First of All, Thank You netgalley for the ARC granted to me. The book fits as a sequel from "The hidden Prince", altough it can be read as a standalone, and I loved as much as I did for the first one. The new characters were a good addition to the previously known ones by the other title. And again The author could show all her talent of blending reality and fiction. Well done!

"Jemmah has always thought of herself as perfectly ordinary . . . until she faces extraordinary circumstances."
The Peasant King is a biblical fiction book about Jemma and Asher during the Persian rule of Cyrus the Great. This was my first time reading anything by this author and I am looking foward to reading more books by the author. It was written really well and all of the characters were great in it. This one had so much adventure, action and romance in it. I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend this one to any reader who likes Christian fiction or historical fiction. Thank you to NetGalley and Tyndale Fiction for this read in exchange of my honest review of The Peasant King by Tessa Afshar.

Received an e-ARC of the book from the publisher.

I adored this and as usual, Tessa Afshar can do no wrong for me with her books. I love her writing, her use of Scripture, and how detailed she is in each of her books. Such a great follow-up to The Hidden Prince. The character growth was amazing as well for each character involved in this story.

The story follows Jemmah, Asher, and Cyrus. I loved that though we mainly follow Jemmah and Asher, the few chapters of Cyrus were just as great. We got three perspectives with three different tones and it was amazing.

Jemmah, the main character, is the daughter of the scribe of King Cyrus. She is a warrior, she is brilliant and she sees herself as ordinary. I loved how she never backed down from what she thought was right. She stayed true to her upbringing but adapted to life in Persia. Her trauma caused her a lot of grief, but she grew out of it through sharing her testimony.

Asher, the second main character, is the son who is rejected. He's on a mission to get revenge on his father for the sake of his mother. Asher was very comical from the beginning to the end. He was snarky and always had a quick comeback to say. I loved his growth from feeling without knowing what it means to have roots.

The romance was everything. Very sweet, cute -- almost insta-love, but for this couple, it worked well. They meshed well and were always on the same thought pattern. I adored the banter and confessions.

Cyrus was amazing. Though he was the king, we got to see more of his humanity than as a king. I loved seeing him interact with those around him, especially his soldiers. He ruled with love and respect and knew every person under him. His heart was pure.

The other characters such as Keren, Jared, and Zarina were just as incredible. Zarina was more feisty and always ready for a fight. She had an interesting past that resulted in her having a hard time expressing herself, but the end of the book made me smile for her. Keren and Jared were both amazing parents who loved their children and worked hard for the King. I loved them all.

Overall, this story touched on family, love, purpose, obedience, and letting go. There were many other things talked about but those were the key things that stuck out to me. I loved this story and I cannot wait for the next book from Tessa, The Queen's Cook.

If you have NOT read a Tessa Afshar, please go do so!!!

This was an enjoyable historical fiction read set in biblical times.

The author creates a very immersive world, describing the culture and landscapes of Persia vividly.

The story was full of adventure and action with moments of romance and tenderness. Being a biblical novel with a Christian theme, the author infused the story with themes of love and God in a skilled and gentle way.

There was a host of strong, interesting characters such as the feisty Jemmah and the cheeky Asher, and the mighty Cyrus.

Overall this was an engaging and well-crafted piece of historical fiction that bought biblical times to life.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Another treasure by Tessa Afshar. Her books help me see the stories of the Bible in all new ways. I love that I learn more about God while being engrossed in a beautiful story!

We are taking to ancient times and lands in an exciting story of intrigue, prophecies of Jeremiah and Isaiah answered, sweet romance, battles, humor, and characters you will fall in love with. If you have read The Hidden Prince, you have already been introduced to Keren, Jared, and Cyrus in their youth. Now we join them as adults along with new people to populate the pages of this adventure.
Jemmah is my favorite new female character. She is strong, gifted, funny and has no idea how special she is. Her favorite saying “Fire and Lightning” tells you all about her personality. Asher is a new hero that you will be routing for as he faces his own demons. And for those who like to have a new critter to fall in love with, we have Gilead, the owl.
As in all good Biblical fiction stories, the thread of redemption and faith run through the pages. God always shows up, often He accomplishes His plans little by little often not on our timeline.
I received an ARC copy of this book from the author/publisher. I was not required to write a review. All opinions are my own.

