 |
| ★★★★★ Goodreads | Amazon |
In a city teetering at the brink of
anarchy, Daria finds hope among people of the Way.
She escaped a past of danger and
found respite in beautiful Ephesus, a trading center on the Aegean coast,
serving as tutor to Lucas, the wealthy merchant who rescued her.
But the darkness she fled has caught
up with her.
The high priests of Artemis once
controlled the city, but a group of sorcerers are gaining power. And a strange
group who call themselves followers of the Way further threaten the
equilibrium. As Daria investigates Lucas’s exploits into the darker side of the
city, her life is endangered, and she takes refuge in the strange group of
believers. She’s drawn to Paul and his friends, even as she wrestles with their
teachings.
When authorities imprison Lucas for
a brutal crime, Daria wonders if even Paul’s God can save him. Then she
uncovers a shocking secret that could change everything – Lucas’s fate, her
position in his household, and the outcome of the tension between pagans and
Christians. But only if she survives long enough to divulge what she knows.
With danger
and uncertainty lurking at every page turn, Tracy L. Higley’s So Shines the Night dares to take an
imaginative look at events in Acts 19. Bringing classic biblical characters to
life, like Paul and Timothy, Aquila and Priscilla, Higley’s vivid and
well-researched narrative explores the beginnings of Christianity as it
confronts a pagan city head-on and turns the characters’ lives upside-down. This
combination of real, historical events with the conflict-ridden storylines of
Daria and Lucas is exactly what I love about historical fiction novels.
Challenging me to consider the day-in, day-out reality of the early church and
its effect on the lives of ordinary people, this novel is definitely a
recommendation to anyone with an interest in biblical fiction. And as usual, I
truly appreciate BookSneeze for providing me with a free copy of
this novel and the opportunity to review it honestly.
