Thank you to Bethany House Publishers for the ARC and finished copy of Shield of the Mighty by Connilyn Cossette. All opinions are my own. 

Last year, I read the first book in this series called Voice of the Ancient. I really enjoyed that book and was excited to be back in that world. Shield of the Mighty far exceeded my expectations. It was just so good that I didn’t want to put it down! 

This biblical fiction story has so many great aspects to it including romance, a surprising plot, a focus on family, and spiritual growth. I loved this book from start to finish, and I was surprised by so much of the plot, and I loved the characters so much that I kept wanting to pick this book back up. I can’t wait to see where this story goes in the future. 

One of my favorite parts about this book was the romance. While the first book in this series had romance, I feel like it was a bit more of the focus in this story. I loved Zevi and Yochana and their many interactions. While Zevi wasn’t justified in his actions early on, I liked that he learned from those mistakes and that Yochana was such a forgiving person. I think that they both suited each other so well and really brought out the best in each other. 

Besides the romance, both main characters grew so much as people. It was beautiful to see how they grew spiritually and how they allowed themselves to learn from their mistakes and not stay set in their old beliefs. They both had past trauma to deal with, and I liked seeing them be vulnerable with each other and the people around them. 

The plot in this story was so exciting and had so many unexpected twists and turns. There was a moment in particular that I gasped out loud because I was so shocked. The unexpectedness of a lot of the plot made this story so exciting, and it kept my interest the whole time. 

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone (even if you aren’t a Christian) because the story is just so unique and interesting. I can’t wait to see what happens next for these characters!