This was a really good book, and had it not followed on the heels of The Hidden Prince, I would have absolutely loved it! However, I didn't feel this was quite as good as The Hidden Prince, so it was a bit of a letdown. That said, it was still a 5-star book, and I highly enjoyed it. I always love it when Tessa Afshar writes novels with fictional main characters like this one who live in the world of real Biblical characters and interact with them periodically throughout the story. For some reason, that works a lot better for me than when the main characters are real Biblical ones. Looking forward to Mrs. Afshar's next book!

I received a complimentary electronic copy of this book from NetGalley, but I plan to buy the audiobook when it releases.

I have always loved reading Tessa Afshar's books and was excited to have the opportunity to read her newest release, The Peasant King. I thought it was great. Readers and fans of historical and biblical fiction will want to grab this one. I highly recommend it and am giving it five stars.

The Peasant King reimagines the Biblical story of Jemmah and Asher during the Persian rule of Cyrus the Great.

Jemmah’s mother serves as the Persian king’s chief scribe. She is assigned a special task that entails travel during an escalating war. When she doesn’t come back after five days, Jemmah takes matters into her own hands. Her journey of finding her mother leads her to Asher.

Asher, despite his royal blood, was never treated as royal. He had to forge his own path, which was manufacturing some of the best weaponry in the East. Supplying the enemy of his father with his weapon puts him in jail.

As Jemmah and Asher’s paths cross, they are united in a way. But will she be able to convince him to a purpose he’s not sure he believes in?

This story of adventure connected with some romance has a fast pace. The history is well-presented, but at times I wished for more in depth presentation to have me connected strongly to the time period. The characters are interesting. They are brave and driven. I just wished, they revealed a bit more feelings.

Overall, the writing is absorbing and pulls the reader into the story from the beginning.

This novel focuses on Jared and Keren’s daughter, Jemmah. When Keren is kidnapped, Jemmah undergoes a dangerous mission to rescue her mother. Once she frees her, she also frees the Median prince, Asher. Jemmah realizes that Asher is the key to help give Cyrus the victory he needs against his father.

I really like Jemmah. She is a fun and a very humorous character. I also love her sacrifice for saving those she loves. Jemmah is a very loyal woman, and her faithfulness wins the heart of Asher. I like Asher. He is deeply conflicted. He is a man who thirsts for revenge against his father. Once he meets Jemmah, he must make a difficult choice to give up revenge for love. I like how he cares for Jemmah and that he will do anything to keep her safe. Thus, Jemmah and Asher’s relationship was very cute and was the best of the story.

Overall, this story is about forgiveness, sacrifice, and belonging. The message of this book is that God has a plan for each of us. I love all of the characters in this novel, especially Jemma’s foster sister, Zarina. I also like how we get to revisit a few characters from The Hidden Prince like Daniel, Keren, and Jared. I also like how King Cyrus the Great plays an important role in this story! I also like how Mrs. Afshar has made ancient Babylon come alive! The Peasant King was a delightful and fast-paced novel that is full of adventure, romance, and political intrigue! I recommend this for fans of Angela Elwell Hunt, Tracy L. Higley, and Mary Ellen Boyd!

Keren, Jared and Cyrus story continues from The Hidden Prince, this time centering on Keren's daughter Jemmah. I love Jemmah; fierce yet feminine. She is everything I want to be!
Tessa Afshar is one of my favourite Biblical Fictionauthors. A few small caveats that I had were when King Cyrus gives credit to his god - this part felt a little awkward in a Christian fiction. And the last scene was a "fade to black" and I don't feel these are necessary in the Christian fiction genre. But these are small caveats, and all were handled appropriately, I just felt the story would have been stronger without them.
I really did like the story and look forward to reading more of Tessa Afshar's work.

THE PEASANT KING is another beautiful Biblical fiction novel by TESSA AFSHAR which comes after The Hidden Price. However the book can easily stand alone.
It is the eighth year of King Cyrus’ reign on the Persian throne and he is in the middle of an ongoing war with Astyages, the wicked Median king, who is also his grandfather. Keren and Jared are Hebrews who work closely with Cyrus, having even saved his life. They strongly believe that the Lord will use Cyrus to set their nation free. As this quore explains, “God’s plans for the world are somehow entwined with Judah’s destiny. Which makes God’s plans for Cyrus crucial to the fate of the world”. I love the way the author starts every chapter with relevant Scripture verses, for example the verses about Cyrus in Isaiah 44:24 and 28, as she reminds us of Biblical prophecy.
Keren is the king’s chief scribe who has passed her skills on to her twin children, Johanan and Jemmah. Johanan is brilliantly clever, whilst Jemmah is beautiful and caring.
Asher is the illegitimate son of Astyarges. He is hated by his father and the feeling is mutual.
The story is very exciting as we follow Jemmah and her adopted sister Zarina as they travel to Media to try and find their kidnapped mother. This is where they meet Asher…..
I am not going to tell you any more for fear of spoiling things for you.
There is war, there are secrets, there is betrayal, forgiveness, love and compassion, a sense of family and belonging to a man who felt he belonged nowhere, and a wonderful variety of characters, both Biblical and fictional, against the backdrop of life in ancient Persia, Media and Babylon, in this well researched and lovely read. I cannot recommend The Peasant King highly enough.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Tyndale House Publishers. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

Jemmah always thought she was ordinary, especially when surrounded by her extraordinary family, yet she had the perfect set of skills needed to rescue her mother and return safely home.

