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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Beautifully written. Hard to put down.
This writer brings the old testament world to life. Her characters stay with you long after the book is over. I was mad at myself that I had rushed to get through it!
Great story with a new aspect. Highly recommend it.
Riveting. Already into the next in the series.
Loved this book.
Excellent series! out of the three I loved this one the best.
This book was fascinating! It was much more than just entertaining but truly captivating.
The scenes, the emotion, the challenges and the tension are so well developed that I felt like I was living the story myself.
I loved how the author chose to tell the story from the point of view if a non-Hebrew girl.
To be able to see how profoundly Kiya’s character changed made this story all the richer. The author knew exactly how to decipher the conflicts going through this character’s heart and the changes she was experiencing weren’t taken lightly. Connilyn Cossette wrote with purpose and charisma, entrapping me in the story of people who went thorough so much but were shown through every step a love of a God that surpasses any understanding and that is capable of leaving you speechless, in pure awe.
The only reason I didn’t read this book in a day was that I have this thing called a job
This books shows another side to the Hebrews and Egyptians during the time of Moses. It tells about the struggles and plight so many had. The author personalizes the characters so the reader can feel as if they are right beside them .
Connilyn Cossette became a blip on my radar last March, when through social media, I read of her aspirations to publish a novel based upon the Exodus. As a voracious reader of biblical fiction, I’ve been following the progress of Counted With the Stars with uncontainable enthusiasm. It’s not often that this sub-genre of historical fiction welcomes a new voice. Connilyn brings fresh perspective and so much more in her debut novel Counted With the Stars.
One of the strongest draws to this novel is it’s multi-dimensional characters. The narrative is delivered through the first person point of view of Kiya. Ripped from a life of luxury, Kiya despairs over the loss of her family as well as the hardships she must endure in servitude to Tekurah — the lady of the house. It’s not long, however, before she finds solace in the friendship of a Hebrew slave. One sacrificial act by new acquaintance Shira, followed by subsequent talks about her One God pave the way for a soul-deep friendship between the two. Shira’s faith, gentle spirit, and willing acceptance of God’s good plan stirred my heart. Secondary characters like Shira’s brother Eben, as well as Kiya’s mother and brother enrich the story with glimmers of love and forgiveness.
Connilyn led me to see the events of Exodus with new eyes. For the first time, I questioned how word of Moses’ confrontations with Pharaoh would have been relayed through a nation as large as Egypt. Word of mouth, speculation, and pagan superstitions could have both helped and hurt the Hebrews by stirring up a mixture of resentment and fear towards them.
Have you ever considered how each plague was a targeted attack the gods of Egypt? I’ve done so through the eyes of a Christian, but never through an Egyptian’s perspective. I’ve read the biblical accounts numerous times and each time I’ve skimmed over God’s protection of the Israelites from the 5th plague on livestock. By doing so, God (Jehovah-Jireh) provided the sacrificial lambs of Passover. (See also Genesis 22:13-14, Exodus 9 & 12, & 1 Corinthians 5:7.) This book did for me the very thing that endears me to biblical fiction — it sent me searching the scriptures.
I’d like to conclude with a few general remarks: Connilyn’s approach to the retelling of Exodus is as unique as it is compelling. She was able to elicit from me genuine concern for Kiya’s salvation, making me worry if she would be “ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding.” In the story surrounding her brother, I detected a nod towards the sanctity of life and how God sees value in every life. Counted With the Stars has the perfect measure of heart and history!
Christian Shelf-Esteem received a book to facilitate this review. The views and opinions expressed are 100% honest and my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255 Guidelines, concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising.
A well written tale about a young girl during Bible times. You can feel her pain about being sold to a harsh mistress & understand her feelings of rejection by her parents. There doesn’t seem to be any way our of her desperate situation. You find yourself thinking of ways to solve her dilemma. The author keeps you reading to see what finely happens! It has a good conclusion, making you feel satisfied.
I love to read Fiction that is based on Truth from the Bible~
Loved the different perspective on the Exodus from Egypt and the characters.
Moving read!
I really enjoyed this book since it was written from a different perspective during the plagues of Egypt. An Egyptian girl & her family join the huge group of Hebrews as they leave Egypt and cross the Red Sea. The author did a wonderful job of keeping it very scriptural with how it truly happened.
Very engrossing historical fiction, told by a victim of the plagues during the time of Moses.
Counted with the Stars is a wonderful debut! I was very impressed by the ease and flow of this story. The first-person narration is so well-done, and Kiya is a character who is both realistic and relatable. Her inner thoughts feel true-to-life, and I loved getting her first-hand perspective on life in Egypt and later on life with the Hebrews.
I found myself very intrigued by the Egyptian view of the plagues. Kiya is an Egyptian slave, and while she once lived a life of luxury and wealth, she meets Shira, a slave like herself, but a Hebrew. Kiya’s memories of her former life, as well as the sharp contrast of her beliefs compared to Shira’s, create a nice juxtaposition for all of the coming events to take place. It was interesting to me that I had never really thought about how the meetings between Moses and Pharaoh, as well as the plagues would be relayed by word-of-mouth, how so many wouldn’t have a first, second or even third-hand account of it, but rather would have to hear about it through talk at the market or through other slaves and servants.
The surrounding characters take a while to come into the story, but once they do, they add a lot of depth and layers to the story. The relationship between Kiya and her brother, Jumo, is so endearing, and I also found the interactions between her and her mother to be compelling and poignant. Shira, her brother Eben, and the other members of their family add a lot of depth and emotion to the story.
The narrative in general has a nice balance of both the Egyptian way of life, where Kiya was a slave, and the Hebrew way of life, which is hard and full of uncertainty, but Kiya is free. I thought it was clever that the plot reflects how, though she was now free from slavery in the physical sense, she still feels like her spirit is in bondage. The way the journey through the desert reflects her inner transformation is poignant and a really special part of the story for me and so reflective of the transformative power of faith.
Though the major plot points are based on the biblical story, the descriptions and character interactions that Connilyn has written into the story give it a fresh, vibrant feeling. Though the story flows with ease, the balance between despair and hope is present throughout the story’s entirety. The things that happen to Kiya and the supporting characters still allow for surprises by the story’s end. I’m so looking forward to the second book in the series, which features Shira as the main character. She had so much to do with sparking the change in Kiya in this story, so I’m hopeful that it will be another redemptive, transformation story from her perspective.
The story of Moses from a very different perspective. I reall enjoyed it!
Wonderful Book, must read.
I do not usually like books based on Biblical characters, I find too many mistakes. This book was wonderful. Of course none of us know exactly what went on, and we know that everyone of that generation died in the wilderness, but it gave some thought provoking ideas.
Fast moving plot. Very believable story. I was entertained!