If you loved the fierce grittiness of Elodie Harper's characters and world, look no further than "Jezebel" for your next fix. This was a fabulously written tale of a much maligned biblical queen, and I always felt there was much more to her and her tale, that it was just waiting to be told. It was worth the wait. This was pure gold. I enjoyed every page, the writing was wonderful, and Ms. Barnard made the ancient world come alive. I felt what it was like to be in Jezebel's shoes, as a woman, as a queen, and yet yearning for more power than the world was able to give. A fantastic, satisfying read, I highly recommend this!

"I will be the nameless wife of the king, or I will be Jezebel, the queen whose evil deeds were greater than any other."

"Harlot. Witch. Or nothing."

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I started this book knowing nothing of Jezebel other than the meaning of the term we use now for insults. It started off slow, but eventually I became captivated by this retelling of Jezebel. I was split on my feelings towards her; there were moments where I was angered with the selfish and foolish choices she made, but I was also angered with how she was treated—really, how all the women were treated.

This was a beautifully written and captivating story that draws you in and keeps most of your attention until the end. I do feel that the third act was slow, but the end felt slightly rushed but, in my opinion, had a sort of satisfying ending for Jezebel’s story. I would definitely recommend this story for anyone who is interested in retellings of ancient or biblical times or for those who want a story about a strong-willed female lead.

I want to thank the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this book, and all opinions formed in my review are mine and mine alone.

I have never stopped to consider what the backstory of the word Jezebel in its modern usage, I just was aware it was a very old story, and some peripheral knowledge that it was a story in the Bible. This novel, written primarily from the perspective of the titular character made me go digging for the biblical version as I read this version. If you enjoy rewrites of legends from a feminist perspective, this is a good one to pick up. Jezebel as a character isn't always likable, and occasionally her thoughts felt overwritten to me. Both of those impressions make for a three-dimensional character that I had to work to invest in, but others who are more into literary - style fiction might not find them the barriers I did. I received a copy of this work from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

Jezebel by Megan Barnard. Pub Date: July 25, 2023. Rating: 3 stars. This is the story of Jezebel, a princess from Tyre who has a legacy as interesting as her name. A powerful novel depicting the life of Jezebel, the reader is taken on a journey of a woman who has political power aspirations and is fiercely driven to achieve them in her lifetime. She wants to be portrayed as a strong female who can do the job as well as or if not better than any king before her. Themes of power, women struggles, infertility, love, male dominance are all a part of this novel. I enjoyed this book, but did not love it. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Penguin Books for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review. #netgalley #jezebel

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Books, and Megan Barnard for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! This has quickly become one of my favorite books. I didn’t know much about Jezebel before reading it, but it presents an alternate version of events and shows her in a different light. It’s empowering, emotional, and a great book to read. It’s also short and paced very well, so I finished it in a day haha. But if you enjoy feminist retellings, Biblical stories, or just good novels, be sure to pick this one up!

I enjoyed this book and I could not put it down. I really enjoyed the characters and the writing was really well done. It made you want to keep reading.

This one surprised me.

I picked up this book because of my recognizing the name Jezebel but as I was reading, I realized I had no idea about her story. I know there are comps to Circe and I think in the ...way it's written it's similar. I don't think, beyond that, the comp works (though that might be enough).

I was quite frustrated at the "Arc" of the story, becuase while it followed her life, it didn't last long on aspects I thought it would. Things were moving so far by the end and it felt, to a degree, a listing off of the things at the end of her life, that i thought should get longer chapters to examine. But overall, I really enjoyed it.

3.5 rounded up to 4.

Thank you to Penguin Books and NetGalley for a chance to read and review.

I just love how the ancient Greeks are becoming more popular in contemporary literature. This was a very well written research book that I enjoyed very much.

From start to finish Jezebel is a beautiful and breathtaking story. The twists on the story that I knew from the bible are all wonderful, and it is honestly refreshing to see things from her particular point of view. The storytelling is absolutely lush and vibrant, the characters come alive from the beginning to end. And while I knew how it was going to end from the start, I found the ending to be particularly perfect because it fit the character so well.

