Bread of Angels
By: Tessa Afshar
Find it on:
Third Person • Fiction • 400 Pages
About the Book (Backcover Blurb):
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.
Why I Choose this Book:
Easy: It’s about Lydia in the Bible. I was named after the Lydia in the Bible and before this book I’d never seen a Biblical fiction book about her. I was thrilled at the chance to read this book – in fact I probably did a happy dance when I was approved as a reviewer.
What I Thought about this Book:
Who knows if it was the high expectations that I came into the book with, but for some reason the book didn’t completely blow me away. I did like it a fair amount, and thankfully I didn’t have any issues with it, but it’s not one of those books that I’ll be gushing about for years to come.
The plot was interesting – taking me in directions I wouldn’t have guessed and moving at a reasonable pace. The characters were well developed and easy to relate to. The world building was fairly detailed, even now a month after reading it I can see the courtyard and vats of purple dye in my mind.
Possibly one of the reasons I didn’t connect with the book as much as I was hoping was because it took place over a long period of time – over twenty years. They skipped most of those years and the transition was smooth, but it still tripped me up.
The faith content in the book was really spot-on, and there was a lot of it without coming across as preachy. I’m always amazed at how Tessa Afshar does that. And speaking of the author, I’ll have to say that I’ve come to really enjoy her writing. She does a fantastic job of making the world during the Bible times come alive with vibrant colors, smells, sounds, and textures. Plus, the way she weaves God’s truth into her stories? Wow. I’m am so thankful for her writing.
Conclusion:
Although this book left me wanting in the “gripping” department, I still enjoyed it and didn’t have any issues with the content. I would happily hand it to girls as young as fourteen or fifteen and know that they had a solid book to dive into.
Rating:
I’m giving Bread of Angels 3 out of 5 stars
Noveltea 