Book Review: Pearl in the Sand by Tessa Afshar

About the book:

Can a Canaanite harlot who has made her livelihood by looking desirable to men make a fitting wife for one of the leaders of Israel? Shockingly, the Bible’s answer is yes. At the age of fifteen Rahab is forced into prostitution by her beloved father. In her years as a courtesan, she learns to mistrust men and hate herself. Into the emotional turmoil of her world walks Salmone, a respected leader of Judah. Through the tribulations of a stormy relationship, Rahab and Salmone learn the true source of one another’s worth in God and find healing from fear and rejection.

My thoughts:

It sounds so cliche to say this was a fabulous book, but when a book leaves me completely speechless when I've turned the last page, then, you know it gets a very high recommendation from me.  I've read several fictional tales about Rahab, but never one whose story centered on her life after Jericho, and the man who was her husband. 

This book read like it should've been divided into two parts:  the first part dealing with her life as a harlot and the fall of Jericho, and the second part dealing with her life after Jericho.  The first part seemed a little rushed at times, but that really didn't bother me since I already knew that story.  What was great to read were the emotions that Rahab felt regarding her father's insistence that she become a harlot.  As a young girl, she loved and trusted her father, and with his decision, he tore those feelings away from her.

The second part of the book was what really made this book simply incredible.  I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that I've never given much thought to Salmone's brief mention in the genealogy of Jesus.  Ms. Afshar did a marvelous job of bringing his character to life in this book, and giving me a glimpse at his and Rahab's story.  I found myself on the verge of tears at least three times, mostly during scenes between Rahab and Salmone.  He had a tendency to come off as a gruff individual at times, but once he realized his feelings for Rahab, he became such a tender person toward her.  Their relationship was not without it's problems, mostly because of her past, but when they both understood their own emotions, their love story became one of the most beautiful ones I've read in a very long time.  And one more tidbit...the scene between the two of them that explains the title for the book will take your breath away.

I truly hope Ms. Afshar has another book coming out in the near future because she is definitely an author that I will be reading more of.  It's been awhile since I've read a book that really got to me the way this one did.  I'm a firm believer that sometimes, a certain book crosses my path at just the right time, and it's one that had I read it at any other time, it may not have made an impact.  Pearl in the Sand was the perfect book for this current season in my life, and for that, it will always hold a special meaning for me.

5 Stars

**Thanks to Moody Publishers for providing a copy for review.

Wednesday Plugs...

Mercy, I cannot believe how crazy things have been for me lately!  So, I'm spending the day playing catch up for you guys, as well as letting you know about some cool stuff...  :o)

Most of you know that my DH had emergency surgery last month to remove his appendix.  Thank the Lord that he came through that without a single problem, and in fact, only had to spend one night in the hospital.  He's limited to what's he able to do physically (which isn't really a bad thing b/c he could stand a break), at least for the next few months....which means that I've been the heavy lifter person in our household lately!  LOL!  :o)  I take out the trash, push and pull it out for the garbage collectors, and take care of the yard...all in place of hubby.  But it's okay...I suppose he's worth it.  *wink*  Also, because of the surgery, he's been so fortunate to have such an understanding teacher in his last college class.  Yep, hubby will be a 2-time college graduate by the end of this year!  YAY!  I am definitely the proud wife.  :o)

In other news, we now have a new relative that is living near us.  Hubby's grandma flew in just last night from California.  He's only seen her maybe 6 times in his entire life because of living so far away, so it will be so great for him to make up for lost time with her now.  :o) 

And now for some other tidbits...

There are only TWO DAYS LEFT to get your comment in for the Julie Lessman book giveaway!  She's offering reader's choice for any one of her four books.  If you haven't gotten a hold of her new one yet, be sure you click here to leave your comment to sign up before midnight Friday, October 29th.

Next, we are only a few weeks away from seeing the winners of the first Inspy Awards.  If you have not seen the list of this year's nominees, then you really need to take a look!  There are some great books up for nomination, and as a judge, I'm already having a hard time narrowing it down to which book will be my favorite for the Amish fiction category!  :o)  (BTW, there's a great interview up with Beth Wiseman today on the Inspy site...she's one of the Amish category nominees.)

I also wanted to give a little plug today for something that I'm loving more and more every day....NetGalley!  This is THE place to catch some great galleys from a ton of publishers.  Currently, there are only 5 (at least, I think that's right) Christian publishers--Barbour, B&H, Moody, Abingdon Press, and AMG--represented over there, but honestly, that's pretty good!  :o)  Thanks to NetGalley, I've had the opportunity to read and review a lot of great books that I might not have gotten around to otherwise.  Currently through NetGalley, I'm reading the newest book by Susan Page Davis...The Blacksmith's Bravery.  You do have to sign up and have your membership approved, and the site is geared toward book reviewers.  Go check it out!

More Paula Deen...thanks to CSN!

