REVIEW: VEIL OF PEARLS ~ MARYLU TYNDALL

It is the year 1811 and slavery is still considered an acceptable and even necessary facet of society.  Her fair skin belies the fact that Althea is born with black blood on her maternal side.  Althea is born free to parents who adore each other and their children, and every day is filled with love and joy.  Her father teaches her to always trust the Lord, even when she does not understand.  This trust in the Lord is what will get Althea through the horrific years to follow.  One night a hurricane takes the lives of her parents and Althea and her little sister are stolen and enslaved by their neighbouring plantation owner.  Soon illness takes her sister’s life and Althea is left alone in the world, tormented by a cruel master who locks her in chains and steals her freedom and her innocence.  For seven long years Althea endures the injustice while holding fast to her trust in the Lord, secretly saving money and biding her time.  One night good fortune smiles on Althea and she manages to escape during a storm while her owner is passed out from too much drink.  God blesses her path with a kind captain who realizes but does not care that she is a slave attempting to escape, and gives her passage to Charleston, America.  Once again free, Althea adopts the name Adalia and makes an independent living as a doctor’s assistant, her mother’s knowledge of herbs aiding her in treating the sick.  Having been born free, Adalia convincingly sheds the physical and mental shackles of slave-like behaviour and manages to integrate herself as a servant girl in her new society, despite the bitterness she feels toward the wealthy whose slaves she has to treat. 

It is that disgust towards those who think it is the most natural thing in the world to own another human being that makes Adalia completely immune to the charms of one Morgan Rutledge, the youngest son of a wealthy plantation owner.  His good looks and fun-loving nature hides the fact that Morgan is a very unhappy young man.  He has dreams of sailing the seas, but once his father noticed his love of the ocean as a child he was told in no uncertain terms that he would be disowned should he take a common traders job.  Instead of following the passion God had placed in his heart, Morgan’s life is spent attending one meaningless soiree after the other with less than savoury friends; until he meets the one woman who does not fall at his feet in the hopes of securing his affection, and by extension his family’s wealth. 

The more they cross paths, the more Adalia begins to think she misjudged the young man.  Thanks to Adalia’s gentle example, Morgan, in turn, finds himself rethinking his lifestyle and his beliefs.  Adalia and Morgan embark on a tentative friendship, but society is not as accepting as Morgan is of a lowly working girl attending their lavish parties - with one of the most eligible bachelors at her side, no less.  The men are rude and the ladies are cruel, and while Morgan is astounded by Adalia’s bravery and grace, he fears that ultimately the behaviour of those he used to consider friends will alienate the woman quickly laying claim to his heart.  Working hard by day and getting swept away in the opulence of high society by night, Adalia she finds herself neglecting her relationship with God.  The unlikely couple soon finds themselves falling in love; but how can Adalia even consider a courtship with a man whose family owns slaves?  And what if he ever discovered her heritage?  Would the beauty, bravery, intelligence and kind heart that captured his affections be strong enough to overcome the danger to his prized reputation and society’s prejudice?

 

Veil of Pearls by Marylu Tyndall is the most beautifully written book I’ve read in a long time.  The prose is lovingly crafted and the plot is flawless.  It is a story of great depth, believable characters (though the Villain in the form of the conniving lady Emerald was a bit too much to bear at times) and strong Christian message of hope and redemption.  Even so, I did find this book very difficult to read.  Tyndall accomplishes the amazing task of immersing the reader in Adalia’s life, and her hurts were my own.  I absolutely hated experiencing the treatment Adalia had to suffer, first through Sir Walter, then through the Charleston elite.  Every attempt at hurting or humiliating Adalia brought me pain as well.  What a marvelous feat by the author!  Tyndalll does an excellent job of keeping the reader off balance.  At no stage was I confident that Adalia (or myself) would get a happy ending, and as I neared the end I feared there simply weren’t enough pages to wrap the story up to my heart’s content.  Ultimately Veil of Pearls is a work of art worthy of my highest rating.

