“Having escaped Egypt with the other Hebrews during the Exodus, Shira is now living in freedom at the foot of Mount Sinai. When the people rebel by worshipping a golden idol, the ensuing chaos gives Shira an unexpected opportunity to assist a midwife. When the experience awakens a new desire in her, she defies her mother’s wish for her to continue in the family weaving trade and pursues her heart’s calling as an apprentice midwife.
But when a delivery goes horribly wrong, Shira finds herself in an impossible situation and bound to a man who betrayed her. As contention between the Hebrew tribes and the foreigners fans the flames of another dangerous rebellion, Shira comes face to face with the long-hidden pain of her past. Can she let go of all that has defined her to embrace who she truly is and believe in a hopeful future?” -Shadow of the Storm, by Connilyn Cossette.
You probably saw my glowing review of Counted with the Stars (book one of the Out from Egypt series by Connilyn Cossette) and this post is going to be in the same vein!
If it’s possible, I enjoyed Shadow of the Storm much more than Counted with the Stars. In the first book, we followed Kiya and saw her miraculous transformation from haughty Egyptian to humble believer. In Shadow of the Storm, we follow Shira, who played a huge role in Kiya’s story.
Although she’s been a believer for much longer, Shira has her own troubles. Being a follower of Yahweh doesn’t mean that you’re except from struggles, and Shira shows us that through her heartfelt story.
Something that I adored about this book is that it had a lot to do with babies! I’m a sucker for children and babies. There’s always so much at stake! Everything seems so much more dangerous when an infant is involved, and I found myself anxiously plowing through Shadow of the Storm to see what would happen next.
(Mini spoiler, all children have a happy ending!!)
Watching Shira yearn to be a mother while helping be a midwife and care for children in her camp made my heart break a little, but it was so well crafted and done that I was enormously pleased with how Connilyn Cossette finished the book. All in all, it was a heart wrenching book, but with lovingly sweet moments and a wonderful overarching theme of leaning on God’s strength when yours isn’t enough.
There was a second point of view that was threaded into the book as well that added so much more to the main story of Shira. The book is set at the bottom of the camp of Israelites at the bottom of Mount Sinai, the mountain that Moses climbs to speak to God and where he gets the Ten Commandments. If you’re familiar with the period of the time the Israelites waited, you know that Aaron and a number of people built a golden calf to worship. You will also know that a massive amount of deaths followed this idol worship.
The second point of view is from Dvorah, a woman whos husband was part of the idol worshipers and was killed. She provides a really interesting and refreshing angle as one who doesn’t believe in Yahweh and clings to her Egyptian gods. (She also happens to be trying to steal Shira’s man AND is handing out false idols to the Israelites like candy!)
Rating: 5 out of 5
Why: Once again, I read this book in two days. Cossette immediately draws me into her world and makes me want to continue reading. The thought of having to put her book down is SO hard because she’s truly one of my favorite (if not favorite) authors as this point!
I love the awkward romance (because yes, Shira does have romantic interest in someone), I love the family tension, and I love the way that the characters grow and become more accepting by the end of the book. I also love that Kiya, Eben, and Jumo are in this book as well and you can see more about Kiya and Eben’s love story without taking away from Shira.
I do think that a trigger warning should be mentioned; rape is mentioned (although not detailed) in the middle of the book, and then towards the end an attempt of rape happens, although does not succeed and is once again not described in detail.
Ending thoughts: Read this book! Well, if you haven’t read Counted with the Stars yet, read that first AND THEN read Shadow of the Storm! It’s beautifully written and shows that life may take a different course than what we planned or wanted, but it’s all under God’s control and for His glory!
As always, I hope you have a wonderful day (and that you check Connilyn Cossette out if you haven’t)!
Storm
Links for Shadow of the Storm:
Storm Shultz 