The Centurions Wife (Acts of Faith, #1) by Janette Oke

The Centurions Wife (Acts of Faith, #1) Reviews

• 
  Katie Hanna

  Hey, guys . . .
  
  You know what just happened to me?
  
  I read a Christian Fiction Romance novel.
  
  Voluntarily. Of my own choice.
  
  AND I LOVED IT TO LITTLE BITS AND PIECES.
  
  As I think you all know by now, this is something that rarely, if ever, happens. I don't usually like CFR. In fact, I'm sure a few of you have me labelled in your minds as "Jessica-who-hates-Christian-Fiction-Romance." And until a few days ago, that label was completely accurate ;-) But . . . not anymore.
  
  Because this book is just sooooooooooooooooooooo good.
  
  Seriously, I loved almost everything about it, and that's saying something. True, the writing style was a little choppy at times--especially towards the beginning--and the story took a bit of time to really "get off the ground," as it were. But by chapter 4, when we were introduced to our hero, Alban, and told that he's actually the centurion whose servant Jesus miraculously healed (Matthew 8:5-13), I was hooked. Completely. And things only got better from there.
  
  You see, that centurion happens to be one of my very favorite characters in the entire Bible. And the way he's imagined/portrayed here--as Alban, a Gaul who was forced to begin training as a soldier at age 12 and rose to the rank of Roman centurion by dint of sheer effort--is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. He's a fantastic hero . . . not perfect, by any means, but good and decent and honest and incredibly caring, in spite of the rough life he's led. And besides that, his bond with the young servant boy, Jacob, is completely adorable. Cuteness personified. I loved Alban. Basically, from the first moment he stepped onto the page, I was rooting for him. SO. HARD.
  
  Now, as for the heroine--Leah, the Roman/Jewish girl betrothed to Alban--I must admit, it took me a long time to really warm up to her. I didn't DISLIKE her, but for a long time I couldn't understand her very well; because the authors withheld crucial information about her back-story until quite late in the book. Too late, in my opinion. I get that they wanted to reveal the true facts at a dramatic moment, and all that (and it WAS quite dramatic); but seriously, this was information that we needed to know in order to understand the character properly. Without that piece of her backstory, many of Leah's actions and feelings came across as highly irrational; and since it was clear that the authors intended her to be a very sensible, practical, down-to-earth character, that discrepancy really bothered me until it was explained.
  
  After they explained it, though, I really, really loved Leah; she'd been through SO MUCH in her young life, and yet still chose to remain strong. And it was a conscious choice, believe me. She had a perfect excuse for simply giving up--and there were moments when she certainly wanted to--but she never did. Plus, she was unfailingly thoughtful and caring and responsible, even toward those who really couldn't give her anything in return. Way to go, Leah!!!!! :-)
  
  The romance between herself and Alban is quite possibly the sweetest I've read in a long, long, looooooooooooooooong time. They're just so PERFECT for each other that I can hardly handle it. Honestly, after seeing the gentle, patient way that Alban worked to break down Leah's mistrust and fear of him--well, of men in general, I should say--I was absolutely melting. ALBAN CAN I HUG YOU??? PLEASE????? (Also . . . just as a matter of interest . . . any of you guys know where I can find me a man like that? ;-) )
  
  And you know what's really incredible? They managed to be that cute and adorable with literally zero kissing included. AND zero stupid arguments and awkward reconciliations. SOMEBODY HELP ME COLLECT MY JAW FROM THE FLOOR WHERE IT FELL. You know I don't mind kissing in a romance novel; but I think you'll all agree with me that it can definitely be overdone. So to have a CFR story without that . . . let's just say it was, well, refreshing.
  
  Besides the characters and the romance--which was obviously amazing--I really, truly loved the religious aspect of the story. Reading this book, I almost felt that, like Alban and Leah, I was discovering the marvellous truth about Jesus' life, death, and resurrection for the very first time. AND IT MADE ME SO HAPPY. Because, to be honest, don't we all take that stuff for granted sometimes? I know I do, anyway. Sometimes, I really do need to be reminded how blessed I am to have a Savior like Jesus; how He became human for my sake and suffered more than anyone else ever has or ever will, just to give me and all those who follow Him eternal life. He really does love me that much. And this book made me feel that all over again. Which was pretty awesome.
  
  My only major complaint with this book--besides what I already mentioned about the late reveal of Leah's backstory--were certain Biblical inaccuracies which kind of bothered me. First, Pilate's wife (you know, the lady who had a dream about Jesus) is included as a character in the novel; and I really objected to the way she was portrayed. She was cruel, manipulative, deceitful, and basically unlikable; moreover, she was only interested in Jesus and the possiblity of His resurrection because she saw him as a threat to her husband, Pilate. Now, I know she's only in the Bible for--what--like, one verse?--but I seriously didn't get that impression of her. And I see no reason for the authors to imagine her as such a very unpleasant person when we have no proof whatsoever that she WAS that way.
  
