Book Recommendation - Jerusalem's Queen

My most recent read was Angela Hunt's "Jerusalem's Queen: A Novel of Salome Alexandra". If you're like me, you didn't even know that Jerusalem ever had a queen, let alone what her name was. Salome Alexandra ruled Judea just before the time of Christ. Her death preceded his birth by about a generation. This book is book 3 in Ms. Hunt's series "The Silent Years", which spans the 400 years between the old and new testaments. Having not read much of anything in this time-frame, I've found this series absolutely captivating. Book 1 was the story of Cleopatra. Book 2 was the story of Judah Maccabees. While those stories did not tie in together at all, this one referenced both of them, as Salome Alexandra was a descendant of the Maccabees and was likely able to come into power because of women in the surrounding nations like Cleopatra, already in power.

 I loved this story, which was told from the viewpoint of both Salome Alexandra and her lady's maid, Kissa. It was fascinating to see how she might have come into power and her reign was actually described later as "Judea's Golden Age.". I love how Ms. Hunt used real people and real circumstances and inserted fiction where fact was not known. Having read Mark Batterson's "The Circle Maker", it was exciting to see Honi make an appearance in this book. I felt like I knew something other people might now know. Since he did his circle drawing in that time frame, it would make sense that the queen and the circle drawer may have crossed paths.

Having done the Christian fiction scavenger hunt last week, which this book was a part of, I got a bit of an inside scoop from Angela Hunt:

Q. I must confess, I’d never heard of Salome Alexandra, Queen of Jerusalem, before encountering your book. Who was she?

A. I’d never heard of her, either, until one of my theology professors mentioned her. Not much information is available on her, and what little information there is often contradicts itself. For instance, most Jewish history books say that she was the widow of Judah Aristobulus, who then married his brother, Alexander Jannaeus, but that couldn’t be possible because the high priest had to marry a virgin. And we know that Judah Aristobulus married Salina, not Salome. Most people assume they were one and the same, but they were not.

Q. What made this woman worthy of a book? What did she do that was so unusual?
A. She was a good queen, and honestly followed God. Her husband, Alexander Jannaeus, was high priest and king, and he was horrible. He had purges, he crucified hundreds of Law-following Pharisees and made his victims watch their families being murdered, he kept concubines—in short, he was not a righteous man. But Salome Alexandra was a righteous woman, and after her husband died she reigned in his place and cleaned things up. She made sure girls were educated as well as boys, she changed the way marriage contracts were negotiated (so women were provided for), and she blessed her people. The Jews said the years of her reign were golden years, when God blessed Judea.

Q. Why didn’t those golden years continue after her death?
A. Because she had two sons—one who was like her, the other very much like her husband. The wild one attacked her heir right after her death, and their bloody war caused the Romans to invade, establishing, in the long run, Roman rule. Judea became a Roman province, the Romans named Herod king, and the last kings from the Hasmonean dynasty were killed.

Q. What surprised you most as you researched this period? What was it, fifty years before Christ’s birth?
A. Salome Alexandra died in 67 B.C., and the thing I found most fascinating was that many of the Jews of that time professed a real interest in studying Bible prophecy. The Torah scholars had a sense that one epoch had concluded with the return from Babylonian exile, and a new one was about to begin. The Essenes, in particular, were looking for a messiah—or two, since they saw clear signs that God was getting ready to send a king and a high priest. They were looking for Christ, but they hadn’t quite figured out that the king/priest would be one person, and that God would send him as a tiny baby who was born to die . . . so we might be born again.

Q. Why should a modern Christian care about a Jewish queen? 
A. Because we Christians have been adopted by God into His chosen family, and our Messiah was Jewish! Studying the four hundred years between the Old and New Testaments—the intertestamental period—will help you better understand the situation of the Gospels. And Salome Alexandra is a fascinating woman! I think you’ll enjoy learning about her as much as I did.

This book releases November 6th and is available for pre-order wherever you buy books. Coming up next to finish out this series is "The King's Shadow", which will release sometime in 2019.

My review is included below:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2575336799

Book Recommendation - Legacy of Mercy

One of my go-to authors for "women's fiction" is Lynn Austin. She writes amazing character-driven novels with relateable and likeable characters, compelling story lines and usually an element of both mystery and romance. Her latest release, Legacy of Mercy, is no exception to this rule. Legacy of Mercy is a sequel to Waves of Mercy, which released 2 years prior (almost to the date). When penning Waves of Mercy, Ms. Austin intended for it to be a stand-alone, but fans clamored for a sequel. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to find out what happened next as well, and so the sequel was born.

