From the moment her marriage to prince Ahab thrusts her into the intrigues of palace life, Jezebel’s exotic beauty opens doors and her will breaks down walls. Torn from her homeland and wed to power in a strange country, Jezebel vows to create a legacy and power all her own. Some might call her a manipulative schemer, bent on having her way. But they don’t know the whole story, and she was much, much worse. As she moves through the halls of power, her heart struggles between devotion to the gods she worships, the prince who loves her, and her thirst for revenge. She sparks a battle between her strangely powerless gods and the God of palace administrator Obadiah — a God who confronts her with surprising might. She will fight, though victory may cost her everything.

Given to me in ebook format via www.netgalley.com.

Slight downside with this ebook edition in that the text was very small and with no easy and reliable way, whilst reading on a kobo at least, to increase the text size or spacing to anything more comfortable. This made it a slower and more painful to read than I would have liked. It was easier to read on a laptop using ADE's magnifier, but since this is not available on a kobo - and the book not available to upload to an ipad with magnification - it sort of negates the practicality of an ebook. If you have any kind of vision issues, this book *in this current format* is not appropriate for you

As to the story itself:

The focus of the story changes between Jezebel, Obadiah the Chief administrator of Israel, and Ahab the prince of Israel and Jezebel's betrothed.

Jezebel is the unwanted child of a pair of twins born to the high priest of Phoenicia and is brought up knowing that she is unloved by both humans and gods alike. The book starts with her sacrificing her sister - the family favourite - to the gods at the direction of her father.

Ahab is the uncouth son of a mercenary, the latter having fought his way to become King of Israel. 17 years old, Ahab has been a fighter as long as he can remember, and has killed more men than he cares to count. He is to marry Jezebel in order to consolidate the union between Israel and the Phoneticians

Obadiah is the son of a prostitute and a drunk, but is more finely bred than Ahab, better dressed and rather more sensitive.

The differences between Phoenicia and the much younger and poorer Israel are well described - Jezebel has grown up in a much more prosperous country, whether she realises it or not, and is shocked and disappointed when she is sent to a country still at war where all the palaces she lives in are built for defense rather than comfort and affluence.

Other differences soon come to light - Jezebel worships her gods, which means regular child sacrifices to keep them appeased. Obidiah worships Yahweh. Elijah the prophet has warned Ahab not to bring Jezebel to Israel, and when he does, Yahweh condemns Israel to several years of famine. Once Yahweh releases Israel from famine and drought, Ahab - previously ambivalent as to which god to worship - follows Yahweh much to Jezebel's disdain.

Over the next years, Israel becomes stronger under Yahweh and Ahab. Jezebel attempts to consolidate power and a dynasty for her and her sons, but never realises that she could be happy. She becomes more maternal towards her third child than she did to her previous two, and doesn't realise that she loved Ahab in the end.

Whilst I did like the book, I feel that in being such a high level story, it did tend to be a little shallow in parts. I know that Garrett is trying stay within the realms of the narrative presented in the Old Testament (which doesnt allow much leeway for much digression from the story presented to us), but I came away feeling that I could have had just a little bit more....

For those that are not of a religious bent this can be read without fear of being preached at or sermonised to. Those who are seeking a little reassurance within their faith will also be able to take some comfort from this book.

Actually a 3.5 - would have been a 4 except for the formatting issues ( )

She wanted to succeed to her father's throne, not to be given in marriage to Ahab, a foreign prince over in Israel. But if she must be queen of the Israelites one day, she's determined to have her own kind of power—even if it means standing up to Israel's God in Reign: The Chronicles of Queen Jezebel by author Ginger Garrett.

Now, I'll admit I'm not sure about the intent of naming this series the Lost Loves of the Bible, whether it's supposed to sound romantic or painful or both. But like the first (wonderful!) novel in this series, Chosen: The Lost Diaries of Queen Esther, this third book in the series isn't a romance, and it's far from pleasant. Yet, while Esther's story is ultimately one of weighty triumph, Jezebel's is a dark, thorough tragedy.

I didn't find this tragedy to be a depressing read, though. Jezebel has too much bite, tenacity, and audacity for her story to be one of dull gloom. She's vicious and murderous, determined to love absolutely no one, and due to the sometimes choppy flow of events and the peculiar course of Jezebel's thoughts and emotions, I didn't always get her.

Even so, she isn't an evil caricature, oh-so-bad for the sake of badness. She has her reasons, her fears and uncertainties and pain, and perplexity about an unfamiliar God who's dead-set against her.

This read is one of regret, violence, and debauchery, but the author has a knack for imagery, an ear for irony, and a way of adding some unpredictability to biblical stories I've known for years. I plan to try some historical fiction next from this author. ( )

I lead a Bible study at my church that combines exploring scripture with a supplementary novel inspired by what we are studying. We call it The Faith And Fiction Bible Study, and it has been a great way to dive into the truth of God’s word in a unique way. I chose Reign by Ginger Garret to accompany our look into the life of Ahab and Jezebel. The study has been eye-opening for me, and Reign made real the cultural influences of the era. While many in my group described it as a hard or unpleasant read because of it’s depiction of the depravity of pagan worship, I appreciate the research that Garrett used to bring one of the most vilified characters in the Bible to life.

