Fabulous from start to finish! "Bread of Angels" by Tessa Afshar
about the book...
Purple. The foundation of an influential trade in a Roman world dominated by men. One woman rises up to take the reins of success in an incredible journey of courage, grit, and friendship. And along the way, she changes the world.
But before she was Lydia, the seller of purple, she was simply a merchant’s daughter who loved three things: her father, her ancestral home, and making dye. Then unbearable betrayal robs her of nearly everything.
With only her father’s secret formulas left, Lydia flees to Philippi and struggles to establish her business on her own. Determination and serendipitous acquaintances—along with her father’s precious dye—help her become one of the city’s preeminent merchants. But fear lingers in every shadow, until Lydia meets the apostle Paul and hears his message of hope, becoming his first European convert. Still, Lydia can’t outrun her secrets forever, and when past and present collide, she must either stand firm and trust in her fledgling faith or succumb to the fear that has ruled her life.
my review...
Once again, Tessa Afshar has offered up a wonderful, moving novel with her latest, "Bread of Angels". Though of course I have read about Lydia in the book of Acts, I can tell you that this book will give you a whole new appreciation for the Lydia of the Bible! Afshar has appropriately taken some poetic license in fleshing out her character while staying true to the Biblical account, and she has done so in the best way possible. I can promise you that are going to immediately love Lydia and the host of supporting characters who join her, such as Paul and some fictional friends. The writing is simply excellent and the plot is paced well, such that my attention was held from beginning to end. And if you are anything like me, you are going to love getting to know Lydia in particular and watching her transformation after she loses everything when she is betrayed to her eventual encounter with the living Jesus! In the midst of Lydia's story, Afshar has woven in a battle of good versus evil, moments of supernatural miracles, and a clear presentation of the gospel message in a beautiful manner. All in all, there is much to love in this book, and it is among the best fiction books I have read this year.
"Bread of Angels" is fabulous, from start to finish. If you are one of those readers who typically steer clear of Biblical fiction, fearing that you are already much too familiar with the story to discover anything new, then let me assure you that such is not the case here. This is definitely a book you have to read! 5 out of 5 stars.
An egalley has been provided courtesy of the publisher, Tyndale, for the purposes of this unbiased review.
about the author...
Tessa Afshar was voted "New Author of the Year" by the FamilyFiction-sponsored Readers Choice Awards in 2011 for her novel Pearl in the Sand. Her second book, Harvest of Rubies, was nominated for the 2013 ECPA Christian Book Award in the fiction category and chosen by World magazine as one of four notable books of the year. Her novel Harvest of Gold won the 2014 Christy Award for historical fiction. In the Field of Grace, based on the biblical story of Ruth, was nominated for the Grace Award.
Tessa was born in Iran to a nominally Muslim family and lived there for the first fourteen years of her life. She moved to England, where she survived boarding school for girls and fell in love with Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte, before moving to the United States permanently. Her conversion to Christianity in her twenties changed the course of her life forever. Tessa holds an MDiv from Yale University, where she served as cochair of the Evangelical Fellowship at the Divinity School. Tessa has spent the last seventeen years in full-time Christian work in New England and the last fourteen years on the staff of one of the oldest churches in America. Visit her online at www.tessaafshar.com.
Buy now from Amazon...
Comments
Post a Comment