*This book was given to me by the publisher for review purposes.  All thoughts and opinions are my own*

Title: Wings of the Wind

Series: Out of Egypt

Author: Connilyn Cossette

Publish Date: May 2, 2017

Genre: Christian Historical Fiction

Reading Format: Paperback

Publisher Summary: 

Alanah, a Canaanite, is no stranger to fighting and survival. When her family is killed in battle with the Hebrews, she disguises herself and sneaks onto the battlefield to avenge her family. The one thing she never counted on was surviving.
Tobiah, a Hebrew warrior, is shocked to find an unconscious, wounded woman among the Canaanite casualties. Compelled to bring her to a Hebrew healer back at their camp, he is soon confronted with a truth he can’t ignore: the only way to protect this enemy is to marry her.
Unused to being weak and vulnerable, Alanah submits to the marriage—for now. As she comes to know and respect Tobiah and his people, however, she begins to second-guess her plans of escape. But when her past has painfully unanticipated consequences, the tentative peace she’s found with Tobiah, the Hebrews, and Yahweh is shaken to the core. Can Alanah’s fierce heart and strength withstand the ensuing threats to her life and all she’s come to love?

Review:

Wings of the Wind is the third book in a Series called Out of Egypt.  I was not aware of this when I got the book, however, I didn’t feel that I was missing anything by not having read the first two.  The two main female characters from books one and two do play supporting character roles in this novel and they share enough of their background to the main character Alanah that I was aware they had importance to the series but didn’t find that I was losing the plot of Wings of the Wind without having read the first two books.

With that side note out of the way, let me dive into my thoughts on this book.  When I received my email from the publisher for the books they were offering for the month of May I took one look at this cover and immediately requested it.  I was also drawn in by the summary as I don’t often read ancient historical fiction novels but when I do I usually enjoy them.  This book was no exception to that rule.

The Out of Egypt series is set from the exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt through their wandering of the desert for 40 years.  Wings of the Wind takes place towards the end of the 40 years when the Hebrews are beginning to take back their promise land from the Canaanites.  Alanah is a Canaanite woman who loses her Father and her Brothers to the war with the Hebrews.  She wants to avenge their deaths and disguises herself as a man where she sneaks onto the battlefield.  Alanah is wounded and found by a Hebrew Soldier named Tobiah, who upon discovering that she is a woman takes her back to the Hebrew camp.  Tobiah makes the decision that in order to protect Alanah from the other Israelites, as she is seen as the enemy, he must marry her. It sounds like a cheesy plot line, and I’ll admit that I was expecting it to be too gooey of a romance to really get into the book. However I was pleasantly surprised that this was not the case and instead the romance is built up nicely through out the book.

My favorite thing about Wings of the Wind has to be that the Author Connilyn Cossette fills in the space with details of what might have happened during the stories of the Bible.  I grew up in church and I’ve heard the stories of Moses and Israelites the wandering through the desert many times.  As most stories are told in the Bible they are direct and too the point, conveying the message without filling in the details. Connilynn Cossette presented a fictional observation of what daily life may have been like during this time.  And she does it with a strong female character in Alanah who can stand on her own but is lovingly supported by Tobiah and not possessively sheltered as some stories can portray a woman rescued by a man.

I’d really love to read the first two books in the series and also see this one progress to when the Israelites have established themselves in the promise land.

Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars

Happy Reading,

Meghan