and events of the time. Even though it is a fictional telling, I feel like Angela Hunt really does a great job of keeping as historically accurate as possible. I would say that anyone who has enjoyed Angela Hunt's biblical fiction works in the past or otherwise enjoy this genre will love the story even more!
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