Crown of Chains is one of Erin Phillips fictional Bible “retellings.” This work focuses on Esther, with her elevation to Queen and how she was placed at the right time to save her people. Crown of Chains very loosely follows that storyline, but with glaring differences. Namely, “Esther” has a romanticized affair to escape from the tyrannical king.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, mainly because so many other people loved it, but I should have looked up some of the Goodreads reviews first. I would have spared myself the pain of reading this book. I am only posting this review so you can be spared the same fate.

Ratings for Crown of Chains

Story: 1/5
Worldview: 1/5

Crown of Chains loosely follows Esther, as the beginning and the end are similar, but the middle is all new. As a story, it’s fine. It adds grittiness to what it might have been like to be one of the kingsmaids, but it pushes too far in the direction of glorifying abuse on the part of the king (which is not biblical, as there’s no evidence in Scripture for this). That’s not to say that Esther didn’t have difficulties in being married to a pagan king, but we don’t know that or know what they are. All we know from Scripture is that the king loved Esther, something which this novel completely ignores.

The “Esther” character, Roxana, is unfaithful. She has no faith that God placed her there for a purpose; she doesn’t even believe in God beyond lighting a candle in the middle of the night. Roxana lost me when she condemned King Frederick’s infidelity only to romanticize her own adultery. There’s no question Esther’s life was difficult—but infidelity and hypocrisy does not describe Esther of the Bible. Also the King’s hatred made it like there was no chance for redemption, which is not true. Jesus can redeem anyone, just as he died for everyone. That’s not to mention how the Mordecai character went from being a pillar of faith to manipulative and greedy.

All in all, this novel doesn’t reflect the encouragement of the book of Esther, and I would argue it’s demonic. Any young Christian can pick this up on the recommendation of a friend and get all kinds of confused. I do not and will not recommend this book to any young Christian girl or woman.

Overall Thoughts

Overall, I was severely disappointed to see such solid reception for this book and not enough discernment. I will not be reading another book by Erin Phillips.

If you’re interested in a faithful and encouraging retelling of Esther, I highly highly recommend The Peasant Queen by Ashton Dorow.