 

Product Information:
Title: Veil of Pearls

Series: Standalone

Author: Marylu Tyndall

Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc

Year: 2012

Pages: 369

ISBN-10: 1616265779

ISBN-13: 978-1616265779

ASIN: B071V7CLY4

 

Related Posts:

Surrender the Heart ~ Marylu Tyndall

Surrender the Night ~ Marylu Tyndall

Surrender the Dawn ~ Marylu Tyndall

REVIEW: CHESAPEAKE VALOR 4: DEAD DRIFT ~ DANI PETTREY

Dead Drift is the fourth and final book in the Chesapeake Valor series by Dani Pettrey, and the series is best read in order as we check in with the “main characters” from the previous books, and find connections to cases going back to the previous books (I say “main characters” because Pettrey’s work reads more like an ensemble characters rather than main characters and secondary characters).  If you were to start the series with Dead Drift, you would miss out on a whole lot and might have a hard time connecting all the dots, so my suggestion is start with Cold Shot and make your way through Still Life and Blind Spot before getting lost in Dead Drift.  It is well worth it as the series only gets better with each book, and we spend a good amount of time with all the characters throughout each book. 

 

Dead Drift picks up right where Blind Spot left off; Luke walks into CCI where the friends he left behind are celebrating preventing the Bay Bridge Bombing, and he enlists them to help him stop suspected terrorist Khaled Ebeid once and for all.  The action starts right there and doesn’t let up until the very end. 

 

We finally learn why Luke left without a word, and the fact that he believed he was leaving only for a short mission goes a long way towards understanding how he could abandon Kate without a backward glance.  There is also a lovely gesture towards the latter half of the book which proves Luke always intended to come back for Kate, and it goes a long way towards mending Kate’s (and my) heart.  However, the longer Luke stayed away, the harder it became to return home, and before you know it almost eight years have passed and he no longer recognizes the man in the mirror.  With time, distance and perspective Luke has finally realized just how badly he was manipulated by once trusted Professor Malcolm (though he doesn’t play the blame game and takes full responsibility for the choices he made), and how badly he longs for the life, and love, he left behind.  Dead Drift gives us a marvelous villain in Luke’s unstable former handler, Lauren Graham, a woman scorned with an axe to grind; she could never forgive Luke for not falling for her “charms”, and she absolutely loathes Kate who so obviously holds Luke’s heart.  As if worrying about Ebeid was not enough, Luke must also protect headstrong Kate from the CIA’s most lethal assassin who has a penchant for playing games with her prey before she pounces.  Honestly, I feared Lauren more than I did Ebeid! 

 

While the majority of our group focuses on stopping the terrorist threat, Griffin and Finley both take a leave of absence from work and head to Houston to continue working all of the cold cases murdered Agent Steven Burke was investigating before his untimely death, and aim to finally bring Jenna’s killer to justice.  With the Shore Killer mysteriously aware of their every move, Griffin and Finley find themselves in greater danger than they ever anticipated.

As always, the characters’ faith is ever-present yet not overwhelming for non-believers.  Luke has a harder time than the others connecting with God, for while he never lost his faith, he carries much guilt over the choices he’s made and the orders he’s followed since he abandoned his old life.  Kate loves the Lord, but has trouble letting Him shoulder all of her burdens, and carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders is becoming an unmanageable task.  Throughout the non-stop action of Dead Drift, the biggest challenges these two face might not be the terrorist threat or figuring out their personal relationship after all these years, but learning to let go and let God.

I enjoyed every single page of Dead Drift, and find it to be my absolute favourite book of the series.  As I neared the end I honestly feared that there weren’t enough pages left to give us a satisfying conclusion, but Pettrey managed to deliver in spades.  My only criticisms would be that we didn’t get to spend much time with Avery and Parker this time around, and I keenly felt their absence, and there is also the question of an engagement ring that absolutely no-one reacted to.  I am also curious to discover if Tanner’s parents have accepted Jesus Christ as their savior – her father is such a mysterious (and apparently misunderstood) character, and I think there is a lot of story left to tell there.  We do get satisfying resolutions to the great mysteries we have been investigating alongside the gang since book 1, but I do feel there is definitely potential should Pettrey have an inkling to give us more Chesapeake adventures in future.  I find myself quite sad that our adventures with the Chesapeake Bay gang are over, and while I always look forward to Pettrey’s future projects, I sincerely hope that she considers rejoining them sometime in the future.  Oh the mysteries the eight of them could solve together!

