In the Field of Grace by Tessa Afshar

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
In The Field of Grace
(River North; New Edition - July 1, 2014)
by
Tessa Afshar
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

TESSA AFSHAR was voted "New Author of the Year" by the Family Fiction sponsored Reader's Choice Award 2011 for her novel Pearl in the Sand. She was born in Iran, and lived there for the first fourteen years of her life. She moved to England where she survived boarding school for girls and fell in love with Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte, before moving to the United States permanently. Her conversion to Christianity in her twenties changed the course of her life forever. Tessa holds an MDiv from Yale University where she served as co-chair of the Evangelical Fellowship at the Divinity School. She has spent the last thirteen years in full-time Christian work.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Destitute, grief-stricken, and unwanted by the people of God, Ruth arrives in Israel with nothing to recommend her but Naomi's, love. Her loftiest hope is to provide enough food to save Naomi and herself from starvation.

But God has other plans for her life. While everyone considers Ruth an outcast, she is astounded to find one of the most honored men of Judah showing her favor. Long since a widower and determined to stay that way, Boaz is irresistibly drawn to the foreign woman with the haunted eyes. He tells himself he is only being kind to his Cousin Naomi's chosen daughter when he goes out of his way to protect her from harm, but his heart knows better.

Based on the biblical account of Ruth, In the Field of Grace is the story of a love that ultimately changes the course of Israel's destiny and the future of the whole world.

My thoughts:

I have had people recommend Tessa Afshar's books to me in the past, but I had not tried them since I'm not really a fan of Biblical Fiction. However, since the story of Ruth and Boaz is one of my favorite stories in the Bible, I thought I would give this one a try. After reading In the Field of Grace, the author may well have won me over to the genre.

With excellent character development and emotional depth that isn't always mastered in fiction writing, I found the story of Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz, deeply compelling and was overcome a time or two while turning the pages. For me, the scene on the threshing floor was such a beautifully written scene, it brought tears to my eyes. To see how God brought Ruth and Boaz together in such a potentially scandalous way, and knowing that their togetherness would affect the lineage of our dear Savior, was deeply moving.

I was highly impressed by this book and can see myself reading the backlist of this author in the not too distant future. I would recommend In the Field of Grace to anyone who loves clean romance, Biblical Fiction, or any book where God's love and grace triumphs over loneliness and despair.

My sincerest thanks to CFBA and River North for generously providing a copy in exchange for my honest review.

If you would like to read the first chapter of In The Field of Grace, go HERE.