Author: Tessa Afshar
Series: Harvest of Rubies #1
Age: Adult
Genres: Biblical Fiction, Historical Fiction
Publication Date:
Publisher: Moody Publisher
Source: Paperback
Purchase: Paperback | Kindle | Audible | Christian Book | Lifeway | B&N
Synopsis:
Sarah, the prophet Nehemiah’s cousin, is Senior Scribe to the Queen of Persia – the only woman to have held such an important post in the Persian Empire. A genius who is more at home with scrolls and accounts than with people, Sarah finds her worth in her achievements.
After solving a particularly thorny plot, she loses the job that is at the center of her life, and finds herself married to a man who despises her. Through the heartache of loss, Sarah discovers the joys of friendship and the peace of God. To her astonishment, she learns that she has something to offer that is worth far beyond her ability with languages and sums. Her very being proves a blessing to others.
Can she win the heart of her stubborn aristocratic husband, whom she has grown to love?My Rating:
Oh my, my, my. This is EXACTLY why I love Tessa Afshar's writing ... no seriously. This gave me so many feels. Tears, laughter, happiness, anger, sadness...just everything in between. The writing as usual is flawless. Tessa takes so much care into creating her characters be they fictional or actual people from the Bible. Her use of scripture pulls you in and the sound, biblically wisdom shared makes you personally reflect. Harvest of Rubies is without a doubt a PERFECT read and after going through the book, I understand the title even more.
The story follows Sarah, who is the cousin of the Prophet Nehemiah. Sarah has never felt loved or been shown affection since the time of her mother's death. She grows up believing that her talents and approval are her worth. Sarah was a strong, stubborn girl. I LOVED everything about her. She was definitely the kind of person you may consider a depressed workaholic. She viewed herself as worthless never fully understanding her value. She pulled away from God and struggled to keep her own path lighted. She taught me so much and revealed so much about myself as I read this book. I absolutely adored her sense of humor even when humor wasn't necessary. She always made me laugh.
Darius, an aristocrat, is her arranged husband. He seemed like a very uptight man, but he was very much soft-spoken and sweet. I loved learning about his mother, who was a Jew. I enjoyed seeing him grow as well and let go of his own ideas to move forward with life. He was just as stubborn as Sarah and somewhat stuck in his ways because of his upbringing. I loved his view on marriage and love. He was a sweet, loving, caring and protective man. He was even funny as well.
The romance was perfection. A slow burn for sure as there was some major drama that ensued between Sarah and Darius. She was set on not marrying and made a fool of herself. He felt disrespected and played with. Both struggled at the beginning with their feelings, but after months apart they began to soften to one another. I loved how real their romance was especially considering the times back then. The differences between them was a bit of a hindrances, but as they began to let go and as Sarah opened to God things began to follow for them. I just loved the last few chapters when things took off for them!
Queen Damaspia is HILARIOUS. She is the type of woman to meddle in the affairs of others to help, but make things worse. She had such a good heart. I loved her friendship with Sarah. I liked how she could keep the lines between friend and queen when need be. She was annoying at times, but she definitely helped Sarah a ton.
The Prophet Nehemiah ... no words can express how amazing he was! I mean, he's a man of God and a prophet from the Bible, so you can only imagine the knowledge and truth he rattles off to Sarah. I must have highlighted everything he said because I could connect with the revelations he was sharing to Sarah and Darius.
The secondary characters were all phenomenal in their roles. Pari, Shushan and Bardia were such amazing friends and loyal to Sarah. They definitely had their part in her growth. Teispes irritated me with his wicked ways, but evil has it's purpose in our growth so he played his part well.
Do I recommend this?! Most definitely!!
I cannot wait to read the sequel, Harvest of Gold, to see how their marriage and relationship evolves.
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