The Chesapeake Valor series is a very satisfying faith-filled, love-trumps-all, action-packed ride, of which Dead Drift is the cherry on top.

 

Product Information:

Title: Dead Drift

Series: Chesapeake Valor (Series Best Read In Order)

Author: Dani Pettrey

Publisher: Bethany House Publishers

Year: 2018

Pages: 304

ISBN-10: 0764212974

ISBN-13: 978-0764212970

ASIN: B079C1N73V

 

Related posts:

Review: Cold Shot ~ Dani Pettrey

Review: Still Life ~ DaniPettrey

Review: Blind Spot ~ DaniPettrey

Review: Submerged ~ Dani Pettrey

Review: Shattered ~ Dani Pettrey

Review: Stranded ~ Dani Pettrey

Review: Silenced ~ Dani Pettrey

Review: Sabotaged ~ Dani Pettrey

REVIEW: CODE TRIAGE ~ CANDACE CALVERT

We first meet Leigh and Nick in Disaster Status, but Code Triage can be read as a standalone. Here is their backstory:

Leigh had married a restauranteur; a man with a nice, safe job.  Nick was a chef in his own restaurant when they first met, however even then he was making plans to join the police force.  Leigh then found herself living with the pressures of being married to a cop, which put a tremendous amount of strain on their relationship.  On the other hand, unbeknownst to Nick, Leigh still carries a lot of baggage from her childhood – the kind of baggage that makes her not believe in happily ever after.  Leigh spent the first few years of their marriage waiting for the other shoe to drop; she was just waiting for their marriage to fall apart.  Sadly, Leigh was never 100% committed to forever.  When Leigh found out she was pregnant with a child she knew Nick desperately yearned for, she made the decision not to tell Nick straight away.  Instead, she asked him to move out.  She wanted time and space to make sure that she wanted to stay married to Nick for their sakes, and not just for the baby.  It is during this separation that Nick’s best friend died in the line of duty.  Nick did not have his wife to comfort him during this devastating time (and by saying this I am by no means justifying what followed – I just think it is important to realize the importance of always being the one person your space can lean on).  In the process of comforting his friend’s sister, one night of too much wine led to Nick breaking his marriage vows.  It is clear from both Nick and Samantha’s (the other woman's) later reflections that Nick was confused and absolutely devastated the next morning (it is also clear by Sam’s later actions that Nick is not the first married man she seduced, and trying to get him drunk to get him in her bed seems to be her MO).  Nick immediately came clean to Leigh about his night with Sam, and this devastating news led to Leigh losing the baby Nick never knew they had.  She never told him about the miscarriage; instead she filed for divorce. 

What Calvert did brilliantly here was highlight that a story always has two sides.  I like it when things are black and white.  Leigh and Nick’s story is not – there are a whole lot of grey areas.  Both of them made very big mistakes that shook the fragile foundation of their marriage. This book forced me out of my comfort zone and made me confront my feelings on a very, very, very sensitive topic.

I have never been personally affected by a cheating spouse, but it’s something that breaks my heart every time without fail.  Calvert managed what no other author has managed to do – she made me root for Leigh and Nick to get back together.  Usually I can’t get past the cheating and I can’t warm up to the hero.  In this book I never hated Nick – I hate what had happened, I hate what he did and I hate what it did to his wife and his marriage, but I never hated him.  In this case cheating on his wife was truly a dreadful mistake he deeply regrets and not a deliberate act.  I was truly invested in this story and I desperately wanted Leigh and Nick to get back together.  Their love for each other is very obvious and very deep.  They just had some major obstacles to overcome.

I put off reading this book for so long because I simply knew it was going to shatter me.  I started crying for Leigh and with Leigh in Disaster Status already, and this time around I started crying on Chapter 1!  I read this book in one day.  I literally could not stop once I had started; I was positively desperate to discover what happens.  I read until about 3:00am, and when I got up the next morning, Code Triage was the first thing on my mind.

