Daughter of Jerusalem

Maybe I should wait to finish the book before writing a review, but I have no reason to believe this book will turn bad: it's so good.I enjoy reading good religious fiction because sometimes we get to thinking that Biblical figures weren't anything like real people. Mary of Magdala, Peter, Andrew, Stephen: they're all so very real when seen through the author's eyes. We can feel sorrow and joy, excitement and fear through these well known people. It's also difficult to fill in the blanks left in the Scriptures. Maybe we're meant to imagine what goes in the blanks. Just what were the seven demons expelled from Mary of Magdala? Who was Stephen? Why was he martyred? What did he do to get the attention of Saul? And what about Saul? We know what motivated him-he tells us in his own letters. And we know the followers of the Way found it very hard to trust him in the beginning. Seeing all of this action unfold in this novel really helps put some flesh onto the Acts of the Apostles.Religious fiction at its best should make one want to turn to the Scriptures, to read and pray again over the messages to be found there now that we have become friends with the people we read about.I own the second book in this series and I'm looking forward to it. I hope it's as good as this one.

I read this for a Christian bookclub I belong to. I loved reading it, comparing it to the Bible and learning more about the first Christians and their fight to spread the Good News. Mary Magdalene's story is timeless because it shows how so many women have lived their lives in pain before finally finding Jesus and beginning a new life. I strongly recommend this to Christians longing to learn more. I definitely look forward to reading the next Daughters of Faith novel.

I really couldn't book the book down. I love Lemmon's books, but this book really "took the cake," as we say. Well written, easy to read. It really was a page-turner for me. I highly recommend it!

This is one great book. I highly recommend it for anyone to read. It's a great book to increase your faith a little bit.