This is the sequel to The Hidden Prince.

Keren, Jared and Cyrus are now older and the first two have kids Jemmah, J and Zarina.

At a biblical time when Cyrus was fighting Astyages, the latter’s illegitimate son Asher fights against bitterness, learns more about the Hebrew God and finds himself inadvertently caught up in his plans. There are no easy paths for any of them in a time of war, but each learn to trust God - and each other - more. I particularly liked how the women were portrayed - powerful, daring, brave and unashamedly assured of their opinions.

There is a love story that blossoms throughout the book, bringing the characters face to face with their worst fears but also as they find the desire and courage to open up about them to the other, ultimately safety and healing.

Tessa weaves biblical fiction masterfully and I find myself enthralled by the story but also challenged and spoken to by God. Highly recommend.

Another wonderful story by Tessa Afshar! I can only imagine the work that she goes through to research the history included in her stories. I appreciate how she brings it alive in this story!

I throughly loved The Peasant King! The book was very well written with the characters described so you felt like you were there with them. A second in the series yet could be read as a stand alone too, which I appreciate. Sometimes you read the next one in the series much later and it is hard to put the pieces together. Love the strong female characters that don’t give up in difficult situations. Thank you for a great read!!!

Tessa Afshar does a brilliant job with the research on the time period and setting. I love the immersion in Biblical times and the way the author really rounds out characters and events, bringing them to life in such an engaging way. While it is the second book in a series, it can be read just fine as stand-alone. The characters are complex and well written, as the story digs into their layers and I loved seeing how they grew over the course of the book. I will absolutely be reading more by this author and highly recommend for anyone who enjoys historical romances.

𝑵𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔. 𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒄𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏.

Have you taken the time to thank God of how He has written your story and how he used every situation, good or bad, to take you where you are now?
To make your life a living testimony of His goodness, mercy, and loving kindness.

Before I was wary in reading Biblical fiction. I thought all authors who wrote that genre will make a bad job writing it.
Will there be a Tessa Afshar book that I will not enjoy? I think none.
Loved reading The Peasant King!
Can't wait for my physical copy to arrive and transfer all my highlighted notes. 😍

All characters are interesting and the author has written them as if they really are alive.
From the first page up to the last (yes, even the author's notes) has got me hooked.
So happy to see Keren and Jared, and yes, Cyrus too!
This book can be a stand-alone but if you want to know more about the first three characters I mentioned, read The Hidden Prince.

I love that the author has shown in this book a glimpse of how God works in our lives.
Some we may think that He has already abandoned us and some are victorious stories. And no matter where we are right now, the most important thing is our relationship with Him. If we can trust Him that all things work together for good to those who love Him, to those who are called according to His purpose. 😊

I really enjoyed this book. I liked that we got to see characters from the Hidden Prince and that we got to see some new characters. I liked how the author brought this period of time to life and helped us to really engage with the characters. I felt that I learned things that I didn’t know before. I also liked the romance between Jemmah and Asher. I liked how Jemmah helped Asher want to be a better person and how other dreams besides revenge. I liked seeing the character grow through out this story and seeing them rely more on the Lord.

I received a complimentary book from publishers, publicists, and or authors.  A review was not required and all opinions and ideas expressed are my own.

Unfortunately, I did not finish this book. I stopped reading at around 20% because it lacked the depth and character development Tessa Afshar's books usually have. It felt like she just wrote it to continue the story of characters in The Hidden Prince. I wish I had enjoyed this book and finished it. If I had, perhaps my initial opinion of this book would have changed. But what I did read, fell flat for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Revell for sending me a complimentary e-copy of this book.
Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book has a really interesting plot with characters that do not disappoint. I appreciated the authors attention to detail.

I appreciated that she included a map in the beginning and it was useful to flip back to during the story.