Code Triage starts off with Nick’s greatest fear: Leigh and Sam finally meet.  Their jobs (police man, doctor, social worker) collide and the three of them find themselves working the same case.  Nick helplessly watches as the biggest mistake of his life breaks his wife’s heart all over again. Despite their separation, in the months since he cheated on Leigh he hasn’t touched another woman, especially Sam (despite Sam’s best efforts).  Determined to get Leigh to change her mind about the divorce and give their marriage another chance, Nick has only one week until the court date within which he must soften his wife’s broken heart.   He has his work cut out for him, but he can’t give up on Leigh; he can’t lose her for good.  Slowly but surely Nick invades Leigh’s space and makes her confront her true feelings for him.  While she can’t stand being in the same room with him, he knows that she still loves him every bit as much as he loves her and that it is her heartbreak keeping them apart – not lack of love.  

Leigh has not only given up on her husband, she has given up on God.  He took away her husband and her child, and Leigh is convinced that God doesn’t care about her.  As Leigh is forced to daily face not only her husband, but the other woman as well, she starts to think God hates her.  Little could she have guessed that God is truly working behind the scenes to save her marriage as well as her soul, and to help her to finally start believing in unconditional, unwavering, forever kind of love.

Nick blames himself, not Sam, for what happened between them and he sees Sam as a victim of his actions as well.  Driven by guilt Nick continues to be a part of Sam’s life and he continues to emotionally support Sam and her young daughter in the absence of his deceased friend.  Little could he guess the extremes Sam will go to, to drive a wedge between Nick and Leigh.  Unbeknownst to Nick, while he is working to salvage Leigh’s trust, Sam is working tirelessly to assault Leigh with taunts and insults, deliberately contradicting Nick’s promises of love and fidelity, making Leigh doubt Nick’s truthfulness and sincerity. 

I did not appreciate having to read several sections from Sam’s point of view. I could not stand the woman. Not since Julia in Francine Rivers’ The Mark of the Lion trilogy have I hated a character with such passion. I did not enjoy experiencing Sam’s thoughts and manipulations. And what a manipulator she is!  The woman even shamelessly uses her own child to manipulate Nick!  Sam continually goes out of her way to hurt Leigh time and time again.   What’s even worse than all her blatant attempts to, not only sink her claws into Nick, but to make Leigh believe there was much more going on between Sam and Nick than there ever could be, is the level of enjoyment Sam got out of deliberately destroying someone’s marriage.  She took so much pleasure from watching her words and actions cut Leigh’s heart open.   I could not bring myself to soften towards this woman at all; not even after discovering why she is so desperate for the love of a good man (being hurt by monsters does not give you an excuse to become one).  Despite Sam’s best efforts to destroy Leigh’s heart, marriage and life overall, Leigh was able to not only save Sam’s life but forgive her as well – I am not at all sure that I could do the same.  Perhaps that is something I need to reflect on and work on.

As Nick continues to pray for his wife, Leigh finally takes her dusty Bible off the shelf and starts to re-evaluate her stance in the mess that has become her life.  Leigh realizes that God never left her – she left Him.  Leigh owns her mistakes, faces her greatest fears and opens her heart to the possibility of a love that lasts forever.  As Leigh finally embraces what Nick has always believed – that their marriage should be built on a Christian foundation – Nick and Leigh might finally have a chance at happily ever after.

The best books in the world make you feel; and boy did this book make me feel.  It made me step away from my rigid black-and-white-preference and examine the grey areas I would honestly have preferred not to deal with.  This book made me re-evaluate my stance on a lot of things.  It made me ponder, it made me question, it made me consider points of view I never would have considered before.  It made me realise anew the importance of protecting your spouse and nurturing your marriage.  Considering the intensity of the affect this book had on me and the emotional upheaval it put me through, Code Triage quite simply has to be listed as one of my all-time favourites.

Product Information:

Title: Code Triage

Series:  Mercy Hospital Book 3 (Standalone, but best read after Critical Care and Disaster Status).

Author: Candace Calvert

Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers

Year: 2010

Pages: 374
ISBN-10: 1414325452

ISBN-13: 978-1414325453

ASIN: B0045I8B9A

Related Posts:

Review:Critical Care (Mercy Hospital 1) ~ Candace Calvert

Review:Disaster Status (Mercy Hospital 2) ~ Candace Calvert

Review:Trauma Plan (Grace Medical 1) ~ Candace Calvert

Review: Rescue Team (Grace Medical 2) ~ Candace Calvert 

REVIEW: HARVEST OF GOLD ~ TESSA AFSHAR

Moody Publishers has graciously provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Harvest of Gold is to be released on 01 July 2013.  Pre-order your copy in great anticipation, you’re going to love it!

