This collection of novellas brings insight into the lives of five women who are named in the lineage of Jesus Christ. These were ordinary women, yet God chose them to accomplish His purpose in history and bring about a greater good than they could have imagined!

The individual novellas are titled: Unveiled (Tamar), Unashamed (Rahab), Unshaken (Ruth), Unspoken (Bathsheba), and Unafraid (Mary).

Tamar’s boldness, determination, and unconditional loyalty to her family; Rahab’s and Ruth’s simple, unshakable faith in the God of Israel despite being foreigners; Bathsheba’s growth in both character and faith in the face of incredible struggles and high stakes; and Mary’s journey to understanding her son’s true purpose on this earth – they all inspire me to live as they did, trusting in God wholeheartedly and striving to do His will in everything.

Always worth a re-read!

Five fictional stories, based on Scripture, of Biblical women who were of the lineage of Jesus.

This one's a collection of five novels. Or maybe they were novellas. All I know is that they were originally published as individual books. Each book took a story from the Bible and retold it (with some embellishments) from the perspective of the story's heroine. I read the first two back when I was desperate for something to read and decided I wanted the first one on my shelf. Years later, I picked up this compendium and bit by bit read through them all. Of course, such a lengthy reading schedule makes for a lousy book review.

My opinions of the first two novellas didn't change after the second reading. "Unveiled", the story of Tamar, is a tale of redemption. I think Ms. Rivers does the best job of trying to capture the ancient values and worldview and made me read the Biblical account in a new light. The next tale, "Unashamed" retells the account of Rahab at Jericho. While still a good story, it seemed a bit overdone. With the faith Rahab displays, she should be moving mountains. I recall the third volume telling the story of Ruth, "Unshaken", as being the weakest of the lot. It seemed to import a lot of 20th Century American values into the tale. "Unspoken", the story of Bathsheba and her lust affair with David worked better. The stories from 1st and 2nd Samuel are some of my favorite from scripture and it was interesting to see that one fleshed out from Bathsheba's perspective. Ms. Rivers also didn't skimp on presenting sin, repentance, and forgiveness. Finally, "Unafraid", the story of Mary, gave an interesting take on what it's like to have a Messiah in the household. In the end, I'm glad I picked up the collection and took the time to read it.
--J. ( )

This is all five stories via five women and how they find the grace of the Lord including the lineage of Jesus Christ. I believe this is the first time I read this author and loving it so far!

This is truly a lineage of grace by each of these women who were noted as adulterers, prostitutes, fallen, lost, and carrying the promise. All women overcame their accusers, trials, tribulations and turmoils and replaced with triumphs!

The writer showcases the bible stories in a creative, crafted, and woven into beautiful miracles. I will read more of her work in the future. She also shares "seek and find" to the reader to show the passages where these stories derived from in the Bible, questions, and reflection aside from the fictional stories shared in the collection.

(I see the books are also sold separately and share my reviews per book as well).

Oddly, my least favorite book was Unspoken (Bathsheba's story) which I thought would have been the one of best stories of the series. For some reason, these was something missing and didn't seem consistent to me as far as what I've learned about this woman as a biblical figure. However, I loved the first story with Tamar entitled Unveiled(which I gotten even more clarity than I already knew about her story from the movie Joseph, and read on it in the past with one of the books that tells the stories of the women in the Bible.) The other favorite was Ruth's story, Unshaken, which I shared briefly on my DYRP Midnight Hour program recently on unconditional (agape) love. Rahab's story, got more insight since I rarely read or heard this one taught before but was a mediocre read.

Adrienna Turner
www.adriennaturner.webs.com
Dream 4 More Reviews: www.dream4more.webs.com ( )

The 5 women in this book are more courageous, and faithful than anyone I know today. What they had to indure in their lives was heartbreaking. The results of their strong hearts and faith, makes them shinning examples to any woman going through difficulty. ( )