A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers

This was my first chunkster and I hope to get one more in this week. We'll have to see how it all plays out. :) Here is my review:

Reading about history is not always easy. But the characters in this book were amazing! The story follows the journey of Hadassah, who is in Jerusalem for the Passover with her family. The city becomes under attack by the Romans, and so after losing her family, Hadassah is sold into slavery. She ends up in Rome bought by Enoch, the head of the servants to the Valerian family. She has to keep the secret of being a Christian but tells the daughter Julia stories. Hadassah becomes Julia’s personal maid and looks after her. While Marcus does his best with his sister Julia and the family business. Their father Decimus tries to maintain some control over his family but finds it near to impossible. Phoebe, his wife, is gentle but has a hard time dealing with her children’s’ attitude not only to their family but life. Will Hadassah ever be free or will she end up speaking the truth and have to face the consequences?

Francine Rivers is an amazing writer. This is my first book by her and I really enjoyed it. Even though, at times, it got a little gorier than I would’ve liked. Yet Francine stayed true to the time period and I appreciated that most of all. More than once, I struggled to put the book down. I found it uplifting and an encouragement to me. As well as a reminder of what not to become because things that come up are to some extent happening today.

Hadassah is an incredible woman because of her humble nature and her passion in being a Christian. No other character seemed to jump out at e except for Marcus. He has to deal with feelings that are new to him. It is an obstacle in his way that he needs to overcome. I also enjoyed reading about Ephesus and the Apostle John. We may not know much but I enjoyed the author’s take on him.
This book is a brilliant work. I enjoyed it not only because it is Christian fiction but the historical side of it too. It is not an easy time to write about but I learned so much. I didn’t agree with all of the practices done but things were a lot different back then. I give it a 6/5. I can’t wait to read An Echo in the Darkness to see what happens next in the lives of the characters.

I started the first book in the Jesus Chronicles by Time LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins called John's Story: The Last Eyewitness. I am not feeling too good so not sure how far I will get into this book. Off to rest.