Isaiah's Legacy is another wonderful biblical fiction by the talented Mesu Andrews! I loved and enjoyed this story of the Prophets and Kings Series immensely! The creative mind of Andrews continues to marvel me - the spellbinding plot, endearing characters, beautiful prose, while staying true to Scriptures - are all the goodness in Isaiah's Legacy.

“Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years." - Isaiah 38:5

Albeit part of a series, this book can be read as standalone. The story picks up where Isaiah's Daughter left off where Yahweh has added another fifteen years to King Hezekiah's life after he prayed. As his time draws near, King Hezekiah is preparing his son and co-regent, the five year-old Manasseh, to be his successor - the next King of Judah who worships the only one true God. When the king is seeking a tutor for his son, the recent demoted Shebna, seizes this opportunity to thwart the king's plan. Shebna puts his beautiful eight year-old niece, Meshullemeth (Shulle), to be Manasseh's tutor. With her father's life at stake, Shulle acquiesces in learning the dark arts so she can sway and manipulates Manasseh through her charm and subtle ways. Hence, begin the tragic and tumultuous, and the rise and fall of King Manasseh who abandons Yahweh to seek pagan gods instead.

"Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel." - 2 Kings 21:1-2

Wow, this is one dramatic and tragic story of Manasseh and is narrated from Shulle's POV. I have never read one book by Mesu Andrews that I did not enjoy. She is a great storyteller when it comes to biblical fiction. Her creativity in explaining away or filling the gaps in Manasseh's life is believable while referencing and staying true to Scriptures. By just reading her book, one would know just how much research and effort has been put into it and I truly appreciate this! The characters are always given so much depth and dimensions.

In a nutshell, this is another great addition to the Prophets and Kings Series. I enjoyed it and highly recommend this to everyone. The storytelling is mellifluous and engaging and the plot is solid and consistent throughout the book. This story of rebellion and redemption draws me to Scriptures, and reminds me of Yahweh's faithfulness throughout history - "if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself." - 2 Timothy 2:13. There may be times when we do not understand His plans and to be honest we do not have to. All we need to do is trust Him and "hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering for He who promised is faithful." - Hebrews 10:23


***I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from WaterBrook & Multnomah through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All views expressed in this review are my own and was not influenced by the author, publisher or any third party.***

Isaiah's Legacy is book three from Mesu Andrews' series, Prophets and Kings. I enjoyed the vivid description of the setting and time. I felt like I was among the among characters. I give this book five stars.

This is the account of King Manasseh. His is believed to be a high functioning autistic. His cruelty to the people who worshipped Yahweh had no bounds.
It was prophesied by Isaiah that Manaaseh would be a good and honorable king. Sometimes we are forged in the fiery furnace before we are eventually what we are supposed to be. That is what happened to King Manasseh when he was finally taken captive and put in prison for years and years. There he was forced to review his life. The realization of the harm he had caused everyone around him, brought him to his knees. He became the king Isaiah had prophesied about. True to Yahweh. This was a king who had gone so far as to sacrifice his own children to idolatry.
A beautiful story of faith. Like all stories of the scriptures.

This is an excellent book! This is a book you don't want to speed read, you want to absorb as much of it as you can. It is beautifully written and is brought to life with the authors words. If you like biblical fiction, you will love this book. I can't say enough good things about this book. Thank you WaterBrook & Multnomah via NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own. I highly recommend this book.

I haven't read a book yet by Mesu Andrews that I didn't love and takeaway something. I have to go back to the Bible and read again and learn something new every time.
This book picks up after Isaiah's Daughter. You can certainly read this as a stand alone if you haven't read Isaiah's Daughter.
Zibah's son, Manasseh becomes king of Israel at the age of 12. Tells of the people trying to turn him against Yahweh. A wonderful book that shows how King Manasseh turns back to how he was raised.

Thank you WaterBrook and NetGalley for the ARC.

I have enjoyed every book that I've read by Mesu Andrews and this is no exception. At first, I was not sure I was going to like the book but after just a few pages, I could barely put it down. It draws you into the Biblical times of the reign of King Manassah. The main characters were very well developed and felt like people you might actually know.
The story flowed very well and covered a lot of history. Even with all the historical facts in the story, it did not feel like a history lesson, it made for a very interesting look at the era. But, even though it wasn't a lesson if you didn't learn something you were just skim-reading. The scenes unfolded in a very vivid way most of the time.
The editing was well done also. Poor editing can ruin an otherwise great book. I only remember two very small errors that did not detract at all.
I enjoyed the book which I received through Netgalley. I am not required to give any review at all, especially not a good review. This review is freely given and my own opinion. I give the book a 5 out of 5-star rating. I would recommend this book to my friends. I read an ARC ebook.

