Review: Harvest of Gold by Tessa Afshar
I have been eagerly anticipating being able to read Harvest of Gold since the moment I finished book one in this duology, Harvest of Rubies. I’m happy to say I wasn’t disappointed-but of course, Tessa never disappoints with her beautiful, emotional storytelling!
A hidden message, treachery, opposition, and a God-given success will lead to an unlikely bounty.
In Harvest of Gold (Book 2), the scribe Sarah married Darius, and at times she feels as if she has married the Persian aristocracy, too. There is another point she did not count on in her marriage—Sarah has grown to love her husband. Sarah has wealth, property, honor, and power, but her husband’s love still seems unattainable.
Although his mother was an Israelite, Darius remains skeptical that his Jewish wife is the right choice for him, particularly when she conspires with her cousin Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Ordered to assist in the effort, the couple begins a journey to the homeland of his mother’s people. Will the road filled with danger, conflict, and surprising memories, help Darius to see the hand of God at work in his life—and even in his marriage?
The story of Nehemiah rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem came to vivid life through Tessa’s writing, all set against the backdrop of a slow-burning love story and the drama and political intrigue of the Persian court. Tessa’s attention to historical detail is excellent! Once again, as with the first book, I learned so much about Persian history and culture. The plot against the king’s life and all of the drama that unfolded around that was unexpected, but it made this book so exciting and kept me on the edge of my seat as I waited to see what would happen.
While Sarah does still play a major role in this book and she has her internal struggles that she works through, Darius takes more of a center stage here. I loved finally being able to get inside his head and understand his decisions and his reactions to things. His relationship with Sarah was so frustrating in the first book-I couldn’t understand why he held himself back from her so much!-but here you are able to get a look behind the hard aristocratic exterior into the vulnerable heart of the man within. This peeling back of Darius’ emotional armor was one of the best aspects of the book, and that moment when he finally surrendered himself… SO POWERFUL!
The messages woven throughout every chapter of this book are truly like threads of gold, providing the reader with a rich harvest of wisdom by the end. The story of Nehemiah and his God-given quest to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls is often overlooked and even undervalued as a Bible story, but this book makes you see this amazing story in a brand new light and highlights all of the richness God intended for us to find within it. I will never read the book of Nehemiah the same again!
If you love Biblical fiction, do yourself a favor read both book one, Harvest of Rubies, and book two, Harvest of Gold, and not only be entertained by Tessa’s signature humor and sweet romantic storytelling, but be blessed with a harvest of spiritual truths! 5/5 Stars!