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| Publisher: Bethany House Publishing |
In the Depth of the
Storm's Shadow, Only Truth Can Light Her Way
As I read my Bible each morning and the
chapters, there is usually a picture in my head of the people being
portrayed. From Adam and Eve to the story of Jesus. Each has a
portrait in my mind as I read of what they would look like and the
surrounding scenes. Adam and Eve, I picture as fair haired, King
David and Solomon I picture with stark dark hair and eyes, and so on.
However, when reading Exodus, I picture Moses leading the people out
of Egypt, but the tribes are pictured as a clump of people. I never
really picture the multitude that followed him, but rather just a
small band following along.
As I read Shadow of the Storm (Out From Egypt), it was awesome to read how it might have been, and even if fiction, it was interesting to form a picture of the massiveness of the people who fled. To peer through the author's eyes of what daily life could have been like. The story of Shira and the people who escaped with Moses is a wonderfully put together analogy of what life in the wilderness might have been like and what the escape from Egypt held for God's people. The struggles they would face, their awe upon learning more about how God, whom they called Yahweh, was providing and taking care of them, and also the many misgivings of doubting their trust in Moses.
As I read Shadow of the Storm (Out From Egypt), it was awesome to read how it might have been, and even if fiction, it was interesting to form a picture of the massiveness of the people who fled. To peer through the author's eyes of what daily life could have been like. The story of Shira and the people who escaped with Moses is a wonderfully put together analogy of what life in the wilderness might have been like and what the escape from Egypt held for God's people. The struggles they would face, their awe upon learning more about how God, whom they called Yahweh, was providing and taking care of them, and also the many misgivings of doubting their trust in Moses.
The characters came to life as I read
their story. The main character is Shira who as an Egyptian slave has
been terribly wronged in her early teens. Now that Yahweh has given
them freedom, Shira has to come face to face with who she wants to
be, allay her fears and memories of past events. She's a weaver with
her mother, but dreams of becoming a midwife. Her gifts point her in
that direction. She loves the miracle of God's babies being born with
her help, but life intervenes and puts that on hold. She feels she
will never have the life she longs for. Even though life has stained
Shira, I immediately liked the way the author portrayed her
innocence, kindness, big heartedness, and I really loved the way she
saw the miracles of life even in the wilderness that was truly God's
amazing grace.
The writing is excellent in that it is a truly type book that I love to read. One that keeps me up all hours of the day/night because of the fluidity of it's writing, and the storyline that begs to read just one more chapter before I can put the book down. I'm one to never peek at the ending before reading the book in its entirety, so when the storyline and writing is good, the pique of interest makes the anticipation of how the story is going to end hard to not take a peek, but then it would ruin the rest for me. So I don't. This one though, you will wonder how the storyline ends, and I can tell you, I guessed wrong. It did not end the way that I thought it would, but with no spoilers, I will just leave that to mystery until you've read the book for yourself. :)
The author intertwines fact-based biblical history into her story line. It is refreshing to imagine how the people viewed Yahweh as the cloud that traveled above and keeping them safe. Their fears and misgivings are brought to light in a great way with Connilynn Cossette's story line. I really don't have anything but good to say about this book. It will keep you reading from the first words until the last.
I give this book five stars, because the story flows so well, the storyline is a great original fictional view with biblical references from her storyline point of view, and as I stated before, the fluidity of the authors writing makes it an easy, relaxing read.
The writing is excellent in that it is a truly type book that I love to read. One that keeps me up all hours of the day/night because of the fluidity of it's writing, and the storyline that begs to read just one more chapter before I can put the book down. I'm one to never peek at the ending before reading the book in its entirety, so when the storyline and writing is good, the pique of interest makes the anticipation of how the story is going to end hard to not take a peek, but then it would ruin the rest for me. So I don't. This one though, you will wonder how the storyline ends, and I can tell you, I guessed wrong. It did not end the way that I thought it would, but with no spoilers, I will just leave that to mystery until you've read the book for yourself. :)
The author intertwines fact-based biblical history into her story line. It is refreshing to imagine how the people viewed Yahweh as the cloud that traveled above and keeping them safe. Their fears and misgivings are brought to light in a great way with Connilynn Cossette's story line. I really don't have anything but good to say about this book. It will keep you reading from the first words until the last.
I give this book five stars, because the story flows so well, the storyline is a great original fictional view with biblical references from her storyline point of view, and as I stated before, the fluidity of the authors writing makes it an easy, relaxing read.
Excerpt from the book:
Having escaped Egypt with the other Hebrews during the Exodus, Shira is now living in freedom at the foot of Mt. Sinai, upon which rests the fiery glowing Cloud containing the shekinah glory of God. When the people disobey Yahweh and build a golden idol, the ensuing chaos gives Shira an unexpected opportunity to learn the arts of midwifery. Although her mother wishes for her to continue in the family weaving trade, Shira's gifts shine brightest when she assists with deliveries. In defiance of her mother, Shira pursues her heart's calling to become an apprentice midwife.
When a delivery goes horribly wrong, Shira finds herself bound to a man who betrayed her, the caretaker of three young children, and the target of a vengeful woman whose husband was killed by Shira's people, the Levites. As contention between the Hebrew tribes and the foreigners fans the flames of another dangerous rebellion, Shira will come face-to-face with the heartbreak of her past that she has kept hidden for so long. How can she let go of all that has defined her to accept the love she's denied herself and embrace who she truly is?
Having escaped Egypt with the other Hebrews during the Exodus, Shira is now living in freedom at the foot of Mt. Sinai, upon which rests the fiery glowing Cloud containing the shekinah glory of God. When the people disobey Yahweh and build a golden idol, the ensuing chaos gives Shira an unexpected opportunity to learn the arts of midwifery. Although her mother wishes for her to continue in the family weaving trade, Shira's gifts shine brightest when she assists with deliveries. In defiance of her mother, Shira pursues her heart's calling to become an apprentice midwife.
When a delivery goes horribly wrong, Shira finds herself bound to a man who betrayed her, the caretaker of three young children, and the target of a vengeful woman whose husband was killed by Shira's people, the Levites. As contention between the Hebrew tribes and the foreigners fans the flames of another dangerous rebellion, Shira will come face-to-face with the heartbreak of her past that she has kept hidden for so long. How can she let go of all that has defined her to accept the love she's denied herself and embrace who she truly is?
You can find Shadow of the Storm (Out From Egypt) here:
Goodreads.com
Family Christian.com
Amazon.com
Barns&Noble.com
Christianbook.com
And be sure to check out the author's
website for more information at http://www.connilyncossette.com/
Publisher: Bethany House Publishing
I received Shadow of the Storm as a
free copy from the publisher.
No review, positive or otherwise was
required. All opinions are my own.
The reviews on my blog are specifically
my own interpretation
of my like or dislike for a book that I read.
Thank you for reading my review,
Peabea (Patricia Bird)
This sounds like a really great book. I love that the premise is Christian but the story goes even beyond that. I feel like some Christian author try to hard to make their book fit into the Christian genre and the story suffers because of it. It doesn't sound like this is the case with this book. Great review! Next time I need some good reading material, I'll have to check Shadow of the Storm out! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Mandy 'n' Justin for visiting and reading the review. If you do happen to read this book, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Thanks for your comment. :)
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