Tag Archives: #book

Cover Crush: The Palace Spy: Ancient Historical Fiction in Biblical Times Set in the Royal Courts of Queen Esther by Tessa Afshar

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Not yet published/Expected Publish date Nov 17, 2026 by Bethany House Publishers

This post is both a cover reveal and cover crush.

My Thoughts: Two days ago, Tessa Afshar posted a cover reveal at Instagram about her upcoming book “The Palace Spy: Ancient Historical Fiction in Biblical Times Set in the Royal Courts of Queen Esther,” and the stunning colors of the lady’s dress and the background. The background has so much detail that draws you into the scene and gives you a sense of time and place.

Are you looking for clean romance with an ancient historical setting? This one may be for you! I am definitely pre-ordering a copy of this book and I do have many of Afshar’s books on my wish-list!

Stephanie

About the Book:

Homeless after the sudden death of her master, Danna is traveling in search of work when a runaway horse takes off with its royal rider. Bringing the wild mare under and I was control, she discovers that its occupant is none other than Queen Esther of Persia. When they realize the horse bolting was no accident, Esther secretly employs Danna to find out who is behind the attempt on her life.

Allon tends his expansive apple orchards, determined to spend the rest of his days as a simple farmer. But when Esther summons him for one final task, he cannot refuse the queen he once served, even if this new assignment threatens to resurrect the ghosts of his past. As Danna and Allon are tasked with establishing Esther’s safety, they learn that working together is enough to tie even the steadiest of hearts into knots. With more at stake than either suspected, they find themselves in a race against time to save the life of their queen.

This gripping finale to the Queen Esther’s Court series unveils a fascinating glimpse into Esther’s life beyond the well-known biblical story.

You can pre-order this book on Amazon

About the Author:

Tessa Afshar’s books have been translated into 11 languages, and been on Publishers Weekly and CBA bestseller lists. Her novel, Pearl in the Sand is the recipient of ECPA’s Bronze Milestone Sales Award. Tessa’s novels have won a number of awards including the Christy and INSPY, and been finalists for the Carol and the ECPA Christian Book Awards. Land of Silence was chosen as one of top five Christian fiction titles of the year by Library Journal. The Way Home, God’s Invitation to New Beginnings, is the winner of the Christian Book Award in the Bible Study category.

Tessa was born in the Middle East and lived there the first fourteen years of her life before attending boarding school for girls in England. She fell in love with Jesus after moving to the United States. Tessa and her husband live in New England where they tend their mediocre garden.

Reader’s Log 066: A Woman’s Place Is in the Story by Sandra L Glahn (Seeing Women in the Biblical Narrative)

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IVP Academic sent me an invite via email a few days ago, asking me if I would like to read and review “A Woman’s Place Is in the Story,” and I was thrilled to accept the invite. What perfect timing, I thought. I first heard of Dr. Glahn’s work through Dr. Carmen Joy Imes and I have a few of Glahn’s books already on my wish-list, including, “Nobody’s Mother: Artemis of the Ephesians in Antiquity and the New Testament.”

Recently, I have been thrilled to have discovered many female and male scholars addressing this topic, and I’m looking forward to the continuous journey in reading and studying these much needed works.

When I read the book description and the first few pages of “A Woman’s Place Is in the Story,” it was like the author was reading my thoughts I’ve had over the years about women of the Bible, in the Old Testament and New Testament. I am certain it will be thus for many women and men who come across this book. A big thank you to IVP Academic for the advanced copy! – Stephanie

About the book:

Expected Publish Date: Aug 25, 2026 by IVP Academic

We Misread the Bible When Women Are Left Out

Ignore them, marginalize them, or dismiss them as brief cameos—these have long been common approaches to Christian teaching on the women of the Bible. The result? We miss their significance in the biblical story and, in turn, misunderstand Scripture itself. Scholar Sandra Glahn challenges this pattern, calling readers to recognize how biblical narrative actually works. When we do, we see that women are not incidental to the story but essential to it.