Okay, if you have NEVER visited CSN stores online, then you are missing out on such a treat!  They have been so great to me as a reviewer, and I simply cannot say enough great things about them.  ;o)  You may remember a few months ago where I mentioned that I would soon have another opportunity to review some products from their site.  I decided to expand my collection of Paula Deen cookware, and chose to review three products:  a 9x9 baker, a pie plate, and a mixing cup.  Let me just tell you...I love them all!

First up, the 9x9 baker. 

Now, I love to cook.  I particularly love to bake....and pretty much anything cooked in my sweet little oven I will eat.  The desserts are the best.... *happy sigh*  (Oh, dear, I'm getting carried away.)  I decided that I wanted to try my barbecue baked chicken recipe in this perfect-sized baker.  Not only is it perfect for chicken (think 3-4 lb. whole chicken), it is also perfect for yummy things like cornbread and brownies....commence drooling now.  :o)  The baked chicken recipe that I use is no fuss, and doesn't require that there be a lot of extra space in a baking dish.  That's when I knew this sweet little baker would be baking my chickens from this point forward.  It cooks like a dream--so evenly--and it's also provides a great presentation for the food. 

Next, I tried out the pie plate.  Now, while I love to bake, baking pies has never been one of my strong suits.  I love to bake cakes, rolls, breads, cookies, and just about anything else you can think of, but pies always seem to cause me problems (mostly, because I fill the shell too full, I think).  But in an effort to master pie making, I decided to try out this beautiful Paula Deen pie plate from CSN.  The recipe of the day for the pie plate was a Coconut Chess Pie....and trust me, you'll want this recipe (link at the bottom of this post)!  I've always wanted to try my hand at Coconut Chess Pie thanks to it being a dessert item on the menu at Texas de Brazil.  Mine was nothing like there's...in fact, I think it was better.  (I may be on the road to success with pie making after all!)  Cooked in this gorgeous plate, I don't think I'll ever have another pie problem again.  Just like the baker, the pie plate cooks so evenly, and this pie looked awesome when it came out of the oven!  After little more than a couple of hours, there was none of it left at my house...pie making success!

Also, while making the pie, I tried out Paula's handy little measuring cup.  Just like the other two pieces (and everything else in this line), it's beautiful.  The colors that are on these pieces are a mix between brown, rust, red, and green, and they all match perfectly.  This measuring cup is ideal for wet ingredients more than anything else...the dry ones weren't really doing as well.  Because I think it's use is more for decor than function, this probably won't be my every day measuring cup.  The measurements are printed on the inside, and because it's a stoneware cup and not a glass one, I really had to shake the dry ingredients around to make sure I had the proper measurements. 

Hey, if you're looking for a very nice gift for someone's kitchen, these or any of the other pieces in Paula Deen's stoneware collection are an excellent choice.  Each one is in a great price range, and would be ideal for a newlywed or maybe a couple's housewarming party.  All I know is that I'm a fan of this collection for life!

**Click here for the Coconut Chess Pie recipe.
**Click here for the Barbecue Baked Chicken recipe.  (Note:  I do not use the stuffing mix that is called for in this recipe.)
**Click here for my other Paula Deen Stoneware review.

Books I Grew Up With (Borrowed from Renee)

Thanks to Renee for providing this idea and a trip down memory lane!  :o)

I grew up with a love for reading.  My dad and I used to always read together every night before I went to sleep, usually Bible stories from one of 3 or 4 mainstay books.  Most of my other books were passed down from my brother, and most of them were Little Golden Books.  Believe it or not, my parents still have all of those books on a bookshelf in my old room waiting for the day when I start my own family.  My favorite of those books was The Poky Little Puppy.

I also grew up reading Little Women, which increased my love of the early version of the movie with Liz Taylor as well as the updated version with Winona Ryder.

Then, I got into the series books...and you'd be right if you guessed that I read every Babysitter's Club book I could get my hands on!  I can't even count how many I went through in a week's time, and I was a regular at my local library so I could check out as many as I could.  :o)  Another favorite of mine were the Trixie Belden books.  I didn't read as many of these because they seemed harder to come by, but I loved 'em just the same.  And last, but not least, were some of Lurlene McDaniel's books (not pictured).  When I was in junior high, I devoured these, and I think I shed some tears through every one....awesome, awesome books.  :o)

After all my great fun with all of these books so far, I started to get a bit more serious about reading.  I remember a group of girls that I used to hang out with in school when I was a freshman.  It seemed that reading a romance was really the cat's meow for us, and it was about the time when Multnomah released their line of Palisades romances.  These lasted for a few years (thankfully, for us girls).  :o)  The first one I read that glued me to Christian fiction was Secrets by Robin Jones Gunn.  This was the first book in her Glenbrooke series, and of course, after I read this one, I had to read all of the others (well, all of the other books she had written up to that point, anyway).  Pictured below is the original cover...which always was my favorite.  :o)

Thanks again, Renee, for helping me remember some great reading memories!