Asher's determination to destroy his father had become a root of bitterness in his life. One that softened with exposure to Jemmah.

The love story between Asher and Jemmah was so sweet, especially as it was being forged in the midst of great danger.

Having read The Hidden Prince, I enjoyed glimpses into the characters lives and was glad to see that Cyrus had grown into a man of integrity.

Readers of The Peasant King will be reminded that while God may appear absent in the dark, He's at work shaping time and circumstances to lift us higher to bring us closer to Him.

I received an advanced reader's copy from the publisher through NetGalley; a positive review was not required.

This was my first Tessa Afshar book, and I want to thank NetGalley and Tyndale House Publishers for this gifted eARC of the book.

I found the story sweet. Jemmah was a great narrator, she was fierce despite her young age, and genuine with her devotion. Asher was also a fighter and I enjoyed reading about him and how he fought for a better world.

I did find the book almost too simple at times, and it felt like it was written for a fairly young audience. The romance was clean, and the violent scenes were short. I would have liked a bit more depth and historical details for readers not familiar with the Bible and the historical context of the time.

The story works as an easy adventure story with a wholesome romance to it.

Tessa Afshar is the best in writing biblical fiction because she takes the context, setting, and culture and creates a unique story. Her ability to bring her readers into the ancient Near East and bring it as close as a contemporary setting is impressive. I really enjoyed this story with a strong female protagonist that didn't contradict what is realistic for the time period. Jemmah and Asher made such a fun pair to watch on their journey. That they both are hiding secrets that will upset everything makes it all the better.

I enjoyed this book a lot! After reading The Hidden Prince by Tessa Afshar last year and really enjoying it, I was super excited to read this one. When I found out it was about Keren and Jared’s daughter, I was even more excited to read it!

I liked Jemmah from the start. She really was a great heroine. I was inspired by her kindheartedness, bravery, and faith.
I really liked Asher’s character too! While he definitely had some growing to do and I got frustrated with him a few times, I did like him and enjoyed watching his character development.
Also, I absolutely loved seeing Keren, Jared, and Cyrus again! I was so excited when I realized they were going to be in this book!
This book can definitely be read as a stand-alone but The Hidden Prince takes place several years before The Peasant King starts and tells the story of Jemmah’s parents. They’re both great books to read entirely by themselves but it was fun having read The Hidden Prince first so I was already knew some of the side characters in this book.

The romance was really sweet. I loved Asher and Jemmah together. Their banter was great! 👏🏼

I was gripped by this story from the beginning. There was adventure and action right away which I loved. I never got bored. Also, I loved the banter sprinkled throughout. It made me laugh out loud more than once which was a plus.

Not only was the adventure great in this story, the faith content throughout was woven in so well! I found the history really interesting as well. I also really liked the writing.

As for the content, the romance was clean. The kisses were semi-detailed. There wasn’t very much violence but there was one somewhat gruesome, disturbing scene. Thankfully it is brief.

In conclusion, I really liked this book! I definitely recommend if you enjoy books set during biblical times and a story with fast-paced plot that has plenty of adventure and a sweet romance. ☺️

*Thank you to the publisher for sending me a complimentary copy to review! All opinions in this review are my own.

I found this novel very exciting!
I couldn't put the book down until I was finished! I wanted to see what Asher and Jemma ended up doing.
I wasn't disappointed at all! I love anything this author writes. She never fails to take me back to the biblical days so that I might see what life was like then. Really, in some ways, no different than today.
Did you know that Iran used to be the country they called Persia? I was curious, so I looked it up and was fascinated, and it even tells how it became Iran. Just wow! I was delighted!
It even had some interesting things about Astyegeous and Cyrus as well.
I'm going back to read some more later.
I have a favorite scene where I laughed at Asher. He was hilarious!
I don't blame Jemma for laughing out loud. That was a tough journey!
I loved learning about Asher. In my opinion, he just seemed so down to Earth, so to speak.
All of the people in this story were fantastic!
I think Jemma is my favorite, though. She had me me laughing out loud a time or too. So did Asher. I think that together they made a fine team!
I've really enjoyed this story. I hated to see it end!
The cover is gorgeous, too. I wanted to visit that place. I believe that is Jemma on the front of the cover.
5 stars for keeping my interest all the way through. Of course, Biblical fiction is my very favorite genre.
My thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Good story, full of action and interesting characters. I must admit I was more interested in the romance than anything else. It was nice to see the return of Keren and Jared from the previous instalment. I have to say, though, I really really enjoyed that one a lot more. Found myself skipping parts here and there for this one.

Still looking forward to the next one!

4 stars