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Mar 31, 2009

Pygmy rated it:

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Mar 01, 2009

Debbie rated it:

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 More...

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Jan 23, 2009

Janna rated it:

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 th More...

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Jun 30, 2011

Emily Michelle rated it:

Fine, but not great. There's a lot of attention to historical detail, which I like, and the characterization is mostly decent, and it covers an interesting part of Christian history--the period between the crucifixion of Christ and the Pentecost, when the local and Roman leaders are trying to investigate and/or cover up the disappearance of Jesus' body from the tomb, and the believers know that Christ has risen but aren't yet sure what that means. The authors rather cleverly weave their original More...

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Aug 10, 2010

Cassandra rated it:

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Apr 06, 2010

Bruce rated it:

You'd expect a collaborative effort between two authors as accomplished as Mr. Bunn and Ms. Oke to be something special, something uniquely satisfying in both form and expression. The Centurion's Wife does not meet that expectation. It leaps far beyond it.

In form, the authors have done seemingly the impossible. They taken a historical era trodden upon by so many authors from so many angles and in so many ways that it seems there'd be no verdant literary soil left among all the typewr More...

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Sep 30, 2009

Becky rated it:

The Centurion’s Wife
In The Centurion’s Wife by Davis Bunn and Janette Oke, a very lost servant in the Pilate’s household is to be wed to an ambitious Centurion, and finds herself questioning all she knows when the profit named Jesus is crucified. Davis Bunn and Janette Oke’s The Centurion’s Wife captured me with its rare writing style and uncommon way of expression among Christian books.
The Centurion’s Wife focuses on what Jews went through after the death of Christ through the chara More...

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Mar 23, 2009

Sheri rated it:

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 More...

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Oct 18, 2011

Marty rated it:

I purchased this book because it's set in a era I write and also like to read and...it was free and I'd just gotten my e-reader. That said, I liked it more than I thought I would. Although I am a Christian, I prefer not to read Christian-based novels. I don't find them to be entirely realistic. However, this novel takes 'ordinary people' and inserts them into post-crucifixion Judea. The historical details were accurate, and the plot, structure and pacing were well done.

On the fl More...

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Feb 04, 2011

Doreen rated it:

I knew going into this that it was going to be Christian fiction, so I'll admit, I was willing to give it a pass on being literary. And if I could split this book into two parts -- one for Alban's story and one for Leah's -- I'd definitely give Alban's half another star. But since the two are intertwined, and since the book has a really weird, random ending (I suppose since this is the first of the series, more on their fate is to follow: it's just such a strange end-point to choose, though,) I More...

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Jan 20, 2012

Melissa rated it:

The Centurion’s Wife By Janette Oake and Davis Bunn

I have been reading Ms. Oake since I was in high school and she has never disappointed me. Wonderful crafted romances with the characters faith a main thread of the story. Her romances are not preachy, but show you important faith is in the lives of her characters.

In this new book, Ms. Oake and Davis Bunn explored the very beginnings of the faith.
The Roman Government is finding that crucified, buried, and now the b More...

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Oct 24, 2009

Katy rated it:

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Jan 24, 2012

April rated it:

Free Kindle download. I find it SO ironic that this book is titled The Centurion's Wife — the heroine doesn't actually become the centurion's wife until the very end. She isn't even considered his bride until well into the book. Mostly, she's a slave with very lofty beginnings.

But the title is even more misleading than that. You'd think from the title that this is some kind of historical romance set in ancient Roman times — you know, the polytheistic era with all the cool Roman togas More...

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Apr 17, 2011

Lala rated it:

What I liked:
-The premise of the story. It was mainly about the investigations on the missing body of Jesus.
-Pontius Pilate's perspective on what happened before and after the crucifixion.
-Some 'facts' about how it was like during that time period (the place, culture, people, etc).

What I didn't like:
-The premise was promising, but the storytelling and plot could be a lot better.
-It felt like stories that I am familiar with (from the bible) were inserted More...

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Feb 04, 2010

Kandice rated it:

This started out great. I audio-ed it, and the reader had a nice voice, even though she did "voices" which I usually find distracting. The problem was that even though the beginning showed promise, it never got there. Generally a good book starts out good and then builds up. You can usually tell right away. This seemed like it would build up, it just didn't.

This was basically a re-telling of the aftermath of Jesus's crucifixion. I know the story from the bible and had no pr More...

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Jan 24, 2011

Katie rated it:

This book was pretty good, the historical parts were really neat, and the whole story was written from two interesting perspectives the you don't normally get from this time period. I liked it. I'll read the other books in this series too (Amazon has been recommending this series to me for years, and apparently I should have been listening earlier).

Side note: The library only had this book in large print, and apparently large print takes a *seriously* long time to read. I thought th More...

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Apr 26, 2010

Ashley rated it:

A tale told from the point of view of a Roman Slave, Leah, and her betrothed Centurion, Alban.

I've long been a Janette Oakes fan, and am new to Davis Bunn -- but as an inspirational, historical fiction author, I found myself drawn into the setting of early Christianity -- merely days after the Crucifixion. Together, these two authors paint a picture of sights, sounds, wonders, and relationships in a time of confusion, chaos, and overwhelming hope.

This one ended up being More...