The first book follows young Anneke (Anna) who is smarting from a broken engagement. Her mother takes her on holiday to Michigan where she can nurse her wounds privately, away from the prying eyes and gossip of Chicago's upper echelon. While there, she meets some interesting people who change her life in the most remarkable way. We also follow Geesje, who was a dutch immigrant to the US 50 years ago. She has been tasked with writing down her story for the city of Holland's 50th anniversary. As she dwells on the times past, we travel back and forth between time periods as well. The connection between Anna and Geesje is a startling one! And was, in part, what made readers want more. Legacy of Mercy picks up with Anna back in Chicago. Her engagement is back on and as she plans a wedding and attempts to do all of the social activities planned for her, she struggles to live out the faith that seemed so clear in Michigan with Geesje. Geesje finds herself taking in a young immigrant as she is one of the few in town who still speaks Dutch fluently. The lessons that she came about in the hardships of book 1 make her an excellent surrogate for this young hurting girl. I loved seeing her growth and how she passed along the spiritual lessons she learned to the next generation.

I pulled some fun details from Ms. Austin's web-page to further entice reading this one:

The novel is a sequel to “Waves of Mercy” and features the same main characters. Geesje DeJonge is a 67-year-old widow who told her story of immigrating from the Netherlands in 1847 in the first book. Anna Nicholson is a wealthy 23-year-old woman from Chicago who is engaged to a wealthy banker, and is just beginning her walk of faith under Geesje’s guidance.

I never planned to write this sequel. Aside from my biblical fiction, my books have all been stand-alone novels. But since Anna is only 23, readers of the first book begged me to write about what happens next in her life. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to find out what happens next, too.

So, how do I entice you to want to read “Legacy of Mercy” without giving away the plot? Well, there’s a mystery that Anna will be trying to solve with a little help from the Pinkerton detectives—a real agency founded in 1850. You may enjoy solving it along with her.

The story takes place in the Gilded Age when society women wore beautiful gowns like these and the one shown on the book cover.
The Gibson Girl hairstyle was a popular look.
And wealthy Chicagoans were building over-the-top mansions to replace the homes destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire.
And staffing them with servants at their back and call.
Every good novel needs a love story, and I hope readers will enjoy the one I’ve created in “Legacy.” Sorry, I can’t tell you who the lucky lovers are, but I hope you’ll be surprised.

I doubt if many of us share Anna’s extravagant lifestyle, but many of us have shared her journey to find God’s purpose for our lives. It’s a theme that’s very dear to me because it also took me a long time to discover my purpose. I love to share my story whenever I’m invited to speak at events because it’s the story of God’s faithfulness. I don’t have the time or space to share it here, but I hope that Anna’s journey will inspire readers who are still seeking.

Legacy of Mercy released on October 2nd and is available at all major book retailers. My review is below:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2567145755

Book Recommendation - An Hour Unspent

When it comes to historical romance fiction, Roseanna M. White is one of my go-to authors. The romances are never cheesy or too fast, the characters are loveable and the history is very well researched. You feel like you're transported back in time. Such was the case with this book/series. An Hour Unspent is book 3 in the Shadows Over England series, but the story holds its own. This series takes place during WWI, which is a time period I don't often see in historical fiction. It's interesting to think of a time when cars were uncommon, planes couldn't cross the English Channel, and wristwatches were a new design. In this book, we meet (or see at a deeper level if you've read the other books in the series) Barclay Pearce, one of London's best thieves. He's reforming his ways as he learns more about God as his Father. Having spent a majority of his years as an orphan, this is a foreign concept to him. It was interesting to see his growth in this area as the book progressed. Barclay is the leader of his "family", a group of 12 other orphans who have banded together, looked out for one another and become true family in the face of adversity. Barclay's latest assignment is to connect with the local clockmaker, who may have some designs on a device that could help sway the tide of the war. Before he has a chance to meet Mr. Manning himself, though, he has an interesting run-in with the man's daughter, Evelina Manning. The book alternates between Barclay's and Evelina's viewpoints, though the novel is solely in third person voice.

Some things I enjoyed about this book:

1. Evelina's not-so-subtle rebellions against an overbearing mother. Their interchanges had me literally laughing out loud at times. I could totally see myself doing the same thing in Evelina's shoes.

2. The character growth of all of the main characters. I loved seeing how they evolved as the story went on and considered things differently when circumstances dictated.

