I have really been enjoying all the biblical fiction I've read this year and The Woman from Lydia rates right up there with the others. Angela Hunt is a wonderful author and I've enjoyed her books for many years. If you like Christian fiction, give this one a shot because I think you'll enjoy it too.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Publication date: 11 July 2023

This book got me thinking, which is awesome! I love fiction, but especially when it is more than good entertainment. And this one was full of things that reminded me of other parts of the Bible than just Lydia’s story and snippets of things in Philippians.

I loved the parallel of Lydia in search of the slave girl with God in search of that one lost sheep.

The characters grappling with what exactly equality in Christ looks like, since it’s so different than the culture. And grasping it well in one area of life while resisting its pull in another? So well done.

Definitely a book to read if you want to learn more about Grace.

Even the villains were interesting!

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and chose to review it here. All thoughts are my own.

There is not an author on the planet who makes men and women from the Bible come alive like Angela Hunt does. This time she fleshes out the story of the woman from Lydia, found in the book of Acts. While staying true to what we know about this woman, Angela Hunt asks the question...what happened to her once Paul cast the demon out of her? With authentic detail, Scriptural research and a gift for telling a story, the author takes us on a journey through what might have been. A definite recommend!

Everyone serves someone or something, whether or not they want to. Whom will you serve.

The Woman from Lydia is taken from the New Testament. Where Paul was preaching the good news of salvation. Giving the people hope such as Euodia, a dyer of purple. People of the region would call her Lydia because that is where she had come from. She was a stranger with a past that haunted her. She had lost her husband and daughter and with the wealth that she had, she had business that she employed slaves only to free them. If they wish to stay, they worked for her for wages.

She encounters a young girl (this young girl is briefly mentioned in the New Testament and where Angela Hunt draws her narration) that is demon possessed and to the anger of her owner, Paul sets her free. Lydia cannot stop thinking about her and asks her employee to buy her from her slave owner. She wanted to redeem this child. This is where the story takes shape and the freedom of the gospel comes alive in pursuit of this troubled child.

There are many lessons learned from Hunt in her story of Lydia. She has a good grasp of the history of Christianity and of the gospel. The truth will set you free. Set you free to love God and others. A lesson we all can learn. Highly recommend.

A special thank you to Bethany House and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

When Euodia, a Christ-follower in AD 51, sees a young slave girl being treated terribly by her master, she buys the slave to free her. But though the slave no longer brought a profit for her masters after a Jewish rabbi had robbed her of her "gift" of divination, one of her masters claims the sale was not done legally. He takes the girl back and travels to find someone who can restore her gift so she can continue to earn money for him. Euodia and her servants follow the master and slave in the hopes of rescuing the girl who should rightfully be free.

Hunt takes a couple of passages from the book of Acts and weaves them into a rich, heart-filled story that I absolutely loved! The bulk of the story is the journey east from Philippi, Euodia trailing behind Hector Hostilius, hoping to catch up to him before he manages to restore the slave girl's gift with an unclean spirit or sells her for being worthless to him. Even before that, though, and throughout, I was caught up in the setting, from the work Euodia does making purple clothing to the travel on the Via Egnatia and so many other things. A warning for those who might be bothered by this kind of thing—Hunt doesn't shy away from the harsh realities of life during this time period—violence, idol worship, sexual immorality, etc.

Euodia's faith in Christ came from an encounter with the apostle Paul, who is also the rabbi that "cursed" the slave girl Sabina by casting a demon out of her (these are both of the parts that came from Acts). While most of us don't face the kind of situation Euodia is in here, trying to literally free a girl in captivity, I mentally cheered her resolve and wholehearted trust in God. I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see how it was all going to play out. The book goes back and forth between Euodia and Hector for much of the book, and I'll admit that that led me to expect a far different outcome to the book than it has. An unpredictable plot is a good thing, though, and there was not one thing about the plot or the ending that I would have changed. Well, maybe one thing, but it's small and would be a spoiler to explain. And I did notice a few weird name discrepancies, wherein a slave was first given one name then later referred to by another and Hector's business partner had 2 slightly different spellings for his last name. If either of these things was intentional, I didn't pick up on it.

