Shelter of the Most High by Connilyn Cossette
Stephanie's Rating: 5 out of 5 bookmarks

Editor's Note: This volume is Book 2 of the Cities of Refuge series. Click here to read Stephanie's review of Book 1.

Shelter of the Most High is another home run by this most interesting of authors. I thoroughly enjoyed following the main character, Sofea, as she unwillingly leaves her home shores and pagan gods and travels by a circuitous route to the lands of the tribes of Israel. In the beginning, Sofea is the strength and help for her cousin, Prezi, but as the two girls come in contact with the people of Israel, and as Prezi learns more about the ways of God, she becomes the strength and helps Sofea also come to know the ways of God. I very much enjoyed the juxtaposition of the worship of the heathen gods with the worship of the One True God of Israel. There is a great central theme of learning to love, serve, and trust God.

In this book, you will revisit characters from the first "Cities of Refuge" book, and it was great to see how they have grown, but it is a book that can be read on its own and doesn't lean heavily on the previous. There is not quite as much nerve-tingling action as Book 1, but it is still a very engaging story that incorporates the stories and lives of many people even while focusing on a few main characters.

Sofea is attracted to a secondary main character, Eitan, and they do have encounters, but none that I found to be supercharged with racy emotion. They do kiss before they are married, and they do express love for one another and a desire to be married, but I did not find the romance at all edgy or even the central feature of this story. I believe parents could be comfortable allowing teen girls to enjoy this tale.





Stephanie Garrett is a busy homeschooling mom of three who somehow always finds time to read. She has been a voracious reader since childhood and even won a bicycle in elementary school for having read the most books! She enjoys learning and growing and never turns down an opportunity to try something new. Her first love is the Lord and service to Him, second is family, and third...is reading. She believes that anyone who learns to read with comprehension can go anywhere and do anything! She also enjoys music, theatre, sewing, and mathematics.



Disclosure: The publisher provided us with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This post contains affiliate links.