The Favored Wife by Amy Pennza

Will She Ever Be Free?

What a gripping story! I’ll admit that I don’t usually read serious fiction most of the time. Generally, I prefer light and fluffy historical romance. But something about this book when I saw it at a book review site caught my eye. The author did a fantastic job of showing the intricacies of a polygamous religious marriage. We see it all through the eyes of the youngest wife, somewhat ironically called “the favored wife” in the title. She has grown up within this religious sect so knows nothing else. When she gets a job in the outside world to help support the family (because she hasn’t been able to have children), she is definitely a naïve person, not even knowing what we consider to be common cultural references. Her world had been her “husband” Thomas, his other wives, and the children. The author paints a pretty harsh picture of dominance and submission and not just between the husband and the wives but within the sister-wife hierarchy. It is a brutal world that the heroine lives in. I don’t want to give too much away, but the megalomaniacal tendencies of the husband are seen through to a nasty conclusion that forces a separation between the heroine and the world that she has known. This is an emotionally charged read and not an easy one. The characters are well drawn, and we are shown this world in vivid detail through the character’s eyes. The plot is not at a breakneck pace. Rather, things seem to go along somewhat normally, but then bigger events happen. It kept me wondering what would happen next. This is a well-written book, but if you have any triggers about spousal abuse, it would be better if you skipped it.