Title: The Pharaoh's Daughter
Author: Mesu Andrews
Publisher: Water Brooke
Pages: 384
ISBN: 978-1-60142-599-7
Publication Date: March 17th, 2015

Synopsis:

“Fear is the most fertile ground for faith.”
   

“You will be called Anippe, daughter of the Nile. Do you like it?” Without waiting for a reply, she pulls me into her squishy, round tummy for a hug.
I’m trying not to cry. Pharaoh’s daughters don’t cry.
When we make our way down the tiled hall, I try to stop at ummi Kiya’s chamber. I know her spirit has flown yet I long for one more moment. Amenia pushes me past so I keep walking and don’t look back.

Like the waters of the Nile, I will flow.

Anippe has grown up in the shadows of Egypt’s good god Pharaoh, aware that Anubis, god of the afterlife, may take her or her siblings at any moment. She watched him snatch her mother and infant brother during childbirth, a moment which awakens in her a terrible dread of ever bearing a child. Now she is to be become the bride of Sebak, a kind but quick-tempered Captain of Pharaoh Tut’s army. In order to provide Sebak the heir he deserves and yet protect herself from the underworld gods, Anippe must launch a series of deceptions, even involving the Hebrew midwives—women ordered by Tut to drown the sons of their own people in the Nile.

When she finds a baby floating in a basket on the great river, Anippe believes Egypt’s gods have answered her pleas, entrenching her more deeply in deception and placing her and her son Mehy, whom handmaiden Miriam calls Moses, in mortal danger.
 
As bloodshed and savage politics shift the balance of power in Egypt, the gods reveal their fickle natures and Anippe wonders if her son, a boy of Hebrew blood, could one day become king. Or does the god of her Hebrew servants, the one they call El Shaddai, have a different plan—for them all?

Review:
In the last couple of years, I have plunged head first into Biblical fiction. Years ago, there wasn't as big as a selection as there is today. A part of that growth is in part to Mesu Andrews' books. And what books they are!

Mesu Andrews has traveled around in the Old Testament from Dinah to Jezebel's Granddaughter. The range of research that she puts into her books is phenomenal and even though her work is Biblical fiction, she does her best to stay as true to the original story as presented in the Bible, but with added fiction to fill in and make the story more relateable and with a little more adventure.

I have always loved ancient Egypt. It was one of my favorite eras to study in history class. There is just so much there and it all hasn't been discovered yet, which was just proven this past week with some archeological digs going on. Mesu Andrews just brought her beautiful writing, to my favorite time and my goodness how they mesh!

I think it is safe to say, most people know the story of Moses, whether through Sunday school or Cecil B. Demil's classic that is a tradition in my house every Easter. We know Moses was raised in a palace and by Pharaoh's daughter. Mesu takes this story deeper and connects us more with a very thought out and possible timeline (one we may never know for certain, but this one was great!) and one that you didn't know where it would fully lead you after what is known.

I wasn't sure how I would feel reading about Anippe, when we are first really introduced to her, she comes off as a bit spoiled, which I can get being with her a princess, but as you get to know her through the constant shifting time of life, I grew to care for her as her character opened up. I applauded her for standing up for her sister, who in all honesty, got so many second chances from her. Anippe had a deep love for Ankhe, even with Ankhe's firmly planted bitterness. I was back and forth on my feelings for Anippe's sister. How she was treated was heartbreaking by all of those who should have been closest to her, but her response was harsh and at times cruel.

In comparison, Anippe faced her struggles with grace and she grew and learned from them. She had a deep love for her son, Mehy and in her way cared for his birth family. It was the connection that helped her to grow and be saved in so many ways. It opened her up to new possibilities.

It was also in this story, that we get to meet Miriam. We are introduced to her as a young girl among the rushes, as she watched after her baby brother to being a midwife in the skilled labor slave camp where she and her family lived. After reading these parts about her, I can't wait for Miriam's story! Miriam was a gentle soul who cared and loved all those around her. I can't wait see how Miriam's story is expanded on.

Mered was a wonderful character to read about. He has such love and dedication to his family, along with a strong friendship to Sebak, his master. Mered was honorable and he was valued for the work and dedication he offered. Despite everything that was going on and that he and his family were enslaved, he tried to keep positive for his family and those around him and also watching after to protect everyone.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I'm so glad I closed out 2014 on such a high note.

