The Peasant King by Tessa Afshar is the thrilling sequel to her The Hidden Prince inspired by Cyrus, king of Persia.
In The Peasant King, Cyrus has grown up and inherited his kingdom ans is in the middle of a war against his grandfather King Astyages of Media. When Keren, his chief scribe, is taken captive, he has little resources to spare. Keren’s family decide to go to her aid.
Asher is the illegitimate and unacknowledged son of King Astyages. He’s also the forger of superior weapons. When he defies the authority of his kingly father, he’s imprisoned.
The Peasant King did a fantastic job of showing how small seemingly insignificant actions compound into accomplishing God’s perfect will.
Jemmah always thought she was ordinary, especially when surrounded by her extraordinary family, yet she had the perfect set of skills needed to rescue her mother and return safely home.
Asher’s determination to destroy his father had become a root of bitterness in his life. One that softened with exposure to Jemmah.
The love story between Asher and Jemmah was so sweet, especially as it was being forged in the midst of great danger.
Having read The Hidden Prince, I enjoyed glimpses into the characters lives and was glad to see that Cyrus had grown into a man of integrity.
Readers of The Peasant King will be reminded that God may appear absent in the dark, He’s at work shaping time and circumstances to lift us higher to bring us closer to Him.
They will also be reminded that though we may want God to work in sweeping miracles all the time, sometimes He works little by little. Tiny actions over a long period of time that accomplish a mighty task.
If you enjoy stories about redemption, strong female characters, or fiction couched in biblical settings, read The Peasant King.
I received an advanced reader’s copy from the publisher through NetGalley; a positive review was not required.
About The Peasant King
Table of Contents
Jemmah has always thought of herself as perfectly ordinary . . . until she faces extraordinary circumstances.
When her mother, the Persian king’s famous senior scribe, is kidnapped, Jemmah and her sister must sneak undetected into enemy territory to rescue her. But infiltrating their adversary’s lands proves easier than escaping them. Fleeing through dangerous mountain passes, their survival depends on the skills of a stranger they free from prison: a mysterious prince named Asher.
Asher is not who the world believes he is. Despite his royal blood, he has had to climb his way out of poverty to forge success from nothing. A manufacturer of some of the best weaponry in the East, Asher has only one goal: to destroy his father. But following his escape from prison, Asher is irresistibly drawn to Jemmah, unaware that she guards her own secret.
Jemmah must convince Asher to give up everything he has worked for, all for the sake of a higher purpose he’s not sure he believes in. The fate of the Persian empire—and possibly the Judean people—hang in the balance and in the persuasive power of one ordinary woman.
Bestselling author Tessa Afshar delivers another adventurous novel filled with romance and imagination, reminding readers of what Publishers Weekly calls her “amazing talent for packing action and intrigue into the biblical setting for modern readers.”
• Full-length historical romance novel set in biblical times
• Compelling, clean romance
• Can be read as a standalone or as a companion to The Hidden Prince
• Includes discussion questions for book groups
Purchase The Peasant King on Amazon | Christianbook
About Tessa Afshar
TESSA AFSHAR is the Publishers Weekly best-selling author of historical fiction set in biblical times. Her novels include Harvest of Gold which won a Christy Award and Land of Silence, which won an INSPY. The Way Home: God’s Invitation to New Beginnings, Afshar’s critically acclaimed Bible study, won the ECPA Christian Book of the Year Award, 2021 in the Bible Study Category.
Born in the Middle East, Tessa spent her teen years in England and later moved to the United States. Her conversion to Christianity in her twenties changed the course of her life. She holds a Master of Divinity from Yale, where she served as co-chair of the Evangelical Fellowship for a year. Tessa is a devoted wife, a mediocre gardener, and an enthusiastic cook of biblical recipes.
Contact Tessa at tessaafshar.com or on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTessaAfshar/