Revell Blog Tour: Love Amid the Ashes

Here's a description of the book from Revell:

"An epic story of love and forgiveness, suffering and restoration

When her beloved grandfather Isaac dies, Dinah must follow his final command: travel to Job's household to marry his son. After Job's world comes crashing down, Dinah finds herself drawn to this great man brought low. What will she risk to fight for his survival?

Mesu Andrews weaves an emotional and stirring account of Job and Dinah. Love Amid the Ashes breathes life, romance, and passion into the classic biblical story of suffering and steadfast faith."

My Rating: Spring

My Review:

From ashes to hope, Love Amid the Ashes takes the reader on an exotic and creative flight through the stories of some well-known biblical characters. The journey includes unfathomable despair and touching, gentle love, and the book is both intriguing and engaging.

The author explains her intricate plot weaving in a note at the end, and it is obvious that a lot of research and time went into bringing this book together. I was surprised at the connections between characters, and I must admit that I'm not quite sure what to think of the conclusions inferred about the biblical history of these characters. However, when looking at this story for what it is--biblical fiction--I think the author presents a powerful message in a clever way.

I also have to admit that this book almost reminded me of a combination of historical fiction and fantasy. That is not to say that the book presents unbelievable elements, but rather that the settings and situations were presented in a hard-to-picture and unusual way. The descriptions of the buildings, of the "mountain" of ashes and dung, etc. were a bit strange for me to imagine in my mind.

All in all, though, Love Amid the Ashes is an intricate story that reminds readers of the sovereignty and majesty of God, as well as the hope of His love and grace.

*With thanks to Revell Publishing for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.*

“Available March 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”