The Queen's Cook

This is the first of Tessa Afshar’s books I’ve read. It definitely won’t be the last! Here she gives us a fascinating look at the life of Queen Esther through the eyes of a young Persian woman.

Roxannah’s father, Lord Fravartish, has mired their once-proud family in debt and lost himself in drink, but still thinks he deserves better things. When he is unwell, he demands that Roxannah get him a physician, but not just any physician. He wants a Jewish physician for King Xerxes’ court to come and tend to him. So Roxannah fetches Adin to take care of her father’s needs. Adin is a believer in the One God. Roxannah is not. Still, they find common ground enough to strike up a friendship.

When Xerxes passes a royal decree that will allow all Jews to be killed, Lord Fravartish sees this as his golden opportunity. He can kill Adin, seize his property, and be restored to his former glory. Roxannah fears for her father’s safety, but knows she must warn Adin of his evil intent. In the course of things, Lord Fravartish meets his end, and Roxannah must now find a way to support herself and her mother. Adin knows Roxannah to have no small talent at cooking, and he helps her find a position as an assistant in Queen Esther’s kitchen.

Palace life is a whole new world for Roxannah. She finds herself facing prejudice and resentment when the cook sees her potential and elevates her much faster than is normal. She and Adin also find themselves unexpectedly caught up in intrigue when a plot to kill Amestris, one of the king’s wives and no friend to Esther, is uncovered. She worries about her mother, struggles with guilt over what she sees as her betrayal of her father, and wonders more about this God of Adin’s every time she hears Adin talk about Him.

Tessa Afshar made me feel like I was right there with Roxannah. She’s got a true gift for writing historical fiction that puts you in the heart of the story, and she undergirds it with a strong current of faith. I won’t call this Christian fiction, because it’s set in the Old Testament, before Christ took on flesh and became a man. But it is scripturally based fiction, and faith in God is an important component of the story. The characters find strength in their faith, wrestle with their faith, and in Roxannah’s case, question whether God can love non-Jews just as much as He loves His chosen people.

I loved Afshar’s creation of the Secret Scrolls of Esther. There is no such historical document, but her vision of it lent a new depth to Queen Esther. It made me think of things that don’t always pop off the page in Scripture. And it’s a good story that makes you think and consider and learn and grow. I now want to go dig into the book of Esther and reread the historical story!

I am so glad this book is part of a series. I can’t wait to read the next one. If you love clean fiction, with wonderfully written characters, clean romance, and meticulous historical detail, you need to read The Queen’s Cook.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from JustRead Publicity Tours. I was not required to leave a review. All opinions here are mine, and I don’t say nice things about books I don’t actually like.