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A review by egbella
A Crown of Chains by Erin Phillips
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I haven't been this conflicted about a story in a long time. It's one of the few reviews I have to preface by saying that my rating for the quality of the writing/storytelling is different than my personal enjoyment rating. And I adore Erin Phillips, and her mission and social media presence. It's so inspiring to see such a talented and motivated Christian author, especially an indie one.
I won't be giving detailed spoilers, but I also don't know how to write this review without mentioning some specifics, so if you don't want to know what happens at all, this is probably not the review for you. Or skip to the last four paragraphs for a summary.
The writing quality of A Crown of Chains is spectacular. Easily 5 stars. I was hooked from the start, and finished it in just a couple of days - and only because I didn't have time to let myself read it in one. Phillip's writing is very well-done, and her worldbuilding is excellent. Immediately, I felt drawn into the story and the characters, and loved how she incorporated so many of the biblical elements with a fantasy twist. It felt seamless and natural, and very clever.
The biblical story of Esther is one of my very favorites. I've always been inspired by her courage and strength, and especially by her faith through so many horrible situations. And Phillip's did an amazing job of showing just how dark her situation likely was. Sometimes it's easy to gloss over Bible stories because we've heard them so often, and the text doesn't always go into details of their day to day life. I appreciated how Phillips illustrated how that may have looked.
That said, this is where I have the hardest time with this book. It's marketed as a dark fantasy biblical retelling, and I thought I was prepared for the dark part. I enjoy gritty stories, as long as they still teach me or leave me feeling inspired by the end. As an author of fairly gritty Christian books, I've received comments that my stories are too depressing or hard to stomach, so maybe I'm being a huge hypocrite here. But this was a tough one to swallow, and I believe it's mainly due to the changes made to Esther's story.
Minor spoilers ahead.
****
This was certainly a dark book, and I probably should have done better research so I wasn't surprised by it. No sexual scenes were ever detailed, but they were very often alluded to and discussed, and most of them were essentially, if not entirely, r***. People died. Mutilation was described. I'm not usually very sensitive to these things, and it was really only the sexual content that stunned me. Thankfully, it was all still done with taste, but I wouldn't feel comfortable loaning it to just anyone unless they were completely aware of the content.
And again, I wasn't too bothered by this at first, because I kept expecting the redemption to come. I figured it would be dark at first, but that eventually, we'd see the characters learning and growing, and realize why it was all worth it in the end. That we'd see how God (Ehyen, in this book) redeemed the situation and was working the whole time.
Instead, all I felt I learned from this story by the end, is that sinful people will do sinful things that lead to horrible circumstances, and sometimes there's nothing that can be done about it. I don't feel that was the author's intention at all. But even some of the most inspiring points of the biblical story were cast in a depressing light.
For example, Roxana's recreation of Esther's, "If I die, I die," statement was said because she didn't care what happened any more, since her life was so terrible at that point. Her going to the king despite being told she'd die if she did, didn't strike me as courage, but as throwing herself into danger almost hoping that the king would kill her.
I'll try not to give spoilers, but there was one character early on in the book that I admired, as she stood on her morals, this story's equivalent of a believer. Even when everyone warned her what it would probably lead to. Then, at one point in the story, that character's arc led to her asking why she was forced to suffer so tragically when she obeyed Ehyen, and why, when the protagonist didn't, she was rewarded with so many great things. I was so ready for this question to be explored, but it was never even acknowledged again after that. Unless I missed it, we never even found out what happened to the character, and I can only assume she remained in her tragic situation.
I've seen other reviews mention that they don't appreciate how Roxana wasn't a believer for most of the story, and I didn't really mind that, because I was eager to see her learn and grow through the story events. The part that bothered me was her character itself. And I probably shouldn't have expected a non-believer to act as a believer should, but the entire hidden love interest/adultery side plot bothered me. I understand why she'd feel compelled to act that way, I really do. I'm sure everyone in that awful situation would be tempted to do the same.