This was one of the better Biblical retellings I've read in a while. The political and religious tensions were instantly comprehensible and compelling. No character is completely likeable or dislikeable - which, I suppose, makes them fully human characters. I like this trend of retelling the stories of Biblical women of whom we know so little, especially those from the Old Testament, which tends to make a lot of modern Christians a bit uncomfortable with how violent and vengeful it is. How much of this retelling is true, I don't know, but I did like how it fully illustrates how the desire for fame and vengeance can cause anyone's downfall, regardless of their religion.

Her name. Her name. Her name. Jezebel is a princess of Tyre (modern-day Lebanon) and has always felt the uncomfortable effects of being a forgotten woman. Since she was born, she knew her purpose was to marry to secure an alliance and produce heirs to strengthen it. But she wants more. She wants to be remembered. She wants her name written down.

When she is sent to Israel to marry prince Ahab, she brings with her a determination to be remembered, a loyalty to her gods, and a plan to make Israel prosper. With lots of hard work, she succeeds. But we all know that's not what the name Jezebel is known for. This book shares a different side of the story, a story of forbidden love, of betrayal, of friendship, of determination.

This book blew me away. As someone who was raised reading all these Bible stories, it was so fun to see them reimagined from a different perspective. There were many times I said "Oh. OH!" out loud when reading it when I realized how differently things may have played out from the story in the Bible. It also made me think more closely about who gets to write history. Barnard also paints a beautiful picture of Tyre and Samaria. The descriptions were lush and I found myself wanting to know more about those places at that time.

If you liked The Red Tent or Clytemnestra, you'll also enjoy Jezebel.

I’ve read many myth retellings but never a biblical one. I knew very little about Jezebel the person and wasn’t sure what to expect but I really enjoyed this! From the first page, with Jezebel screaming her way into the world, I was enthralled. There’s been a lot of discussion, especially lately in media, about what it is to be a woman. With a particular emphasis on how every woman’s experience is different but holds similar themes. Jezebel’s story is familiar but new. A woman holding onto power, fighting for her family, her beliefs, and her kingdom furiously. I absolutely loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a well-done novel! I am the first to admit that I knew next to nothing about the historical figure of Jezebel so I was very interested in picking up this historical fiction story. Sure, I have heard the name thrown around in a derogatory manner during my lifetime but I knew nothing about the woman behind the name. I was quickly pulled into this story of a strong and resilient woman.

Jezebel could be tough, even brutal, at times but I do feel that she did what she thought would strengthen her country. She doesn’t always do what is right but it is apparent just how much she cares. The story was bleak at times and exciting at others. She was very concerned with leaving a legacy so that her name would be remembered. This story takes us from Jezebel’s childhood through middle age and I enjoyed watching her grow and change over the course of the story.

I listened to the audiobook and thought that Perdita Weeks did a phenomenal job with this story. I believe that this was the first time that I have had the chance to listen to this narrator’s work and I must say that she was the perfect choice to bring Jezebel’s story to life. I found her voice to be very pleasant and wanted to listen to this story for hours at a time. I am certain that her performance added to my overall enjoyment.

I would not hesitate to recommend this book to others. I found this to be a very entertaining story that kept me glued to my headphones. The writing was spectacular so I could easily see myself picking up more of this author’s work in the future.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Penguin Books and Penguin Random House Audio.

"You will die eventually and be known only as the voice of another. But my name will still be spoken, even after my death.”

Books like this tread a fine line between being anti-semitic and a fresh new twist. Personally, since God is not invalidated but is instead placed on equal standing with the other gods of the book, we are allowed to view this as a work of historical fiction if we want. While I know some people will be offended by how Jezebel is depicted, I think it is as careful as this type of retelling can be.