3. Learning about history - things such as German bombings in England through the use of zeppelins because their planes couldn't cross the Channel, the start of the Rolex brand and Daylight Savings Time (I always thought it was the farmers who started that!).

4. Learning some English vocabulary, such as "brolly". I already was aware of "pram" and "boot" (as in car trunk). I also found it amusing that any time there was a frustration, the character would say "Blast!". I think I need to start using that one!

5. Getting some additional closure from the last book. As well as seeing a good end to this particular story-line.

6. Having a mystery that took over much of the story so that the sole point of the book was not the romance aspect.

All in all, this was a great way to end the series! Next from this author is "Number of Love", which will be the first in the Codebreakers series. This will actually be a continuation of this series as well as it focuses on Margot De Wilde, a major character in "A Song Unheard" (book 2 of the Shadows Over England Series) and who made some appearances in this one as well. I look forward to learning more about her story in June of next year!

My review for An Hour Unspent is below!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2305015671

Book Recommendation - Defiant Joy: Taking Hold of Hope, Beauty and Life in a Hurting World

While a vast majority of what I read is Christian fiction, there are a few Christian non-fiction authors that I follow as well. Stasi Eldredge (and her husband John) are among those that I read everything that they put out. Stasi's latest release, Defiant Joy, is one of the best books I've read. In a time when the news is so readily available and we're therefore more aware of all of the suffering in the world (including our own), it is very poignant to have a book on being not only joyful, but defiantly so.

 I went through this book with a highlighter in hand. There were so many wonderful statements that needed to not only be read, but re-read again and again. Here are a few of them in "meme form".

 Stasi pours out her heart and bares the pain of losing loved ones, chronic physical pain, chemical depression, and the feeling of "not fitting in". She doesn't mince words or avoid the tough topics of loss and depression, but instead delves into how we can have joy in the midst of our sorrow. Joy is not the same thing as happiness, but it stems from the hope that we have in Christ. We can have joy regardless of our circumstances because of what Jesus did for us at Calvary. And because He loves us still. He loves us in our pain and in our mess. He is our Father. He is our Savior. And because of that, we can have joy. Defiant joy that stands up to our Enemy and death and pain and suffering, and says "You do NOT have the final say in my life!" Stasi did an interview for the Christian Post, some of which I've included below:

To achieve true and lasting joy in this broken world, one must come to know God's character and hold to the unwavering belief that sorrow and loss do not have the final say. We live in a society defined by heartbreak, loss, and hopelessness. But amid this dark reality, Christians have the opportunity to choose love over fear and experience a joy rooted in the hope found in Christ, Stasi Eldredge, author of Defiant Joy, told The Christian Post.

"Every day, you get on Facebook and you watch the news and your heart breaks for what is going on in people's lives," she said. "We seem so rooted in hopelessness, and that's the antithesis of Christianity."

"Every moment, we are faced with the choice to either be buried by what we see and have that be the canopy under which we live, or to choose to actually obey what we are instructed to in the Word of God: To fix our eyes on Jesus, to choose to ask Him for grace in the face of suffering."

Eldredge, who is also the director of the women's ministry at Ransomed Heart and author of Captivating, told CP that choosing joy doesn't mean denying that pain exists or diminishing the reality of pain and loss. Instead, it means understanding that suffering and joy can coexist.

"Joy isn't about singing in the garden all day; it's not even about a feeling," she explained. "It's about coming to know God more deeply and understanding His character, goodness, and immeasurable love. Joy is the heartbeat of Heaven. It's about acknowledging the reality of the world we live in, but understanding that death doesn't have the final say. It's a shift of gaze. It's holding to the deepest reality that God reigns over the universe and that nothing is up for grabs."

Eldredge speaks from experience; she told CP Defiant Joy was written in "one of the most difficult years" of her life."We lost a brother, we lost our first grandson, we lost our best friend," she said. "I was also in the worst physical pain I'd ever felt in my life due to a hip replacement and struggling with depression."

She continued, "In the midst of my pain, God began to speak to me about my heart being tethered to His in such a way that the reality of my life wasn't something that should bury me, but someplace for me to come to know that He is unwavering, that He isn't thrown by loss, and that loss doesn't have the final say."

In her book, the Kansas native shares personal stories, deep vulnerability, and practical steps readers can take to have the kind of joy that is present in both goodness and grief.

Defiant Joy debuted on October 16, 2018 and is available anywhere books are sold. My review is below.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38915943-defiant-joy