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To Hold the Throne

A Novel of the Last Maccabee Princess and King Herod the Great

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To Hold the Throne

By: Joni Okun
Narrated by: Kelly Morris Rowan, Arthur Rowan
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About this listen

Amazon best seller

Historical figures and events meet fiction in Joni Okun's compelling debut novel. To Hold the Throne breathes life into the extraordinary story of King Herod the Great and Mariamne, the last Maccabee Princess, told in alternating points of view.

Fueled by shifting political tides in Rome, the Triumvir Marc Antony disrupts the longstanding Maccabee Dynasty of Judea when he crowns Mariamne's new husband, Herod the Great, as King, setting off a firestorm of power-grabbing, betrayal, and tragedy in the quest for the ultimate prize: the throne.

Mariamne never surrenders her belief that her brother Aris, scion of the royal line descending from King David, is the rightful King of Judea. She wrestles with her conscience and with family expectations about how far she is willing to go to oust her husband the king, who loves her with great passion even as he grows increasingly paranoid about her fidelity and suspicious of her disloyalty.

When a Maccabee family member is found murdered, Mariamne is thrown into a whirlwind of accusations and terror.

©2019 Palace Publishing LLC (P)2020 Joan Okun Fiction Historical Fiction Medieval Royalty King Inspiring Marriage

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Whilst the core of the story, To Hold the Throne, is factual and a fascinating peep into a place and time not frequently looked at by most authors, it is hard to see through the hysterical outpouring and contradictions of the romance to engage with either of the main characters. Constant repitition of internal accusations and circumstances, too, made this reader wonder if Mariamne, the wife of Herod, did indeed want to live, or had the best interests of herself and her family at heart but was, instead, entirely pampered and selfish - and mad. Similarly, with all of his avowed passion for his wife, he was singularly patient: it is hard to believe that a man of Herod's disposition would never have forced himself on her in the marital bed: it would not have been considered rape then, merely his taking something she'd agreed in the marriage arrangement. No wonder, if he did truly love her, that he, too, became ... Well, read the book.

Told, in the first person from the alternating perspective of Herod the Great and his wife, Mariamne, the last of the Maccabee princesses, narrators Kelly and Arthur Rowan also alternate the readings. Both have attractive and clear English accented voices, and the tale is told with good intonation, and with an excitement infused into their presentation which, fortunately, does not descend into over dramatization. There is little conversation to express, but what there is has both narrators clearly defining the characters, although Kelly has greater difficulty making her voices appropriate. Perhaps a little slow, their performances were good, overall.

My thanks to the rights holder of To Hold the Throne, who, at my request, freely gifted me with a complimentary copy via Audiobook Boom. It was, at over eleven hours, for me, far too long. Removing several hours of repetitious speculation along the basic lines of 'I love her, she's, beautiful, I want her to love me. I can't live without her,' and, 'I hate him, I need him to keep us safe, I wish he was dead' would have greatly enhanced the book to a fascinating tale of it's terrifying time. But then, I am not one who enjoys most romances. Many do, and to them I would commend this simply written, rather naive story. .

"Blood determines destiny."

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Listener received this title free

This is the story of Mariamne, the last Maccabee princess, and her forced marriage to King Herod. It is not a story that I have read previously, but it tells the story of a woman whom many people will not have heard of, although she earned a place in history, It was well researched and written, also narrated well.

I received this audiobook in exchange in exchange for my honest review.

Good Story, well researched

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