  Second, the book stated that Alban--the centurion--never actually spoke to Jesus face-to-face, not even when He was healing the servant boy; according to the authors, Alban only sent messengers to talk to Jesus, rather than meeting Him in person. I AM NOT BUYING THIS STORY. Matthew's Gospel account specifically says that they met face-to-face, and, again, I see no reason to change that. So yeah, I wasn't happy with that part of it.
  
  But everything else about this book? GOLD. Absolute gold. Go and find yourself a copy and read it. You won't be disappointed.
  
• 
  Sarah

  The youngest daughter of a Roman man and a Romanized Jewish woman, Leah is now orphaned and penniless. She is hired as a maidservant by Claudia Procula, a friend of her deceased mother. When Claudia's husband, Pontius Pilate, is sent by the Emperor to be governor of Judaea, Leah has no choice but to sail with the family she serves.
  
  Leah doesn't feel fully at home among Romans, but she has nothing in common with her other people, the Jews, whom she has had little exposure to before now. She doesn't understand their religious fervor, or their ever-simmering hatred and disgust for the Romans. This Passover has been even more fractious than usual, culminating in the execution of an itinerant preacher with a restless following. All Leah knows about the dead man, Yeshua of Nazareth, is that He haunts Claudia's nightmares.
  
  But as turbulent days rush by and bizarre rumors sweep Jerusalem, Claudia pays Leah to infiltrate Yeshua's followers and learn as much about Him as she can.
  
  Leah must get these Galilean hillbillies to trust her while evading another detective, the centurion Alban, hired by her employer's husband. Pilate has betrothed Leah to Alban, without seeking the girl's permission, on the condition that the soldier discover the missing corpse of Yeshua, proving that He died and saving Pilate's administration a lot of embarrassment. Alban is young, brave, handsome, and kind, so Leah just knows he's hiding something.
  
  No content advisory needed. This is one of the cleanest adult books I've ever read. It is fine for young teens.
  
  Bunn and Oke write as a surehanded unit. The pacing is fluid and the fictional characters are mostly a likeable crew, especially Alban, his servant boy Jacob, and his army buddy Linux, both of whom will have major roles in the two later installments. Leah is something of both a misanthrope and misandrist, but once we learn how she got that way she's easy to sympathize with. The Biblical characters are sketched with much less detail, except for Claudia. As my friend Katie noted in her review, this Claudia comes across as manipulative, and afraid of Jesus rather than fascinated by Him. This is quite different from how she comes across during her brief appearance in Scripture, or how she's been portrayed in works such as The Passion of the Christ.
  
  The romance that blooms between our two sleuths is sweet and slow and filled with empathy.
  
  I took off two stars for the two major problems I have with the series. The first one continues throughout, and I'll discuss it when I review The Damascus Way.
  
  The other is a fleeting line, almost too petty to mention, that occurs halfway through the book...
  
  The scene: Leah has been befriended by Mary Magdalene (who is given very little development in this book and disappears by the second book). Our heroine is distressed one day and runs to the Disciples' neighborhood, and is greeted by a gaggle of Christian girls her age and younger. They ask her whom she seems and she, panting after running across the city, can just get out the word "Mary."
  
  "We have several Marys," says one of the girls. "There's Mary Magdalene, Mary of Bethany*, Mary the Mother of our Lord -" Then one of her friends cuts in, "Don't be silly. Why would she want to talk to His mother?!"
  
  Yeah, who'd want to talk to her? I mean, Luke did, the third Gospel writer and
  Dear and Glorious Physician. himself, but he's like, I don't know, a saint or something.
  
  In all seriousness though. It makes no sense that these young women, who were friends of Jesus while He lived, would disrespect His mother. She was the kindest and most supportive of women, and probably many there loved her as much as their own moms.This whole episode had no reason to exist, was probably out of character, and as a Catholic I found it to be in poor taste.
  
  i
  
  Anyway, that part bugged me but it was not enough to ruin the book. Coming soon,
  The Hidden Flame.
  
  *There's a theory that Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus, and Mary Magdalene are the same person.
• 
  E.F.B.

  Note: I listened to this on audio.
  
  
  I don’t read a lot of fiction set in biblical times (now that I think of it, I’m not sure I’ve *ever* read fiction set in biblical times unless listening to Adventures in Odyssey counts), but I enjoyed this book from beginning to end. It was sweet, perfectly clean, and it kept me involved enough that even when I had technical difficulties that put the audiobook chapters out of order and I had to fix them and start the whole over again, I didn’t mind. I just really wanted to know what would happen, and I am interested in checking out the other two books in the Acts of Faith series.
  
