Counted With the Stars + Giveaway

RANDOM RETRO RE-READ

Sold into slavery by her father and forsaken by the man she was supposed to marry, young Egyptian Kiya must serve a mistress who takes pleasure in her humiliation. When terrifying plagues strike Egypt, Kiya is in the middle of it all.

Choosing to flee with the Hebrews, Kiya finds herself reliant on a strange God and drawn to a man who despises her people. With everything she’s ever known swept away and now facing the trials of the desert, will she turn back toward Egypt or surrender her life and her future to Yahweh?

My Review:

published in 2015

I am not a huge fan of biblical fiction so I pick and choose which titles I read with care. I am so grateful that this one caught my eye and I took a risk by reading out of my comfort zone. Counted With the Stars is a stunning debut novel. The story delivers what the beautiful cover promises and, oh my goodness, such a meaningful title tie-in! Love that kind of attention to detail.

Cossette brings this time period to life. Rich details and the author’s vivid imagination make for a memorable read. I love that the story is told through the eyes of an Egyptian slave. Kiya is such an interesting character. Raised in opulent wealth, she has a lot of adjusting to do as she struggles within the bonds of slavery. She feels like her gods have forsaken her so when she befriends a Hebrew slave she becomes intrigued by the notion of worshiping only one God. In fact she’s incredulous. Especially when Egypt is suddenly inundated with plagues reported to be delivered by the hand of this omnipotent God.

Despite her circumstances, Kiya doesn’t shuck her spoiled persona easily. She is a product of her upbringing — a distinctly caste conscious one. It takes untold hardships and wandering through the wilderness for Kiya’s transformation to be complete. And, oh mercy, what a moving conversion story. Goosebump-inciting. A powerful surrendering to Yahweh that left me breathless.

Side Note: My second read of this book — this time I listened to the Audible edition (available on Audible Plus right now) and Sarah Mollo-Christiensen’s narration is exquisite! She brought such vibrancy to the story. I was spellbound.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a gently read paperback and is available to any reader, any where — so, yay, another International Giveaway!

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Counted With the Stars , leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it’s easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday March 2 2024.

18 thoughts on “Counted With the Stars + Giveaway”

  2. Like you, it’s not my go to genre, but I do on occasion read one – especially if it’s been recommended to me. ”Counted With the Stars”, both my the description and your review sounds exactly like one I would love to read. The fact that you “read” it twice confirms to me what a great book it is.

    Thank you for the chance to win a copy!

    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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  3. This is an amazing book and a great choice for a reread. But…A Light on the Hill was my first Connilyn Cossette book and still my favorite so this will be my book to reread sometime this year. I finished Against All Odds, the first book I’ve reread in at least 15 years. I’d forgotten a few things, but it was still as good as I remembered.

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    1. I especially enjoyed listening to it. The narration was so good! Yay — glad you enjoyed Against All Odds the second time around. I need to get cracking on the next book if I have any hope of revisiting all Irene Hannon’s books in a year! Happy Reading, Tracey!

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  4. I’ve read this series and loved them. Glad you’re enjoying this book too Kav. I know not many love biblical novels like I do, but I agree they bring the Bible stories alive for me.

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    1. I really think it depends on the author too. And, for me, I prefer the main characters to not be actual people from the bible. Those can show up in the story, but I want the hero and heroine to be purely fictional…if that makes any sense. Happy Reading, Becky!

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  6. Like you, I am not a huge fan of biblical fiction. But it may just be that I haven’t read much of it. I’m pretty sure that I haven’t read anything by Connilyn.

    pattymh2000(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  8. I’ve only read “Between the Branches” by Connilyn for review in 2021, and I thought she did a great job bringing Biblical times to life. I have this series on my shelf, so I’m not entering, just wanted to put my two cents worth in 😊

    Jill Eilleen Smith is my go-to author for Biblical fiction and I want to expand my reading to other writers in this genre. I may have to break out this series to add to my TBR pile!

    Sometimes we readers have to step out of our comfort zones to discover great fiction, ‘eh?

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    1. Oh yes, do add it to your TBR pile (I’m sure there’s hardly else anything on it, right? Bwahahahaha!) I think I’ve read one Jill Elizabeth Smith eons ago so must check out her books. I think my library has a few. But, alas, right now I have a hankering for Regency so I’m diving back into that genre. Just did my reading stats for February and I’ve only read four historical novels! Apparently I’ve been on a suspense/mystery kick and now I need to balance that out. Happy Reading, Trixi!

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