Bueaitufl and moving. Lots of history. I learned a ton. Very well written. I have been recommending to tons of people interested in the history.

Rebel Daughter is an amazing feat of historical fiction that introduces readers to a period and events with which they may not have previously been familiar. Set in Jerusalem in the years leading up to the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE, Rebel Daughter follows a young woman named Esther as she navigates her family’s expectations and her own dreams for the future. Rebel Daughter an incredibly captivating read that moves through history and events and the personal stories of Esther’s family in a way that makes it hard to ever set the book down.

It has been a long time since I’ve been as drawn into a book as I was with Rebel Daughter. Esther is such a strong character and her strength despite all of the challenges and, honestly, terrible things that befall her is rather inspiring – and often heartbreaking. And yet the way Lori Banov Kaufmann tells her story keeps you hooked from the beginning.

I cannot recommend Rebel Daughter highly enough. Kaufmann highlights a period in Jewish history that most readers probably will not be familiar with and she takes great care to recreate the world in which Esther would have lived. Rebel Daughter mart, well written, and will appeal not just to young adult readers but adults as well. It’s the perfect book for young adult fans who love to dabble in history!

[REVIEW BASED ON REVIEW COPY PROVIDED BY PUBLISHER FOR ROCKSTAR BOOK TOURS]

Due to some health issues, I was unable to get this book read and reviewed in a timely manner. I apologize.

Sadly, this was a DNF for me. I wanted to love it but found the beginning to be very hard to get through. I love the premise and wish it was for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. A fascinating read I couldn't put down. I recommend for anyone who loves a good read.

This was not a book for me. I was not a fan of the characters or the plot. I think this just a case of my type of book.

This novel appealed to me because it was a Christian historical novel set in ancient Israel. However, there were many scenes that made me uncomfortable reading. Without those dark, disturbing scenes, it would have been a more enjoyable novel.

I purchased this book for my high school library. My students have enjoyed it. and it has circulated well.

This is a stunning debut about a Jewish girl living under the Roman oppression. It's one of those books that stays with you long after you've finished reading. The research is impressive, the writing so vivid you feel you are there. I honestly couldn't put it down. The mistreatment of women and slaves is harrowing, and told with both empathy and a matter of fact style: this is what really happened. I think that's what really got to me about this story, it's based on historical fact and historical figures, but it really could have happened. Esther and Tiberius were real people. If you're tempted, definitely give this novel a go.

@loribanovkaufmann’s Rebel Daughter is the perfect read to curl up with. Lori has written a stunning YA historical debut you are not going to want to miss! It has romance and a storyline that will keep you engrossed until the end (which is perfect when you’re stuck inside!!)

This was great and a lot of fun to read! I loved the time period that it was set in! I highly recommend it and I enjoyed it!

this was such a beautifully done story, the characters were great and I loved the plot. I loved that it was in old time Jerusalem.

This is a historical fiction that you need to be prepared for. It has tough topics that focus on the trauma and fear Jewish people went through in that time period.

I tried to get into this novel multiple times but it just never hooked me. As a result, I am not posting a review since I didn’t finish. I will be returning to it at a later date.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rebel Daughter sounded like it was going to be an amazing book. I mean the synopsis made it sound like something I would enjoy. Unfortunately, I'm not a huge fan of religious aspect of this. Even though it had some interesting parts to it.. I just hated how people were viewed in this. Especially when it came to marriage.

Now I've never been married but I do know people who have been in an arranged marriage. They've mentioned the amount of pressure that gets put on them in order to go through with it and honestly - it's not for me. Sorry, I'm so used to being a disappointment that I wouldn't even hesitate to say no and stick to my guns.

In it, you will meet Esther. She kind of reminds me of Elizabeth Bennet, in a way, because of how she wanted to marry for love. Even though I didn't like either of her choices - the one she thought she loved and the one her parents picked her to love. Both of them sucked and I just wasn't getting the chemistry. However, with the Roman - I could totally see it.

This book goes through some tough topics but it was necessary to do so. It was definitely eye opening and it made this a page turner (for me). In the end, I'm pretty happy that I got a holiday weekend where I could find the time to knock this one out. Definitely glad that I got the chance to dive into it.

4.25 stars

This is predominantly a story of oppression. As a Jewish women, Esther suffers the oppression all Jews were subjected to by Rome but also the oppression all women were subjected to by men. But it is also a story about family and survival.