Over the past 18 months, I have devoured all of the books Mesu Andrews has written, so when I had an opportunity to read Isaiah’s Legacy, I was ecstatic!

I love the way Mesu Andrews researches everything thoroughly! In a historic fiction book, especially a Biblical fiction book, I think it is extremely important for an author to take the time to research in depth the period they are writing about. Her writings always inspire me to go back and re-read the Biblical account surrounding the stories, and so far I have not been disappointed!

In Isaiah’s Legacy, we see some familiar characters from Isaiah’s Daughter, but many more characters are introduced. We see how it may have played out for Mannasah to become king at 12 and how his reign was. I’ve honestly wondered before while reading the Bible why it seemed like king after king would go back and forth between following God and following other gods. This book has shown me insight as to why that may be.

I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in Biblical fiction. It has been well thought out and researched and I finished it in just over 24 hours it was so enticing!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher and netgalley. All opinions are my own and a review was not required.

I never,ever have a problem reading this author's work,I don't think I have read one of her her books I didn't like! I know some of the Bible and It's stories but this author's writing on the Bible is excellent and you learn the story in the Bible,her research she has done on the history the way she writes you are right there with all the characters and you understand God so much more and what he wants to teach us! All her books are to be read with a open heart and you will learn to understand God so much better and what this time in history is to not only teach about the characters and what and how they lived,but you will know your history in the Bible! This book here you can follow in the Bible and all her stories she has written.

Obviously the best way to know biblical stories is to read the bible but Mesu Andrews really brings them to life with her biblical fiction. This is the second book I've read by this author. The first one was The Pharaoh's Daughter back in 2015. Both made me want to reread the passages from the Bible so I could think about it in a different way.

I did not read the first two books in this series but I don't think its really necessary for clarity's sake. This novel can be read as a stand alone.

This is a story about how Manasseh went from boy to 12 year old King and turned his back on God. Its a complicated story spanning four decades that shows how easily letting hurts separate us from God. Ultimately we're shown the rewards of focusing on God's promises, even when they aren't delivered in our preferred time, and God's love. Manasseh goes from an innocent boy to the ultimate villain but is redeemed in the end.

It gets pretty dark for a while, for all characters involved, but we are always reminded of God's promises.

In Isaiah’s Legacy we pick up the story after Isaiah’s Daughter ended, within the last 15 years of Hezekia’s reign. We meet some old characters again, but don‘t worry, if you haven’t read the first book this can very well be read as a standalone, all the important information is included (for people who have read the first book like me it’s also very nice to have a little refreshment on who’s who again lol!). We follow Shulle, a young girl who starts as devout Jew, but is manipulated and blackmailed to follow darker roads. She is placed strategically with Manasseh by her uncle, because she has experience with the specific troubles Manasseh is having as a high functioning autist (this is not named in the book as that would be historically incorrect of course, but it is clear and it is mentioned in the Author’s Note). We follow both of them through the years, and while this is ultimately a story of redemption, the road they both take is very troubling, as you can expect when Manasseh is described as the most evil kings of them all.

I have to admit, at first I did have trouble with Manasseh being autistic. The representation in the media is already problematic, as many movie villains are portrayed as autists, which in the end might create a very negative view on autism, like we are emotionless robots. Therefore, when I found out about it, I was not happy. However, I read on and turned 180 degress around. I have to applaud Mesu Andrews for her sublime writing of this character. The autism representation is very well executed with care and subtlety, and I think it gives an extra dimension to the story. You can clearly see how much Manasseh cares and how he tries so hard to help and to make everyone happy, though he often can’t express that desire. I love seeing him through Shulle’s eyes and I think this book can make people understand more about (high functioning) autism.

But of course, that’s not what this book is about! Like all Mesu’s books, the world she build is very authentic and rich, and you can feel the massive amount of research that went into it, from food to clothing to rituals. But even though it’s set in ancient Israel, it contains a message for us here, today. It is a book about forgiveness and faith, but also about worshipping false idols, and the question of what lies beyond this life. I also saw a very clear message of how extreme tolerance can sometimes lead to indifference or even persecution of those you deem less tolerant, and how it can be a slippery slope. This book really makes you think, and the best compliment any Christian author could get: it made me open my Bible and read about Manasseh, and I looked at the Scripture with different eyes, the words struck home instead of it being a history lesson. Sometimes it’s easy to forget how there are entire lifes lived in one verse.

