Book Review–“To Dwell Among Cedars” by Connilyn Cossette

Book Review–“To Dwell Among Cedars” by Connilyn Cossette is the first book in The Covenant House Series.
After reading this amazing story I am finding it hard to wait until July 2021 when Book Two will be released!

This Christian Fiction Historical Romance, based on the biblical events in the book of Judges and 1 Samuel, begins in Philistia in 1070 BC.
The story’s main characters are a Philistian girl named Arisa and her brother Lukio.

This story was quite interesting to me as I had not read much about that part of biblical history regarding the Philistines and their pagan culture.
I did realize they were enemies of Israel and that they had captured the Ark of the Covenant during a battle, yet hadn’t read much about the details of the events surrounding that.
So, it was very interesting to learn about their life and customs, even though it was very unsettling to me to read about their pagan rituals and sacrifices.

Arisa and Lukio were being raised in their Aunt’s home after their mother had died giving birth to Lukio, and they were being cared for by a Hebrew slave women named Azuvah.
This old Hebrew slave told them many stories about Israel and about their One True God. She sang them songs in Hebrew and taught them to speak Hebrew.
This would be something that would be very valuable to them in their future years.

Later in the book we meet another main character, Ronen, an Israelite, who is a Levite. It is very interesting to see how various events lead Arisa and Ronen to meet.
As you read through the story you will come to see that only God could have arranged their meeting and worked all the things that happened in their lives together for good.

This book will capture you as you are immersed in Connilyn Cossette’s amazing imaginative fiction that she pairs with her deep historical research and biblical facts, to bring drama, suspense, tears, laughter and sweet romance together creating a unique 5 star story that you won’t want to end.

There are also 10 Questions for Conversation located at the end of the book that are very thought provoking either for yourself or for use in a book group.

I was given a free copy of this book by Bethany House a division of Baker Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review. All comments are my own.

–Leona J. Atkinson