In A Woman’s Place Is in the Story, Glahn models how we can better read stories in their literary context and understand why the original authors included what they did. She reexamines both well-known and neglected passages, such as Tamar and Judah, the Hebrew midwives, Abigail, and the Samaritan woman at the well. Even when they appear briefly, women in Scripture move the plot forward and reveal profound truths about who God is.

In this book, you’ll explore how leaving women out of the biblical story changes the plot and meaning that was intended, how distorting women as they appear in the biblical story affects the way we view women in general, and how misunderstanding how women appear in the story affects the way we view God.

Women have always been part of the whole story of God. With A Woman’s Place Is in the Story, discover how rightly seeing women in the biblical narrative leads to more faithful interpretation and application for the benefit of all God’s people.

It’s time to tell the whole story.

Author the Author:

Dr. Sandra Glahn is a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary. She is the author or co-author of more than twenty-five books, including Nobody’s Mother: Artemis of the Ephesians in Antiquity and the New Testament and her forthcoming work (August 2026), A Woman’s Place Is in the Story: Seeing Women in the Biblical Narrative.

Reader’s Log 054: Girl Lost by Kate Angelo

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I have been on the lookout for more mystery thrillers written by christian authors and I came across Kate Angelo and I thought I would add her book “Girl Lost” to my to-read list. This book comes out in September so I may purchase it when it does. I did spot this book on NetGalley but decided not to request it because I’m working on my backlog of reviews to turn in. So many books, so little time.

Stephanie

Pub Date Sep 23 2025 by Revell

Christian | Mystery & Thrillers | Romance

Description

A LOST BABY

Luna Rosati found acceptance and comfort with her childhood foster family, but when she became pregnant at sixteen, she gave the baby up for adoption and left without a word. Now a CIA counterintelligence officer, Luna wants to reconcile her fractured sense of self by finding the only blood family she has–the teenage daughter she’s never met. As Luna closes in on learning the girl’s identity with the help of her mentor, Stryker, she prepares to meet him in her old neighborhood–the last place she wants to be. Then Stryker is captured.   

AN INESCAPABLE PAST

Special Agent Corbin King changed his last name to escape the shadow of his convicted father serving a life sentence. When he runs into Luna, the object of his failed teenage romance, the two must put their pasts aside and work together to expose a secret that someone’s willing to kill for.

A DEADLY THREAT

But when they encounter a kidnapping, missing bodies, and murder, the secrets Corbin and Luna are keeping from one another are only the beginning of the threat they face with more than their own lives at stake.

Reader’s Log 040: Book Spotlight

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The ‘Hellenization’ of Judaea in the First Century after Christ by Martin Hengel

I’ve had this copy in my personal library for about three years now and I almost forgot I had it! I came across it while organizing my books by topic. Hengel’s work is absolutely brilliant and I’m delighted to be reading my copy again. This first time I read it, I mostly did surface reading and now I’m taking a deeper study of its text, highlighting passages and taking notes. It is my goal to read all of Hengel’s work.

Stephanie

Book Description: This short but highly significant study is the first real sequel to Professor Martin Hengel’s classic and monumental work Judaism and Hellenism. It demonstrates from a wealth of evidence, much of it made readily available here for the first time, that in the New Testament period Hellenization was so widespread in Palestine that the usual distinction between ‘Hellenistic’ Judaism and `Palestinian’ Judaism is not a valid one and that the word `Hellenistic’ and related terms are so vague as to be meaningless. The consequences of this for New Testament study are, of course, considerable. Martin Hengel was Professor of New Testament and Early Judaism in the University of Tuebingen.

Reader’s Log 026: Irish Fairly and Folktales

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I’ve recently been reading, “The Story Collector” by Evie Woods and it is a wonderful story. This story’s premise includes Irish fairy stories and as I was almost half way through the book, it struck me that I have a book on in my book stacks, “Irish Fairly and Folktales” by W.B. Yeats. I’ve had the book for years now and was thrilled to have thoughts of it while reading Woods book. Ireland has a long-standing tradition of engaging in the mystical past. Stories have been passed down through the generations through oral story-telling.