But such a big part of the biblical story of Esther is admiring her strength and character even when faced with those kinds of challenges. I wanted to be able to root for Roxana and admire her, but I couldn't. I wanted the best for her, but when she continually made worse and worse decisions regarding her old flame, I found myself really disappointed. Even after she was told, and saw with her own eyes, what continuing to disrespect her marriage would do, not only to herself, but to all of the other palace servants that I'd grown to know and love by that point.
Nearly all of the horrible events of the story can be traced back to her recklessness and adultery. I might not have minded if it was just conversations, though it's a slippery slope, but all of the sneaky kisses when she is married to another man bothered me. It's brought up multiple times that she and the king never consummated their marriage after their wedding, so I couldn't tell if that was used as justification? As in, perhaps they weren't really married? But it's clearly alluded to that they were intimate beforehand, and they never seemed to imply they weren't really married.
Instead, it was presented that both of them were very unhappy in their marriage and didn't truly love one another, so why shouldn't they allow one another to still pursue others and be happy? Again, I understand the human want for this. If I were in that situation, I'm sure I'd feel similarly. But I can't root for that. That can't be the reason I'm given to cheer on the story protagonist.
And by the end, when most of the climax of Esther's story was happening to Roxana, I didn't feel like Roxana had truly changed enough. That she'd learned from her selfishness. She put so many people in danger, and did so many things that I couldn't cheer for, that it was hard to believe she was doing any of the ending events for selfless reasons. I did like the emphasis on God's/Ehyen's forgiveness and mercy, but it felt too sudden.
And the ending twist with Roxana's lover was almost welcome. I felt so conflicted and it crossed my mind that at least now she would stop sneaking around with him. He wasn't a bad character necessarily - he probably had one of the purest hearts - but I couldn't stop thinking that his presence in the story caused nearly all of the problems. I would have loved for that entire arc to be left out, or at least handled differently.
I did absolutely LOVE the other characters in the story. Namely the satyr that is with her for the majority of the book. He and the rest of the palace servants that were Roxana's friends were the best parts of the story for me. They deserved so much better than what happened to them, and I really did love them.
The king was a fascinating character too, and I would like to know more about him. At first, as a fan of One Night With the King, I was looking forward to rooting for the king eventually. But that never happened. He was ATROCIOUS. And again, it's a testament to how well Phillip's wrote his character, how much I hate him, haha. He was extremely interesting and I kept wanting him to show up in scenes, but I could never root for him.
And the character of Mordecai as well -the Uncle in this story. Instead of being someone of high character, someone who is watching out for "Esther" and caring for her throughout the story, the Uncle was a terrible person for the majority of the book. I did appreciate the glimpse of potential change we saw near the ending - that helped a lot - but I spent most of the story wanting him to go away. Even the celebratory parade that "Haman" accidentally organizes for him wasn't as satisfying, because it didn't feel like something that he actually deserved at all.
And I think that's what it boils down to for me. I love rooting for characters, and being inspired by them. With the exception of a few rare moments, and some of the side characters, I never felt like I could stand behind anyone. I didn't know what to hope would happen, except that I assumed it would loosely follow Esther's plot points.
****
I'm honestly not sure how to wrap up this review, because I didn't mean this to be purely negative. This truly is a BEAUTIFULLY written book, and I finished it wanting more. Had there been a sequel I would have immediately picked it up, and I plan to purchase Phillip's other biblical retelling as soon as I can. She's an extremely talented author, and from a storytelling perspective, she did it well. Everything felt extremely real and immersive.
It just wasn't my cup of tea. Maybe I'm too big a fan of the original story, and went in with unfair expectations. Maybe I should have done more research beforehand, and expected less of an uplifting story. I'll absolutely admit that it might all come down to personal preference, and for that reason, if you enjoy gritty biblical retellings, you might adore this one. There's a high chance that I only feel so strongly about this one because I feel so strongly about Esther's story in the Bible.
So all of that to say, if you've read this far, and this sounds like something you'd enjoy, don't let my take scare you off. I'm still glad that I read this book, and I might try reading it again sometime now that I know what to expect. I'm still going to go on and read the rest of Phillip's books. Just maybe do what I didn't and go in with fair expectations. Realize that when she says it's a dark fantasy, she means it. And maybe use it as an example of just how much God loves us, that we can act like these characters, and He STILL doesn't give up on us, or stop trying to pursue us.