  5 stars
• 
  Olivia

  I am not a fan of Biblical fiction. Mainly because I feel people tend to fantasize a little too much when it comes to certain things in the Bible. But this book! This book!!!! It astounds me every time I read it. And it is a perfect book to read for this Easter weekend.
  
  What I appreciate is that the real people in this story, spoken of in the Bible, seem very real. They don't add things to their characters that are unbelievable. For instance, when Cleophas is telling Leah of meeting Jesus on the rode to Emmaus, he mentions the other with him...but the authors didn't focus on that other person. Lazarus' raising from the dead is spoken of, but what happened while he WAS dead isn't elaborated on. All the true accounts in this book are accurate to the Bible.
  
  Of course, there is a lot of fiction. For instance, Alban depicts the centurion in the Bible who Jesus praised his great faith (which of anyone in the story, his story was the most far-fetched, and could be debated). Many of the woman-Mary Magdalene and Martha-speak with Leah, but the authors never go into depth of their background, except what the Bible speaks of.
  
  So the story itself. Amazing! The characters. Amazing! The End. So sweet! I love all the historical events mentioned. Pontius Pilate and Herod's characters are very fascinating. Everything with the Parithians and the betrothal between Alban and Leah gives you a great insight into the times.
  
  Especially sweet and amazing is Leah and Alban's change in their attitudes. At the beginning they do not believe in Jesus or have any wish to. But as they search-at first not for their own benefit-they find what they needed all along. Jesus' forgiveness!
  
  I will say that the title of the book is a little misleading. Leah isn't a wife (in betrothal terms) until halfway through the book. Also, there are a lot of descriptions, but I loved all the details from the baths in Rome, the temple, the disciples dwelling place, the tomb, and so on and on.
  
  I'm going to end this review with words from Martha which she spoke to Leah, speaking of Jesus:
  "'His every instant was meant to bring eternity into the moment and hope to this fallen world. The death of my brother, our time of broken mourning, our loss of hope..."
  It was Martha's turn to stop and struggle with her emotions. Then she said, "He did this not only for us, but for everyone who witnessed that day. And for those like you who hear of it. He did this to show that even in the darkest hour, when there is no reason to go forward, no possibility, of a better tomorrow, he is there to comfort to guide to heal. He brings with him the gift of hope. Impossible, glorious, joyful hope. '"
  
• 
  Janna Ryan

  I love the idea of a book being written about non-Christians finding Christ during the period of Jesus' death, resurrection and ascension without ever actually meeting Jesus. Here we have Leah and Alban who are separately trying to find out what actually happened to the man named Jesus' body when it was "stolen" from the tomb and if his followers are a threat to Rome. We follow them separately on their journeys for truth knowing that they have been promised to wed each other after the truth is found. Leah is not happy about this and Alban initially just sees Leah as a means to a higher status in life. Can they find the truth before those seeking to hide it get them out of the way? What will the truth mean to them? Can a life without love really be worth living? The Centurion's Wife answers all of this and much more in a beautiful story and a fantastic setting. I really enjoyed this book and fans of historical fiction (especially like Francine River's Mark of the Lion series) will love this book!
• 
  Kellyn Roth

  Amazing Biblical fiction! Best ever! :)
  Read review here.
  
  ~Kellyn Roth, Reveries Reviews
• 
  Anne

  ANOTHER DNF, DARN IT! That makes the - what? Third? Fourth in a row?
  
  I give up. Biblical fiction clearly isn't for me. I just couldn't with this book. Couldn't get into it, couldn't like the characters, couldn't stay awake.
  
  It's not "bad", it's just clearly not my thing. Which saddens me because the premise sounded really interesting and I loved the setting. Oh, well!
  
  HOPEFULLY BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME!!
• 
  R.J. Rodda

  4.5 stars.
  
  This is a moving story of a girl who is afraid of marriage and is betrothed against her will to a Roman centurion on the make. Alban requests Leah's hand - even though he has not met her - because she is Pilate's niece and he wishes to further his career. She dreads the idea of marrying him. This is essentially a love story but so much more. Jesus has just been crucified and both Leah and Alban are charged separately with finding out the truth about has happened to his body. The biblical story is weaved seamlessly into this work of fiction and minor biblical character pop up unexpectedly. This is very well done and I'm glad I read it.
• 
  T

  3.5 stars. This was quite an enjoyable read, and I finished it pretty fast. I think the best part of this story was reading about how both Alban and Aleah, in their own seperate ways, came to find Jesus. It was super cool to read about their journey to faith, and near the end of the book, I was completely reeled in. I thought this book was going to be a very boring typical retelling of the ressurection, but it wasn't like that at all, although the beginning did lag. However once Alban and Leah began searching for answers, everything picked up.
  