I love history and especially ancient history, so this was the perfect read for me!

I love her stories. If you haven’t read one you must!!! The book is well written. The characters we well developed and her books are page turners for me.
Thanks for the advanced copy.

We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you. A trust in God gave a freedom that no one could rob.

Powerful words of the bible and goes so well with the story. Taken from the time of Daniel and how God used a Cyrus whom he mentioned by name to set His people free. It is a love story of a different kind. A story between two people who are thrown together in a difficult situation and the love story of God for His people whom he still working to bring a people to Himself. Jemma came from a family that loved well. Her mother worked as a scribe and her parents encouraged education. Jemma knew only one fear and it was a fear that she could not control. When her mother is kidnapped, her sister and her take a journey to find her. Rescuing her mother in prison along with another prisoner, she is forced to face those fears with a complete stranger. Asher who has his own fears but is focused on thing. Avenging his mother who was forgotten by his father.

Asher and Jemma have a short time to save the kingdom that will lead to the freedom of the Jewish people and fulfill prophecy. It is amazing like all prophecy, how God uses people at given times to fulfill his purpose. A thread that is woven with precision. Not only is this a great read of historical fiction, but a great study of the bible and God. As always, Tessa takes historical fact and makes it come alive with faith and awe of a good God.

A special thank you to Tyndale House Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest revie

This was my first book by Tessa Afshar. It won't be my last. This is biblical fiction set during the Judean exile to Babylon as the Medes and Persians come to power. The story is very interesting, filled with political intrigue, betrayal, crippling fear, and sacrifice. As biblical fiction, it is also filled with faith, prayer, and love. The book is well-researched and stays true to the time period. Jemmah is relatable, likeable but not perfect. Asher is an ancient version of The Scarlet Pimpernel.

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to all readers.

Family friendly. Note - there are scenes of war but nothing graphic.

"Her mother’s faith, like her father’s, had been shaped in a furnace of trials. Somewhere over the years, they had learned to rely on God’s provision beyond what could be reasonably expected from hard work or mental and physical acumen. They had come to believe in God’s intervention in their lives, come to expect the miraculous when the ordinary simply proved insufficient. Jemmah had yet to learn that kind of faith."

While the bulk of this story was good, and had some interesting elements, there was particular parts of the story that dropped this rating lower for me and was a major bummer in general.

Jemmah and a male character around her age travel together (just the two of them) on a couple different quests for the empire. Jem's parents are ok with this, but this was honestly reckless of them as parents regardless of how good one's intentions are.

Then and now, it makes you look like someone with loose morals to travel overnight or longer with someone of the opposite gender.

The main thing though is a scene where a married couple is shown in their bedroom (clothed) talking and the bride is mentioned wearing ".. a white robe of some fabric so sheer it left little to the imagination."

Ok, why? Why would you want to paint that mental picture for male or female readers?
Up until this point, the story had been awesome. This scene was unnecessary, and made for an awkward and uncomfortable ending.

Thank you to Tyndale House Publishers for the complimentary e-book I recieved to review though Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review and the thoughts above are my own.

This was a wonderful book by Tessa Ashfar. The Peasant King is excellent read. This book is about Jemmah and her family., how they all support each other and help each other. The characters are great. You be cheering and laughing and on the edge of your seat to find out what happens. I could hardly put this book down. Mrs. Ashfar is an amazing Biblical Fiction author. I wax given copy of this book by the publisher. All thoughts are my own.

I absolutely loved this story full of faith, determination, loyalty, and spies. The Persian empire has been at war for years. When the Persian king's senior scribe is kidnapped, a party is sent to rescue her accompanied by the scribe's two daughters. In the unlikeliest of circumstances, she is recovered, but not alone. Now they must survive the grueling trek to safety. This is a great Biblical suspense book that is also filled with romance and spies. I highly recommend this book.

"'Perhaps it is not so much how high your position or how great your influence,' Jemmah said slowly. 'Perhaps what matters is whether you are a perfect fit in God's plan. A lowly profession can hide an exalted ability.'"

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