Revell blog tour stop for Mary Magdelene by Diana Wallis Taylor (with bonus review!)

About the book:

Long maligned as a prostitute or a woman of questionable reputation, Mary Magdalene's murky story seems lost to the sands of time. Now a portrait of this enigmatic woman comes to life in the hands of an imaginative master storyteller. Diana Wallis Taylor's Mary is a woman devastated by circumstances beyond her control and plagued with terrifying dreams--until she has a life-changing confrontation with the Savior.

Lovers of historical and biblical fiction will find this creative telling of Mary's story utterly original and respectful as it opens their eyes to the redeeming work of Christ in the lives of those who follow him.


My review:

I enjoyed this story. There were parts toward the end that were just like the stories in the gospels, so that came together nicely. Mary's descent into darkness following her childhood trauma was believably written. I cannot imagine how horrible it was for her or her husband to have that experience. I also felt her profound relief when she was freed from the demons. Her husband also had reason to celebrate because he missed the intimacy in their marriage. Mary wouldn't let him anywhere near him and that had to hurt. One great theme in this book was that if you love someone you take care of them despite how hard it gets at times. Also, when someone recognizes they have sinned and confesses it, there is relief from guilt that can turn a life around.

I loved Nathan. I was sad when he passed on. I could feel the heavy emotion from Jesus when he said it wasn't time for her to follow him. His compassion was tangible. The author did a great job conveying this. Jesus knew her husband wouldn't be there forever. It struck me that Jesus knew a lot of things that would happen but didn't interfere with them if it wasn't part of the Father's plan. I knew this already, but for some reason that scene really sent the message home. Sometimes God doesn't intervene, but He always knows what we'll do and what will be done to us in our lives. Trusting Him--when you look at it that way-- makes total sense. No one else knows the far-reaching impact of our every decision, but because God does, we can trust Him.

Anyway, Biblical fiction lovers will enjoy this story. I love Biblical fiction and I really did. It wasn't my favorite novel by this author, but there were a lot of things to like about the story and I think there are a good number of themes in this book that will reach hurting lives. This is what Biblical fiction does best. It helps brings the difficult things in life into perspective and makes Scripture come alive when it's well done. This novel does just that.

Mary Magdelene was published by Revell and released June 1st, 2012. A copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher to review for this blog tour. The opinion expressed above is entirely my own. For more info about the author visit www.dianawallistaylor.com

“Available June 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”