reviewsbyerin | "Of Fire and Lions" by Mesu Andrews

I've wanted to read this book for a long time! Having followed it since pre-release buzz first began, it's been on my radar for quite a while. The stories depicted in the book of Daniel hold a certain fascination, as they show such big works of our God in undeniable ways. I was eager to see how Mesu Andrews would bring the story to light.

The narrative style unfortunately took me out of the story before it even began. With back-and-forth settings, we open with Daniel as an old man, then rewind to the first day he was taken captive in Jerusalem, then ping-pong back to to old Daniel. Every time things would get interesting we'd be switched to another part of the story. I'm not a fan of non-linear storytelling, and it was exhausting to keep up with which characters belonged where and what was happening at any given time.

I also found the main character unlikable, and her journey not believable or interesting. I didn't even like Daniel very much. The most interesting scenes were any in which Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego appeared. I would have loved to see more of them.

The author did a great job setting the stage with vivid details. I loved her version of the fiery furnace, as it brought a whole new dimension of the account to life for me. She also did a good job showing the friendly relationship between Daniel and King Darius, and how distraught the young king was when he learned that one of his closest advisers was going to be thrown to the lions. There was plenty of good, enlightening Biblical content. I just wish Abigail/Belili had won my heart and that we could have progressed naturally through the story instead of the constantly shifting timelines.

I received my copy of the book from NetGalley. All opinions in this review are my own.