Another Review at MyShelf.Com

Publisher: Bethany House
Release Date: January 2004
ISBN: 0-7642-2737-8
Awards:  
Format Reviewed: Hardcover
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Genre: Fiction and Literature - Biblical
Reviewed: 2004
Reviewer: Kristin Johnson
Reviewer Notes: Reviewer Kristin Johnson is the author of CHRISTMAS COOKIES ARE FOR GIVING, co-written with Mimi Cummins and ORDINARY MIRACLES: My Incredible Spiritual, Artistic and Scientific Journey, co-written with Sir Rupert A.L. Perrin, M.D.
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Hadassah-One Night with the King
By Tommy Tenney with Mark Andrew Olsen

     This fall from ABC: "The Bachelorette: Queen of Persia!" Dozens of beautiful would-be royal hopefuls…one year…one night…one King. The catch: You have to impress the royal robes off the king in just one night…and if you're in the gilt shoes of Hadassah of Susa, you must hide that you're Jewish, because certain ancient tribes hate you and have slaughtered most of your family.

     Persian bachelorettes in the king's harem must endure incense baths, endless primping and pampering sessions, but no group dates, thankfully. They seize a chance at the family jewels (hint: thinking solely about sex isn't going to get you the crown); avoid pissing off the Chief Eunuch (who's the Chris Harrison of the harem); make friends with the other candidates (Kristen "Jen makes me sick" Buschbacher from "The Bachelor 3" need not apply); avoid pigging out on rich food; survive potentially lethal sabotage by jealous rivals (though on "The Bachelor 3," Amber made herself sick with binge drinking); and above all, avoid getting sent to the concubines' house, where all you do is hope Bob, er, the King, remembers your name. In the meantime, you watch DVDs of every "Bachelor" season to find out exactly what you did wrong and get fashion tips from rejected contestants.

      What? They didn't have DVDs in Persia, 5th century BC? I thought these were an advanced people. On the plus side, they didn't have cameras, paparazzi with papyrus climbing the palace walls, and best of all…NO PINK ROSES! Ryan Sutter wonders at this point, "Can I time-travel, set a fire to kill Xerxes and take his place? Man, all Hadassah (later Queen Esther) wants from me is to save her people and execute the guy who murdered her family, not to mention let her keep her God. Compared to having all-pink flowers, and the possibility of eating on pink plates for the rest of my life, I'll take it."

      Part tender love story (though a small part), part beautiful religious awakening, part palace thriller, and thoroughly a woman's heroic odyssey, HADASSAH: One Night With the King will keep you hooked way beyond ABC's dreams.