What a wonderful book! Shadow of the Storm by Connilyn Cossette. I believe this is the second in the series Out of Egypt. Set in the Exodus times as Moses is coming down with the Ten Commandments, the story gives a new perspective on that events and how the people handled the situation as well.

Shira is now trying to figure out where she belongs in the world. She doesn't like weaving, knows she'll never have children of her own, and feels worthless because of what happened back in Egypt. God doesn't see her that way and wants her to open here mind to new horizons.

One day she meet Ayal, a shepherd man and friend of her brother Eben's. She helps him birth a little lamb. It seems natural for her to understand how to calm the mother and handle the birthing process. She also is attracted Ayal, but doesn't let on. However, he soon shows interest in her, but he holds a secret that may scar Shira.

Through out the book the characters must learn to forgive themselves and how Yahweh has His way of dealing with things and teaching us where to go.

Will Shira find her true calling in life? Can she forgive herself and let go of the past? Will Ayal's secret scar her or will she find it in her heart to forgive? You are just going to have to get a copy for yourself. :-)

This was a very good book and I recommend it to young adults. It was a little challenging to read. This book has about 50+ chapters in it and at first it was difficult to become focused to read this book.

Lastly, don't want to forget to mention I got this book to review from Bethany House Publishers for my honest opinion. :-)

I love this collection of books! Set in Egypt, each one will take you on a great journey!! You will not be disappointed.

Shadow of the Storm is the second book in the “Out of Egypt” trilogy by newcomer author Connilyn Cossette. The first book in this series, Counted with the Stars, will most likely be on my Top Ten Favorite Books of 2016 list at the end of the year, so I was eagerly awaiting reading this sequel. As we all know though, very rarely does a sequel measure up to the original, and I’m very sad to say that this is the case with Shadow of the Storm.

I would highly recommend reading the first book before diving into this one, but for those of you who won’t, let me sum it up for you. Shira was a Hebrew slave who was part of the Exodus from Egypt, and the story catches up with her as the Hebrew people are beginning to “wander in the wilderness”, if you will. Shira discovers a passion for midwifery, which was fascinating, but consumes much of the book, as compared the first book, where a lot of the focus was on the “biblical” aspects of the “biblical fiction”, more so than the “fiction”.

Along the way in her midwife journey, Shira delivers a baby but loses the mother, which weighs heavily on her, especially as she grows in her attraction to the widower Ayal, and his three children. As tensions escalate within the tribes of Israel and with Egyptians who escaped in their midst, can Shira trust anyone?

I felt that the romance in this book was awkward, as the guy was married to another woman at the start of this book, and it just seems as if he’s come out of nowhere to suddenly be all chummy with Shira’s brother. I didn’t care for him for around 85% of the book, so I found it hard to cheer for Ayal and Shira to be together. Additionally, there was mention of rape in one of the character’s pasts, which was intense in and of itself, but then there was a whole scene dedicated to revisiting this, which I felt was wholly unnecessary. The point was made without reading a whole scene about it. It’s for this reason that I would not recommend this book to younger readers, especially combined with all the intense birthing scenes. To older readers and to fans of the first book, I would still probably recommend this, just for the sake of finding out what happens to the other characters.

Thank you so much to Bethany House publishers for providing me with a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own and were not required to be positive.

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention/review it on my blog. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion – which I’ve done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.*

Oh, this is a good read! I fell in love with the character of Shira in Cossette's debut novel Counted with the Stars, and I was so excited to get my hands on her story! Cossette delivered with a story that is every bit as compelling as her first one! There is so much to love about this book: complex characters who are flawed and experience great growth through the story, rich historical settings and vivid imagery, and realistic imaginings of what it might have been like to camp around Mount Sinai with the people of Israel who had just been freed from Egypt as well as the foreigners who joined them. But most of all, I love how Cossette's love for Yahweh shines through this book and draws me closer to Him as well - she has shown powerfully through this narrative that Yahweh is and has always been a God of love and redemption, justice and holiness. A God who engages with people and leaves them forever changed. I highly recommend this book as well as its predecessor, and I can't wait for the next book in the series!!!

*I never got around to reading and reviewing this book. I may do so in the future*