Yeats book was first published in the 19th century. The book includes just about every sort of Irish folk and fairy tales according to the book description. More about the book…

— Nobel Prize winning writer and poet W.B. Yeats included almost every sort of Irish folk in this marvelous compendium of fairy tales and songs that he collected and edited for publication in 1892.

— Yeats was fascinated by Irish myths and folklore, and joined forces with the writers of the Irish Literary Revival. He studied Irish folk tales and chose to reintroduce the glory and significance of Ireland’s past through this unique literature.

About “The Story Collector” by Evie Woods

In a quiet village in Ireland, a mysterious local myth is about to change everything…

One hundred years ago, Anna, a young farm girl, volunteers to help an intriguing American visitor translate fairy stories from Irish to English. But all is not as it seems and Anna soon finds herself at the heart of a mystery that threatens her very way of life.

In New York in the present day, Sarah Harper boards a plane bound for the West Coast of Ireland. But once there, she finds she has unearthed dark secrets – secrets that tread the line between the everyday and the otherworldly, the seen and the unseen.

For readers interested in folklore, I highly recommend reading both books.

Stephanie

Reader’s Log 025: Cover Crush

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Van Gogh Has a Broken Heart by Russ Ramsey – Published October 22, 2024 by Zondervan

What Art Teaches Us About the Wonder and Struggle of Being Alive  

I love art history and I was thrilled to come across this book from a YouTuber I follow. The cover is a stunning piece of art and the premise of the book sounds intriguing! Are you an art history enthusiast? Adding this one to my wish-list.

Stephanie

Book Description:

Beyond a mere introduction to great art, Van Gogh Has a Broken Heart is about loving to learn what art has to teach us about the wonder and struggle of being alive.

Did you know that:

  • Vincent van Gogh’s attempt to start an artist’s colony with Paul Gauguin lasted only nine weeks, ending in his infamous “ear episode”?
  • Pablo Picasso was a prime suspect in the disappearance of the Mona Lisa?
  • Artemisia Gentileschi was tortured with thumbscrews to verify her testimony at her own rapist’s trial?
  • Norman Rockwell’s critics said his work would never be accepted as “high art”–and he agreed?

These stories–and many more–shaped the work these artists left behind. In their art are lessons common to the human experience about the wonder and struggle of being alive: dreams lost, perspectives changed, and humility derived through suffering.

In Van Gogh Has a Broken Heart, Russ Ramsey digs into these artists’ stories for readers who may be new to art, as well as for lifelong students of art history, to mine the transcendent beauty and hard lessons we can take from their masterpieces and their lives. Each story from some of the history’s most celebrated artists applies the beauty of the gospel in a way that speaks to the suffering and hope we all face.

Reader’s Log 018: Book Spotlight

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I’m currently reading, “Sisters in Science” by Olivia Campbell for review and while doing so, I looked up if Campbell has written other stories. There is a story called, “Women in White Coats” that I’ve heard of and hadn’t paid attention to the fact that Campbell is the author. While, I’m curious about this book, I’m still not sure I will be able to fit it into my reading schedule at present. The story is non-fiction and the premise is something I’m greatly interested in knowing more about. Hopefully, it may be a 2025 read.

I thought I would share the book description and perhaps this story will be a new discovery for someone. Have you heard of this book? Thoughts?

Stephanie

Book Description:

Published March 2, 2021

In the early 1800s, women were dying in large numbers from treatable diseases because they avoided receiving medical care. Examinations performed by male doctors were often demeaning and even painful. In addition, women faced stigma from illness—a diagnosis could greatly limit their ability to find husbands, jobs or be received in polite society.

Motivated by personal loss and frustration over inadequate medical care, Elizabeth Blackwell, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Sophia Jex-Blake fought for a woman’s place in the male-dominated medical field. For the first time ever, Women in White Coats tells the complete history of these three pioneering women who, despite countless obstacles, earned medical degrees and paved the way for other women to do the same. Though very different in personality and circumstance, together these women-built women-run hospitals and teaching colleges—creating for the first-time medical care for women by women.