  However, the one thing that didn't really make this book all that great was the romance. The problem wasn't necessarily with the characters, seeing as individuals, they were pretty great (Especially Alban, who's the most honourable guy ever). But I felt that the romance wasn't really well developed, as near the end of the book, Alban was confessing his love to Leah when they had legitimately only talked like two to three times. There was just a total disconnect for me, and I don't think their relationship was fleshed out enough. I mean when they married, I was happy, but I wasn't over the moon ecstatic. Their relationship was just meh. . For me, what really made this book great was the plot and the search for the truth. That, combined with the expert weaving of biblical stories and people made the book a good read.
• 
  BAM the enigma

  May have been the narrator but this was a bit juvenile
• 
  Olivia

  There were lots of things I didn't love, but some of the spiritual passages in the latter half of the book were really encouraging and meaningful for me, so five stars it is.
• 
  Annette

  This is a story of two people who are set separately on the same mission which later brings them close. Leah is a young woman from impoverished Roman aristocratic family, niece of Pontius Pilate, who serves at Pilate’s household. Alban, a Roman soldier, under Pilate’s command, asks Pilate for Leah’s hand in marriage to further his goals.
  
  It is set during turbulent time of the emperor Tiberius, AD 33 in the Judea Province, - known for crucifying his enemies. It is just a few days after crucifixion of Jesus. Miracles of the prophet Jesus spread around. The disappearance of Jesus’ body worries Pontius Pilate and his wife having nightly nightmares about it.
  
  Pontius Pilate agrees to Leah’s marriage, but Alban needs to find out first what had happened to Jesus’ body. At the same time, Pilate’s wife sets Leah to find out about Jesus’ disappearance.
  
  The story is well-written. It is part 1 of 3 books. I’m looking forward to reading the 2nd book.
  
  @FB: Best Historical Fiction
• 
  Sarah

  One of the best biblical fiction books I have read (they did their research) and a fantastic story. It is not your normal story, it was different and refreshing.
• 
  Medomfo

  Wow. What a wonderful read for Holy Week. This book was so realistic and so beautiful, that I can barely describe it! A quick shout out to Olivia Rooney and Allison Tebo for recommending this to me ❤️📖
• 
  Staci

  Interesting to look through the eyes of those living in AD33. I especially loved Jacob.
• 
  Loraine

  The Centurion's Wife is a great biblical read that takes places just after the death of Jesus. Once again Oke & Bunn have done great research and developed characters that will be well remembered.
• 
  Jerry

  This one took me longer to finish than usual, but that's because I've had a lot going on recently. It was a good Biblical historical fiction read, but it could have been a bit shorter.
• 
  Savannah

  I must confess. I only retrieved this book because it was free for Kindle at the time and I knew that Janette Oke was a 'clean' writer. I'd never read any of her work before and honestly had no idea what to expect. It sat in my Kindle library for a very long time, and then I suddenly decided I would give it a try. I figured it would be a nice read, not that it would altogether blow me away as it did.
  I am a personal fan of the true story of Jesus and the cultural and historical facts surrounding it. I had a hunch that it would be very open with the story in this read, but I had no idea that it would come forth with such fluidity and originality. It retained it's biblical truth, and left me stopping mid sentence, recalling in my mind the stories from the bible and the scriptures attached to them. And even though I am very familiar with the many stories it used throughout, I was still taken aback with wonder at the approach from the author(s) to weave the details effortlessly into the plot. In the end we are left with questions, just as the main characters are in the story, but we must do as the characters did: Know in faith that their future is taken care of and worked out by God.
  Overall, it was a delightful read that I would recommend to anyone, whether you're familiar with the story of Jesus or not. Because this story is wound so fluidly, a person with no little to no knowledge of the bible's accounts would be able to hear it's heart-warming message loud and clear.
• 
  Sarita

  This was a story on the days after Jesus' resurrection and ascension into heaven. We all know what happened and also that the Jews spread the rumour that Jesus's disciples stole the body, but it was interesting to see how Rome might have reacted to this in this fictional take of Alban following the clues and meeting with everyone involved to try and see what really happened with Jesus's body.
  
  I never really thought about how it was for everyone then, from the disciples to the soldiers who crucified Jesus and those who had to secure the grave.
  
  The authors did a great job of bringing characters to life, explaining roman life and traditions and bringing a love story which was different.
  
