Carol Moncado

Yahshua’s Bridge by Sandi Rog

 

An amethyst stone draws him to his past.

An elusive maiden draws him to his future.

Alexander is born into slavery under an abusive master: a master of his own flesh and blood … a man he will never call father. Determined to break away from his master’s hold, Alexander devises a plan to purchase his freedom. But what’s he to do when he finds himself shipped off in shackles to Egypt, disappearing from the lives of everyone he knows and loves?

This is a tough review for me to write. I loved Master’s Wall and this is the sequel with David and Alethea in major supporting roles and their daughter as the heroine. A number of other characters pop up as well.

The book is just as well written as the first one, but deals with a time and place where persecution of Christians was far beyond what was present in the first book. With that in mind, it was a much tougher read. Ms. Rog doesn’t shy away from the realities of life for Christians in Rome. How many of them stood there in the face of the lions and never denied their Savior? How many of us would do the same?

And that’s where the rub lies. This isn’t always an easy read. Ms. Rog does an excellent job of pulling the reader into the world, making the reader understand and feel what’s going on with the characters even as the situation is one that makes most of us want to run and hide.

The love story works wonderfully. Alexander and Elianna are fabulous and that part of the book is superb, wonderful reading. The only thing I wished for there is a bit more ‘after’. We do learn a little bit of what happens after they declare their love, etc. but I would have liked… more. We saw a bit of that more with David and Alethea in Master’s Wall and I wish there had been a tad more here. There will be at least one more book in the series and I hope to see some of it there.

So I give the rating below but with a warning that this isn’t an easy romance read. Gut wrenching, heart wrenching stories of sacrifice for their God, their Yahshua, yes. Romance? Also yes. But a fun read? No.

On a separate note, Ms. Rog was diagnosed with Stage 4 T-cell Lymphoma the day her first book released. Just recently, she was determined to be in remission. The same God who was with those Christians as they faced the lions is still alive and well today and has answered the prayers of Sandi, her family and so many others with that news.

Overall rating: 8 out of 10 stars

I was provided with a free influencer copy of the book by the publisher.