Harvest of Gold by Tessa Afshar is a sequel to Harvest of Rubies, and the story commences a few months after the conclusion of the first.

Sarah and Darius have called a truce and are trying to make their marriage work.  Darius, however, is disconcerted by the strong feelings his wife triggers in him, and in an effort to remain unaffected by her, he unknowingly and unintentionally hurts her with his attempts to keep his distance – emotionally and physically.  While accepting his wife and soaking up her admissions of love, Darius is unable and unwilling to reciprocate.  Firmly believing that he will never be able to love Sarah, Darius breaks his wife’s heart on a daily basis.  Hurt, but determined to make her husband happy, Sarah works very hard to become the kind of wife God wants her to be; but a lifetime of habits proves difficult to break, and both Sarah and Darius will have to learn to rely not on themselves, but on the One who made them.  Only God can help them break apart their old foundations and help them to rebuild their habits, their hearts, and ultimately their relationships with each other and with God.  Can Sarah help to turn her husband’s heart to “his mother’s God”?  Can a nobleman with a deep-seated desire to please his father turn his back on his father’s way of life?

While traveling to Susa on invitation from King Artaxerxes and Queen Damaspia, Sarah and Darius discover and foil a plot to assassinate the King, and Darius finds himself tasked with solving the mystery; with Sarah’s help, of course.  Facing such a daunting task while still carefully mending the holes in their marriage could either make or break their delicate bond. 

We thus join Darius and Sarah on a journey to Jerusalem, accompanying Nehemiah on his mission of rebuilding the Holy City.  The Bible book of Nehemiah is flawlessly incorporated into the story, and is beautifully brought to life.  As Pearl in The Sand compelled me to reread Rahab’s story in the book of Joshua, so did Harvest of Gold compel me to reread the book of Nehemiah – and whenever an author of Christian fiction triggers in their readers the need to examine, or re-examine, the Bible, I think they have accomplished a marvellous feat!

In Harvest of Gold Sarah and Darius’ fragile marriage experiences even more challenges than it did in Harvest of Rubies (who would have thought it possible?!), which I won’t elaborate on to avoid spoilers.  This time around the reader gets a glimpse into Darius’ childhood and we learn why he is so closed off from emotion, and why Sarah faces such a hard battle to not only help her husband to love and be loved, but to turn her husband’s heart towards the Lord. 

We also meet two of Darius friends (who thoroughly charmed me), Lysander and Roxanne. Sidebar: I would love books with these two as protagonists. What fascinating characters they are!

Anyone who has read Harvest of Rubies quite simply has to continue Darius and Sarah’s story with Harvest of Gold – you will not be disappointed!  While no less intense than its predecessor, Harvest of Gold delivers everything I could have ever hoped for, for Sarah and Darius.  If you are new to this story, I would not suggest that you read Harvest of Gold as a stand-alone novel.  Where Harvest of Rubies focuses more strongly on Sarah, Harvest of Gold sheds more light on Darius; you need to read both to appreciate the character development of both Sarah and Darius.  The characters also recall several events of the past, and having no idea what they are referring to might diminish your connection to this story; Besides, it is an absolute joy to follow Darius and Sarah’s story from the very beginning, sharing both of their inner struggles and eventual enlightenment.  In this way, the state and progression of their relationship is also more understandable and relatable.

Afshar’s next book will be a sequel of sorts to my beloved Pearl In The Sand, and will tell the tale of Rahab and Salmone’s son, Boaz, and his Ruth – one of the most beloved romances of the Bible.  I can’t wait for this one! 

While relatively new to the trade, Afshar is one of those authors who so clearly has a God-given talent for writing as well as the Lord’s blessing over her work, and has already proven herself an author who won’t let you down.  Her ability to incorporate a work of fiction into a well-known Biblical tale and/or historical facts is second to none, her character development is strong and realistic, and her flare for romance and intrigue combine for an unforgettable read.  She has firmly established herself as one of my absolute favourite authors, right up there with Francine Rivers and Dee Henderson.  Ms Afshar, may God continue to bless you in your writing, and may you bring us many more books to love and cherish. 