There is some romance in the story, but it also was not what I expected from early in the book, and it was my favorite kind—subtle and sweet. I appreciate that Hunt didn't give us more than necessary in the way of physical interaction between the two involved, which I feel happens far too often in Christian fiction. Overall, I earnestly recommend this book for those who enjoy Biblical fiction, especially from the time after Christ.

Received for review: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley.

My Overall Thoughts/Impressions: I have read quite a few Angela Hunt books. She is a great writer and always has fascinating reimaginings or buildings off of Biblical accounts. I am partial to having romance be more of a central part of the Christian fiction books I read, and others I have read by her did center a romance more than this one. As such, I was a bit disappointed that romance wasn't a bigger role in the book.

Euodia was a great character who was well-developed, and so was our villain Hector. I thought some of the other characters could have been fleshed out a bit more. I also thought at the end of the novel, I was left with some unresolved questions, and some plot points seemed unaddressed.

This wasn't my favorite Hunt book, but I still enjoyed it. She is a great writer, and I love how she took these brief mentions in Acts to create such a rich story to showcase how faith can change a person.

I think most readers will enjoy this one, just know that romance is not the major point of this one. Rather, I'd say relationships between women are. Had they been more richly developed, I don't think I would have minded the lack of a central romance. But on the whole, a very well written, enjoyable read.

Love,

Danica Page

The Woman from Lydia is the first book in the series of Emissaries series. This book is written by Angela Hunt who is a best selling author and a Christy award winner. The book is well written and has lots of descriptions of the setting and characters. The reader will understand what life is like in Philippi. Lydia sold purple cloth .She also had a heart for slaves and their challenging lives. She started a church in her home. She had a heart of compassion. The book is well researched and draws the reader into Biblical life. I would recommend this book. The book was given to me to read from the publisher. I am not obligated to write a positive review.

The Woman from Lydia
by Angela Hunt
Pub Date 11 Jul 2023
Bethany House, Bethany House Publishers
Christian| General Fiction \(Adult\)| Historical Fiction


Using Bethany House and Netgalley, I am reviewing The Woman from Lydia:


Euodia, the widowed Lydian woman, seeks a fresh start by moving to Philippi, a foreign city. After meeting Paulos, apostle to the Gentiles, she finds new meaning in helping those in need, especially women and enslaved people.



Former Roman soldier Hector has settled in Philippi with dreams of wealth and status, pooling his army earnings with Lucius, his fellow comrade-in-arms turned business partner. The enslaved girl's lucrative ability to foretell the future is stripped from her by Paulos, making her worthless to Hector.

His determination to find someone who can restore the girl's valuable "gift" drives him to travel to the ends of the earth to do so. Euodia and her servants follow close behind him on a journey to rescue Sabina and free her.


I give The Woman of Lydia five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

An interesting story, this one was a fun look at someone I don't recall seeing many stories about. We hear of the women who makes exquisite purple dyes for a living in the New Testament, but this is the first time I've seen that used to craft a story. That said, I wish I could have gotten into this one a bit more. While the story was fine and the concept certainly caught my attention, I was never able to really connect with any of the characters. The villain and reading about the Roman culture at the time is also difficult, especially considering hiw dark our world is becoming today. Still, they served a necessary purpose in contrasting the Christian life at the time from the more widely accepted Roman pagan lifestyles that Lydia would have seen and lived surrounded by in her lifetime.

I'm not much of a biblical-fiction reader, and picked up this read more due to previous positive experiences with other books by this author than the topic.

I really didn't get into it--and I can't say the genre is more endearing to me, unfortunately. I think I'll stick with other reads by Hunt; she's certainly a talented author, this just wasn't the book for me. I found it slow paced and not super interesting at this time (and was a little hesitant to keep reading after seeing other reviews noting some pretty heavy topical stuffs coming later on).

Others who enjoy biblical fiction will likely enjoy this more!

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I have always been intrigued by the early church and enjoy reading novels set during this time. This new novel by Angela Hunt brings us into this world.

The story clearly shows the reality between the Christian worldview and the Roman worldview, and while this was one of my favourite parts of the story, it was also hard to read the parts about the "villain." I found these Roman viewpoints to have opened my eyes to the evil in the world during the New Testament period (compared to the current world state), but I also found them hard to read and therefore enjoyed the book a little less because of them.

While I did enjoy the book, I felt the love interest parts could have been more developed or totally left out. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys biblical fiction, but I would caution that some of the themes are more mature and better for adult audiences.

