A Story of Love, Desperation, and Hope During a Great Biblical Epoch Sold into slavery by her father and forsaken by the man she was supposed to marry, young Egyptian Kiya must serve a mistress who takes pleasure in her humiliation. When terrifying plagues strike Egypt, Kiya is in the middle of it all. To save her older brother and escape the bonds of slavery, Kiya flees with the Hebrews during … flees with the Hebrews during the Great Exodus. She finds herself utterly dependent on a fearsome God she’s only just beginning to learn about, and in love with a man who despises her people. With everything she’s ever known swept away, will Kiya turn back toward Egypt or surrender her life and her future to Yahweh?
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I absollutely loved this book and was sad when it ended! It followed the actual events in the bible fairly closely even though the book is fiction. The characters were believable and the description of the scenes was just right without too much detail.
A vert interesting book based on the Biblical man ,Moses, but told from the point of view of an Egyptian.
I really enjoyed this book. The author did such a good job of her research that I was able to relate the story to the same incidents I had learned from the Bible. The book, although fiction, gave more background into the day-to-day life styles & beliefs of that time period which increased my understanding of facts already known. I would recommend it to anyone.
Biblical fiction is one of my favorite genres. Ms. Cossette takes us on an epic adventure with the Hebrews during their time in Egypt. It’s a captivating story rich with detail. You don’t want to miss it!
Recommend to readers who enjoy Biblical fiction.
I purchased a copy. All views expressed are my honest opinion.
Cossette does an excellent job of pulling the reader into Biblical times, making scripture come alive.
Wow! This book was incredible. I loved the way the author told one of the most well-known stories in the Bible—the Hebrews’ exodus out of Egypt/plagues—from the point of view of a non-Hebrew. Kiya’s story had me absolutely captivated from the first page to last as she battled with understanding not only who the Hebrews’ God was and what he was doing but her value as a woman—and the fact that she even had value—because of him. Absolutely beautiful and one that had me sitting in awe of God and his incredible love, power, grace and hugeness long after I’d finished the book. Highly recommend.
This book was so good! I loved the whole concept of the story. For me it really helped bring the story of the Exodus to life. We’ve all heard the story of the plagues on Egypt but reading them in this way made me connect to the story so much more. I loved seeing Gods provision throughout and really getting to think about what the Hebrews went through living in the desert all of those years. Not to mention the friendship in this book is amazing, the romance is so sweet and perfect, and the family story to it all just really makes me happy.
I have now finished this entire series and each book is better than the previous one. Its wonderfully done.
Counted With The Stars was the second Biblical Fiction book I’ve read this year to accompany my goal of reading through the Bible. It is the first book in its series, “Out Of Egypt,” and takes a look at Israel’s exodus from the unique viewpoint of an Egyptian – and I must say, I was impressed!
The story was told in first person from the viewpoint of Kiya, a once wealthy Egyptian teenager who was sold into slavery to help pay her father’s debts. Usually, I read a lot of books that are told through the viewpoint of multiple characters (omniscient point of view,) but in this book, I loved how the first person narrative gave the story a lot of suspense and surprise. Connilyn’s writing style gave each page a sweetness that kept me engaged and added a real depth to the heroine. In just a few chapters, I felt like I really knew who Kiya was and felt connected to the story.
My favorite part of the novel was the setting. The author challenged me to rethink what I new about the Exodus by giving the story a setting that wasn’t in on the main action of the Biblical plot. Though Kiya lived in a town along the Nile, it wasn’t the same city Pharaoh lived in, which meant that it took a few days for news to travel from the palace to where Kiya and her Hebrew friend, Shira, lived. For me, that was where the story became authentic. Here are two slaves, one Jew, the other Egyptian, carrying their waterpots from the river back to their mistress on a morning like any other…and then they see something strange. The Nile turns red. That scene itself solidified that I was going to love the book, because it made me think about the people who didn’t live near the palace. They had to wait for news to travel to their town to hear about the plagues and their upcoming deliverance. I don’t know about you, but it never occurred to me that all of the two million Jews lived in different cities. I guess I always thought they all lived together and were able to see Moses perform the miracles and enact the plagues. These new ideas intrigued me and I loved how the author used these areas to broaden our knowledge of what life was like at that time in Egypt.