  I loved how through Alban and Leah, you could see the fact that when you search for Jesus (and the truth of Jesus) you will never remain the same...
• 
  Leona

  Clearly I am in the minority on this one, but I found this to be too one-dimensional.
• 
  Alyssa

  This book follows the intwined lives of Pilate's niece and servant, Leah, and a Roman centurion, Alban, as they become betrothed, search for answers regarding Christianity, and eventually marry. Leah's and Alban's marriage was arranged by Pilate without the two ever meeting, leaving them both with doubts as to their future happiness. Leah was embittered against such arranged marriages after seeing her two sisters practically sold off as slaves when they were forced into loveless marriages. At first, Alban considers his marriage to Leah a mere political stepping stone, but as the book progresses, he develops feelings of deep love for his bride-to-be. However, this book told more than a beautiful love story (which it really was - the last chapter especially made me nearly cry with happiness); it also paints a picture of what being a Christian in the early church was like. Although Leah originally shares time with the Messiah's followers merely because she was commanded to do so by her mistress, Pilate's wife, the servant soon discovers a family filled with love that surpasses that of her natural family. Although Alban fears rejection by the Christians because he is not a Judean, he soon discovers that the Lord's love has not walls of separation, no discrimination against other races of people. A beautiful tale of romance and redemption.
• 
  Sheri

  Wow! What an awesome read this book was! Set just after the crucifiction of Jesus Christ through the his ascension into Heaven. This book follows a young woman Leah, neice to Pontias Pilate. She is betrothed (against her will) to a Roman Centurion, Alban of Gaul.
  Alban is commanded by Pilate and Herod to find out what has happened to the "prophet" Jesus' body. They believe that the disciples stole it and they want to know if there is any sort of revolt planned. These are the terms that they give to Alban before he can take Leah as wife.
  Leah also is commanded by Pilate's wife, Procula, to find out more about the life and death of the Prophet Jesus.
  What Leah and Alban find will change their lives forever.
  
  A wonderful look at what could have happened back during the days of the early Christians. This book was a wonderfully edifying read. I would highly recommend it to anyone. It's an espcially good read right now as we look forward to the Easter season.
  
  Shalom.
• 
  Debbie

  When I pick up a fiction book written by Christians for Christians and it uses an account given in the Bible, I expect the novel to stick to the words and actions given in the Biblical account where the fiction story and the Bible account overlap. Unfortunately, this book doesn't. The Pentecost scene is severely chopped up to shorten it. As for the soldiers guarding Jesus tomb, Pilate puts two of his Roman soldiers under the High Priest's command to watch Jesus' tomb instead of the guards being temple guards (enough to "make the tomb as secure as you know how," which I've always assumed was more than just two men) under the command of the chief priests.
  
  The authors also make the hero, Alban, the centurion with great faith ("I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.") yet strip him of his faith. In the Bible, the centurion believed that Jesus could heal his servant, sent Jewish elders to make this request, and then had Jesus heal his servant from afar because he understood that Jesus didn't need to physically be there to heal the servant and he didn't feel worthy of having Jesus under his roof. In the novel, Alban doesn't believe in Jesus, the elders offer to go to Jesus for him, and Alban accepts but doesn't want Jesus and his huge crowd of followers to enter his house so sends his second message to keep Jesus away. The novel still has Jesus commending Alban for his great faith even though Alban doesn't believe that Jesus is more than just a man who might, perhaps, be able to help since nothing else is. To me, this novel implies that Jesus either lied (saying the centurion had great faith when he didn't) or was ignorant (he thought the centurion had great faith when he didn't). Neither is consistent with the Jesus of the Bible.
  
  I also had problems with some logic flaws in the novel. For example, they have Mary, Martha, and Lazarus living in a small house and so poor they can barely find food to put on the table each day. This is the family that regularly hosted Jesus and his followers (providing food and housing). The novel even stages a large post-crucifixion gathering of disciples at their house. So where did all the food and sleeping room for the guests come from?
  
  The novel is fast-paced and full of period details that bring the story to vivid life, but I had reason to doubt some of those details. For example, they had Romans frequently drinking tea as an alternative to wine. Also, devote Jews in the novel fairly frequently referred to their God as Jehovah when speaking to Alban about him.
  
  Much of the time, I felt distant from the emotional struggles of our hero and heroine. For example, Leah's full story of loss wasn't told until two thirds of the way through. I would have felt more sympathetic toward her fear of marriage if I'd known that information earlier. Also, the secondary characters didn't generally have much depth.
  
  Several major loose ends were left hanging at the end, like Alban's fate (death, banishment, or whatever) and Leah is left in debt to a cruel, greedy man.
  
