How often have we been told that the victors write history (and for how long have the people in people in power been men)? But what happens when a powerful but maligned women lets them? This is the story of Jezebel. And if you’ve ever used the term to mock another woman, you can probably guess what was said about Bel. Born a princess who didn’t understand her place in her Kingdom, Bel abruptly learned how women were viewed in her world. Married to a less prestigious prince in a less prestigious land, she is determined to have her name remembered. And with her only friend and scribe by her side she sets out to accomplish this.

With conversations around generosity, religion, war, love, friendship, misogyny, parenthood, and leadership, this story has a little bit of everything. The last section reminds me greatly of Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel. Watching your legacy play out in your children. And seeing your mistakes take form in them as well. I laughed, I raged, I wanted to cry. But in the end, I left impressed.

I just finished this one and am still digesting it. My first thought after finishing it - that was a really good fucking book. Throughout my reading I found myself wanting to compare it to the Old Testament Christian Bible (OT) passages. This is a thoughtful, masterful, and just really fucking good story of Jezebel that turns the traditional version we know on its face.

Jezebel as told by Megan Barnard is humanizing and is reminiscent of Madeline Miller’s work, only I think I liked this more due to the history I have with the Christian faith. I’m so accustomed to the story of Jezebel the harlot, not Jezebel the woman, girl, baby, and every iteration those phases of life encompass. I appreciate the sensitivity of the author to the characters of the story - there was only one that I walked away from truly despising, and it wasn’t Jezebel or any of those expected to be evil from reading the OT.

At this point, I’m left with a deeper respect of notion that we are all the villain to someone, and hero to another. People can vacillate in their opinions and beliefs due to the most minute adjustment in their lives, for better or worse, and in very extreme measures. It is reminiscent of another passage from the OT - there is nothing new under the sun. This happens today, and Jezebel is a timely book in today’s social and political climate.

Mandatory disclaimer - I received an ARC courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. The opinions are entirely my own. I will be purchasing this title because it is that fucking good. I don’t even normally use profanity in public forums, but frankly, Jezebel deserves no less than the best and most impolite of adjectives.

I really loved this book. I may write more later.

Thank you Penguin Group Books, Penguin and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC!

I was pre-approved for "Jezebel" and admittedly most likely wouldn't have picked it up otherwise. I am so glad that I picked it up and read it when I did. I knew very little about the historical figure of Jezebel, other than the use of the name in its current usage. Megan Barnard's prose and descriptive language made me feel like I was alongside Jezebel for the entirety of the novel. Jezebel's strength and desire to be recognized for her accomplishments, power and ambition is something that any reader can relate to. I found it interesting to connect Biblical people and events to the events in the novel, they were deftly done and seamlessly included. Megan Barnard is an author to watch out for and I look forward to what she writes next. I would recommend this to anyone looking for novel with a strong female figure set in a stunning setting.

The premise of this book was promising enough that I downloaded it almost immediately. Another take on Jezebel, giving her more of a fair depiction than the one we're given through history is something I could only ever find interesting. The result, however, was incredibly lacking. Though this is supposedly an adult novel, the book itself felt as though it were meant for teenagers, not adults. The writing felt childish, with even Jezebel being given a nickname in what I can assume to be a take in humanizing her further. By stripping away her name, it seemed to do more harm than good, and created a story that felt unnaturally modern in ways that it shouldn't.

The worst offense is that I still never cared about Jezebel, despite wanting to. As a main character, she severely lacked in actual, real depth, and given the nature of what this book is trying to accomplish, that is something that is hard to swallow.

"My name would be remembered. It would be written down in the manner of kings."

"I wonder sometimes if all that came might have been avoided if I had trembled. If what they wanted was for me to be like their women. To be afraid of the dark."

Jezebel has gone down in history as a harlot queen, patron to false prophets. In her new book, Megan Barnard attempts to give back a voice to a woman who has only been spoken of by men. While reading her story, you can't help but root for Jezebel. Regardless of your feelings on her motivations, you cannot deny that Jezebel is a strong woman who is determined to achieve her goals despite the influence and ire of the men surrounding her.

This book reminded me a lot of Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel, which was one of my favorite reads of last year. In both, the evil queen is given her own voice and allowed to tell her own story. Jezebel is remembered as the villain in a man's story, whispering in the ear of her husband to tempt him into betraying God. In her own story, Jezebel is desperate to be remembered as herself. She is avid in her desire to mold Israel into a great country, modeled after her own home country of Tyre. I struggled to identify with Jezebel while I was reading. Some of her choices and motivations felt so strange to me. I don’t know if it’s because I’m unfamiliar with much of the source material or if there was just a disconnect for me while I was reading. Regardless, I did enjoy this story and I would recommend you read it if you enjoyed other books such as Patel's Kaikeyi, Madeline Miller's Circe, Jennifer Saint's Elektra, or any other retelling where a woman was given back her voice.

A spellbinding retelling, Jezebel belongs on the shelf with Haynes and Miller. I knew from the first page that Megan Barnard had created something special- a retelling of the biblical Jezebel with timeless themes of the role of women, responsibilities of power and influence, and the consequences of underestimating how far people will go for their beliefs. Beautifully written and immensely satisfying, this is everything I want in a book.

I’m not 100% familiar with the biblical version of Jezebel I briefly remember her story from the Bible. This version of Jezebel was interesting to say the least but it was still a great story! This is one of those books where it’s hard to put it down.

I will be the first to say I have never read the biblical account of Jezebel, but I do have a basic understanding that she wasn't well liked and did bad things. I enjoy reading books that take female figures in history that have received a bad reputation and make them more sympathetic to the reader.

From the first chapter I was hooked. I wanted to know more about this strong, determined young woman. There was a nice balance of strength and vulnerability in her character. She refused to be a nameless woman like her mother and wanted her name remembered throughout time. The book was a quick read that kept my attention.

i have...complicated feelings about the decisions made regarding the changes to the biblical narrative (mainly the decision to make elijah a jilted lover, like...okay. i get it, but...uh. feel weird about it.) but apart from that it was fine. some weak points that are mainly due to how short it was (many missed opportunities to flesh out the story, particularly in what, exactly, jezebel did to improve israel, and her relationship with ahab) but like, you know, it was fine