The Hidden Prince by Tessa Afshar

The Hidden Prince
by Tessa Afshar

ISBN-13: 9781496458223
Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Released: November 8th 2022

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
The beloved daughter of Jewish captives in Babylon, Keren is sold into Daniel’s household to help her family survive. She becomes Daniel’s most trusted scribe, while taking lessons and swordsmanship training alongside Daniel’s sons and their best friend, Jared.

But after a tragic accident changes the course of her life, Keren's sent to a foreign country and charged with a mysterious task: teaching a shepherd boy how to become a noble. When she overhears whispers that hint at his true identity, she recognizes the name from the writings of Hebrew prophets and realizes she must protect him from the schemes of a bloodthirsty king.

Jared struggles to forgive Keren. Still, he finds himself traveling over mountains to fetch her back to the safety of home. When he discovers the secret identity of Keren’s pupil, Jared knows he must help protect him. Love battles bitterness as they flee from the king’s agents, trying to save the boy who could one day deliver their people from captivity.


My Review:
The Hidden Prince is biblical fiction set halfway into the Babylon captivity and is set in Babylon, Media, and Persia. Keren is content assisting Daniel while furthering her education as a scribe. True, she loves her childhood friend, Jared, but her family and position are too humble for him to marry her. Jared cares about her, but when she accidently badly injures him during sword practice, he feels betrayed by her and by God. Now he'll always struggle to do what once came so easily and he's rejected by others as no longer good enough or desirable. So he finds it baffling that God has clearly chosen him and Keren to train and protect Cyrus, the future king that will end the Jewish captivity.

The main characters were complex, likable, and reacted realistically to events. Keren struggled with forgiving herself for what she did to Jared, and Jared struggled with bitterness and confusion about why God would allow his injury yet also prevent it from being even worse. As they worked through these issues, Keren taught the future king and Jared healed. When they came together again, they protected Cyrus from a king who wanted to eliminate a boy he considers a threat.

Jared and Keren learned to trust in God's love and power even when things confused them. There was no bad language or sex scenes. Overall, I'd highly recommend this exciting and engaging historical novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


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