  Basically, I wanted to like the book, but the flaws prevented me from really engaging in the story.
• 
  TJ

  One's opinion of this book will be directly related to one's expectations of this book. That makes it a very difficult one to review. There seems to be two main goals to this story: 1- to show what life was like in the area of Jeruselem circa A.D. 33 and 2 - To further the Christian message by re-writing the Biblical accounts in the New Testament from a more personal view. Therefore, if you are expecting a plot driven story set amidst a biblical era background (as the synopsis suggests) you will be sorely disappointed.
  
  There is very little plot to this book. The "main" characters never even meet until over half way through the book. Instead, we read about their day to day world, first from a female servant's point of view - then from a male centurion's point of view. This telling, then re-telling slows the progression of events to a snails pace. Even after the initial meeting their interaction is almost nonexistent, a total of three short times throughout the rest of the book. The descriptions of each town, the local customs, both Roman and Judean are painstakingly presented and the general life in that era seems to be the point.
  
  If you are searching for a descriptive re-telling of the Biblical events occurring after Jesus' death, you will thoroughly enjoy this book. It goes over the exact content found in scripture. The reader hears the stories from Mary Magdelene, Lazarus, Cleopus, the sisters Mary and Martha and many others. Nothing new or different but told in a more personal setting.
  
  So, how does one rate that? Rating it low because of it's nonexistent plot, slow pace and completely unoriginal content seems blasphemous because of the beauty contained in the scriptural stories themselves. Rating it high, however, would be hypocritical, as the authors can claim none of what's good about the story, only the way in which it is written.
  
  
• 
  Katie

  If you were ever curious as to what it must have been like during the days immediately following Christ’s death and resurrection – what kind of confusion, doubt, and uncertainty must have been felt by the many people who witnessed the death and then saw the empty tomb – this is just the book you’ve been looking for!
  
  I was swept up in Leah’s story from page one, and thoroughly enjoyed traveling with Leah and Alban, her betrothed, as they each tried to discover what had happened to the Teacher’s body after His crucifixion and burial. The book was well-researched and extremely well-written; I felt like I personally knew the characters by the close of the book. I was with Leah as she struggled in her confusion at her betrothal and her new found faith, and I felt Alban’s emotional pain from his younger years and his spiritual freedom when he realized that Jesus was the Messiah.
  
  The romance in this book was very minimal, which was a nice change of pace. The romance that was in it was practical – Leah had to learn to respect Alban as her future husband, even if she didn’t want to marry him. And in doing so, she truly fell in love with him. A very sweet love story, if you ask me.
  
  So, while at times the details given in the book were a bit lengthy, this book was very entertaining and informative. When I read the last sentence and closed the book, I felt content to leave Leah and Alban as they explored their new life together as believers. This is definitely the kind of book with a story and spiritual lessons that will stay with you long after you have finished reading the last page.
  
  Thanks to Revell for giving me a review copy of this book!
  
• 
  Audrey

  Leah, a poor niece of Pontius Pilate, is Procula's personal handmaid. One day they bethroth her to a centurion. Leah is not at all enthused about the upcoming marriage but gradually learns to love her fianced husband. Before the wedding is to take place Pontius and Procula require Alban and Leah to discover what happened to the Prophet's missing body after the Crucifixion. As they spend more and more time with the followers of Jesus they soon learn what really happened to Him. At Pentecost they find the acceptance and love that only Jesus can bring.
• 
  Alicia Willis

  This was an enjoyable read. Unlike many Roman books, it limited both violence and romantic (or sexually inappropriate) content. While there were a few too many descriptions for my taste, it was a sweet, uplifting tale and one that I definitely recommend. It did definitely have aspects of suspense, the characters were believable, and the end of the story was my favorite. Recommended!
• 
  Rosie

  Golly. This book started off a little choppy, as though they had trouble weaving the girl's and the guy's perspectives together, but it got better and better as you read along. They warmed up into their own special style and WOWZA it was amazing. I loved it. Especially Alban and Jacob!!!!!!!!!!!!
• 
  Joy Martinez

  WHAT IS THIS WORLD COMING TO?
  
  Joy **actually** just found a biblical fiction book she thoroughly enjoyed!
  
  Yes, you heard that right. Joy, who makes no secret of how strongly she disagrees with and dislikes most biblical fiction, actually enjoyed The Centurion's Wife.
  
  Well, well, wellllll.
  
  So yes, I do not make a secret of how strongly I disagree with and dislike most biblical fiction novels. The only biblical fiction I've ever enjoyed (besides this one, which has now been added to the list) is Marjorie Holmes's Life of Jesus trilogy. So needless to say, I'm always very hesitant to pick up a biblical fiction book because I'm worried it will contain gross distortions of Scripture, horrifying theology, or infuriating and irreverent biblical inaccuracies. Sorry to word that so harshly, but it's the truth. It's how most biblical fiction really is. Which is really a shame and makes me so sad, because biblical fiction is actually one of my favorite genres. I write it myself, and have a series about the apostle Paul hanging out in my heart, waiting to be written and published when the time comes. In fact, the reason I want to put out my own biblical fiction books hopefully sometime in the not-so-distant future is precisely BECAUSE ninety percent of biblical fiction out there is utter TRASH and I want to help fix that.
  