Product Information:

Title: Harvest of Gold

Author: Tessa Afshar

Number of Pages: 368

Publisher: Moody Publishers

Year: 2013

ISBN-10: 0802405592

ISBN- 13: 978-0802405593

Related posts:

Review: Harvest of Rubies ~ Tessa Afshar

Review: Pearl in the Sand ~ Tessa Afshar 

REVIEW: LOSING LILA ~ SARAH ALDERSON

I suggest you first read my post on book 1, Hunting Lila, before continuing.  If this is a story you might like to follow, do not read this post – it contains major spoilers of book 1.

At the conclusion of Hunting Lila, Lila has discovered that Demos is not the man who murdered her mother, and that her mother was never truly killed at all; like Lila she is a psygen – she is kept on The Unit’s base and experimented on!  Alex and Jack also discover that The Unit is not what they think, and that the psygens they have been taught to hate are not as sociopathic as they were made to believe. 

Losing Lila by Sarah Alderson picks up a shortly after Hunting Lila left off.  A few days after the Joshua Tree shooting , Lila and Alex are in Mexico, meeting up with Demos and the other psygens in order to facilitate a plan to break Jack and Melissa out of The Unit’s custody.  With Alex’ support and encouragement Lila finally embraces her ability and works on controlling it and getting stronger.  It’s time to stop running and start fighting. 

The stakes go even higher when Lila learns that The Unit also got their hands on her father.  It turns out that her father has always been aware of the fact that her mother is telepathic, and that he has been working on a cure for psygens, to remove their abilities; but with his research The Unit need only reverse the basics and they can create psygens of their own – better, stronger psygens to be sold as weapons to the highest bidder.  

Is it possible for a handful of psygens, along with Alex, to break into the hi-tech military base, get down to maximum prisoner holding, break out Lila’s family and safely get back out, when all of them are wanted and hunted by The Unit?   Can a team of five people hope to take down an entire military institution who threatens them all?

Losing Lila was every bit as exciting as Hunting Lila, and concluded quite satisfactorily; however, several questions are left unanswered.  What happened to Richard Stirling?  Is Sara alive?  Will Jack ever discover the truth of his birth?  Sarah Alderson left the back door ajar, ensuring the possibility of a future novel  - though, should this not materialise, Losing Lila answered all the major questions, so we can live with it.  Though I would LOVE another book.  Maybe set a few years later, seeing the gang reunite for a kick-ass mission?  I was disappointed to have to say farewell to Lila, Alex, Jack, Demos, Suki, Key and the others; especially Mrs Johnson – what a hoot! 

One of the things I appreciated most about these books, is that there is no love triangle.  I am sick unto death of love triangles.  It was really great to know straight of the bat that Lila loves Alex, and while suspecting the feeling is mutual, he admits it fairly early on.  It was so refreshing to just have the two of them be a couple in love all along, their love threatened only by physical threats, no third party. 

The plotline is fast and furious, and once again there are several surprising revelations that make the outcome impossible to predict. 

I had a hard time putting these books down, and whenever you are literally sad to finish a book, the author did a fantastic job.  Sarah Alderson most definitely did.   Great, gripping read.

Product information:

Title: Losing Lila

Author: Sarah Alderson

Number of pages: 320

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Year: 2012

ISBN-10: 0857071971

ISBN-13: 978-0857071972 

REVIEW: HUNTING LILA ~ SARAH ALDERSON

Hunting Lila by Sarah Alderson is about seventeen year old Lila who is suddenly taken to London by her father after her mother’s murder, separating her from her brother Jack and his best friend Alex – the guy she’s loved all her life (though she’s the only one who knows this). Shortly after her mother’s death Lila discovers that she has telekinetic abilities.  For four years she carries this secret until a mugging exposes her to others.  Lila leaves London behind and runs to California, into the arms of her best friends and protectors; Alex and Jack. 

