I had to go back to my Bible and follow along with this one; Jezebel tells her story, from a child princess of Tyre to queen of Israel, and all the drama that follows - or is caused by - her. It's an interesting look at what life for a royal woman would have been, how women were treated, how religion vied for place in the ancient world. I enjoyed how the author humanized Jezebel, giving her a more fully-developed character, and Bel's persistence in wanting to be remembered. That's what all humans are after, I believe. Really engrossing tale of Bible times, men vs women, and power vs love.

Problems: page 30 of 227, forgot close quote after king's first paragraph.
Page 67 of 227, forgot close quote on Sapphira said with a little laugh. "As soo as she left you would start moving again.
Page 131 of 227, forgot a word, "I touched a finger to the medallion, which had slipped out of robes in my eagerness...."
Page 153 of 227, forgot close quote on "He was not Yahweh's chosen one yet. Being chosen by a god changes you.
Page 164 and 165, 176 of 227, "....pouring over maps...." and page 219 of 227, "....pouring over the letters..." should be "poring" according to Grammarly.

Jezebel by Megan Barnard follows the story of the Jezebel, a character from the Bible whose name became synonymous with other words like harlot and whore. This story starts with Jezebel’s birth and follows the trials and tribulations she faced in life being a woman put into an arranged marriage and sent off to a country that has an entirely different belief system than her own. When she tries to bring her belief system to Israel, she is met with a lot of hatred and misogyny. Jezebel is often times out in difficult decisions between choosing her faith or her husband.

I was raised in the church and even went to a religious college so I was somewhat familiar with Jezebel and Ahab’s story but I was definitely more familiar with Elijah the prophet so reading about him through Jezebel’s eyes was a very unique experience. This book is wonderfully written but I wouldn’t say it is particularly flowery in the prose. I keep seeing this compared to Madeline Miller’s books and while I see why there would be that comparison, I would compare this more to Jennifer Saint’s writing style. Beautiful writing but still very to the point.

I found myself very immersed in this story even though it was not really fast paced and took me awhile to get through. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a character study of someone who is usually painted as a victim. Funnily enough, I can see this book really not working for people who are religious due to it being from Jezebel’s perspective. Most of the men in this story are not painted in a good light. But if you read it as a reimagining instead of a retelling, I think this could be enjoyed by a lot of people.

I loved this retelling. It tells a much more nuanced version of the harlot Queen Jezebel. It is sad that in 2000 years we haven’t moved past calling strong women names like whore and witch… I think the story hits Jezebel’s wish for people to remember her name a bit hard but overall I enjoyed the story. I also liked that Ahab’s story is also treated in a more balanced way and he isn’t a villain. I read a lot of mythological retellings and this holds up well in that genre.
Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin books for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

In Jezebel, we are presented with an alternate take on Queen Jezebel of Israel, from the Old Testament of the Bible. I grew up the daughter of a Southern Baptist minister, and I am definitely familiar with my Biblical stories, and as a non-religious adult, the premise of this book immediately captured my attention.

Jezebel is born into this world angry, and determined to leave her mark, despite being a girl, knowing that women are left out of history, their actions attributed to their husbands. That anger fuels her into forging her own path, using her wit and wiles to make sure her opinions and ideas are acted upon after her marriage to Ahab of Israel. If you are familiar with the Bible story, you know her life ends tragically, but in this book, she claims her own path, and makes her own choices in order to live on after her death.

This is a quick little book, at just under 300 pages, but it is well written, Jezebel is well developed, with her own unique voice, that jumps out from the page from the very beginning. The conclusion does come on very quickly, but I enjoyed the way the author explained how the version of Jezebel we know today from the Bible was the one that lived on.

Thank you to Penguin Books and NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this novel for review.

Two things made me want to read this book. The first is the cover, it's absolutely stunning! The second is it was recommended for fans of Circe. I'm a sucker for a myth retelling so I requested it based on that alone. Then I looked into the book a little more. As someone that is not religious a biblical retelling made me hesitate a bit, there's so much potential for the book to be preachy.

This book isn't. Jezebel is a wonderful feminist retelling of a queen strengthening her country and determined to see her name go down in history.

I always enjoy a good retelling and this book is no exception!

Jezebel is determined to be remembered and leave her mark on the world at whatever cost. She embodies feminine rage and rules with a bloodthirsty iron fist. Despite the mounting accusations against her and her gods, she pushes forward to cement her place in history.