  But anyways. Enough about myself and my biblical fiction rant. Let's talk about this book instead, shall we?
  
  It was AMAZING.
  
  First, the characters. I loved Alban SO. MUCH. HE WAS MY FAVEEEEEE *heart eyes* Basically throughout the whole entire novel, I was crazily fangirling over Alban. I just wanted to give him a hug practically the whole time. He was awesome. Strong and protective, yet gentle, just the way I love my heroes. Kind, loving, compassionate and tenderhearted, just the way I love my heroes.
  
  I love the story in the Bible of Jesus healing the centurion's beloved servant, so it was super fun to see that story brought to life in this novel. Alban, our centurion, was portrayed PERFECTLY. What I loved most about this novel was Alban's relationship with that beloved servant, the young lad Jacob. Alban and Jacob's relationship was the PUREST, SWEETEST, MOST TENDER THING EVERRRRR. It was literally so adorable. I nearly died from cuteness overload at so many points. *dies again* The quickest way to melt my heart with ANY book is to include a sweet and tender relationship in that book, so it's pretty much a given that Alban and Jacob were my fave part of the book. Oh, be still my heart!
  
  As aforesaid, Alban was totally awesome - definitely my favorite character - and it was super powerful to go on this journey with him where he searched for the truth about Jesus. His faith journey was absolutely perfect.
  
  As for the other real Bible figures that were present in this book (Peter, Mary of Bethany, Mary Magdalene, Martha, Lazarus, etc.), I absolutely LOVED the way each one of them was portrayed. They really came to life in the novel. They weren't cardboard cutouts, and they didn't have any biblical inaccuracies attached to them. I was immensely pleased over the way they were portrayed, because one of the MOST IMPORTANT things in biblical fiction is to make readers realize Bible figures were real people just like us, while not including any biblical inaccuracies to make that portrayal more "dramatic" or whatever. I mean come on, people. God's story is already dramatic and exciting enough; He DOESN'T need you to "improve" His story!
  
  I do want to note something about one of the real Bible figures portrayed in this novel, though. That person is Claudia Procula, the wife of Pontius Pilate (y'know, the one who had the scary dream about Jesus and tried to warn Pilate not to murder Him). She was just portrayed quite differently than how I imagine her. Which isn't a bad thing. It's just that I usually imagine Claudia Procula as being an unusually kind and conscientious person. Now, that could be because most popular Christian media (think Passion of the Christ) portrays Procula as being that way. (Side note: Most of that media, such The Passion, is produced by Catholics, which probably accounts for the mainly positive portrayal of Procula since she is a Catholic saint.) HOWEVER, while I'm not Catholic, I tend to think that God probably chose to give Procula the vision of Jesus because he saw there was something about her that might make her willing to listen. Perhaps God saw that Procula wasn't completely hardened like Pilate, or that her heart was open, or just . . . something about her. I find this very likely. I also find it likely that Procula may have converted to Christianity later on. Anyway, it took me a bit by surprise that The Centurion's Wife chose to portray Procula as selfish and almost cruel. But that's not to say I have a problem with that. It was just a different perspective on what she may have been like, which I found very interesting and that's why I wanted to note it. We don't have any evidence that Procula was a kind or conscientious person, nor do we have evidence that she later converted to Christianity, nor do we have evidence that she was selfish and cruel. We know hardly anything about her, so that leaves a lot of room for speculation. 'Cause that's what my thoughts about her are, at the end of the day - just speculation. We don't know for sure, so all we can do is speculate. Anyways. If you've read this far, what do you think about Claudia Procula? What do you think she might have been like? I'm curious to know.
  
  As for the heroine, Leah (who is, unlike Alban, not a figure present in the Bible) . . . erm, I hoped to love her, but I just kind of didn't. Howeverrrr, I've noticed I do tend to connect with heroes much more than I connect with heroines. Not quite sure why that is, but anyhow, so it wasn't much of a surprise that I didn't love Leah. She was generally really sweet, but she just didn't have enough flavor for me. *shrugs* There was an element of her backstory that I felt should have been revealed a bit earlier because it would have helped me sympathize with her more and understand her more, but yeah, mainly she just lacked some flavor.
  
