A Light on the Hill by Connilyn Cossette, 2018

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After being branded during the battle of Jericho, Moriyah has had no prospects for marriage--until now. She hopes to please the man, but things go horribly wrong and she is forced to flee for her life. Seeking safety at one of the Levitical cities of refuge, she is unprepared for the dangers she faces, and the enemies--and allies--she encounters on her way.

(352 pages)

I chose to review A Light on the Hill because I really enjoyed her Wings of the Wind, which is apparently part of a different series but which is set in the same time period and community. Moriyah is even a fairly significant character in Wings of the Wind.

I have to say that while I was still entertained by A Light on the Hill, I don't think it's nearly as good as that other Cossette book. What I loved so much about Wings on the Wind was that it recreated an extremely important and vibrant time in Judeo-Christian history, one which almost never gets any real focus the way other periods of history do, and tied compelling and sympathetic characters to the grander arc of the Old Testament. God's acts were powerful, but they were also true to the Biblical accounts and thus the book was 100% plausible.

A Light on the Hill, however, falls into a trap that I always find strangely off-putting: it makes God into a character of sorts, who interacts with and directly guides the main character in more than one scene. I don't mean to be petty, but these sorts of storylines always get my goat because it feels like they turn God into a tool to advance the plot. Sure, they're meant to show His greatness and faithfulness etc., but I'm never a huge fan of this idea because the author has no idea whether that's actually how God would have acted in these situations. I also felt like the tethering to the Biblical narrative was a lot more tenuous in general, really.

Setting aside the religious aspect of the book, I also just didn't find the story as compelling. I still really love the idea of the cities of refuge, and I will very likely seek out future books in this new series (the "City of Refuge" series) just to see the implications of the idea played with in new ways. But rather than taking place in one of these cities, the book largely consists of Moriyah's attempts to reach one. It's fine as its own story, but I would have been more interested to read about life in the cities.

As for the romance, I never much cared for it. The insta-love was ridiculously fast here, and the whole dynamic between the two leads felt really hammy. I was more interested in Moryiah's relationship with the other important people in her life, including her surrogate mother figure and the orphaned boy she cared for before the accident. Those dynamics were sweet and interesting to read, and I enjoyed all the bits we had of them. I also enjoyed reading about Moryiah's journey to the recognition that she was more than just the scars on her face–it reminded me a little bit of Aza's journey to self-confidence in Gail Carson Levine's Fairest.

This review may seem very negative, but I did enjoy reading A Light on the Hill. I think I just keep returning to dwell on the could-have-beens with this book because I know from Wings on the Wind that it had the potential to be better. I do still recommend it if you're looking for a Christian historical fiction read. And tell us in the comments section down below, what is your favorite book about a protagonist who struggles with their physical appearance?

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Wings of the Wind by Connilyn Cossette, 2017

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Alanah, a Canaanite, is no stranger to fighting and survival. When her family is killed in battle with the Hebrews, she disguises herself and sneaks onto the battlefield to avenge her family. The one thing she never counted on was surviving.
Tobiah, a Hebrew warrior, is shocked to find an unconscious, wounded woman among the Canaanite casualties. Compelled to bring her to a Hebrew healer back at their camp, he is soon confronted with a truth he can’t ignore: the only way to protect this enemy is to marry her.
Unused to being weak and vulnerable, Alanah submits to the marriage—for now. As she comes to know and respect Tobiah and his people, however, she begins to second-guess her plans of escape. But when her past has painfully unanticipated consequences, the tentative peace she’s found with Tobiah, the Hebrews, and Yahweh is shaken to the core. Can Alanah’s fierce heart and strength withstand the ensuing threats to her life and all she’s come to love?

(352 pages)

I have read very, very few books set before the lifetime of Christ.

Actually, make that books set before the Renaissance. Or maybe even books set before the 1700s. Really, most of the novels I read seem to either be fantasy stories (i.e. not set in our timeline) or based in more modern times. That's why I was really intrigued by Wings of the Wind, which promised to tell a fascinating romance story set during the battles between the Canaanites and the Israelites near the end of the forty years in the desert after God's people had fled from Egypt.

And it delivered. I honestly really, really enjoyed reading Wings of the Wind. I have no idea how historically accurate it was, but it seemed well-researched and relatively plausible. The characters are all realistic, and though I saw some of the plot twists coming from a mile away I definitely didn't foresee how everything wound wind up tying back to the biblical narrative. The romance between Alanah and Tobiah is relatively gradual and realistic, and not as creepy as the whole forced marriage plotline could have gone. I liked them together and was rooting throughout everything for them to stay together throughout everything that was happening. I also really liked the depiction of Yahweh, because he was so active in the Israelites' lives during this period and I think Cossette depicted his powerful justice and simultaneous mercy very skillfully.

That being said, I do want to warn potential readers that this book doesn't pull any punches. There are many references to what soldiers do to unarmed women they come across, and of Alanah's desperation not to let that happen to her, especially at the beginning of the book. Then there are some scenes that describe a couple in love and some *ahem* morning after scenes. Later in the book, Alanah encounters another city that is teeming with vice and prostitutes. Basically, there are a lot of references to both having sex and avoiding molestation throughout the book that I thought were a little bit much. In her author's note, however, Cossette explains her choice to include the atrocities committed by the Canaanites by describing her desire to provide a clear-eyed look at the people who were being wiped out. I still don't know that I can totally be okay with wiping out a whole people in order to steal their land, but I suppose God must have known what he was doing.

Anyway, this is one of the most well-written and fascinating Christian fiction/romance books I've ever read, and–with a warning about the mature material it includes–I do recommend it highly. If you're in the mood for this sort of book, then just know that Wings of the Wind is one of the good ones.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.