Also, there wasn’t a dull moment, and the characters were all very real to me. I just couldn’t stop reading. Some of it is quite disturbing as you can imagine with Manasseh, I don’t think this is an easy book to read, but it is an important one. Plotwise I have only one minor thing to mention: while I was highly invested in the first 75%, I felt the plot fell a little flat in the last quarter. The time in between grew longer, and it felt a little disjointed, I couldn’t really tell what was going on in characters heads, I didn’t feel them anymore, and as a result I cared less. I think it could’ve ended stronger. But all in all, I recommend this book to everyone who loves Biblical fiction, and it’s as strong as all Mesu’s other books.

I’m very grateful to have received a free e-copy from the publisher through Netgalley, but it didn’t influence my opinion on this book.

PS for anyone wondering: I use “autist” to describe people with autism, because I don’t think it should be treated as an illness, but as a part of yourself. This is my choice of words, and I know many don’t agree, but for me this feels like the best way to describe it.

Rating (on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being excellent)
Quality of writing: 5
Pace: 5
Plot development: 5
Characters: 5
Enjoyability: 5
Ease of Reading: 5

Overall rating: 5 out of 5

I am convinced that Mesu Andrews cannot write a bad book. Every book I have read of hers have blown me away, and this book was no exception. She has a way of drawing me into the story right away and making me feel like I am in the story.

I adored Isaiah's Daughter, it was actually the first book I read by Mesu Andrews, and it made me go on a reading spree of her books. I was so excited when I learned there was sequel of that book. I was hooked from the first page and she left me wanting more!

Andrews never fails to bring me a deeper understanding of the portion of the Bible she is representing. After reading this book, and all her other books, I went back and reread this portion of the Bible, and I found myself reading it with a different perspective than I ever had.

I couldn't recommend this book any higher. If you enjoy Biblical Fiction or haven't had the opportunity to read any yet, do yourself a favor and read this book!!

The research for this book was spectacular. Although, I think it was difficult to marry the fiction with the history. I have always loved Mesu Andrews books but for me, the fiction and historical facts of this story did not combine well and the whole book seemed a bit stilted.

Excellent read! Consistent with the quality of books written by Mesu Andrews.
This book takes an incredibly difficult historical character, most would call him evil, and makes him relatable without whitewashing the facts.
This story moves along and keeps you reading. Biblical accuracy seems well maintained as always.
I can definitely recommend this book.

Isaiah's Legacy by Mesu Andrews is the fictional account of Judah's King Hezekiah and King Manasseh. King Hezekiah was Judah's few righteous kings, some would even say it's most righteous king. His son, Manasseh was the most wicked. Queen Hephzibah, Hezekiah's wife and Manasseh's mother, was the woman who loved them both. While much of it is fiction, the story is based loosely on biblical accounts and historical research. Isaiah's life and prophecies are found through out the book. Andrews states that the story of Manasseh is the greatest prodigal story ever told.

Reading this story, helped me understand how a child (Manasseh was 12 years old when Hezekiah died and he took the throne.) could be drawn away from the one true God and led to believe false gods. It was an interesting read even though following the many characters could sometimes be confusing.

If you are a fan of Biblical fiction then you won't want to miss this one.. Mesu Andrews has long been a favorite of mine.
This is an engaging story but I kind of had trouble reading the Bible verses at the beginning of each chapter because I read on my kindle app from my phone so I was kind of disappointed in that but otherwise I was able to follow along with no problem.
Mesu's s research is explicit! I'm amazed at how these authors are able to take a story from the Bible to show us what it might've been like back in Biblical times.
She has written her characters and plot so well that they will make you laugh, cry and shout at them like I was doing for Shulle and Nassa.
I am glad that Mesu has brought them to life and the way she has written, their homes felt like I lived there with them
. I was mad that a cute fuzzy animal was killed pretty early in the book. I felt that was really unnecessary. It's what we would call today a therapy pet.
There were some things in the story I didn't really like. I didn't like how the women were treated at all! I"m glad I didn't live back then!! They'd have killed me off first opportunity for my say in things. I think that they'd not like today's world where even women have the vote.
Another thing that I didn't like in the story was there were some parts in the book that were long, drawn out and didn't necessarily need to be there. It sort of bogged me down because of it. I guess it's called too descriptive.
I will say that the King of Babylon made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck because with him, you just never knew where you stood. I felt like I was watching over my shoulder for that one. His son, Esar I kind of liked. Please don't ask me why. The most from him I didn't like was that the way he treated Shulle. So not fair!! If I was her, I'd be hot to trot as they say.
Overall, it was a nice story and kept me entertained. Like I said earlier, I loved the characters, plot and style of writing so I give this a 4 star review. Just simply for the fact that it bogged me down in places.
I still recommend this book however.
.