Too Read!
5 out of 5

About the Author:
Mesu Andrews is the award-winning author of Love Amid the Ashes, Love's Sacred Song, and Love in a Broken Vessel. Winner of the 2012 ECPA Christian Book Award for New Author, she has devoted herself to passionate and intense study of Scripture, bringing the biblical world vividly alive for her readers. She lives in Washington. Learn more at www.mesuandrews.com.


Thank you to the author and to Mesu's BFF Group, I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Topic:

Review:

Ho was your book week?

Title: Betting on Hope
Author: Debra Clopton
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Pages: 320
ISBN: 978-1-4016-9049-6
Publication Date: February 1st, 2015

Synopsis:

A bet gone wrong. A small town’s meddling. And a cowboy intent on saving his ranch.

Maggie Hope is an advice columnist whose background leaves her with little advice to give . . . and it’s beginning to show. When Maggie fills in at an interview with champion horse trainer Tru Monahan, the on-camera chemistry between them is undeniable. Maggie’s bosses know this is the opportunity she’s been looking for to launch her career—and their bank accounts. In order to save her column, Maggie takes Tru up on the bet that he can teach her to ride a quick-stepping cutting horse like any cowgirl, despite the fact that she has never been on a horse. And in the meantime, she can get the scoop on the man under the cowboy hat.

Tru has been on the competition circuit for longer than he’d like, but he knows it’s the only way he can afford to keep the Four of Hearts Ranch that means so much to his ailing grandfather. So when his sponsors see the opportunity for Tru’s fans to get to know the star on a more intimate level, he knows he must oblige. To his dismay, Maggie not only invades his small town of Wishing Springs, but she also invades his heart, and that is something he cannot let any woman do—for her own good.
In Wishing Springs, Maggie finds what she has always been looking for: a community and a home. But when her past catches up to her, it threatens everything, even the tender hope that this town holds all of her heart’s desires.

Review:
How many times have you said, "You wanna bet?" If you're like me...a lot! Well, what happens when someone takes you up on the bet and it goes out to millions of viewers on TV? You have to go through with it. Betting on Hope is all about that and more.

I thought going into this story, it would be your typical light romance. I was pleasantly surprised to find out it was more then that. Maggie Hope is a girl who has enjoyed being behind the scenes writing her weekly column for the paper. She was content with her job and the quiet life she now lived. She was less then thrilled when her friend got sick and volunteered her to do an interview on TV, with a guy she mentioned she thought was cute.

Maggie is a sweet girl, who had a rough childhood, that has pushed past it all, and who for the most part is also a klutz. Never where heels on gravel, girls, you will bite it in the end usually. She also is a girl who has a kind and compassionate heart, and despite her insecurities, she pushes through to the end. She pulls deep for her strength and does the opposite of what she would most love to do, run away!

Tru Monahan is what you call your dream cowboy. He is a champion cowboy and horse trainer. He cares for everyone around him, he takes his responsibilities seriously, and he is a gentleman to the core. He isn't one for interviews, especially after a past that haunts him, but when he meets Maggie, he realizes she isn't the typical journalist. Despite is lack of desire, he is a guy that puts Maggie's comfort ahead of his own.

Tru and Maggie were fun characters to read about. There was a good bit of humor and a sweet romance between them. I wasn't expecting it, but there was another story as well that played out. It is one that Maggie was apart of. We are introduced to Jenna fairly early into the story and you just feel for the girl and the struggles she faces, but applaud her for what she is doing. I enjoyed the added element that her story brought. It allowed the rest of the book to go further emotionally and pull Maggie's and Tru's emotions out more and made them even more relateable.

This was an enjoyable story!!

Too Read
4 out of 5

About the Author:
Debra Clopton is a multi-award winning novelist and has written more than 22 novels. Along with writing, Debra helps her husband teach the youth at their local Cowboy Church. Debra's goal is to shine a light toward God while she entertains readers with her words.








Giveaway:
Saddle up for a new romance from novelist Debra Clopton, Betting on Hope! In Wishing Springs, Maggie finds what she has always been looking for: a community and a home. But when her past catches up to her, it threatens everything, even the tender hope that this town holds all of her heart’s desires.

Enter to win a Kindle Fire HD 6 to celebrate the release of Betting on Hope! 

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A Kindle Fire
• A copy of Betting on Hope

Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on March 8th. Winner will be announced March 9th on Debra's blog.



Thank you to Litfuse and Thomas Nelson, I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.