Harvest of Gold by Tessa Afshar

After nearly a year of marriage to Darius, Sarah has gained Darius' respect, desire, and perhaps even his trust. Her love for him, though, is unrequited. When they discover a plot to assassinate the king, they begin an unexpected journey that will lead them from the king's palace to Jerusalem, a city of broken walls and broken spirits. While Darius investigates the plot behind the thwarted assassination attempt, Sarah serves as a scribe to Nehemiah, her cousin and Jerusalem's new governor. When tragedy strikes Sarah and Darius, their relationship unravels and their only hope lies with the One who can heal all. Once before, God redeemed Sarah's missteps and turned it for her good. Will He do so again? Or is her hope for Darius' heart lost forever?


Harvest of Gold by Tessa Afshar is the sequel to Harvest of Rubies. Although Harvest of Gold probably could work as a stand alone novel, I highly recommend reading Harvest of Rubies first for greater enhancement of Sarah and Darius' complete story. Like Tessa Afshar's previous novels, her writing style was lovely and the settings were realistic, but somehow enchanting at the same time. I enjoyed reading about the Persian and Jewish civilizations. The plot's pace as well as a few unexpected elements kept me interested throughout the story.


My only complaint about this book was that somehow Sarah and Darius of Harvest of Gold didn't feel quite like the same Sarah and Darius of Harvest of Rubies. Some of this could have been the switch from first person point-of-view (in Harvest of Rubies) to third person point-of-view (in Harvest of Gold). However, I think it was more of an unprecedented character shift that was not derived from normal character development and its subsequent progress. I don't say this to discourage anyone from reading the books, I say it as a simple word of caution. I LOVED Harvest of Rubies, so when Harvest of Gold wasn't quite what I expected, I was initially a little put off. Obviously, that feeling passed and I went on to enjoy Harvest of Gold. I do recommend both of these books to anyone who enjoys historical Christian fiction.


Don't forget!  The first three chapters of Harvest of Gold are available for free on Tessa Afshar's blog.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. 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."

Harvest of Rubies by Tessa Afshar - Revisited

In July 2012, I read Harvest of Rubies by Tessa Afshar and loved it. (Read my original review here.) I eagerly anticipated the sequel, Harvest of Gold, that was set to be released in July 2013. When the time came, I requested the book from the publisher and reread Harvest of Rubies to refresh the story in my mind.

Did I mention how much I LOVED Harvest of Rubies?  It's written in first person which is generally not my favorite narrative point-of-view. However, it works so very well in this book. Sarah has such deep and complete personal development that the first person POV actually makes the book better than the third person POV alternative would have. Sarah's remarkable development was also a little awe-inspiring to me from both a reader's standpoint and a wanna-be writer's standpoint. I found myself thinking, How does anyone come up with something so good? I loved the transitions and the circumstances that brought her from frumpy, isolated, self-sufficient scribe to intelligent, secure, God-dependent woman.

As a lover of many forms of literature, I found myself admiring the beauty of Afshar's prose.  It takes time, dedication and talent to put out prose like that!  The beauty of the wording enhances the setting and plot tremendously.

I will admit, this time around, it took a little longer for the story to "hook" me.  I attribute this to having previously read it once before. However, my point is that the story did eventually captivate me in spite of already knowing the basic flow of the story and the ending.

Okay, enough gushing over this book. Obviously, after a year of anticipation, I am eager to read and review Harvest of Gold.  If you're like me and can't wait to get a taste of Harvest of Gold, Tessa Afshar has the first three chapters available for free on her blog.