Book Review: The Married Man by K.L. Slater

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Pub Date: Nov 01 2024 by Bookouture

Choices in life have consequences.

Eleven years ago, Liv’s husband Rich and their son Maddox left the house to fly a kite at a park and she began to worry they had not returned home. A storm was brewing, and it was not like her husband to not respond to her calls or texts. She began to search for them and soon after, her son was discovered but her husband was nowhere to be found.  Soon after, Liv changed her name and she and her son moved to start a new life.

As the years go by the authorities declared Liv’s husband dead despite never finding his body.  As Maddox got older his attitude and behavior became troubling to Liv and the school he attends. While her concerns for her son grow, a woman named Kait appears and claims that she is Rich’s wife, and she believes her husband-whose name is Daniel- is the son of Maddox.

Detectives, Helena and Brewster are investigating a case that leads them to Maddox and the detectives find themselves trying to connect the dots of what on the surface seems to be two different situations.

Liv has been hiding secrets as to why her husband disappeared all those years ago and her troubles are about to explode, and her life is spiraling out of control.

At first, I couldn’t stop asking myself if there was one redeemable or likeable character in this story. Nothing is as it should be, and everyone has something to hide. When secrets and lies start to reveal themselves, I felt like I just experienced whiplash. There are so many turns of events going in many different directions but oddly enough, they are all connected. When I began to think I had figured it out, another detail came to light, and I was shocked all over again.

What an extraordinary psychological thriller.  K.L. Slater certainly knows how to weave a thrilling story.

Stephanie

I obtained an ARC from Bethany House through NetGalley for an honest review.

Book Review: The Burning of Rosemont Abbey Naomi Stephens

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Pub Date Oct 15 2024 by Bethany House Publishing

Book Description:

1956: In the quiet village of Wilbeth Green, the smoldering ruins of Rosemont Abbey set the residents’ tongues wagging, and everyone is quick to accuse troublemaker Paul Everly of being the arsonist. Paul has vanished without a trace, leaving only his twin sister, Louisa, certain of his innocence. Fueling her conviction is an inexplicable connection–she felt her twin’s death an hour before the abbey went up in flames. Knowing no one will believe her, Louisa embarks on her own investigation, challenging the skepticism of her neighbors and the disdain of her aunt and uncle. Even Inspector Malcolm Sinclair, once Paul’s closest friend, is torn between his duty and a lingering loyalty to Paul and warns Louisa to abandon her pursuit. But Louisa is determined to solve a murder no one else believes was committed, even if it means unraveling secrets that could shake Wilbeth Green to its core.

My Thoughts:

The title of this book is what captured my attention to this story in the first place because of my deep fascination of Monasteries in England and its history. My heart clinches when I imagine an old abbey burning that survived through the centuries despite its history. Why would someone do such a deliberate act of destruction to such an historic building. Particular one that can be traced back to the pre-Norman conquest. I needed to find out plus I love a good mystery.

The mystery surrounding the burning of the abbey had me thinking of all sorts of scenarios of who could have done it, Paul being the number one suspect. Stephens does a brilliant portrayal of bringing to light of other potential suspects, their backgrounds, connections and the possibility of how it could have happened and why. I must say, I was really caught off guard on who the arsonist was and the plot twist I did not see coming! Despite Louisa’s feeling her brother’s death, I couldn’t help feeling and hoping throughout reading the story, that she was wrong.

Louisa’s inner turmoil is shown throughout the story and she is flawed-of course-as we all are. Louisa certainly gets herself in sticky situations and despite her rocky relationship with her brother Paul and her disapproval towards him, her convictions to find out what happen to him, despite the obstacles she faces, is commendable. It is an extraordinary thing to see someone seeking redemption for a person whose lifestyle they don’t approve of or no matter how strain their relationship is to each other. We see that with Louisa in regards to her brother and I am proud of her.

What an excellent period for the setting of this story and I admire a writer who can develop realistic characters of the time period, and culture. I also love how the author weaves in a brief history of the Abbey and how much the building meant to the community. My heart was saddened right along with the congregation.