Happy to be with the people she loves best, Lila tries to simply forget what happened in London and enjoy the time she has with them.  Jack and Alex have both joined the marine corps, and work for a secret organisation called The Unit – though Lila has never discovered what it is they do; only that they hope to track down her mother’s killer.  Lila doubts her decision to come to California when she starts suspecting that Jack doesn’t want her there; but when she realises that Jack and Alex never leave her alone and that men from their unit are always watching their house, Lila starts suspecting that Jack and Alex fear for her safety. 

Lila then learns that Jack and Alex are trying to capture a band of very dangerous criminals, who have now discovered that Jack has a sister.  They hope to kidnap Lila in order to have collateral with which to bargain with The Unit.  Content to be in Alex’s company, Lila doesn’t worry about the situation overmuch, but Lila soon discovers that there are others like her; people with special abilities – and that Jack and Alex’ job is to hunt them down, and “contain” them.  The only people she trusts to keep her safe, are actually the very people whose job it is to capture her.  Lila then discovers that her mother’s murderer is also a like her, only he’s the most powerful of their kind – and it is he and his cronies who want Lila.

Can Lila trust Jack and Alex with her secret?  If they were to find out, would they still love her?  Can she trust them to protect her when they have been trained to despise and dispose of her kind?

Hunting Lila is the most gripping read I’ve had in a really long time.  The story is very well plotted and written, the characters are wonderfully developed and the intrigue of it all won’t allow you to put the book down until you’ve finished it. 

Especially Lila’s fears about being considered a freak and her feelings towards Alex are wonderfully written – you as reader feel what Lila feels.   Anytime an author can awaken such deep emotion within you, you’ve got a winner in your hands.

Hunting Lila and its sequel, Losing Lila, came highly recommended by my best friend, Erika – so automatically I bought both at the same time.  What a relief.  When I finished Hunting Lila I immediately picked up Losing Lila.  This story is so gripping I couldn’t wait to read more. 

I enjoyed this book every bit as much as The Hunger Games trilogy and the Twilight saga.  One of my favourite books I've read all year.

Product information:

Title: Hunting Lila

Author: Sarah Alderson

Number of pages: 320

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Year: 2011

ISBN-10: 0857071955

ISBN-13: 978-0857071958 

REVIEW: PEARL IN THE SAND ~ TESSA AFSHAR

We all know the story of Rahab: A Canaanite prostitute who saved the lives of two Hebrews in Jericho and secured, for her family, exemption from the annihilation of Jericho.  The Bible then tells us that Rahab married Salmone, the Hebrew leader of the tribe of Judah, and had a son named Boaz.  Through their line, Jesus Christ was ultimately born.  Though a Canaanite prostitute, Rahab is described in the Bible as a woman of faith.

We read this story, take note of the content, but never quite imagine how it all must have come together.  Why would a Canaanite woman betray her country, her people, her gods, for the God of the Hebrews?  Why did the Hebrews agree to spare a woman of the enemy they were instructed to destroy?  How did she then come to marry a Hebrew? The leader of Judah, no less.  Didn’t he care about her past or how it could affect his position?  How was Rahab, a zonah, treated by the Hebrews?  Pearl in the Sand by Tessa Afshar, provides us with a beautiful possibility of how Rahab’s story might have gone.  Though fictional, this story is built on a foundation of Biblical facts.

Rahab, a Canaanite, turns her back on the gods of her people at a young age, disgusted with the rituals surrounding them.  Fornication at the temples, sacrificing human lives, Rahab can’t stand the practices of her people.  

A severe drought causes her family to suffer.  They have no food, and no means to obtain money.  That is when Rahab is betrayed by the man she loves and depends on most: Her father.  At the age of fifteen Rahab is sold into prostitution in order to provide for her family.  Though she has no choice, Rahab does put her foot down and makes it clear that if she must do this, she will do it on her own terms.  She refuses to become a temple prostitute to be used by any man who walks by her, and chooses her own customers.  Hating what she has to do, Rahab tries to minimize her disgrace by only being with one man at a time, for a period of time she determines.  She guards her heart, refusing to ever hand it over to any man, and chooses carefully to whom she will give her body.  Rahab becomes wealthy and runs her own inn – not a brothel. Even though Rahab has all the fine material things she could want, her soul remains empty.  She can never fill the hole in her innermost being… until she hears of the God of the Hebrews.