The writing read like a modern day classic and was a great retelling. While I would’ve liked a little more action as it was rather slow paced, it was full of political intrigue and determination that made for an interesting story. Jezebel stopped at nothing to get what she wanted and this story makes you more empathetic towards someone who culturally and historically is universally disliked across the globe. In this house, we support women’s rights AND wrongs!

Perfect for any Madeline Miller fan, this rather feminist retelling will leave you considering the story of Jezebel in a different light and I can’t wait to see what the author is working on next!

I don't know the Bible very well. Still, I feel like I got a taste for how offensively misogynistic its writers are based on my time experiencing and learning about Jezebel through the lens of Megan Barnard.

I am REALLY thankful to Penguin Books, our lovely author, NetGalley, and PRH Audio for sending me audiobook access and a physical copy before this baby hits shelves on August 1, 2023.

The term "Jezebel" has been phrased with a sexist incantation for as long as I can remember, referencing women as being salacious, whore-like, or even a harlot, and comparing those terms all in the same wheelhouse.

Our historically-accurate Jezebel just wanted to be King, and after learning that specific genders are placed into stereotypical placeholders, she gets cast aside. Throughout the course of the book, we hear from her struggles of gaining power and devotion from the Israelite people, and receiving hate from those who follow Yahweh, introducing a level of strife into a forever-struggling nation.

It's a history lesson and brief retelling detailing oppression and wisdom from a silenced gender that deserves way more.

An interesting retelling of this age old story. While I have enjoyed other adaptions of ancient tales, I needed more from this. Women have often been villainized in ancient literature for being strong, independent, and for following their aspirations. Although with this story by the end, I am still not sure if this book did Jezebel any justice.

This was an interesting story, especially since I didn't know the biblical story. Unlike others, I didn't know where the story was going or the relevance of Elijah. I found the story interesting. I liked the dual perspective of multiple faiths and how Jezebel pushed against, what she felt, was a jealous god. I also liked learning about the temples and places of worship. I found the droughts and plagues interesting to read about in the moment instead of in history. But, ultimately, I was let down by the story. The ending left me so sad.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Y'all. This is a historical re-telling of biblical proportions (see what I did there). Jezebel is the harlot queen in the bible whose wicked ways will bring ruin to Israel. Megan Barnard wants us to ask ourselves what if the story was more complicated than religion? What if the idea of who women were supposed to be and how they should act also played a big part of how we remember our dear Jezebel?

I mostly enjoyed this story because it puts a spin on history. Much of what we know from this age is written by men and stories by women were either oral or "rarely" written down. I say rarely because we will never know what's been destroyed over-time. My biggest gripe is that Jezebel is so self-centered. She wants these big things for herself that she can't see how it effects anyone around her and that almost never changes. It's just frustrating to see a character almost never act in the interest of someone else. I don't want to spoil the book, which is strange to say because most of the events have been spoiled by ya know the Bible, but there are just places where Jezebel could grow but she's just selfish.

I like that I'm in a complicated frame of mind trying to decide if the selfishness was truly an act of preservation or self-promotion. Books like this are good not because you love the main character, but because they make you question. I would definitely recommend this for fans of historical fiction.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

"Harlot. Witch. Or nothing."

You think you know her story. But do you know only what men have spoken of her? Who writes the histories? Whose name is given credit for the good and whose for the bad? Jezebel wants power and to be remembered, and what bigger sin could a woman commit? Any evil the men around her do, must have been under her influence. There is such a layered exploration of power, misogyny, feminine rage, religious fervor, and how they all come together in a devastating way. This plays out like a Greek tragedy, for which you already know the ending, and yet are still on the edge of your seat to see how it ends and how the characters' choices seal their fates.
This was such a powerful, compelling, and well-written book. I'd definitely recommend it.

4.5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy to review. All opinions are my own.

This was an interesting read. I love a mythological retelling, especially from the perspective of the "villain." I enjoyed the titular character's steadiness--she is consistently self-interested, even as she changes and does more works of charity. It's refreshing to see this for a female character! That said, I have a couple of issues. One of them is that, especially in the first half of the novel, Jezebel feels very *not like the other girls* in a way that does not appeal to me. I also think that the author is pretty harsh with the Israelites and Jewish faith in a time where antisemitism is on the rise, which rubbed me the wrong way. Those issues aside, the book is enjoyable enough that I deeply hoped for a different ending, even though I know it's a tragedy.