Reign depicts the life of Jezebel — her early life in Sidon and subsequent marriage to Ahab. A princess of the Phoenicians, Jezebel and Ahab’s marriage cemented the trade and political fortune of Israel with the seafaring nation. Unfortunately, with the increased economic prospects, Jezebel brought pagan worship to the northern kingdom and made it state-recognized and approved. This was the crux of God’s anger and judgment towards Ahab’s reign. While the framework of the novel rests on facts, the fictional life of Jezebel, the what-ifs, were fascinating. Garrett develops a character who is very much influenced by her past experiences. Pagan worship, though horrific in its implications, was a normal part of Jezebel’s upbringing. That point leads to all kinds of questions of how our own beliefs and experiences impact our actions, even if in opposition to God’s word. There’s not much to like about Jezebel and Ahab — really nothing at all. But the secondary character of Obadiah, mentioned as Ahab’s steward in the Biblical record, provides good insight into how godly people may react when faced with direct opposition to the God they believe in. God’s truth is a big part of Reign and is presented by Elijah, Obadiah and other named and unnamed prophets. Could life for Jezebel been different? I loved the very subtle wooing by God (and the depiction of the counter-action of evil) that she ultimately rejects.

Reign, as I stated above, was not an easy read. But it did provide good insight into a very dark time in Israel’s history. If you like Biblical fiction, give this one a try.

Audience: adults. ( )

Book received via GoodReads FirstReads program for an honest review. Thanks for the book!

Rating is actually 3.5, but rounded down for the reason in paragraph 4.

I did really enjoy the fleshing out of Jezebel's character. She breathed with life, with motivations, causes, and emotions all her own. While I definitely wouldn't want to hang out with her in real life ('dis girl got some serious issues), the author gives us reasons for why she is the way she is through life events and a belief system that is twisted at best. Since this is reason for my signing up for a copy of this book, I'm glad it paid off in a rich and vivid character study of one of the Bible's most hated females.

The time period came alive for me as well. The author made ancient Phoenicia and Israel come to life through the sights, smells, and sounds of the ancient world. The distinct cultures of each nation also were very vividly contrasted, from the colors of everyday life to how the people approach their religions.

I've got to give the author chops for not being afraid to portray the times as they were. It wasn't all dreamy nostalgic reminiscences of a better time. Life was harsh and often short, with famine and nasty religions everywhere. The graphic portrayals of the sacrifices and mass murder scenes threw me a bit, but only in that the world felt more real to me. I actually enjoyed that realism, just make sure you're not eating while reading them.

The biggest con in this book for me is that, at times, it came off almost preachy and heavy handed on certain issues, like abortion and women's place in society. In certain parts of this book, I got the impression that the author was comparing female freedom in life to infanticide and evil. That just strikes me wrong on so many levels. There were also times where I felt like I was in church and the preacher was giving a sermon. And while that has its place, I didn't enjoy it that much in my fiction. But then again, this book draws its inspiration from the Bible so I guess it's supposed to be there. From glimpsing through some other reviews, I seem to be in the minority here with these impressions. But they were the big hang ups for me in enjoying this book fully.

Overall, this book swept me into ancient Israel with vivid characters, larger than life religions, and situations that both appalled and kept me engaged. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Bible-inspired Christian fiction as long as you're able to overlook some at times heavy moralizing. ( )

I read this not being previously familiar with Jezebel’s story. All I could recall was that Jezebel = bad. I mean, even her name is a derogatory word these days. So I wasn’t sure which direction this book would take.

I read a couple of reviews before starting because I hadn't realized at first that this was one in a series, and wasn't sure if I'd be able to read it without having first read the previous two. If you're in the same boat, don't worry, this book stands alone. The reviews disheartened me because I am a very empathetic and sensitive person when it comes to violence. But I trudged on. The author wastes no time diving right into the sin, cruelty and perversion. I didn’t think it was as graphic as others thought. Though painful to read, particularly because these things are not just fiction, they happened, it was bearable.

I quickly came to understand Elijah’s sorrow. After his curse, I had a horrible sense of foreboding: This was going to get a whole lot worse. I could see things unraveling. How could Ahab not? How could he not be more affected, more nervous, more driven to set things right? And not just for himself, he was bringing this upon his people as well. I guess it’s in our human nature to want to hope things work out okay even when we’re making destructive decisions. We have the completed Bible, so we know when there’s no hope for a situation. Although, they had prophets, so they knew it too. I guess it just comes down to faith. And as Ahab says, he was born without Hebrew blood, without religion. He even states early on that, “whether or not they are real, the gods are for us,” showing that he had no faith.

This was the low point for me. I knew enough that I knew Jezebel’s story would not end well, and if this was the beginning… well I braced myself for further pain and suffering. It did get better though. I wanted to root for Ahab and of course would wish that Jezebel and her people would turn from evil and know God. But though I could not know that relief, I was able to rejoice for Elijah and the nation of Israel regaining their sanity.

Bottom line, I would recommend this book. I expected to learn a little more about Jezebel and Ahab, and the people of that time, possibly even a little bit about human nature and how their failings are ones that are still relevant to us today. And yes, I did glean all of that, but what I took away from this book was a better understanding of my Father. I got a glimpse of the pain and frustration and rage over the events that took place, but also the mercy and love.

On side note, the only complaint about the writing that I had was that the dates jumped around too casually. I think the author intending it this way to give the passage of time a feel of melting away, but it had the opposite affect on me, as I had to stop every time I noticed and get my bearings and try to figure out where all the characters were and what was going on. And I appreciated the few facts at the end of the book- simply unthinkable!
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