Book Recommendation - The Woman from Lydia

 

Angela Hunt has long been a go-to author for me. Spanning multiple genres, she writes women's fiction, historicals, contemporaries, mysteries and Biblical fiction. This book is the first in a new Biblical fiction series and her Biblical fiction is among my favorites. This book is about the woman mentioned in Acts 16 as Lydia. She lived in Philippi, but was from Thyatira, which was the largest province in Lydia. Since she would be an outsider, it was likely that her neighbors would call her "The Lydian woman" and may have shortened that to Lydia. The author chose to make her name Euoida, whom Paul references in the book of Philippians, which seems likely since the church met at her house. This book had a lot of added nuggets from scriptures, which I just loved!

Here's a bit about the book:

Widowed Euodia, known to her neighbors as "the Lydian woman," seeks to make a fresh start by moving to the foreign city of Philippi. She finds new purpose after meeting Paulos, apostle to the Gentiles, who opens her eyes to helping those in need, particularly women and those who have been enslaved.

Retired Roman soldier Hector has settled in Philippi with dreams of a future filled with wealth and status, pooling his army earnings with Lucius, his fellow comrade in arms turned business partner. His hopes are dashed, however, when Paulos robs their youngest slave of her lucrative ability to foretell the future, rendering her worthless to Hector's ambition.

When Euodia becomes aware that Sabina is being mistreated, she buys Sabina from Lucius, intending to set the girl free. But when Hector claims the sale was not legitimate, he takes Sabina back and swears he will find someone to restore her valuable "gift" . . . even if he must travel to the ends of the earth to do so. Following close behind him, Euodia and her servants set out to rescue Sabina, not for gain, but to rescue and set her free forever.

In her stirring series starter, New York Times bestselling author Angela Hunt dives into the perilous days of the early church as Christians struggle to remain true to their faith amid the highest of risks in a hostile pagan culture.

This book comes out July 11, 2023 wherever books are sold. Be sure to check it out!

For more information, check out the following links:

Angela Hunt's website: https://www.angelahuntbooks.com/

Angela Hunt's facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/angela.e.hunt

My full 4.5 star review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5581998231