Description: Alanah, a Canaanite, is no stranger to fighting and survival. When her family is killed in battle with the Hebrews, she disguises herself and sneaks onto the battlefield to avenge her family. The one thing she never counted on was surviving.
Tobiah, a Hebrew warrior, is shocked to find an unconscious, wounded woman among the Canaanite casualties. Compelled to bring her to a Hebrew healer back at their camp, he is soon confronted with a truth he can’t ignore: the only way to protect this enemy is to marry her.
Unused to being weak and vulnerable, Alanah submits to the marriage—for now. As she comes to know and respect Tobiah and his people, however, she begins to second-guess her plans of escape. But when her past has painfully unanticipated consequences, the tentative peace she’s found with Tobiah, the Hebrews, and Yahweh is shaken to the core. Can Alanah’s fierce heart and strength withstand the ensuing threats to her life and all she’s come to love?
My Thoughts: Connilyn's strong suit is being able to depict life in the Bible in ways I would have never thought of. Usually, Biblical fiction follows main or else secondary figures from the scripture, but Connilyn instead focuses on people whom the Bible doesn't mention, and in doing so, makes the story all the more relatable. Because instead of reading about Moses or Rahab, who most people already have a set view of, she tells the stories of Kiya, Shira, and Alanah: women caught in the fringes of the Biblical narrative, trying to live lives of faith as best they can.
However, Alanah's story was one that I didn't find believable. First was that she fought in the initial battle. While this offered an opportunity for her to be forced into a relationship with Tobiah without his being an aggressor, it felt unrealistic that she would try to fight, be knocked out, and then be rescued by Tobiah when he suddenly realizes her gender. And there were other events that did not seem to fit with what would have actually happened, and in the end of the story, what was meant to show God's provision, instead felt like extreme coincidence.
While I really liked the second book in the series, this was simply alright. The romance was good and the writing was easy to read, yet the Biblical aspects did not feel as well woven as they did in the last. That is not to say that other readers will agree. Connilyn's take on the story of Jericho is unique among other Biblical fiction, offering a perspective I had yet to see. And, perhaps, even just for that, this book is worth the read.
I have provided an honest review after having received a copy of this book from the publisher.
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