That is truly inspiring. <33
I won't be giving detailed spoilers, but I also don't know how to write this review without mentioning some specifics, so if you don't want to know what happens at all, this is probably not the review for you. Or skip to the last four paragraphs for a summary.
The writing quality of A Crown of Chains is spectacular. Easily 5 stars. I was hooked from the start, and finished it in just a couple of days - and only because I didn't have time to let myself read it in one. Phillip's writing is very well-done, and her worldbuilding is excellent. Immediately, I felt drawn into the story and the characters, and loved how she incorporated so many of the biblical elements with a fantasy twist. It felt seamless and natural, and very clever.
The biblical story of Esther is one of my very favorites. I've always been inspired by her courage and strength, and especially by her faith through so many horrible situations. And Phillip's did an amazing job of showing just how dark her situation likely was. Sometimes it's easy to gloss over Bible stories because we've heard them so often, and the text doesn't always go into details of their day to day life. I appreciated how Phillips illustrated how that may have looked.
That said, this is where I have the hardest time with this book. It's marketed as a dark fantasy biblical retelling, and I thought I was prepared for the dark part. I enjoy gritty stories, as long as they still teach me or leave me feeling inspired by the end. As an author of fairly gritty Christian books, I've received comments that my stories are too depressing or hard to stomach, so maybe I'm being a huge hypocrite here. But this was a tough one to swallow, and I believe it's mainly due to the changes made to Esther's story.
Minor spoilers ahead.
****
This was certainly a dark book, and I probably should have done better research so I wasn't surprised by it. No sexual scenes were ever detailed, but they were very often alluded to and discussed, and most of them were essentially, if not entirely, r***. People died. Mutilation was described. I'm not usually very sensitive to these things, and it was really only the sexual content that stunned me. Thankfully, it was all still done with taste, but I wouldn't feel comfortable loaning it to just anyone unless they were completely aware of the content.
And again, I wasn't too bothered by this at first, because I kept expecting the redemption to come. I figured it would be dark at first, but that eventually, we'd see the characters learning and growing, and realize why it was all worth it in the end. That we'd see how God (Ehyen, in this book) redeemed the situation and was working the whole time.
Instead, all I felt I learned from this story by the end, is that sinful people will do sinful things that lead to horrible circumstances, and sometimes there's nothing that can be done about it. I don't feel that was the author's intention at all. But even some of the most inspiring points of the biblical story were cast in a depressing light.
For example, Roxana's recreation of Esther's, "If I die, I die," statement was said because she didn't care what happened any more, since her life was so terrible at that point. Her going to the king despite being told she'd die if she did, didn't strike me as courage, but as throwing herself into danger almost hoping that the king would kill her.
I'll try not to give spoilers, but there was one character early on in the book that I admired, as she stood on her morals, this story's equivalent of a believer. Even when everyone warned her what it would probably lead to. Then, at one point in the story, that character's arc led to her asking why she was forced to suffer so tragically when she obeyed Ehyen, and why, when the protagonist didn't, she was rewarded with so many great things. I was so ready for this question to be explored, but it was never even acknowledged again after that. Unless I missed it, we never even found out what happened to the character, and I can only assume she remained in her tragic situation.
I've seen other reviews mention that they don't appreciate how Roxana wasn't a believer for most of the story, and I didn't really mind that, because I was eager to see her learn and grow through the story events. The part that bothered me was her character itself. And I probably shouldn't have expected a non-believer to act as a believer should, but the entire hidden love interest/adultery side plot bothered me. I understand why she'd feel compelled to act that way, I really do. I'm sure everyone in that awful situation would be tempted to do the same.
But such a big part of the biblical story of Esther is admiring her strength and character even when faced with those kinds of challenges. I wanted to be able to root for Roxana and admire her, but I couldn't. I wanted the best for her, but when she continually made worse and worse decisions regarding her old flame, I found myself really disappointed. Even after she was told, and saw with her own eyes, what continuing to disrespect her marriage would do, not only to herself, but to all of the other palace servants that I'd grown to know and love by that point.