Wonderfully written mystery, fast paced, suspenseful, thought provoking, and a great plot! I will definitely be on the lookout for more stories by this author.

Stephanie Hopkins

I obtained an ARC from Bethany House through NetGalley for an honest review.

Side Bar: It has been quite a while since I’ve read a Christian fiction story. In the past, oftentimes, I found the stories to be cheesy and unrealistic. I felt the genre was too confining and I sensed-at times-writers were walking on egg shells. While I understand the sensitivities on topics and how it is to be written for the genre and such, I feel like that is where many writers failed to make the characters actions, and speech at times believable. My feelings on the genre left me not picking it up any longer. This is NOT to say I want to read explicit scenes and such. I don’t particularly care for that one bit. You can write strong dialog, plot, conflict, danger, character development and relationships without explicit scenes, profanity and so forth, while getting your point across. The Burning of Rosemont Abbey has proven that and I’m delighted I chose to read this story.

Book Review: The Bad Neighbor by Jenifer Ruff

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I love a good mystery and thriller story! When I first got back on NetGalley, I spotted this book and glad I chose this story as my fist book to review. It has been a while! This one really took me by surprise. I haven’t always been a fan of FBI stories.Be sure to read my thoughts below!

The Bad Neighbor

Agent Victoria Heslin Series Book 9

by Jenifer Ruff

Pub Date Oct 01 2024

About the Book:

For newcomers Chris and Zoey Hamilton, the affluent community seems like the perfect location to build a life together. Instead, history repeats itself when Zoey vanishes without a trace—just like the previous homeowner five years ago.

Enter FBI Special Agent Victoria Heslin, known for her relentless pursuit of the truth. Her investigation uncovers a history of lies and betrayal festering beneath manicured gardens and picture-perfect smiles.

The more Victoria digs, the clearer it becomes: the secrets in Mountain Meadows run deep, and the greatest threats aren’t lurking in the shadows…they’re hosting dinner parties, attending parent-teacher conferences, going to yoga, and waving hello from behind their perfectly trimmed hedges. One of those polite, smiling individuals will stop at nothing to keep the past buried.

My thoughts:

When I spotted this title, it piqued my interest and I did a little further investigating. I love a good mystery thriller and it has been a while since I’ve come across a modern day one, I really enjoyed. There are a few factors I consider as a praise worthy read. Everyone is a suspect; motives are running rapid; opportunity is the icing on the cake. Those things are easily contrived but not always easily blended in with the flow of the story. Too much misdirection can make things a bit chaotic and before you know it the plot is lost to say the least. There is also the “it factors” when it comes to the right amount suspense, pacing, trickery and well-drawn out characterization. Most of all, a solid plot to keep the readers interest.

Did this book meet all the requirements? Yes, and more! I came into this series with the ninth book. To be honest, I’m a bit taken back I have not heard of this series before or the author. I made the right decision to choose this book to read and can’t wait to read the others!

Ruff assembles a great cast of characters and the pacing, suspense, the crime, the victims, the neighbors, the neighborhood and the brilliantly written twist and turns had me completely glued to this story until the end. When I thought I knew who had done it, other developments would happen that made the suspense all the more intriguing. There was a detail in the end about one of neighbors and her family that wasn’t fleshed out and I’m hoping it is because it will be included in the next book in the series. I do hope Ruff is continuing the series. I’m hooked!

I like Victoria Heslin no nonsense attitude when finding out Zoey was missing. She could have easily shrugged it off as a couples spat but she had a good head on her shoulders about the situation and reacted the way all law enforcement should. Victoria has good instincts and Ruff does a great job in portraying that attribute. Ruff also does an amazing job at making you really dislike a character(s). There was this one character who thought the worse of everyone and everything it seemed and it was great to see her come to the realization of just how wrong she was and her reaction to it figures with people like that. You’ll just have to read the book to find out more about what I’m talking about. I would also like to add that It was so refreshing to read a story without profanity and explicit scenes.

A great stand alone and an intriguing mystery with all the right elements!

Thank you Netgalley for a copy to read for an honest review.

Stephanie Hopkins