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Tuesday, March 6, 2018

Excellent Biblical Historical Fiction


A Light on the Hill by Connilyn Cossette

The Hebrew people are settling into their new land, with some cities yet to be conquered.  Moriyah, a vintner’s daughter in Shiloh, leads a sheltered existence, hiding from those around her because of her previous captivity in Jericho.  There, she was branded with the mark of Canaanite gods and her shame locks her away from her community.  Her father desires to provide her with a stable future and arranges a marriage to a widower desiring a mother for his two sons.  Although she is not in favor of the marriage, she submits to the idea and plans a dinner to welcome them into her family.  While the father and his boys are in her home, a terrible tragedy changes the course of her life and everyone surrounding her.  She must flee for her life.  Along the way she will encounter more dangers than she has dreamed of, and will be separated from those she loves.  Yahweh must have a plan, but will it cost her life?
The author creates a very real set of characters that captured my attention.  They were multi-faceted, and satisfyingly complex with both admirable qualities and flaws.  They intertwined themselves around my heart and I look forward to seeing them again in future books.
The plot hardly allowed any time for me to catch my breath, racing from one dangerous situation to the next.  Although parts of it could be guessed, the author included many surprises and kept me engaged as a reader until the end.  Even then, I am hoping for another book to answer my questions about what  happened in Moriyeh’s future.
The author’s writing style is very read-able and very descriptive.  I could easily picture the different settings in my mind. Included in her style is her ability to educate the reader about life in Israel’s early history.  I learned much about the culture and geography of Moriyeh’s day.  Cossette has done copious research to make her stories accurate.  It definitely pays off in how the book resonates with scripture.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to others who enjoy historical fiction.  I anticipate her next book in the Cities of Refuge series.  I am grateful to the publisher who gave me a free copy in exchange for this, my honest review.
 

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