Keepers of the Covenant {Book Review}

** I was given a copy of this book by Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my honest review of the book.

This book by Lynn Austin is the second in The Restoration Chronicles series. I read and reviewed the first one last year. I was very excited when the second book, Keepers of the Covenant, was available through the Bethany House blogger review program.

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I am usually not a fan of Biblical fiction because I find it's a whole lot fiction and not a lot of Biblical fact. Lynn Austin is one of the few authors whose Biblical fiction I enjoy. She does a lot of research for her stories and provides a list of scripture references in the back of the book. She uses the actual scriptures when possible in the story.

This book is about the prophet Ezra as well as a few other fictional characters. The first part of the book deals with the decree of death (orchestrated by Haman). It was fascinating to read from the viewpoint of the Jews who thought they were all going to perish on the thirteenth day of Adar. I had never picked up when reading the book of Esther how widespread and brutal that decree could have been if the Lord (through Esther) hadn't stopped it. The second part of the book is about the return of more of the Jews from Babylon to Jerusalem led by Ezra. 

This book is almost 500 pages long but don't let the length stop you. The story kept my interest the whole time and I never came to any parts that were boring or tedious. It was a great book! I think I liked this one better than the first one of the series.