As I read, it was clear how much research went into it. I have always been interested in Ancient Rome (thanks to high school Latin class) and have read quite a bit of historical fiction set in Rome so it's interesting to see it from a non-Roman perspective. The Author's note reveals that Esther and several other characters were real people and I thought Kaufmann did a wonderful job bringing them to life with seemingly little to go on. This is a great debut overall and I'll definitely be reading more by the author.

Rebel Daughter is being marketed as a YA book but I don't necessarily agree with that. The being said, I think lovers are adult or YA historical fiction will enjoy this.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc!

2.5/5 Stars for me. Rebel Daughter started out strong for me with a fascinating premise inspired by a gravestone that told of a man who loved his wife, a former slave and captive from Israel named Aster (Esther), so much that he implored people to take care of her tomb after she died. From a historical perspective, I found Rebel Daughter to be an interesting glimpse into a Rebellion by the Jews against their Roman oppressors in 70 AD, a time period that I don't know a lot about. From the impeccable way that the author brought the worlds of first century Jerusalem and Rome alive you can tell that she has done her homework in terms of researching this very complicated time in human history. I also got a really fascinating look into Judaism as a religion during this time period, which was really educational for me. So kudos to the author on that.
That being said, Rebel Daughter ended up falling short of my expectations from a storytelling perspective. I found the main character, Esther, to be gratingly infuriating from start to finish. Yes, this is a book about a teenaged girl who goes through so much trauma, and it is meant for teenagers. That's fine. It's fine for a character to have flaws. But my issue is that there is a selfishness, naivete and immaturity in Esther from start to finish that never gets developed in any way. I didn't see much of a change in Esther's character at all, and she really irritated me in terms of her personal growth. She's always whining about her lot in life (before she's taken into captivity) when she does have a certain level of privilege being from an aristocratic family, I was also less than impressed when she gloats about her husband dying and her "freedom." Dude wasn't that bad, and there's not a second of mourning. Just gloating. So there is a lack of character development I noticed in this novel that significantly hampered my enjoyment of it. Also, while not the author's fault, the summary in the book jacket reads that she "longs for the handsome Jacob who treats her like a child, and confused by her attraction to the Roman soldier Tiberius, who should be her sworn enemy." There's just one problem: there is no Jacob in this book mentioned. At all. I assume that is meant to be Joseph, but that's kind of a big mistake unless I am missing some information. And while I liked Tiberius as a character, there was hardly any real romance between the two of them until the end, and even that is rushed.
So sadly, Rebel Daughter, while a fascinating glimpse into Jewish and Roman history, fell short of my expectations.

A week or so ago, I began asking my family to pick books for me. I did not plan on extending the request beyond one or two reads, but I've quickly grown to enjoy the randomness of their selections and, for this reason, have chosen to allow the whims of my household to dictate my reading for the foreseeable future.

I feel this worth mentioning because Lori Banov Kaufmann's Rebel Daughter was chosen for me by my husband. He said the cover caught his eye first, but he picked the book because it is set in a time and place he felt uncommon. I happen to agree and admitted the setting drew me to the novel as well. First-century Jerusalem does not enjoy a great deal of visibility in the historical fiction market, and we were both drawn to the fresh potential of the material.

Inspired by a two-thousand-year-old epitaph, Kaufmann pulls readers into a tumultuous period of political and religious conflict. Told through the eyes of a young woman, Rebel Daughter chronicles the Great Jewish Revolt, the displacement of the conquered, the experiences of the enslaved, and the cross-cultural tensions that characterized the ancient Roman Empire.

Though the tempered pace and straightforward tone of the novel left something to be desired, I found much to appreciate in the harsh truths of Kaufmann incorporated in this piece. The first century was a brutal period, and I liked how the author's descriptions acknowledge that reality and allow her audience an authentic understanding of the challenges Esther faces.

I picked up this book because it's a time period that you don't see a lot of fiction about. One of the positives is that the author put in a lot of work to ensure that this book appears authentic (not being a biblical/ancient Roman scholar, I can't really tell you how accurate it is, but the note at the end from a professor of this period leads me to conclude that it is as accurate as other historical fiction.) I was interested enough in the book to read to the end.

However, I have a lot of issues with the writing itself. The language is very choppy. Sentence structure is very basic and not very engaging. Many of the chapters are incredible short but also very choppy. They end abruptly and it jars the reader out of the story. It made the reading experience not particularly enjoyable.

I also felt that for a young adult novel, the writing was definitely more Middle Grade but the content was definitely more mature. I was disturbed when there is an animal sacrifice in the first chapter. This book could definitely use several trigger warnings (for sexual abuse, animal sacrifice, slavery, etc)

This book just didn't work for me.