Status Updates From Esther the Queen

There are fewer than 35 pages left in the book, and we've finally reached what, by all rights, should be the main plot.

This story doesn't work unless Ahasuerus is threatening. Moore is TRYING to convince us that he is, but...no? The evidence is that a.) he divorced a woman whom he didn't love, while allowing her to retire to a luxurious palace, and b.) he killed a rapist whom he wanted to fire anyway. Neither convinces me that Esther might be in danger of being executed when she pops into the throne room uninvited.

Mordecai's told Esther that Haman hates Jews...but does that actually make sense, in the context of this story? We've been watching Haman's anti-Semitism develop at the same time that Esther has been in the palace. Plus it's all tied up in his secret affair, which makes you think that other people wouldn't know about it.

"...without hundreds of pairs of eyes on THEN." Typo, presumably because the next sentence is "Maybe THEN..."

"Her marriage would be far from the traditional monogamy of her Jewish people."

Does Moore not realize that Jews practiced polygamy? Granted, monogamy would be "traditional" in the sense of commonplace, but that would be true of Persians too.

Oh. We're doing this? Changing Haman's motivation to be about a Jewish ex-girlfriend? Um. Okay. That's a choice.

I don't love that she's changing the timeline, but I get why, and at least she's up-front about it.