I received this advanced reader copy and exchange for a fair review from NetGalley. I enjoyed the early story in this novel, and I think that the author really captures a special character in history and the parables of the Bible. I found our protagonist story captivating & interesting, and the writing was stellar. Focusing on a woman similar to Circe or Medusa, who has long been maligned in history, but instead in this novel The author has reimagined her story and given her a unique voice.

However the longer the story went on, the harder it was to see that the protagonist was achieving her goals. Perhaps this is because we know that Jezebel's story doesn't have a happy ending. It's possible that the author was trying to explain how exactly we end up at the conclusion we do with Jezebel, in a way that makes sense to the reader. Ultimately however the story takes place in a savage and difficult time in history, and I believe it would have been more useful for the author to rely on that instead of trying to justify or explain away some of the things Jezebel may have done.

#MeToo comes for the Bible and finally gives Queen Jezebel a voice. Jezebel refuses to be a "perfect" victim here. She rages and yells and demands and wants power and can be incredibly selfish - and that is OK. She wants the equality to act like a man and not be punished for it. But, alas, that is not to be, but she gives it her best shot to try for that.

Barnard makes the incredibly important point that if only men tells a woman's story than of course she is going to be the villain, daring here to give voice to the voiceless, names to the nameless.

After receiving an invitation to read an early copy of Jezebel, I can say that I was invested in the story before the first chapter ended (this surprised me a bit, as I ordinarily wouldn’t have chosen it for myself).

Jezebel is woman who refuses to be forgotten though the history recorded is solely about men.

This does rather read as more YA than adult fiction; this isn’t a negative, but it’s something I noticed during my reading and it did affect how I viewed the story overall.

I knew the story of Jezebel only in as far as someone men conveyed was an evil woman. Considering that men were also behind the millennia long oppression of women, a book that gives a fresh voice to one of the most reviled women of biblical history made it of interest to me.

Jezebel's retelling is a worthwhile story, and I'm glad I read it.

In the days of kings, there was Jezebel. So many of us have heard the name, but never a story.
The stories of the time are written from the male perspective, but as we often hear, "behind every great man is a greater woman". I love the take on her story and how she aspired to be something greater than those who came before her. I flew through the book and really enjoyed every minute of it. The author's description of Israel was on point that I could see and feel it as I read.
I would definitely recommend.

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

I did not read this book because it adds and invalidates the inerrant Word of God. I have problems with that, such as with a Book of Longings. I was really excited about this one too, it’s very unfortunate.

I can EASILY say this is one of my favorite books I've ever read. The story is about a woman who refuses to be forgotten. A daughter, a wife, a mother, a Queen. This book took a delicate story, and turned a misunderstood figure into a hero.

This is a wonderfully written story about what it truly means to be a woman. To constantly fight to defend your name, to honor your name, and to make sure your name is respected and remembered. You won't regret reading this book.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book! I felt immersed from start to finish - this was a compelling story of a power hungry woman driven by legacy that we don't see much in historical fiction or retellings. There were a few times towards the end of the book where I felt confused, like the story was being rushed - I could have also used more context as to how Jezebel's actions affected the society of Israel. Overall, however, I highly recommend this book!

If you have learned anything from the Old Testament, it's that Jezebel was, well, a Jezebel. Megan Barnard has taken a chance to allow Jezebel to have a more well-rounded story. Jezebel was born a princess and when she was told she would never be king, and therefore, her name would never be remembered, she decided she would be different and her name would be recorded and remembered. At fifteen, she is married to Prince Ahab of Israel. She does not like the match, but she decides to make the most of it. She tries to make Israel a country to be proud of by building schools, grain silos, and temples to the gods she worshipped in Tyre. Her projects brought prosperity to Israel and praise for Jezebel. She finds herself drawn to the king's scribe, Elijah, and has an affair with him. When the years pass and Elijah begins to speak out against her, Jezebel starts to see how women have been forgotten over the course of time. She continues to try to help Israel and her family, but in her efforts, the people start to turn against her. Jezebel still dies, as in the story recorded in the Old Testament, but in this story, she even does that on her own terms and her name lives on, as she would like it.