The prophet Nehemiah’s cousin can speak numerous languages, keep complex accounts, write on rolls of parchment and tablets of clay, and solve great mysteries. There is only one problem: she’s a woman in a man’s court. In her early childhood years, Sarah experienced the death of her mother and her father’s subsequent emotional distance, and she came to two conclusions: God does not care about me, … me, and my accomplishments are the measure of my worth.
Catapulted into the center of the Persian court, Sarah is working too many hours, rubbing elbows with royalty, and solving intrigues for the Queen. Ironically, it isn’t failure–but success–that causes Sarah to lose her only source of external validation.
Sarah soon learns that she has something of worth to offer beyond her ability with languages and sums; her very being proves to be a blessing to others, particularly the aristocrat Darius, whom she is given to in marriage.
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Richly romantic. Wonderful writing. Highly recommend!
5 things from Harvest of Rubies
1) After a personal favor to the queen, Sarah,a Jewish scribe, is assigned to marry a Persian nobleman. She must learn to be aristocratic.
2)Darius wants to honor his mother’s heritage by marrying a Jew
3)Sarah stubbornly refuses help to prepare and shows up for her wedding feast looking like a creature from the depths.
4) Palace intrigue, a devious steward, and Sarah’s attempts to prove herself.
5)”How like the vine I had felt that day, stripped almost to the point of death, everything I held precious taken from me. How I had longed for my old life back. And yet, like Bardia, God had intended to do me good by dismantling my world.”
Sarah was relatable in her awkwardness. I enjoyed seeing her transformation over the course of the book. And love all the history woven in.
First-person is not my preference, and the story does end with Darius still being stand-offish. I’d recommend reading the second book to get a full picture of Darius’ culture and choices.
I love bibical fiction and Tessa Afshar is one of my favorite authors. I have read many of her books. This is a book about the Israelite journey to the promised land
Loved, loved, loved this story!! Great characters, great story.
Wow! Where to even begin? Tessa Afshar is quickly proving to be one of my favourite authors. Her writing style is amazing, and the way she mixes deep topics with love and romance continues to astound me!
This novel was simply phenomenal! It was super interesting to see inside the palace from the viewpoint of a scribe. I loved seeing Sarah put her mind to good use, and was cheering for her as she solved mysteries. I loved seeing the intricacies of palace and royal interactions, but don’t let these factual bits fool you!
The main reason I fell in love with this book was the emotions behind it and being able to go on the journey with Sarah. I was privileged to see her discover God and see the change in her because of it. I loved seeing her walls break down and it was beautiful to see her find joy in herself and in God.
Not only was the character development very well written, the plot was also great! Although some parts of the novel were slow, there were also intricate webs of lies and mysteries that Sarah had to puzzle through and enough adventure to keep me furiously turning the pages! I literally sat down and read the entire novel in one sitting!
The romance was super swoon-worthy too. Although their relationship started out on rocky ground, I loved seeing Darius discover the real Sarah and vice-versa. It was so lovely to see their relationship develop from mistrust to tolerance to respect and finally love.
The secondary characters were all well-developed and I particularly liked Pari, Bardia, Queen Damaspia and of course Caspian!
Overall, an amazing novel with wonderful characters you can’t help but love! I would very highly recommend it!
Well written & moving story
Beautifully written. Inspired.
Excellent biblical fiction. The writing style was very engaging for me and I enjoyed the book very much even though I didn’t think I would like that kind of fiction.
I Love to read fiction that depicts truth from the Bible. Tessa Ashar does this so brilliantly with a message and history in each book. You become so involved with her characters that you hate to see it end.
I really liked this book, so much that I read the sequel Harvest of Gold right after. Author Tessa Afshar is able to give her historical fiction heroines present-day dilemmas in their relationships, which include not just potential lovers but brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers; and she allows them to feel and think thoughts about themselves, about their family, about their faith, that I have thought myself; it’s so encouraging to be recognized.
I love her action-packed scenes, her vivid descriptions of landscapes and palaces and even facial expressions and tones of voice, makes for a vivid read. Thanks for the treat!
My supervisor recommended her first books to me. I love reading biblical fiction, and Tessa’s books are the greatest next to the bible for me. I have read all her books more than once, and I am reading BREAD OF ANGELS now for the third time. Each time I read them l get more info that I didn’t see before. I looking forward to her next book!!!!!!!!! Keep them coming.