A great addition to your own Bible Study reading if you are aiming to learn more about the women of the Bible.

This is an excellent devotional. From the women illustrated, to the reflections and prayers. A true delight to read at anytime but especially through Lent. I know I will be dipping in and out of this frequently and maybe reading from beginning to end for a third time! Will stop recommending and just give a copy as a present instead.
Well worth the time invested.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC - a solid read that explores some of the lesser known women throughout scripture which would be a good Lenten devotional.

An easy though not always comfortable read with short chapters (great if you have shorter attention span like me!) meaning you can take a more indepth look at each chapter or go straight onto the next. Biblically based and including both major and less well known women it faces hard and sometimes uncomfortable topics without shying away. Worth a read.

Each chapter contains reflective questions relating to what each woman can teach us about problems we face in our modern world. Also gives further suggested Bible verses and a prayer. The chapters are short and quick to read which I loved!

The Writing pulled me in and made me rethink what I had known about these stories before. There’s women that are well known figures of the Bible like Eve, Mary, and Ruth but Clarke also includes women I had forgotten about or that are unnamed. I also like that she doesn’t shy away from how some of the women’s choices are wrong and cruel, but can still teach us to reflect on our own flaws.

Some of the stories were more enjoyable than others but I wish we had a deeper look into these women and what their stories can teach us. Some of the chapters felt like more of an overview of what the women did and who they were, and less of what their stories can teach us (which is what I expected and hoped for).


Triggers: sexual assault, rape, body shaming/dysmorphia, infertility, slavery, domestic abuse, murder, death, incest, infidelity, child death

Brilliant up to date exploration of 40 Biblical women. Doesn't shy away from the tough stuff, but allowed me to really see these women and their stories.
Easy to read chapters, backed up by scripture references, though provoking questions which would support any journey through lent, either alone or in a small group, and beautifully written prayers for each day.
I shall be returning to this in Lent to breathe it in, take it at a a slower pace and to allow God to speak through these 40 women.

During the first lockdown, I wrote a book (as yet unpublished) about British women who history seem to have forgotten about, and so I developed a new interest and appreciation of women who achieved, founded, developed or witnessed something in a man’s world.

I didn’t realise this was predominately religious based. There’s absolutely nothing at all wrong with that, but it would have been nice to read about a cross-section of historical females.

It was an interesting premise but didn’t grab me or hold my interest for long,

Just excellent. For those that know their Bible, those that ain’t and those in between. Such good women are dug into and their story told. There is no hiding behind what the bible is saying and rape, marital rights and the poor role of women is explored. Ros Clark links all this back to now and how we feel today. There are some questions after each women’s exposé which help think things through and ensure that the heartbeat of modern time is the lens we also consider. A prayer also helps settle us.