History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

In the Field of Grace Author: Tessa Afshar Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian, Biblical Fiction, Romance Publisher: River North Release Date: 2014 Pages: 304 Source: My State Public Library Synopsis : Destitute, grief-stricken, and unwanted by the people of God, Ruth arrives in Israel with nothing to recommend her but Naomi's, love. Her loftiest hope is to provide enough food to save Naomi and herself from starvation.      But God has other plans for her life. While everyone considers Ruth an outcast, she is astounded to find one of the most honored men of Judah showing her favor.  Long since a widower and determined to stay that way, Boaz is irresistibly drawn to the foreign woman with the haunted eyes. He tells himself he is only being kind to his Cousin Naomi's chosen daughter when he goes out of his way to protect her from harm, but his heart knows better.         Based on the biblical account of Ruth, In the Field of Grace is the story of a love that ultimately changes

Harvest of Gold (Harvest of Rubies #2) Author: Tessa Afshar Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian, Biblical Fiction, Romance Publisher: River North Release Date: 2013 Pages: 368 Source: My State Public Library Synopsis : A hidden message, treachery, opposition, and a God-given success will lead to an unlikely bounty.     In Harvest of Gold (Book 2) , the scribe Sarah married Darius, and at times she feels as if she has married the Persian aristocracy, too. There is another point she did not count on in her marriage—Sarah has grown to love her husband. Sarah has wealth, property, honor, and power, but her husband’s love still seems unattainable.      Although his mother was an Israelite, Darius remains skeptical that his Jewish wife is the right choice for him, particularly when she conspires with her cousin Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Ordered to assist in the effort, the couple begins a journey to the homeland of his mother’s people. Will the road filled with danger, con

Harvest of Rubies (Harvest of Rubies #1) Author: Tessa Afshar Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian, Biblical Fiction Publisher: River North Release Date: 2012 Pages: 373 Source: My State Public Library Synopsis : The prophet Nehemiah's cousin can speak numerous languages, keep complex accounts, write on rolls of parchment and tablets of clay, and solve great mysteries. There is only one problem: she's a woman in a man's court.     In her early childhood years, Sarah experienced the death of her mother and her father's subsequent emotional distance, and she came to two conclusions: God does not care about me, and my accomplishments are the measure of my worth.      Catapulted into the center of the Persian court, Sarah is working too many hours, rubbing elbows with royalty, and solving intrigues for the Queen. Ironically, it isn't failure—but success—that causes Sarah to lose her only source of external validation.      Sarah soon learns that she has something of wo

Bread of Angels Author: Tessa Afshar Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian, Biblical Fiction Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers Release Date: 2017 Pages: 377 Source: My State Public Library Synopsis : 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 m

Land of Silence Author: Tessa Afshar Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian, Biblical Fiction Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers Release Date: 2016 Pages: 382 Source: My State Public Library Synopsis : Before Christ called her daughter . . .      Before she stole healing by touching the hem of his garment . . .      Elianna is a young girl crushed by guilt. After her only brother is killed while in her care, Elianna tries to earn forgiveness by working for her father’s textile trade and caring for her family. When another tragedy places Elianna in sole charge of the business, her talent for design brings enormous success, but never the absolution she longs for. As her world unravels, she breaks off her betrothal to the only man she will ever love. Then illness strikes, isolating Elianna from everyone, stripping everything she has left.      No physician can cure her. No end is in sight. Until she hears whispers of a man whose mere touch can heal. After so many years of suffering and di

The Woman with the Cure Author: Lynn Cullen Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Berkley Release Date: February 21, 2023 Pages: 430 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis : She gave up everything — and changed the world.      A riveting novel based on the true story of the woman who stopped a pandemic, from the bestselling author of Mrs. Poe .        In 1940s and ’50s America, polio is as dreaded as the atomic bomb. No one’s life is untouched by this disease that kills or paralyzes its victims, particularly children. Outbreaks of the virus across the country regularly put American cities in lockdown. Some of the world’s best minds are engaged in the race to find a vaccine. The man who succeeds will be a god.        But Dorothy Horstmann is not focused on beating her colleagues to the vaccine. She just wants the world to have a cure. Applying the same determination that lifted her from a humble background as the daughter of immigrants, to becoming a docto

Thief of Corinth Author: Tessa Afshar Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian, Biblical Fiction Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers Release Date: 2018 Pages: 400 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis : First-century Corinth is a city teeming with commerce and charm. It’s also filled with danger and corruption―the perfect setting for Ariadne’s greatest adventure.     After years spent living with her mother and oppressive grandfather in Athens, Ariadne runs away to her father’s home in Corinth, only to discover the perilous secret that destroyed his marriage: though a Greek of high birth, Galenos is the infamous thief who has been robbing the city’s corrupt of their ill-gotten gains.      Desperate to keep him safe, Ariadne risks her good name, her freedom, and the love of the man she adores to become her father’s apprentice. As her unusual athletic ability leads her into dangerous exploits, Ariadne discovers that she secretly revels in playing with fire. B

Daughter of Rome Author: Tessa Afshar Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian, Biblical Fiction, Romance Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers Release Date: 2020 Pages: 416 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis : A woman with a devastating secret. A man bent on proving his worth. A chance encounter that catapults them into the heart of history.      When the daughter of a prominent Roman general meets a disinherited Jewish immigrant, neither one can dream of God’s plan to transform them into the most influential couple of the early church. Nor can they anticipate the mountains that will threaten to bury them. Their courtship unwittingly shadowed by murder and betrayal, Priscilla and Aquila slowly work to build a community of believers, while their lives grow increasingly complicated thanks to a shaggy dog, a mysterious runaway, and a ruthless foe desperate for love. But when they’re banished from their home by a capricious emperor, they must join forces with