Overall Description:
When control becomes your prison… can faith set you free?
In this gripping continuation of The Lambswool Chronicles, step into the untold story of Michal—King Saul’s daughter and King David’s first wife—whose life of privilege becomes a desperate struggle for survival as Israel’s destiny hangs in the balance.
Power. Pride. Surrender.
Born into a palace of power, Michal quickly learns that love is conditional and trust is dangerous. In a world shaped by fear, politics, and madness, she hones manipulation into an art—her only means of control.
But when her carefully crafted world begins to unravel, and the cost of her choices becomes too great to bear, Michal is forced to confront the one thing she cannot control:
the will of God.
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My Review of this Book:
Have you ever been curious about the stories in the Old Testament that speak to the stories that scripture never tells? Loosed is a well-written account of just one of those stories. Anna Moore Bradfield does a fantastic job giving us a re-imagining of the story behind King David's first wife.
Yeah, the one that seemingly got cast aside only to be pulled away from whatever new life she was forced to build when her father gave her to another man, even though she was still married to David, who was a fugitive at the time.
As a theology major, I already understood the purpose of the story, but reading this rendering of it gave me something deeper than what scripture shows us about her story, what could have been her genuine humanity. I've never really put a lot of thought into Michal's story, but now that I've read Bradfield's version of it, I'm curious to see where her series, The Lambswool Chronicles, eventually leads.
Loosed gave me something I did not expect. It opened my eyes to ideas that involved many of the figures in scripture that played a part, however small, in David's story that I had not considered before.
The weight of grief and sadness that loomed over the shadows of this story was at times heavy and painful to read. However, there were other moments filled with the tender light of hope amidst those shadows.
The characters are fantastic, well-researched, and believable. I enjoyed many of the characters, with my favorite character being a toss-up between Abner, the protective uncle, and the affectionately named Paltiel, who also served as protector to Michal throughout the story. While the fate of Uncle Abner saddened me, I genuinely appreciated the ending the author gave Paltiel. You won’t get any more spoilers than that from me, though.
The atmosphere of the novel was vivid and useful, giving the reader some insight into the story from a historical and geographical standpoint. Although the story moved quickly for most of the narrative, Bradfield's deliberate pacing, when necessary, helped tell the intended story, which I appreciated. She writes with a quiet, steady voice that fits Michal’s story quite well. Most of it felt natural to the time and place of the biblical account.
Overall, this story kept my attention, but there were a few moments where I found myself wanting more from the narrative. In many ways, we do not get that in scripture, so I wanted the story to linger longer when it came to a few of those moments in history.
The dialogue within the story made up for a lot of that missing pull, especially the last exchange between Michal and Nitzevet. That truly made this story hit home. By the end, it is only when Michal believes that she has lost everything that she finds that she has the power to find her joy.
That message is a powerful one that often stays hidden in the shadows of human despair. “Loosed” brings that message to life, and I look forward to seeing where the story leads as Bradfield continues exploring the overlooked voices throughout this series.
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