Review
A Hope Fulfilled by April Gardner is a Biblical fiction based on the minor prophet Obadiah and the fall of Edom. The author offers her perspective on what might have happened. It is a captivating and fast read that made me want more.
I am only a fan of Biblical fiction that does not stray from the facts presented by scripture. This one seemed to do just that. Since I am not very proficient on this chapter, reading this novella sent me to my Bible to compare them. I learned that Obadiah is one of the shortest books in the Bible. The author did an imaginative job penning this tale. Her characters and descriptions transported me to a time and place that I had never been.
This is the story of Tikvah, a woman of faith. I loved how she spoke to God. As she tells her story it is easy to become invested in it. She is fiery, impulsive, and an important part of Obadiah’s prophecy.
Filled with faith, mystery, danger, twists, and intrigue this was an interesting take on the events in Obadiah and a quick read for me. At times it felt a bit rushed, and I wanted more – details, chapters, and intensity. Overall it is a very good book. At the end is information on Knowing Obadiah, a Christian Woman’s Bible Commentary, by author Gardner.
I do recommend this for those readers that love Biblical Fiction. For me it brought the fourth smallest book of the Bible to life where I could imagine what might have happened. It would make a nice reading group selection. I rate it 4 out of 5 stars. A copy was provided by Celebrate Lit, but these are my honest words.
About the Book
Book: A Hope Fulfilled
Author: April W Gardner
Genre: Biblical Fiction (Obadiah)
Release Date: November, 2023
One Hebrew slave’s courage and faith opens the gate on Edom’s demise.
Tikvah, a Hebrew slave in Edom, lives in hope of once again seeing Jerusalem, the Holy City. When a Babylonian general and his dashing Jewish liaison arrive at her master’s house, whispering plans of Edom’s destruction, she senses Yahweh at work. After all, there’s a prophecy foretelling His justice upon the kingdom. Tikvah clings to that promise while obediently following the call of service into the heart of danger. If only there were a promise she would come out the other side alive.
Click here to get your copy!
About the Author
April W Gardner is an indie author whose great passion is historical romance with themes of Native American and Southeastern U.S. culture. Copyeditor, mother of two grown children, and non-trad college student, April lives in South Texas with her husband and two German Shepherds. In no particular order, April dreams of owning a horse, learning a third language, and visiting all the national parks.
More from April
So…Obadiah? Who ever heard of Obadiah as the backdrop for biblical fiction? I hadn’t. But that’s not where A Hope Fulfilled began…
In late December 2021, while deciding on a Bible reading goal for the upcoming year, I pondered which sections of the Bible I knew least. The minor prophets came to mind right off, then camped there as I asked myself what I knew about these little books.
I’d heard a million sermons preached from one or another of them over the years, but could I give even a one-sentence summary on any of the twelve? That question required a moment’s thought, which produced Jonah and the big fish, Hosea and his harlot wife, Joel and the locusts, Amos and… Uh, er, uh…
This was a problem. After burning some brain cells on the matter, I finally hung my head and admitted I was a minor failure. If I’d been tested right then on the minor prophets, I would have received a big red F.
How was this possible? I’m a missionary’s kid who never missed a church service, for goodness’ sake. This was unacceptable. I had an MK reputation to uphold.
Kidding, kidding. But the point remains. After 4.5 decades in church, I should be able to state every book’s title and theme. At a minimum. Anything less is spiritual laziness.
With that challenge in mind, I hitched up my trousers and set to work. My task? One minor prophet a month. I would read each one again and again, really drilling them home, absorbing their messages and banishing my spiritual “shame.”
By April, and my fourth read of Obadiah, I stared at my Bible, the verses swimming before me, and admitted to a second problem—despite my faithful rereading, the first four books were all running together in a mental smear of prophety messages.
Warning, judgment, doom, gloom. There was hope in there, too, of course. Praise God. And a harlot wife. I had that one down. But I was no closer to being able to distinguish them, to really understand the books with any kind of true ownership.
Since I’m a goal-girl, it made me a little sad to set aside my twelve-prophet year, but there was no getting around it. If this was going to work, I would have to go deeper, get messier, put on my work gloves and knee pads, and start digging.
New goal! Understand Obadiah. I’d worry about the rest once I had this one down. Fifteen months and three written books later, here we are, celebrating the release of my first biblical fiction, A Hope Fulfilled.
So, how did I get from studying a minor prophet to writing biblical fiction? The journey from point A to point B wasn’t very long. The series (A Fire and a Flame) started out as a Bible commentary for women, but when I got to exploring the history around Obadiah, my fiction brain kinda took over. It does that sometimes. Silly brain.
I did finish the commentary, but as soon as I allowed myself to ponder all the what-ifs of the event, the novella practically wrote itself.
Obadiah gives a fiction writer almost no details to build on. So, A Hope Fulfilled is what one might call an artist’s rendition of what might have happened during the fall of Edom. There were probably Hebrew slaves in Edom. One of them probably knew the prophecy of Edom’s doom. And that somebody might have, just might have, longed to help God’s justice play out.
Thus, Tikah and her story, A Hope Fulfilled, were born.
Blog Stops
Dee S White, March 20
Holly’s Book Corner, March 21
The Lofty Pages, March 21
Book Looks by Lisa, March 22
Exploring The Written Word, March 23
Books You Can Feel Good About, March 24
Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, March 25
Lots of Helpers, March 26
Locks, Hooks and Books, March 27
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, March 28
The Printed Edge, March 29
Texas Book-aholic, March 30
She Lives To Read, March 31
Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, April 1 (Author Interview)
Mary Hake, April 1
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, April 2
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, April is giving away the grand prize package of a $30 Amazon gift card and a paperback set of the A Fire and a Flame!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://promosimple.com/ps/2a8f4/a-hope-fulfilled-celebration-tour-giveaway
It’s 1917, and Halifax is at war. Silas Quinn, street sweeper and army reject, remains on the home front, shunning God and society as religiously as they shun him. But the night he stumbles across a half-frozen prostitute, his eyes blink open, and his greater purpose is born: preserve and protect.
APRIL W GARDNER writes history with a Christian perspective and a little imagination. She is a copyeditor, military wife, and homeschooling mother of two who lives in Texas. She writes Christian historical romance with a focus on our Southeastern Native Tribes. In no particular order, April dreams of owning a horse, learning a third language, and visiting all the national parks.
Abba's Prayer Warrior Princess 