Title: Shield of the Mighty
Author: Connilyn Cossette
Series: The King’s Men, book 2
Major Themes: King Saul, Ancient Israel
Synopsis: Sent on a mission to recruit soldiers and artisans for King Saul, Zevi is unprepared for the rejection of his childhood hometown—and the captivating young perfumer he meets there.
I’ve been reading Connilyn Cossette’s books since near the beginning of her author journey. While some books of hers have been more favorites than others, I’ve always appreciated her attention to detail—especially when it relates to the Mosaic Law—and the way she brings Ancient Israeli history to life. As book two in a four-book series, as soon as I saw that Shield of the Mighty was available to request for review, I jumped at the opportunity. Although it didn’t end up being my favorite of Cossette’s books, I appreciated getting a chance to get another peek at Ancient Israel and the struggles the nation faced as they worked to come together as a cohesive whole under King Saul.
Publisher’s description:
Captured by the Philistines as a young boy, Zevi has grown into a formidable warrior. As a captain in King Saul’s army, he is assigned a crucial mission: Recruit soldiers, gather tribute for the royal coffers, and find talented artisans for the king’s court. But when he is sent to Maresha, the town he was forced to leave as a child, he faces a startling truth—the elder council rejects King Saul and his campaign against their enemies.
Yochana, a widow and skilled woman of business, is captivated by a stranger who enters her perfume shop. Upon discovering he is not only a soldier but a captain responsible for enlisting young men to die in battle, fury and pain from her past loss resurfaces, threatening to consume her. But when Zevi’s actions in Maresha entangle Yochana in his radical scheme, they’re forced to confront present dangers and past scars.
Embark on a journey through ancient Israel with bestselling and award-winning author Connilyn Cossette in this exhilarating tale of vengeance, justice, and healing.
My thoughts:
There was a lot to love in Shield of the Mighty. One of the most surprising aspects that I enjoyed (and almost wished to have had more of in the story!) was Yochana’s occupation—making salves, perfumes, and ointments from herbs, wildflowers, and other ingredients. That’s not something I’ve ever seen in a book before, so that element of the story was a lot of fun. I also really enjoyed watching Zevi learn and grow in his faith throughout the story. Sometimes, I feel like some “Christian fiction” today doesn’t necessarily deserve the name, especially when the characters’ presumed faith doesn’t influence their life or decisions. This book, though, is not like that at all. I especially appreciated Zevi’s father’s admonitions, and the wisdom they contained—and then getting to see that worked out in Zevi’s life was also encouraging as he learned to trust the Lord more.
I didn’t enjoy everything about the book. For one thing, the romantic element felt overdone and somewhat unrealistic to me, which was a disappointment. Some of the characters’ reactions and decisions happened too quickly for me—I felt like several of the major thinking shifts just happened, rather than the characters having to spend the time to really sort through things and heal from their pasts. Several other areas also felt somewhat unrealistic—like a character healing from a wound extraordinarily fast. Or the one or two times lingo was used that seemed too modern for the setting.
Overall, though, I did enjoy a lot of Shield of the Mighty. Would I read it again? Likely not, but I’m not sad I read it once. As a peek into Ancient Israel at the time of King Saul (and Jonathan’s exploits—that’s always been a favorite section of history for me!), this book did a good job bringing out some of the tribal tensions that likely would have been in place at the time and the struggle we all face to choose God’s way above our own. I came away encouraged, and if you don’t mind having a fairly strong romantic focus in your Biblical fiction, I’d recommend you check this book and the series out. It’s a fun read.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book, and this is my honest opinion of it.
WARNING: “I swear” is used in ch. 8 and 27 and “I swore” is used in ch. 26. There is lying in ch. 6, 10, 16, 17, and 28. Several times, a character remembers seeing girls who were raped before their throats were cut (this is mentioned in ch. 6 and 13). A character recounts an attack where people were killed in ch. 8 and another attack in ch. 9. A man is poisoned in ch. 10. A man is killed and someone else is shot with arrows in ch. 16. A woman is threatened with a knife to her throat and several men are knocked out in ch. 17. Someone remembers hearing about a man who was eaten by pigs in ch. 21. In ch. 23, there is a mention of people cutting their palms to become blood brothers, and a man thinks about his cousin who was a drunkard and had loose morals around women. A man believes God commanded him to fight for his people in ch. 26. A battlefield with wounded and dead is described somewhat in ch. 27. Someone is executed for murder and a man remembers someone being killed in ch. 30. Unmarried characters touch in ch. 3, 7, 8, 10, 11, 15, 16, 20, 22, and 29; and kiss in ch. 23 (somewhat descriptive; several paragraphs) and the epilogue (also somewhat descriptive, plus this phrase: “I cannot wait to begin making a family of our own”).
Age levels:
Reading Independently—Ages 15 and Above, Adults
Links to buy this book:
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle | Hardcover | Audible Audiobook (unabridged)
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
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