What I've been reading, week 4

So here is week 4 of what I've been reading!

Finished:

The Hidden Flame, by Davis Bunn and Janette Oke.  This is the second book in the Acts of Faith series.  I read the first one, The Centurion's Wife, a couple weeks ago.

This is a fictional story set in the very earliest days of the Early Church, primarily in Jerusalem.  Many of the characters from the first book are also a part of this story.  Abigail, a minor character in the first book, is the primary character in this story.  She has two very different suitors vying for her hand.  All of this is set against the background of some dramatic Biblical events.

What I really appreciate about this series, besides the fact that the male characters sound like real men, is how it makes me consider the stories from the Bible.  How did the other believers respond to what happened to Ananias and Sapphira?  Or when Peter was miraculously released from jail?  The answers that Bunn and Oke provide to these questions are believable.

I found this book faster moving than the first, and I found it easier to identify with the characters -- perhaps because I had gotten to know many of them in the first book.  I would recommend starting with the first book in the series, as I think it would be tough to keep track of who is who if you started with this title.

Disclosure:  Bethany House provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes.  No other compensation was received, and all opinions are my own.

In Progress (I'm back to normal, with a million things in progress -- in progress means that I did read from the book this week):

The Iliad:  Connor has this assigned to him over four weeks, and I am reading along.
America-- The Last, Best Hope Volume II by William J. Bennett, my current audio book.

The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling by Debra Bell

There is no Freedom Without Bread by Constantine Pleshakov

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Hertzberg and Francois

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas (listening with my kids)

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

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