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Jealous of her quiet success as she learns the dye business, he’s especially befuddled by what he considers to be Lydia’s obsession with the Jewish religion. When their father dies, Cassius inherits the family’s home; Lydia inherits the business, and unbeknownst to her brother, a small villa in the city of Philippi. Lydia flees with her mother and daughter to Philippi where she sets up shop. At the mercy of a patriarchal society, Lydia needs a man to serve as the public face for her business. She discovers the right person in the handsome face of Greek man she’d hired — an employee with whom she develops a close friendship. The plot thickens as Lydia meets a strange man named Paul the apostle who is stirring up crowds in town. When Lydia’s brother shows up in Philippi, determined to force her to sell the business, he discovers plenty of fuel to accomplish his goals. My ReviewLydia, Woman of Philippi, is the first book I’ve read by Diana Wallis Taylor. I'm happy I got a chance to read it, as Ms. Wallis Taylor has written an excellent book. In fact, I hardly stopped to take notes for this review because I was so engrossed in the story! The book is well-written and the description of the environment enables the reader to completely immerse themselves. It is not overwhelming and the descriptions never become boring. On a side note, as a historian I appreciated that the characters had difficulty getting information to and from people in other cities. This is accurate to the time but rarely mentioned in fiction! Lydia is calm but not a doormat, though she is a more submissive at the beginning of the book. She becomes stronger as the story unfolds and watching her journey as she becomes the woman God meant her to be is one of the best parts of this book. Nikolas is more mysterious and less developed as the story is told from Lydia’s point of view, but he is a kind, dependable, and emotionally strong man. For me, it is easy to see how Lydia could fall for him and how he could fall for her in return. With one point of view it is often difficult to make the secondary characters seem like real people. Yet I understood their emotions, feelings, and thoughts through the writing. A single point of view can also make romances unbelievable but Ms. Wallis Taylor does an excellent job here with Lydia and Nikolas. The story itself moves slowly, though there are a few time jumps. The story begins with Lydia as a fourteen-year-old and ends when she’s in her thirties. The transition between younger Lydia and twenty-four-year-old Lydia as the second act of the story begins felt rushed. I wanted more information about those ten years and was disappointed the story skipped over them. The Christian messages, especially about learning to trust in God no matter the circumstance, appears on almost every page. This makes sense as Lydia is a woman who was an early convert to Christianity. If you like your Christian messages and themes a little less prominent, this book may not be your style. Lydia is a calm book in which events happen and the characters remain serene and poised, though there are a few moments where the tension ramps up. At a couple of points in the story I wanted more emotion from the characters, and the lack of it did hamper my enjoyment of this book. I recommend Lydia, Woman of Philippi, to readers who enjoy well-written and well-researched Biblical Fiction with a compelling main character and a sweet romance and give it 4/5 stars. I took away one star for quibbles involving the lack of tension and wanting more emotions from the characters at certain points. **I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author through CelebrateLit. All opinions are my own.** About the Author
Blog StopsA Bakers Perspective, October 3 Carpe Diem, October 3 Moments Dipped in Ink, October 4 Books, Books, and More Books., October 4 By The Book, October 5 A Simply Enchanted Life, October 5 Red Headed Book Lady, October 6 Blogging With Carol, October 6 A Reader’s Brain, October 7 A Greater Yes, October 7 Just the Write Escape, October 8 His Grace is Sufficient, October 8 Aryn the Libraryan, October 9 Cordially Barbara, October 9 Pursuing Stacie, October 9 The Fizzy Pop Collection, October 10 Ashley’s Bookshelf, October 10 Zerina Blossom’s Books, October 11 Mary Hake, October 11 Radiant Light, October 12 Singing Librarian Books, October 12 Lights in a Dark World, October 12 margaretkazmierczak, October 13 Pause for Tales, October 13 Tell Tale Book Reviews, October 14 Cafinated Reads, October 14 To Everything A Season, October 14 Bigreadersite, October 15 Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, October 15 Henry Happens, October 16 For The Love of Books, October 16 Book Bites, Bee Stings, & Butterfly Kisses, October 16 GiveawayIn honor of her tour, Diana is giving away
Grand Prize Package: Lydia, Woman of Philippi, “Give Thanks” painting on plate by Donna White for The Hearthside Collection, Inc., commemorative Whitaker House/Anchor Distributors coloring book (not in photo). 1st Place Package: Lydia, Woman of Philippi, abba Jerusalem pillar candle, cassia scented, commemorative Whitaker House/Anchor Distributors coloring book (not in photo). 2nd Place Package: Lydia, Woman of Philippi, abba Jerusalem Spikenard candle tin with lid! Click the link to enter! https://promosimple.com/ps/c173
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