Jezebel is not painted as a saint or even a good ruler, but she isn't entirely the harlot and witch she is in scripture. The Old Testament is twisted and bloody and this book doesn't shy away from getting into the details. This is definitely a piece of feminist literature but not in the way that some books like Lilith by Nikki Mamery are. It takes a very diplomatic stance right somewhere in the middle like George R. R. Martin's characters in the Song of Ice and Fire series. I was pleasantly surprised by this book and am mesmerized by Megan Barnard's writing style. Definitely going to look for other books by her!

"Perhaps the evil I had done would never outweigh the good. I looked back at Elijah, and at the look of his hunched shoulders, I straightened mine. I would not look back on my life and cower. Because no matter what this prophet— this man— had done to innocents, he would be remembered for the child he had brought back to life, for the bread and oil that never ran dry, for fire that came down from heaven."

Who could have predicted that among the ancient history retellings that are very in right now we'd start getting biblical figures? This redemption retelling for Jezebel is emotional, brutal, and heartbreaking, but an incredible story of a woman trying to find power in a world that would seek to keep her from it, and the sacrifices she must make in order to accomplish that. Beautifully written, and definitely an audience for it. For fans of Madeline Miller and Jennifer Saint and any other history retelling writers.

Though the story is Biblical rather than mythological, Megan Barnard’s recent novel Jezebel follows the trend of re-examining famous (or perhaps, infamous, is a better word in this case) from new perspectives. Since I’ve enjoyed so many of those re-examinations of Greek myth, I figured I’d give Jezebel a shot too. It’s been a while since I read my way through the Bible growing up (and almost as long since I sat through Mass or endured Sunday school), so my memories of the story of Jezebel lacked most of the specifics. Of course, in these kinds of retellings, knowing the most common version of events is rarely necessary and that was the case here as well. But as I worked my way through the novel, I found myself looking up details of those highlights of the original (or rather, most common) version to give myself a better frame of reference for elements that seemed disjointed in the narrative and to help account for significant time jumps. While Barnard’s Jezebel does line up with the key events of the Biblical story and it does offer a different point of view, I couldn’t help but feel that there was something missing from the story – not structurally or thematically… It just felt incomplete somehow…

Raised as a princess in the powerful kingdom of Tyre, Jezebel has always been a bit obsessed with wanting to make sure that she – that her name – never gets lost to history the way that the names of so many women (even queens) do. Taking inspiration from the gods and, especially the goddesses, whose stories she was raised with, when she learns that she will marry a prince of Israel, she consoles herself by deciding she will do everything she can to prosperity to her new country... to make sure her name and her accomplishments are significant enough to endure through the centuries. Wielding her influence with careful tact, Jezebel pushes not just for schools and food stores to be built, but temples to her familiar gods, even though followers of the god of Israel push back and resist some of those changes. If only she could be as successful in her marriage to the prince, Ahab. But Jezebel finds an unexpected friend in the king’s scribe, Elijah and soon their friendship becomes something more… something dangerous. When the king dies and her husband ascends the throne, Jezebel must make a choice that will affect not just the course of her life, but the way that she and her name will forever be remembered.

Perhaps the biggest challenge for Barnard with Jezebel is building toward the inevitable ending of the story because it is also the most well-known part of the story. Staying true to the story-beats that everyone knows while executing a twist in perspective is always going to be tricky. Doing so with a story that goes to the dark levels of the Biblical tale… Barnard does it as well as is probably possible. I appreciated the way she tackled the relationship between Jezebel and Elijah. She doesn’t fully demonize Elijah in order to make Jezebel more sympathetic – to do that would be going too far in another direction. Instead, both make obvious mistakes that are driven by their humanity (a bit of selfishness, a desire to belong, to be accepted, to be right, etc.).