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Dec 16, 2011

Melissa rated it:

I had a difficult time getting into this novel, not that the setting is uninteresting. For some reason, the characters felt a bit flat and lifeless, at least to begin with. A better delving into their backgrounds might have helped me to gain sympathy with and interest in the characters. Both main characters, Leah and Alban, go on missions for Pilate and his wife to find out more about the "dead prophet," Jesus, and if His followers pose a threat to the Roman empire, but both Leah and More...

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Jan 03, 2010

rjp316 rated it:

This book I found to be ok. It was pretty slow reading. The entire book – 378 pages – took place in only about 50 days from six days before Passover to the Festival of Pentecost. Not too engaging but worth the read – almost did not finish the book.

I had a hard time believing that the main character Alban – was the centurion who Jesus referred to as a man of great faith. “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel." (Matthew 8:10 or Luke 7:9) but I this book More...

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Sep 05, 2011

Carolyn rated it:

I loved this book. It's one of the best cheesy christian romance novels I've ever read, but I think that's mostly because the romance parts of it are downplayed. (I actually wish there had been more romance). It really made me realize though, that as much as people say "oh, if only I had lived at the time of Jesus, I would have believed", that's not true. Even people who saw it happen, or were best friends with the people who saw it happen, still had to struggle with the fact that it s More...

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May 16, 2011

Becky rated it:

I had seen this book several times at Barnes and Noble and had it in the back of my head to read. The week before Easter, I happened to notice our library had it so i checked it out. I was very happy with the story line and how Davis Bunn integrated the Biblical story of Christ and his resurrection with how people at that time must have felt. The two main characters are out to find out the truth of who stole Christ's body, where it is, and if He was really dead. They discover the real truth alon More...

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Jan 17, 2009

Michelle rated it:

About the book:

Janette Oke has dreamed for years of retelling a story in a biblical time frame from a female protagonist's perspective, and Davis Bunn is elated to be working with her again on this sweeping saga of the dramatic events surrounding the birth of Christianity...and the very personal story of Leah, a young Jewess of mixed heritage trapped in a vortex of competing political agendas and private trauma.

Caught up in the maelstrom following the death of an obscure More...

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Mar 28, 2011

Mandi rated it:

My favorite thing about this book is the cast of female biblical characters. Mary Magdalene and the ever pragmatic Martha are among them. Women tend to be shielded from our view in the scriptures, and it was very nice to have them brought to life. Bunn and Oke turn them into very real, very beautiful people.

A Roman Centurion and a Judean servant in the home of Pilate, neither born as Romans but both claiming Roman culture for their own, are converted to Christianity just after t More...

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Feb 21, 2011

TJ rated it:

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 wil More...

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Jun 19, 2009

Dot rated it:

This is a good book to read if you want to have a bit more insight into other events that occurred during the time after Jesus was crucified and before we went back to Heaven. You never "meet" Jesus or any of the disciples in this book, but Mary Magdalene, Mary and Martha, and Pilot and his wife are present in the story.
It's a sort of slow story and definitely deals a lot more with the setting and politics of Jesus's death. The main character doesn't become the Centurion's wi More...

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Jan 04, 2010

GiGi rated it:

I was thoroughly disappointed in this book. I really wanted to love this book but I was constantly distracted by the countless Biblical inaccuracies. Did the author actually read the Bible or do any research whatsoever? There is no way the characters could have gone to the fields of Armageddon because back then it was tel Megiddo, and John's revelation wasn't written until 150 years after Jesus! The word Armageddon isn't even in the Bible, and any first year religion major would know that.

More...

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Apr 28, 2009

Jackie rated it:

Apparently I'm a sucker for a pretty cover. This book looked so promising sitting all pretty in the library bookshelf next to the other drabby books. It just screamed to get picked up. However, much to my disappoint the content was boring. I got 100 pages in and I just couldn't continue anymore with the snooze fest.

****Potential Spoilers****

There wasn't much to Leah who is the female protagonist. Her father suffered a lost and her reputation ruined. Um, okay what else? Y More...

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Feb 08, 2009

Virginia rated it:

Leah is a cousin to none other than Pontius Pilot (yes, THAT one), who becomes a maideservant to his wife when her family's fortunes fail. Alban is the centurian from the Gospels whose beloved servant was healed by Jesus. They are betrothed in the days after the Crucifixion, and each one follows his or her own path in discovering what happened to the missing body of the crucified Jesus.

This was written by two beloved and experienced storytellers -- Davis Bunn and Jeanette Oke. I'm al More...

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Sep 05, 2011

Ellen rated it:

This book was an excellent choice just after Easter. Seeing the events over again from a first person viewpoint, examining the evidence both through the eyes of faith and skeptics was engaging. I enjoyed the interweaving classic stories of Jesus' miracles and eyewitness accounts into a classic Janette Oke love story. The most powerful element of the story was a cultural perspective I must have missed in my years of study. I never made the connection between the Jewish tradition of the betrot More...

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Jun 10, 2010

Lorrie rated it:

"I believe every moment of His entire life was spent setting an example. Every breath, every act, every word, carries message upon message upon message. His every instant was meant to bring eternity into the moment and hope to this fallen world." "He did this not only for us, but those who witnessed the 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 More...

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