Frustratingly I was unable to read this book due to number of typos - it was almost 1 per page. And I found it distracting. Frustrating too because the pages I read were suggestive of a very entertaining story.

Enjoyed the story and the liberties taken in reimagining the Biblical characters. Well researched. However some dialogues did not seem to resonate with the settings and characters. At times, the empowerment of characters felt forced. I would've liked to have more development to the characters. Full review in link.

Wow. Just wow. This book is the fictional account of Jesus' wife Ana. Even though I am a lapsed protestant, I have never taken the time to think of how Jesus' life impacted the women around him, especially his wife. As Sue Monk Kidd notes, the Bible doesn't say Jesus was married, nor does it say he wasn't.

This account from Ana's point of view was so powerful. Here we have a young woman writing stories of the terrible things that happened to her dearest friend (my heart will forever ache for Tabitha) and her aunt plus the stories of the matriarchs of the Old Testament, and going through the motions of being married to someone who was the Messiah.
I've never cried hearing or reading about Jesus' crucifixion; you better believe I cried about in this book. I don't think I cried for him, I obviously knew what happened but I cried for Ana, for his mother Mary and Salome, his sister. For their friends. I cried for someone I'd come to care about having to see their beloved suffer so intently.

Ana's story is truly one for the ages. Starting off a naive girl of 14 and the journey she goes on, literally and metaphorically, providing us with an insight into how women lived in the first century CE. The research is incredible and as I travelled through the book with Ana, I could imagine the scenes and the sights. I'm heartbroken that the library of Alexandria has been lost but I could see Ana's wonder in my head.

This book is one of the best historical novels I've read in ages. I don't often read about anything earlier than around the 1100's but studying Ancient Greece and Rome meant this piqued my interest and I'm glad I was lucky enough to be able to review on NetGalley.

Ten out of ten, absolutely loved it.

This is the story of a young woman called Ana who is very strong minded and wilful.
She is the only child of a wealthy family during the time of the Roman occupation of Israel.
When she is fifteen years old she marries Jesus son of Mary and Joseph.
Ana loves to write and records stories about how women are treated as the possessions of men. At that time it was not the custom for women to read and write and she is privileged to be allowed to do this.
I enjoyed this book and thought there were a lot of interesting characters.
Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.