Conclusion: Counted With The Stars has received a lot of praise since its publication, and rightly so. Connilyn Cossette has a gift to transport you to the land of the Bible in a poetic, authentic way and I’m so glad I found this book and a new author to enjoy! This story was an easy read and to me, the plot was unpredictable in a lot of ways. I highly recommend to anyone who loves Biblical Fiction, is intrigued by ancient Egypt or just loves a well written novel. If any of those things describe you, then Counted With The Stars should make it in your to be read pile!
I was hooked the moment I learned about Counted With the Stars. A novel about an Egyptian taking the Exodus with the Hebrews was an exciting premise that I was eager to dive in to. I was not disappointed! Cossette’s writing was beautiful and captivating, her characters intriguing.
Kiya has spent her entire life in comfort and wealth, always attended to by slaves of her own. Her swift fall from mistress to slave is heart wrenching, as is the sense of total abandonment she feels from those who should have protected her. Her friendship with Shira slowly opens her eyes to the Hebrews’ strange desert God as he brings the plagues down upon Egypt and sets his people free.
The romance was quiet and much more secondary to Kiya’s love story with God. There is a satisfying end for Kiya and Eben along with a promise of much more to come with the other two books to follow in this series. The second novel is Shira’s story and a must read as far as I am concerned.
The cover of this book is absolutely gorgeous and drew me to the story just as much as the fabulous synopsis. This debut was truly enjoyable and I’m so excited to read more from this author. I would absolutely recommend this book to fans of Tessa Afshar, Mesu Andrews and Jill Eileen Smith.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
Cosette has become a must-read for me! Rich, authentic characters, beautiful historical detail, a spiritual thread that resonates so deeply. Don’t miss this series even if you think you don’t care for ancient history!
I was so surprised how much I enjoyed this book. It kept me up into the night reading. I was pulled in immediately by Kiya and her story. This is a part of the bible that fascinates me, I have always wondered about this period in time and how these people must have felt both Egyptian and Hebrew. There are some points in this story that I never connected like how God sent plagues that undermined every God of the Egyptians, He basically showed all the people he was more powerful then all there Gods. The writing was well done, some liberties were taken by the author with the bible story. There was violence and rape was talked about but it was not detailed.
This was such a good book. I did not know until I finished it that there is a sequel. Hope I run across it some day. Imagine being an Egyptian who had become a slave walking to Mt. Sinai with the Jewish People as they left Egypt. Didn’t expect that story.
I loved this story. This is the first book of this sub-genre that I’ve read, and I couldn’t put it down. From the moment Kiya went from a being free to enslaved I couldn’t wait to know how it would end. Watching her grow from immature, spoiled girl who didn’t have an awareness of God, but more dabbled in the Egyptian gods to a mature, strong woman following Moses during the Exodus from Egypt and finding full belief in Yahewh was rewarding. This was my first book of Connilyn Cossette’s and I’m looking forward to reading other.
I highly recommend this book… wonderful reading…
Very few books inspire me to write a review. Counted With the Stars is one of them. The reader feels part of the story. It could have been me back then. Very realistic and it builds to a great conclusion. A wonderful respite from some of the novels I have been reading. Great choice.
I loved that the story of the Jews Exodus from Egypt was told from another perspective.
It gives a new perspective on Biblical events well know to the average Christian. This book makes you think about the struggles of people just like us as they struggle through events well know to us. I couldn’t read fast enough!
A wonderful example of my favorite genre, “biblical fiction “. This book is an inspiring twist on the Israelites journey from Egypt. A great read!
Great book!
Very well researched.