History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

The Peasant King Author: Tessa Afshar Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian, Biblical Fiction, Romance  Publisher: Tyndale House Publishing  Release Date: 2023 Pages: 376 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.  Synopsis: Jemmah has always thought of herself as perfectly ordinary . . . until she faces extraordinary circumstances.     When her mother, the Persian king’s famous senior scribe, is kidnapped, Jemmah and her sister must sneak undetected into enemy territory to rescue her. But infiltrating their adversary’s lands proves easier than escaping them. Fleeing through dangerous mountain passes, their survival depends on the skills of a stranger they free from prison: a mysterious prince named Asher.      Asher is not who the world believes he is. Despite his royal blood, he has had to climb his way out of poverty to forge success from nothing. A manufacturer of some of the best weaponry in th...

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 p...

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 s...

The Hidden Prince Author: Tessa Afshar Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian, Biblical Fiction, Romance Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers Release Date: 2022 Pages: 416 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: From the bestselling author of Jewel of the Nile comes the thrilling tale of a woman who feels she has no future but soon discovers the fate of nations may rest in her hands.      The beloved daughter of Jewish captives in Babylon, Keren is sold into Daniel’s household to help her family survive. She becomes Daniel’s most trusted scribe, while taking lessons and swordsmanship training alongside Daniel’s sons and their best friend, Jared.      But after a tragic accident changes the course of her life, Keren finds herself in a foreign country, charged with a mysterious task: teaching a shepherd boy how to become a lord. When she overhears whispers that hint at his true identity, she realizes she must ...

Star of Persia: Esther’s Story Author: Jill Eileen Smith Genre: Christain, Historical Fiction, Biblical Fiction Publisher: Fleming H. Revell Company Release Date: 2020 Pages: 368 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: In an effort to complete a war his father had planned to win, King Xerxes calls every governor, satrap, and official in his vast kingdom to his palace in Susa to strategize and feast. When they finally leave, he decides on one more week of frivolity, which ends in the banishment of his favorite wife, something he never intended to do. But when he discovers Esther, Xerxes is sure he has a second chance at happiness. In her wildest dreams, Esther could never have imagined that she would end up as queen of Persia. Yet she knows better than to become complacent. Another of Xerxes's wives is vying for position, and his closest advisor has a deep and dangerous grudge against Esther's adoptive father. Caught in the middle of palace ...

Hadassah, Queen Esther of Persia Author: Diana Wallis Taylor Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian, Biblical Fiction Publisher: Whitaker House Release Date: 2019 Pages: 304 Source: My personal collection Synopsis: One of the great heroines of the Old Testament, Hadassah was a beautiful, graceful young woman who put her faith in God and her guardian, her cousin Mordecai.     She dreams of marrying Shamir, a tall, handsome, studious young man who is the rabbi’s son. Her heart beats faster when she hears the sound of his deep voice as he reads the Torah. And she hopes that he will visit Mordecai soon to present a betrothal request.      Then, an upheaval in King Xerxes’s palace changes everything. Queen Vashti has been banished and an edict goes out for all qualified young virgins throughout the empire to be taken to the palace as he searches for a new queen.      Fear strikes in the hearts of many, including Mordecai, as he realizes Ha...

Of Fire and Lions Author: Mesu Andrews Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian, Biblical Fiction Publisher: WaterBrook Release Date: March 5, 2019 Pages: 400 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: The Old Testament book of Daniel comes to life in this novel for readers of Lynn Austin's Chronicles of the Kings series or Francine Rivers' Mark of the Lion series.     Survival. A Hebrew girl first tasted it when she escaped death nearly seventy years ago as the Babylonians ransacked Jerusalem and took their finest as captives. She thought she'd perfected in the many years amongst the Magoi and the idol worshippers, pretending with all the others in King Nebuchadnezzar's court. Now, as Daniel's wife and a septuagenarian matriarch, Belili thinks she's safe and she can live out her days in Babylon without fear--until the night Daniel is escorted to Belshazzar's palace to interpret mysterious handwriting on a wall. The Persia...

Esther Author: Rebecca Kanner Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian, Biblical Fiction Publisher: Howard Books Release Date: November 3rd, 2015 Pages: 400 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review Synopsis: From the award-winning author of Sinners and the Sea comes a breathtaking new look into the timeless tale of Queen Esther.      A glittering Persian king has a vast empire that reaches farther than where the sun meets the horizon. He is bathed in riches and commands a frightening military force. He possesses power beyond any other mortal man and rules his kingdom as a god. Anything he desires, he has. Any woman he wants, he possesses. Thousands of them. Young virgins from all across his many lands.      A Jewish girl is ripped from her hut by the king’s brutish warriors and forced to march across blistering, scorched earth to the capitol city. Trapped for months in the splendid cage of the king’s palace, she must avoid the ire...

Enchantress by Maggie Anton Publication Date: September 2, 2014 Plume Formats: eBook, Paperback Pages: 400 Series: Rav Hisda's Daughter Genre: Historical Fiction/Historical Fantasy Source: This book was given to me by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.      Fantastic tales of demons and the Evil Eye, magical incantations, and powerful attractions abound in Enchantress, a novel that weaves together Talmudic lore, ancient Jewish magic, and a timeless love story set in fourth-century Babylonia.      One of the most powerful practitioners of these mysterious arts is Rav Hisda's daughter, whose innate awareness allows her to possess the skills men lack. With her husband, Rava--whose arcane knowledge of the secret Torah enables him to create a "man"out of earth and to resurrect another rabbi from death--the two brave an evil sorceress, Ashmedai the Demon King, and even the Angel of Death in their quest to safe...