Batheshba: Reluctant Beauty by Angela Hunt

One of Ancient Israel's Most Famous Women--
As You've Never Looked at Her Before

One of the Bible's most misunderstood and misjudged women, Bathsheba comes to life in this new biblical reimagining from Angela Hunt. Combining historical facts with detailed fiction, this is an eye-opening portrait that will have you reconsidering everything you thought you knew about her.

After receiving God's promise of a lifelong reign and an eternal dynasty, King David forces himself on Bathsheba, a loyal soldier's wife. When her resulting pregnancy forces the king to murder her husband and add her to his harem, Bathsheba struggles to protect her son while dealing with the effects of a dark prophecy and deadly curse on the king's household.

My review:
   This is the second book in the Dangerous Beauty series by Angela Hunt. The first book was about Esther, and gave some interesting insight through that story. I so enjoyed it that I wanted to review this one.

  I can't remember ever reading a novel about Bathsheba. I have read the story in the Bible countless times and have even studied it in Sunday School and heard sermons about the story, but this is the first novel I have read that recounts the story through Biblical fiction. In the Bible story, we don't get Bathsheba's side. It is pretty much centered on David. Hunt has given us a glimpse into what it might have been like for Bathsheba by telling the story from her viewpoint. The book is written from the first person point of view, with the "I" in the story being Bathsheba. As always with Biblical fiction, the author took a lot of license and imagination to come up with the story, yet it doesn't go opposite to or contradict the Biblical narrative in any way.

  I found the book an interesting and fascinating read. To see, even through the lens of Biblical fiction what the whole ordeal may have been like for Bathsheba gave the story new light and meaning. Hunt did a great job of bring the tale to the medium of Christian fiction and did the story a lot of justice. I found the book hard to put down, and came away with new appreciation for the story.

About the author:

The author of more than 100 published books and with nearly 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.


Bathsheba is available from Bethany House Publishers, part of the Baker Publishing Group.

Thanks to Bethany House for the review copy.