We’ve finished the sixth month of the Unlocking the Past 2022 Reading Challenge: Around the World. This month we traveled to the Mediterranean, and I leaned on Among the Reads for this month and reviewed Daughter of Rome by Tessa Afshar. Once you read her review, don’t forget to comment to be entered for your chance to win a copy. Don’t forget to check out her full review and all the awesome quote images she made here.
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Daughter of Rome
by Tessa Afshar
Genre: Biblical Fiction
Plot Overview:
A woman with a devastating secret. A man bent on proving his worth. A chance encounter that catapults them into the heart of history.
When the daughter of a prominent Roman general meets a disinherited Jewish immigrant, neither one can dream of God’s plan to transform them into the most influential couple of the early church. Nor can they anticipate the mountains that will threaten to bury them. Their courtship unwittingly shadowed by murder and betrayal, Priscilla and Aquila slowly work to build a community of believers, while their lives grow increasingly complicated thanks to a shaggy dog, a mysterious runaway, and a ruthless foe desperate for love. But when they’re banished from their home by a capricious emperor, they must join forces with an unusual rabbi named Paul and fight to turn treachery into redemption.
With impeccable research and vivid detail, Daughter of Rome is both an emotive love story and an immersive journey through first-century Rome and Corinth, reminding readers once again why Debbie Macomber has said that “no one brings the Bible to life like Tessa Afshar.”
Daughter of Rome is an intriguing account of what the lives of Priscilla and Aquila could have been like. I was very interested in seeing the research that the author did to determine what type of environment they likely grew up in based on what we know from Scripture.
Aquila experienced firsthand the consequences of choosing to follow Yeshua. Not willing to deny his faith, he was disowned and lost his earthly inheritance.
Despite having been treated abominably by her brother, Priscilla treated others with kindness and compassion. One of my favorite moments in the story was when Marcus, a young boy Priscilla and Aquila took in, was helping minister to a woman who had come to them in terrible condition. When Priscilla questioned him about where he had learned to take care of someone like that, he replied “Don’t you know? I learned from you.”
I especially loved the way Priscilla was always caring for those in need, even at great cost to herself. She was constantly taking in “strays” and sharing all she had with them.
Another part I really enjoyed was when Aquila was getting ready for their wedding. He was so sweetly funny as he stressed over details and was so absent-minded!
There were many spiritual lessons learned along the way. Aquila had to learn to set aside his pride several different times. Priscilla learned forgiveness – for herself and for her enemies. Salvation was boldly proclaimed.
If you enjoy Biblical fiction, you are bound to enjoy Daughter of Rome.
PURCHASE LINKS
Amazon Baker Bookhouse Barnes & Noble Books-a-Million Book Depository Bookshop.org Christianbook.com Indiebound.org
Giveaway
For your chance to win a print copy, comment with what book YOU read for this month and you will also be entered into the year-end Grand Prize Reader Basket. Use the Rafflecopter below for extra entries and to mark that you left a comment. Entries end on July 7th at midnight EST, and the winner will be drawn sometime that week and notified by email. The winner will be announced don’t the Rafflecopter widget. *Open to all residents of the contiguous USA, legally able to enter, and an e-book format or Amazon Gift Card will be awarded to those outside that range who are legally able to enter.
For the June challenge I read Mesu Andrew’s Potiphar’s Wife. I highly recommend this book! It was fascinating to read about the Egyptian culture but also painful. Still researching for July’s challenge.
I read Potiphar’s Wife, too. It was excellent!
I read On Distant Shores by Sarah Sundin. It was based in Sicily and Italy during WWII. I have read Daughter of Rome before and it was amazing!
Daughter of Rome is on my Kindle just waiting. I love Tessa Afshar’s books. This month I read a general market book..The Room on Rue Amelie by Kristin Harmel which is set in Paris.
I read Saving the Marques’s Granddaughter by Carrie Fancet Pagels.
I hope to read The Apostle’s Sister for July. By Angela Hunt.
For June I read Sarah Sundin’s With Every Letter. It had been on my TBR for awhile. It was really good without too much horror of war. I haven’t decided for July yet.
I read Counted With the Stars by Connilyn Cossette in June. For July, I plan on reading the second book in the Out From Egypt series, Shadow of the Storm.
For June, I read The Patmos Deception by Davis Bunn (I had planned on a Poirot, but it turns out I have to get some spring cleaning done to reach that part of the TBR pile 😉 ).
I enjoyed the unpredictable nature of both the mystery and personal parts of this book. It was suspenseful and exciting. I enjoyed learning about ancient and modern Greek history, and ancient history about Christians. I really enjoyed the main characters, and the kind people they knew- especially Carey’s kind grandfather, and that sweet and hilarious family in Athens 😀 !
This book would make a great (action adventure romcom) movie. My only criticism is that we hear about Carey’s amazing forensic skills, but the skills we witness her use are her research skills. For July, I plan on reading Agatha Christie’s Parker Pyne anthology.