Voice of the Ancient: A Beautiful Coming of Age Story

Since her debut novel Counted with the Stars Christy-award winning historical fiction author Connilyn Cossette has cemented herself as one of my favorite Biblical Historical writers. I was so ecstatic to read Voice of the Ancient the first book her new The King's Men series. 

Avidan is the oldest son of a Levite and a Philistine. The responsibly of his family's legacy is important to him, but he also feels the pull of something more and that is fighting for their newly crowned King Saul alongside his cousins. He and his cousins set off intent on proving they are ready for war.  One aspect of this story that I appreciated was the close-knit bond Avidan shares with his cousins almost like they are brothers. The one battle that he does fight in makes him realize he's not ready mentally or emotionally to be a solider. When his younger cousin goes missing, and Avidan abandons the battlefield intent on finding his cousin. 

Keziah is the daughter of one of the most powers clan chiefs in Manasseh. She's on the run from a forced marriage to a man who is physically abusive and older than her father. Escaping with her horse Sarru she seeks to find protection and solace with her mother's people. 

Meeting Avidan she's surprised at how he continuously shows her kindness, respect and protects her during their journey. She's not accustomed to men that treat her as anything more than the highest bride price. 

Avidan and Keziah had a natural chemistry of friendship that formed into a sweet romance. Their connection exemplified how genuine companionship can evolve into something even more profound, adding an extra layer of depth and emotion to their journey.

I read Voice of the Ancient in three days. Ms. Coseette keeps you turning pages with a plot that keeps gradually developing. A trend I'm seeing in some fiction is how authors alternate chapters from the hero and heroine's viewpoints. This method of writing is interesting to me because it allows the reader to get more in-depth insight into the character or scene. Sometimes the male perspective comes a cross as very similar to the females, and honestly is not good, lol. However, I do feel like Ms. Coseette did a wonderful job of creating two distinct voices. 

If Biblical Historical fiction is your genre you NEED to add Connilyn Coseette's books to your TBR pile. Your reading experience will be both entertaining and insightful because to her expert storytelling and thorough attention to historical accuracy. Dive into her compelling stories to set out on a voyage that keeps you captivated from the first page.

Reading is an adventure,

Emilee 

~~Voice of the Ancient was provided to me by the author herself and the publisher in return for my honest review. I received a complimentary copy of the book.  I was not required to write a positive review. All viewpoints expressed are my own. ~

A Cross-Country Wedding is Cross-Country Fun

 

Multi-talented author Courtney Walsh follows up her delightful A Cross- Country Christmas (Part of her Road Trip Romance series) with... drum roll please A Cross-Country Wedding!

Maid-of-Honor Maddie Rogers is determined to attend her best friend Lauren's wedding. When her current boyfriend dumps her, she turns to best friend Simon Collier to be her date for the wedding. Will their forced proximity cause them to realize they have feelings beyond friendship for one another?

Maddie has a heart of gold and is fiercely loyal to her friends, she's feisty, a total free spirit, and at times a little bit of a hot mess. She makes for a fun, likeable and engaging heroine to read. Although honestly I found her a bit challenging to relate to. (Probably because I'm a type A personality who likes to be prepared, so I struggled with the "fly by the seat of pants" attitude she had.) 

Despite not being completely onboard with #TeamMadddie train, I still found myself rooting for her and Simon's opposites attract, best friends to more relationship. 

And Simon...let me tell you about Simon. I found his whole, brainy, buttoned up, alphabetizes his fridge personality absolutely endearing and charming. It was amusing how literally everyone in the story except Maddie realizes Simon is in love with her.

One aspect of Maddie and Simon's relationship I appreciated was neither of them tried to change the other. They accepted each other as who they were. Isn't this what we all want? Someone to love us unconditionally despite all our quirks and idiosyncrasies? 

Ms. Walsh absolutely amps up the banter between Simon, Maddie and all the characters in A Cross-Country Wedding. Her witty dialogue and humorous scenes kept the plot moving. Along with that, the dual points of view narrative (Maddie and Simon) that the author writes in makes this story more interesting because you feel like you get to know the characters better and, in my opinion, make the story that much mote engaging.

A Cross-Country Wedding can be read as a standalone, but I feel like you'll get more enjoyment from it if  you've read A Cross-Country Christmas. 

Honestly, I saw A Cross-Country Wedding like a rom com movie in my head while I was reading it and it reminded me a bit of When Harry Met Sally vibe with the long-term best friends. Because of this, in my opinion, you do not want to miss this laugh-out-loud, feel good, heart-melting story. Without giving anything away, I would highly recommend reading this with a delicious chocolate croissant and creamy cup of coffee. Trust me, it will make it even better :  )

Reading is an adventure,

Emilee 

~~A Cross-Country Wedding was provided to me by the author herself and the publisher in return for my honest review. I received a complimentary copy of the book.  I was not required to write a positive review. All viewpoints expressed are my own. ~