It was the gaps in the pop-culture version of Jezebel’s tale where Barnard’s writing shone brightest and felt strongest – establishing Jezebel’s personality and childhood in Tyre, her arrival in and adjustment to life in Israel, etc. I found the first half of the novel incredibly compelling and then once the plot became more tied to the events of the Biblical tale, it stalled out a bit for me. The time jumps in the last quarter of the book really injured the pacing and though I could see what Barnard was aiming for, it just didn’t work for me the way I desperately hoped it would. I think the final scenes and Jezebel’s frame of mind are a great twist to those events, but the final chapters leading to those scenes weren’t as smooth as they needed to be to truly pull it off. At the same time, it was an incredibly ambitious approach to an infamous story and it did far more right than wrong. It raises plenty of themes to spark discussion and is a compelling reexamination of a character who has so long been painted into a flat and rigid stereotype.

Jezebel follows the story of Jezebel (shocker), who is the princess of Tyre and the eventual Queen of Israel. While I had an idea of what kind of story it would be from the common use of the word "jezebel," I did not know the history of the woman behind the name.

To my dismay, this is yet another book about a woman of past times/myths that is compared to Madeline Miller's Circe. Was it Circe? Absolutely not. Was it great on its own? Yes, absolutely. I would recommend this book to feminist fans of historical fiction. I read this in one sitting on a long drive, and once I was invested, I was never bored. My only complaint is that there is a relationship in Part II that skips over its development, which I think hurts the climax of the action in Part III. Other than that, I very much enjoyed this book!

Thank you to Penguin Groups and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for a review.

Jezebel was born to lead. A princess of Tyre who became the Queen of Israel, she was determined to create her legacy from an early age. When Jezebel arrives to Israel at age fifteen she sees a country in need of improvement, and she begins to introduce the gods she grew up with to her new home. Even as prosperity comes to Israel alongside the changes ushered in by Jezebel, her reputation begins receding. Elijah, prophet of Yahweh and Jezebel’s former lover, begins speaking out against Jezebel, calling her a harlot and pitting the followers of her gods against those of Yahweh. What was temporarily the prosperous land of Israel sees famine, drought, and violence, as a war of faiths and reputations haunts the people and royalty who live there.

I have become a devoted fan of mythical retellings, and this is a beautifully written reiteration I think many will enjoy. I was unfamiliar with the story of Jezebel that many might know from Christian Lore, but I still knew her name is often associated with promiscuity. I love reading the reclaimed stories of women who have often been used unfairly throughout history, either as unimportant side characters or creatures of wickedness. I would gladly recommend this entertaining and thought provoking read!

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Random House, PRH Audio, and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book! Jezebel was released on July 25, 2023.

I’m still really in my feelings about what it means to be a woman after seeing the Barbie movie last week, so this book could not have been more timely for me.

Jezebel, by Megan Barnard, is a retelling of the famous character from the bible. Take everything you thought you knew about Jezebel and throw it out the window! The story begins with Jezebel as a young child and how she came into the world fierce and angry. She is very strong in her faith and belief in her gods. As a royal princess, she is married off at a young age to the prince of Israel despite her wishes (as one does.) The prince and those who live in Israel believe in only one god, and this is a constant battle throughout the book. Despite being desperate for her island home of Tyre, Jezebel does her best to make Israel her home and see it prosper. She does this while fighting through misogyny and patriarchy. She often goes too far due to her religious beliefs and her experience growing up as the daughter of a king who killed to take his own throne. The story ends with how it came to be that she was known as a harlot. I keep hearing, “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story,” in my head and will probably hear it for days.

I am not religious and consider myself an atheist, but for some reason I am a sucker for books like this. However, I will say the religious fervor in this book from both the Tyrians and the Israelites had me rolling my eyes often. The lengths people will go to in the name of religions is as old as time, clearly, and also not something I will ever understand. Jezebel was a very complicated character, indeed. If you like books like The Red Tent or The Book of Longings, you will enjoy this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Books for the ARC.

This book was fantastic and I also felt conflicted by the history of Elijah and Jezebel. Each follows their God(s) and the war. I enjoyed learning more about Jezebel and the city of Tyre. I had no idea what the term Jezebel meant. This book and in history broke my heart all the death over religion. God vs Gods.