Born in the small village of Modein, a town made famous by the warrior Maccabees, Salome Alexandra knows better than to harbor grand dreams for her future. She pales in comparison to her beautiful older sister, and though she learns to read at an early age, girls are not valued for their intellectual ability. But when her father and sister are killed, John Hyrcanus, a distant relative, invites Salome and her mother to live with his family in Jerusalem, where her thirst for knowledge is noticed and indulged.
When her guardian betroths her to a pagan prince, she questions HaShem's plan. When Hyrcanus finally marries her to a boy half her age, she questions her guardian's sanity. But though Salome spends much of her life as a pawn ordered about by powerful men, she learns that a woman committed to HaShem can change the world.
AMAZON 4.5 STARS
I wasn't quite sure to expect with this book but it out that it was really pretty good. Good Jewish history mixed with some fiction. I was amazed when I found out how much of it was actually true.
I was concerned that with all the history of the nation during that time and the Jewish customs that it would be dry or that I would get bored. Nope, it didn't happen. I think mainly because of my interest in the people.
Salome is quite the character and easily kept my attention throughout. The things she went through and how deeply she loved HaShem (God), while at times not understanding what he was doing was powerful!
The people in the story were boldly written with many of them almost bigger than life. Salome's uncle John who became High Priest for many years was one of those. As time goes on, Salome also begins to see the uncle she loves she much is also flawed.
I enjoyed the developing friendship between the young slave handmaiden Kissa and Salome was precious. They knew each other from young childhood and developed a very close bond of friendship.
Salome also had some friendships that she kept for many years. She didn't have a huge group of friends or supporters at first. But a young man who became her tutor when she was young, was someone who remained a friend though-out her life. Another friendship that developed later in her life was a man who was a warrior leader that she was drawn to.
Brace yourself, there will be suffering, death plots, and murder in this book. Even some mass murder, thankfully those were not overly detailed. But the horror war and of all the loss of life can be almost felt.
At the end of this book there are Discussion Questions and References. I really liked that the references were included.
I voluntarily read an Advanced Copy of this book via Netgalley and these are my honest opinions of it.
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