I received a complimentary copy courtesy of Bethany House through Interviews & Reviews in exchange for my honest review.

It's AD 51 and Lydia, the businesswoman who makes purple dyes, has a thriving business. She buys slaves and frees them, allowing them to continue working for her as paid servants, not property. When a young slave girl she purchases is stolen back from her by one of the former owners, a chase for the girl's life is on.
I loved the glimpses this novel gives into what life was like at that time and in that place. It was, in short, pretty rough. The wealthy lived well enough, but life for anyone else was hard, and religious and cultural practices seem almost beyond belief to modern ears. I appreciated how Angela Hunt helps readers see the difference made by belief in the one true God, as she tells the story of Lydia and her friends

I tried to get into this book, but it was a real struggle for me. I just could NOT stomach Hector and he was half the story. I skipped to the end to see what happened, but overall this was disappointing. I usually love Angela Hunt's books.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for the purpose of review.

The story of Lydia, or the woman from Lydia, has always intrigued me. She seems like a generous woman, as Angela Hunt portrays her in this book. She takes in Paul who forces the demon from a girl in Philippi. I've never really thought about what that girl's life might have been like after that. This book builds a story around Lydia and the girl. Overall, I enjoyed the story and the characters.

I’m always cautious about reading Biblical fiction books. Many of them that I have read are not Biblically, or historically, accurate. However, I have found Angela Hunt’s books to be very good, so I was excited to find The Woman From Lydia. It is the beginning of a new series, which follows the apostle Paul’s travels through the Gentile world planting churches. What a great thing to write about!
As you could surmise from the title, the main character of this book is Lydia. Actually, this author has chosen to name her Euodia, and she is called the woman from Lydia in Philippi. Euodia has developed a thriving business, since the death of her husband and daughter, spinning and dying wool, especially for purple robes for rich people. She has bought several slaves, immediately giving them their freedom and paying them to work for her. Now, she buys another slave. After seeing the girl who had been set free from an evil spirit when Paulos visited Philippi two years ago, being mistreated, she is determined to give Sabina a new life of freedom and teach her about God.
Hector, on the other hand,  is angry to lose his slave. He was very angry two years ago when his valuable slave lost the gift that brought so much money into his pocket, but now he has come up with another idea. Maybe he can get some soothsayer to restore her gift.  He gets Sabina back from Euodia, and takes off on a journey to find such a soothsayer. Euodia, though, won’t give up. Who will win this contest? Will Sabina ever find freedom, or will she die in the tussle over her soul?
 Except for one thing, I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed seeing a very familiar story in a new way, and I also enjoyed the glimpse into first century life and business. Angela Hunt, in writing The Woman From Lydia, kept very close to the known facts from the Bible where that was appropriate and created an engaging story from that. However, she missed one thing that was important. From what I have read about the earliest Christians, they did not believe in self defence. If I remember rightly they were called “The Defenceless Ones.” However when Lydia and her party were attacked on the road, her male servant asked her for a knife, and appeared to be prepared to use it to defend the ladies. Later, in the story, when a man attacked them again, he parried the man’s sword thrusts with a candlestick. In neither case did he actually harm anyone, or even apparently have the intention of harming them, but he gave the impression that he would, and he definitely defended the ladies. To my knowledge, the early Christians took literally the words of Jesus to resist not evil, as Matthew 5 says. This was a minor part of the story, however, so while I can’t recommend it is highly as some of her other books, I still feel like this book is worth reading.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley, and these are my honest thoughts about it.
WARNING: Chapter 20: Euodia’s party is attacked by armed men, and her manservant is wounded. Chapter 21: man makes a sacrifice, saying, “Hear me, Jupiter.” Chapter 22: man swears “By Jupiter.” Chapter 23: man wants to “enjoy” the girl, swears by Jupiter’s toes. Chapter 26: by Jove.Chapter 28: talk about “breeding slaves.” Chapter 29: by the crud between Jupiter’s toes, by Poseiden’s foul breath. In an early chapter, there is an allusion to prostituting the girl, but I failed to mark that.

I love the way Angela Hunt writes, and this book is no exception. The Woman From Lydia is a Biblical story with historical detail that is woven together masterfully.

What a heart Lydia, the main characters has and how she shares her love of God with others. She listens to God, risking her own life to save another’s. The story shows how unselfish she is. This book has mystery and suspense in it as Lydia tries to save Sabina a slave.

