Roseanna M. White’s A Soft Breath of Wind

About

A gift that has branded her for life

Zipporah is thirteen when the Spirit descends upon her, opening her eyes to a world beyond the physical goings-on of the villa outside Rome she has always called home. Within hours, she learns what serving the Lord can cost. Forever scarred after a vicious attack, she knows her call is to use this discernment to protect the Way. She knows she must serve the rest of her life at Tutelos, where the growing Roman church has congregated. She knows her lot is set.

Yet is it so wrong to wish that her master, the kind and handsome young Benjamin Visibullis, will eventually see her as something more than a sister in Christ?

Samuel Asinius, adoptive son of a wealthy Roman, has always called Benjamin brother. When their travels take them to Jerusalem for Passover, the last thing he expects is to cross paths with the woman who sold him into slavery as a child the mother he long ago purged from his heart. His sister, Dara, quickly catches Benjamin s eye, but Samuel suspects there is something dark at work.

When Dara, a fortune-teller seeking the will of a shadowy master determined to undermine the Way, comes into the path of Zipporah, a whirlwind descends upon them all.

Only the soft wind of the Spirit can heal their scars…with a love neither divination nor discernment could foresee.

Review

Anyone who reads my blog ought to guess that Roseanna M. White is a favorite of mine. I’ve read every book she’s written. When I heard that there was a sequel to A Stray Drop of Blood, I was too excited. Here’s why:

What I liked:

Writing is fabulous. When the book downloaded on my kindle, I decided to read the first chapter even though I was reading something else. I didn’t return to something else. I immediately connected to Zipporah, and she easily became one of my favorite heroines.

Zipporah. She’s a trustworthy heroine in a sea of complicated people. To a certain degree she seems perfect, but her own insecurities and certain people’s perceptions of her keep her from falling into that category. I will be honest, a couple of times she reminded me of Hadassah from A Voice in the Wind, though the stories are different (and A Voice in the Wind is one of my favorite stories ever so it was kind of a given I would love her).

The setting. I love Rome and the early church. There’s always this tension when you consider that so many Christians were persecuted at that time and yet, they had such great faith. It’s portrayed so well here.

The love interest. I rooted for him from page one. My romantic-radar went off as soon as I met him, and I voted for him from the start.

The romance. It was slow, but it was sweet. Zipporah and her guy were friends first who really cared for each other and then one day looked up and fell in love. Loved the pacing here!

The drama. It’s not a Roseanna White novel if it doesn’t have any. And boy is there some drama, but I must say, it’s tied up into spiritual things, so it doesn’t feel like it’s tossed in their just to create a soap opera. And it was handled well.

Spiritually, this book taught me a lot of things, but nothing more important than the power of prayer and listening to the Holy Spirit. As soon as I finished the book I just went to praying because sometimes I don’t give it the respect its due.

What I didn’t like:

It’s not so much what I didn’t like, but it’s Rome. And the early church. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. It’s not a light novel, but totally worth reading.

Romantic Scale: 8.9

Overall, I loved it. It’s even better than the first novel I think, and if she wrote anymore about these people I would purchase every book.