Nearly all of the horrible events of the story can be traced back to her recklessness and adultery. I might not have minded if it was just conversations, though it's a slippery slope, but all of the sneaky kisses when she is married to another man bothered me. It's brought up multiple times that she and the king never consummated their marriage after their wedding, so I couldn't tell if that was used as justification? As in, perhaps they weren't really married? But it's clearly alluded to that they were intimate beforehand, and they never seemed to imply they weren't really married.
Instead, it was presented that both of them were very unhappy in their marriage and didn't truly love one another, so why shouldn't they allow one another to still pursue others and be happy? Again, I understand the human want for this. If I were in that situation, I'm sure I'd feel similarly. But I can't root for that. That can't be the reason I'm given to cheer on the story protagonist.
And by the end, when most of the climax of Esther's story was happening to Roxana, I didn't feel like Roxana had truly changed enough. That she'd learned from her selfishness. She put so many people in danger, and did so many things that I couldn't cheer for, that it was hard to believe she was doing any of the ending events for selfless reasons. I did like the emphasis on God's/Ehyen's forgiveness and mercy, but it felt too sudden.
And the ending twist with Roxana's lover was almost welcome. I felt so conflicted and it crossed my mind that at least now she would stop sneaking around with him. He wasn't a bad character necessarily - he probably had one of the purest hearts - but I couldn't stop thinking that his presence in the story caused nearly all of the problems. I would have loved for that entire arc to be left out, or at least handled differently.
I did absolutely LOVE the other characters in the story. Namely the satyr that is with her for the majority of the book. He and the rest of the palace servants that were Roxana's friends were the best parts of the story for me. They deserved so much better than what happened to them, and I really did love them.
The king was a fascinating character too, and I would like to know more about him. At first, as a fan of One Night With the King, I was looking forward to rooting for the king eventually. But that never happened. He was ATROCIOUS. And again, it's a testament to how well Phillip's wrote his character, how much I hate him, haha. He was extremely interesting and I kept wanting him to show up in scenes, but I could never root for him.
And the character of Mordecai as well -the Uncle in this story. Instead of being someone of high character, someone who is watching out for "Esther" and caring for her throughout the story, the Uncle was a terrible person for the majority of the book. I did appreciate the glimpse of potential change we saw near the ending - that helped a lot - but I spent most of the story wanting him to go away. Even the celebratory parade that "Haman" accidentally organizes for him wasn't as satisfying, because it didn't feel like something that he actually deserved at all.
And I think that's what it boils down to for me. I love rooting for characters, and being inspired by them. With the exception of a few rare moments, and some of the side characters, I never felt like I could stand behind anyone. I didn't know what to hope would happen, except that I assumed it would loosely follow Esther's plot points.
****
I'm honestly not sure how to wrap up this review, because I didn't mean this to be purely negative. This truly is a BEAUTIFULLY written book, and I finished it wanting more. Had there been a sequel I would have immediately picked it up, and I plan to purchase Phillip's other biblical retelling as soon as I can. She's an extremely talented author, and from a storytelling perspective, she did it well. Everything felt extremely real and immersive.
It just wasn't my cup of tea. Maybe I'm too big a fan of the original story, and went in with unfair expectations. Maybe I should have done more research beforehand, and expected less of an uplifting story. I'll absolutely admit that it might all come down to personal preference, and for that reason, if you enjoy gritty biblical retellings, you might adore this one. There's a high chance that I only feel so strongly about this one because I feel so strongly about Esther's story in the Bible.
So all of that to say, if you've read this far, and this sounds like something you'd enjoy, don't let my take scare you off. I'm still glad that I read this book, and I might try reading it again sometime now that I know what to expect. I'm still going to go on and read the rest of Phillip's books. Just maybe do what I didn't and go in with fair expectations. Realize that when she says it's a dark fantasy, she means it. And maybe use it as an example of just how much God loves us, that we can act like these characters, and He STILL doesn't give up on us, or stop trying to pursue us.
That is truly inspiring. <33