The author does a great job bringing characters to life, and making the story come alive. I would highly recommend this book, and am looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bethany House for an advanced copy of this story.

"The Woman from Lydia" is the first book in a new series, "The Emissaries", by Angela Elwell Hunt. I received this book from the publisher, Bethany House, through NetGalley. This is my own unsolicited opinion about the work of fiction based on Biblical times.
Euodia Is known as the woman from Lydia, or Lydia for short. You will find her mentioned in the Bible as a seller of purple during the time of Paul. In the book she is widowed, has her own business dyeing and weaving cloth and welcoming followers of Christ into her home. Lydia has met the apostle Paulos and is a follower of Christ. She encounters a child who is a slave and is intent on buying and freeing the abused girl.
Hector Hostilius, A retired Roman soldier and his business partner own a property and a few slaves. Hector is driven to garner wealth and is enraged when his partner sells their youngest slave. He wants the child so he can find a way for her to return to her divining skills which makes him money. He blames Paulos for cursing her and taking the power away.
This is a powerful story. The author gives a fascinating look into the time period when the early Christians sought to teach others about Christ. The method to create luxurious purple dye was interesting to me. Lydia and her two former slaves who are employed servants travel to rescue the young girl. I could 'see' the places the author described on their journey. Ariston, Sabina, Syntyche and Plebe are well developed characters to enrich the story.
The descriptive writing, magnetic characters and the plot made for an excellent read for me. I look forward to the next book in this series. I will definitely be reading more of this writer's work.

The depiction of Roman slave owners and their horrendous treatment of humans who were seen as no more than animals is real to the time period The author does not write the heinous acts in a graphic manner. She alludes to them.

Wonderful beginning of a new series! The author masterfully weaves the Biblical story with historical detail, in her fictional account of the woman from Lydia, the woman who deal with purple dyes, found in the book of Acts.

I found this fictional account captured my imagination, allowing me to step into the world of the early Christians. Ms. Hunt does not hide from the harshness of life in Ancient Rome. Human life was not valued. The worship of the gods encouraged debauchery in its worse forms. This is as wonderful foil to the message that Paulos was sharing with the early Christians.

I really liked the way the author told the story from both the heroine's as well as the villain's point of views. This was a perfect way to portray the light and darkness of the time. The characters were well-drawn and realistic to the historical period.

A compelling, faith-filled story. Looking forward to reading more books in this series.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author/publisher through Netgalley and was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Woman from Lydia is a mesmerizing historical novel that transports readers to ancient times. With meticulous attention to detail, the author brings the vibrant world of Lydia to life. The strong and resilient protagonist's journey is inspiring, and the well-researched historical accuracy adds depth to the narrative. The captivating storytelling and lyrical prose create an immersive reading experience. This book is a must-read for fans of historical fiction craving an enchanting tale of love and ambition. I absolutely loved reading this book.

It's been a long time since I've picked up an Angela Hunt Biblical fiction. My very first Christian fiction was Esther by Angela Hunt, and I've loved Christian fiction, particularly Biblical fiction, ever since. This book is a little different from her older books in that much of the circumstances and premise are fiction. I did love how the author created this entire book of redemption, hope, and faith from the mention of Lydia in Acts 16. Paul's words and Jesus' teachings are straight from the Word, which I appreciated. I learned a lot about purple cloth dyeing process as well as the culture and attitude in Philippi and Macedonia, which were truly fascinating. The plot had some interesting twists and turns that kept me on my toes. The author’s notes at the end answered many questions and showed how thorough her research had been.

Euodia was a great combination of steel and silk, strength and compassion, determination and humility. Her first person voice carried the bulk of the story and her pursuit of Sabrina seemed like a metaphor of God’s relentless and sometimes illogical pursuit of us. Ariston, though he doesn’t have a voice in narration, was a delightful hero with loyalty and noble intentions etched into his actions and words. Hector represented the abominable villain who was truly despicable. Though I loved Ariston, I didn’t fully connect with Euodia. And Hector made me cringe with each scene. The plot and premise didn’t seem totally believable and though I enjoyed the story, I didn’t completely love it.

I received the book from Bethany House via NetGalley and was under no obligation to post a positive comment. All opinions are my own.