The Centurion's Wife

This book was a wonderful surprise in both its accuracy in utilizing the Biblical account, as well as its mastery in enlivening the recorded events pulled from the Bible by weaving in the fictional story of Leah. I have read these parts of the Bible more times than I can count, but this novel made the events fresh and exciting, as if I were living in the time period and watching them first hand. It made me realize as I read it how much I take for granted in having the completed Bible, which those first believers did not have. I could relate quite easily to some of the characters, especially the portrayal of Mary Magdalene. I also especially loved how the authors described the scene at Pentacost, as well as the allusions to the wedding show more in Revelation using Leah's wedding plans.
This book is the first book in the series Acts of Faith, which I like because not only are all the loose threads not accounted for, but also because I would love to see other Biblical characters portrayed by these authors, such as Paul. I look forward to continuing the series with the next book, The Hidden Flame.
This is how Christian fiction should be written, in my humble opinion. The beliefs and doubts of the characters are real and believable - even to the point of looking messy and contradictory. Their faith hasn't been softened and molded by political correctness, too afraid to quote more than a few fee-good verses from Psalms or even use the name of Jesus. A Christian is not a one-dimensional type-cast description, and neither should the characters in a Christian fiction novel be. show less

This story encompasses the people and events in Jerusalem during the weeks after the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth. It focuses on a woman, Leah, who is a servant to Pontius Pilate's wife and one of his centurions, Alban. These two are commissioned to find out what happened to Jesus' body and whether or not his followers are planning a rebellion.
The details of Jerusalem and those who dwelt there at this time in history, make it very interesting. I found myself a bit impatient with Leah and the "patness" of the story, but it was satisfactory reading for what it was. Alban was too good to be true, but sometimes that's nice in a hero. I don't think an unbeliever would think this story believable, but for me, a believer, it was.

I liked this, but it seemed to drag endlessly at times.
The story is set just after Jesus was crucified and rose again. It involves Leah, a relative of Pilate's, whose family has fallen into disgrace, so she works for Pilate's wife, Procula. Leah's grandmother was Jewish, but Leah was raised as a Roman and only remembers some of the stories her grandmother told her of her faith and way of life. Alban, a centurion of Pilate's, wants to marry Leah so he can rise in Pilate's estimation because he knows that she is a relative of Pilate's. Meanwhile, Procula has been having awful headaches and just knows it has something to do with what happened to Jesus. Pilate is eager to discover what happened to Jesus - and he tasks Alban with this show more discovery. There are many people who want to convince Alban that the disciples stole Jesus' body - and some of the disciples are included in the action of the story. So are some of the women mentioned in the Bible - Mary Magdalene, in particular. Alban wants to uncover the truth. Leah meets Mary and is given an introduction to the heritage she shares with her grandmother. It was a good story that included a lot of internal struggle for both main characters, but the scenes written for Alban dragged and dragged. Also, his sudden desire to be a good husband to Leah (after it was made clear in the beginning that this marriage was only a career move) was never really explained. It happened before he really dealt with much internal struggle over what he believed, so it didn't really make sense.
I'm glad I finished it - it had a satisfying ending - but it was a clunky read at times - too many times, thus the 3 star rating. show less

I found this book an interesting and enjoyable read. Leah and Alban's quest to find out more about the "prophet" Jesus was a new perspective on the crucifixion. Oke and Bunn did a very nice job immersing the reader in the every day life in Jerusalem during this time period. A very nice historical novel. I will look forward to the others in this series.

I've been reading Janette Oke since I was a kid and was really excited to receive this book from the Early Reviewer giveaway. I love this time period, and felt like this book should have been a lot better than it ended up being.

I loved Alban His characterization seemed spot on with what I have learned in my history classes. I felt much more connected to him than I did Leah.

Leah's characterization made me hate her throughout the book. She did not ring true to a proper Roman lady, no matter what her circumstances. A high born Roman lady, especially in this time, would have known her place and not complained so bitterly about an arranged marriage. There were rarely any love matches made, as marriage was seen as a way to build alliances show more between the power players of the time. Her constant harping on her sister's (and her) situation made me question just how much time Oke spent researching her background materials when she set about writing her portions of the novel.

Overall, this lack of forethought in regards to Leah made me want the book to be over much more quickly than it was. What was a good premise was ruined by the obvious lack of historical research. show less

The Centurion's Wife is the first installment in a promising new series entitled Acts of Faith. Set in Ceasarea and Jerusalem at the time of the Crucifixion of Christ, the story is told from two perspectives. First is Leah, a poor relation of Pontius Pilate whose circumstances force her to become a servant in his household. Then there is Alban, a Gallic Roman centurion who has offered for Leah's hand in the hopes of advancing his own career.

The events surrounding the trial, death and subsequent disappearance of the body of Jesus have everyone unsettled. Pilate and Herod are concerned about a possible Jewish revolt in the province. Pilate's wife is suffering from unspeakable headaches and nightmares.

Pilate allows Alban to become show more betrothed to Leah, who is legally a Jewess by her mother's mother, in a traditional Jewish ceremony. To claim his bride, Alban must find the body of Jesus, and determine if a revolt is imminent.

Leah, who wants no part of marriage, is tasked by Pilate's wife to find out all she can about the followers of Jesus.

The characters are interesting and sympathetic. The title of the book, and the fact that it is proclaimed a "first-in-series," give away the ending. But how they manage to get there, and what happens Leah and Alban along the way, is an interesting tale.

Most interesting for me was the reaction of people to the Resurrection right when it happened, as portrayed in the book. It led me to ask myself what I might have thought, might have done. I was a little uncomfortable with development of personalities for Biblical characters such as Pilate and his wife, Mary Magdalene, Lazarus and his sisters. But, how else to tell a story?

The ending of the book was left a definite cliff-hanger, with Alban's fate as a centurion in the balance still. I think they overplayed their lead-in to a sequel just a bit. I would have liked a major issue such as that settled in the same volume.

Overall this was an enjoyable, thought-provoking tale of Judea at the time of it's biggest crisis. show less

The title of this book is a bit misleading since the main character, Leah, doesn't become the centurion's wife until the very end of the book. The vast majority of the book concerns Leah's searching out information for her mistress, Pontius Pilate's wife. She wants to know about the followers of "the prophet", or Christ, and whether or not they plan to overthrow her husband. At the same time, in a separate search, Alban, the centurion, is finding out information for Pilate himself. I had a difficult time getting into this book. I never really warmed up to the characters; they seemed remote and wooden to me throughout the book. in fact, I found that I actually really didn't care what happened to them. I did enjoy the history, however, show more and I did get a feel for what Jerusalem may have been like during the weeks following the crucifixion of Christ. The authors have done a good job of making the setting realistic. The message, of course, of Christ's salvation, is a good one and an important one, and if someone gets inspired by this book, more power to them. show less