Having been freed of the slavery in Egypt, having wandered the desert for forty years, the Israelites are finally entering the promised land and conquering Canaan.  The biggest cities are defeated to the absolute bafflement of all in Jericho.  

Desperate for something to cling to, Rahab absorbs every piece of information she learns of the God of the Hebrews.  He is powerful, and by all accounts a compassionate and loving God.  What makes Him even more intriguing is that he forbids the practices the Canaanites’ gods encourage, the practices Rahab herself abhors.  Even though she knows that according to the law of the God of the Hebrews someone like her (a prostitute) must be stoned, so severe is her sin, she cannot help but thirst for Him.  Alone on her roof, Rahab instinctively prays to the God of the Hebrews, and gives herself to His service if He will have her.  She promises to, never again, sell her body.  Peace unlike any she has ever known settles over Rahab, and a woman of faith is born.

A few weeks later Rahab notices two men trying to enter Jericho through the entrance to the wall in which her inn is situated.  Immediately realising that they are Hebrews, Rahab intercedes with the guards, drawing attention to herself, and gets Hanani and Ezra into her inn as fast as she can and hides them from the soldiers.  Later, while having dinner, Rahab asks them about their God.  By the time Ezra and Hanani secretly leave Jericho the following morning, Rahab has made two new friends, and has secured a promise that she and her family will be spared when the Israelites conquer Jericho – Rahab never doubts that God will give them the victory.

Salmone, the leader of the tribe of Judah, is outraged when he learns that his friends have promised to spare a Canaanite woman and her family – God clearly instructed the Israelites to destroy Canaan in its entirety.  Hanani and Ezra, however, are convinced that the Lord sent Rahab to them, and as such, God must have a plan for her as well.  Joshua, the leader of Israel, agrees, and it is decided that Rahab and her family will be spared.

After the fall of Jericho, Rahab makes another request of Ezra and Hanani.  She and her family wishes to join the Hebrews.  To proud Salmone’s dismay, Joshua agrees and puts Rahab and her family in the tribe of Judah, instructing Salmone himself to see to their integration into the ways of the Hebrews.  Despising Rahab’s former profession, Salmone can’t seem to forget her past, and even though Rahab appears to be humble and shy (impossible for a zonah!), and genuinely desperate to please his beloved Lord, Salmone continues to treat her and her family with a cold disdain.  It seems, however, that God intends transforming Salmone’s soul as much as he has transformed Rahab’s.  Can it be?  Can the leader of the tribe of Judah truly fall in love with a former zonah?  And more importantly, even though the only Rahab he has ever known is the kind of gentle, humble, God-fearing woman he has always yearned for, can he make peace with her past?

Pearl in the Sand is the most beautiful book I have read in years!  I rank it right up there with my absolute favourites, Francine Rivers’ Redeeming Love and Mark of the Lion, and as with these, Pearl in the Sand is one of those books I wish everybody I know would read. 

This fictional account of Rahab’s story is so beautifully written and touches on so many things that must have been issues for Rahab, that you can’t help but think that Rahab’s true circumstances must have been very close to what is described in this book.  I never considered something as simple as Rahab and her family having to first learn all the ways of the Hebrews before entering their camp, so as not to defile it in any way – the smallest thing done in ignorance could have meant the death penalty for any one of them. 

I love Afshar’s depiction of the characters.  I especially love the character of Joshua – though very respectfully done, Joshua is quite a humourous character (and by that I mean that while he is very much the wise, trusted and capable leader the Bible describes him to be, he has quite the sense of humour!) It’s sometimes hard to imagine Biblical characters being anything other than serious, but surely they couldn’t have been serious all the time?  This book does a beautiful job of giving all of the characters a lighter side, making them very relatable. 

I especially love the scene explaining the title of the book – a beautiful pearl-in-the-sand-analogy that you must discover for yourself.   

Words cannot effectively express how much I love this book.  Read it!

Product information:

Title: Pearl In The Sand

Author: Tessa Afshar

Number of pages: 320

Publisher: Moody Publishers

Year: 2010

ISBN-10: 0802458815

ISBN-13: 978-0802458810