  When I had only twenty percent of this book left to read, I was exultant because thus far there had been absolutely NO biblical inaccuracies whatsoever, which highly impressed me and filled me with joy. However, there turned out to be ONE inaccuracy toward the end. It's the scene at Pentecost where the disciples are filled with the Holy Spirit, tongues of fire rest upon their heads, and they begin to speak in tongues. Now, I think Scripture quite clearly indicates that it was only the APOSTLES who spoke in tongues and who had the tongues of fire resting upon their heads. In the novel, both Alban and Leah have tongues resting on their heads, and Leah speaks in tongues to Alban (she speaks to him in his native language of Gaul - the exact language spoken in his home province). I believe this is a biblical inaccuracy because again, it seems quite clear that only the apostles had the tongues of fire and spoke in tongues. (See Acts 2:1-13)
  
  HOWEVER, I didn't find that scene to be a very big deal. Yes, I do strongly believe that authors should do all in their power to be sure their biblical fiction contains zero inaccuracies whatsoever, but the scene wasn't an unforgivable inaccuracy. Marjorie Holmes' Life of Jesus trilogy, which y'all know I absolutely love, has a few small issues that I would call biblical inaccuracies, but they aren't hugely significant nor are they huge factors in the books at all. I can tell when an author sincerely strives to do their absolute best in writing biblically accurate biblical fiction, as opposed to when an author purposefully includes inaccuracies to make the account more "dramatic" or includes tons of inaccuracies either because they didn't care to research in the Bible enough or because their theology is questionable. Marjorie Holmes is a sincerely godly biblical fiction author, and from what I gathered by reading The Centurion's Wife, so are Davis Bunn and Janette Oke. (Besides, I've read Janette Oke before and find her a very trustworthy author, which is a big reason why I decided to give this book a try.)
  
  Now, the final thing about this book that I thought could have been done better was the romance. Now don't get me wrong - I absolutely LOVED the type of romance it was. Sweet, clean, and wholesome. There was no inappropriate touching, admiring of muscles or curves, gross kiss scenes where things go WAY too far (don't even ask me why there are sometimes make-out scenes in Christian fiction), or any of those yuck elements that so often find their way into Christian fiction (y'all, I have no idea why this is). So yes, I really loved how adorable and clean the romance was. (And I loved that there was no kissing; romance novels tend to fixate too much on the physical aspect of a romantic relationship. I don't mind kissing in romance novels as long as it's appropriate, but too many novels tend to overdo it. I loved that Alban and Leah's romance wasn't focused on physical stuff but on a true soul connection.) What I didn't like was how sudden some developments felt, and that we honestly in my opinion didn't get enough scenes between Alban and Leah. First, the suddenness. Leah hated the idea of marriage to Alban throughout most of the book (because she saw her sisters forced into loveless and cruel marriages), but all of a sudden, she randomly starts thinking she loves him. Y'all, I don't see HOW she could NOT love Alban because he literally treated her so sweetly and tenderly. That's not what bothered me. It just felt rather . . . yeah, sudden. XD Second, the issue of not enough scenes between Alban and Leah. I wanted more scenes with the two of them, because the one main scene we got (the one where Alban holds her hand and comforts her) was seriously too adorable for this world and I wanted more!
  
  (Also, I expected that the novel would take us into Alban and Leah's marriage and show Alban breaking down Leah's barriers of distrust and grief while they were married - and honestly, I would have loved that more because I just love that kind of thing. But it made sense for the plot that the events unfolded while they were still betrothed and not yet married. The plot wouldn't have worked otherwise.)
  
  Before I close this review, I want to say one last thing: The faith elements in this book were absolutely beautiful and incredibly well done. The scenes with Joseph of Arimathea, Caiaphas, and Atticus were especially powerful - Alban's conversation with Atticus in particular was so powerful that I became emotional.
  
  Anyways. I think that's all I've got to say for this review. I really enjoyed this biblical fiction novel and would definitely recommend it!
• 
  Wendy Sparkes

  I loved this audiobook. Set in the days following the Resurrection, I enjoyed the insight it gives into the turmoil faced not just by Jesus' disciples, but mainly the rest of Israel - including Herod Antipas and Pilate who are disturbed about the disappearance of the Prophet's body.
  
  In this novel, Pilate commissions a trusted centurion Alban from the Capernaum garrison to find out the truth as to whether the Prophet really died, where the body of the Prophet is now, and are the followers planning an uprising. As reward Pilate will grant Alban's request to have Pilate's niece Leah as his wife.
  
  Leah is also sent on a commission by Pilate's wife to make friends with the followers to find out what has happened to the Prophet. Troubled by terrible dreams, she fears trouble to her husband and Rome due to the Prophet's crucifixion and now disappearance.
  
  Will Alban and Leah be able to accept the truth? Will Pilate and his wife believe the impossible has actually happened?
  
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