Until the Mountains Fall (Cities of Refuge Book 3) by Connilyn Cossette
I was wildly privileged to read a pre-released copy of Connilyn Cossette’s new book Until the Mountains Fall, and am thrilled to share my review with you today. While I received a complimentary copy of the book, all thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own. Amazon affiliate links are used throughout this post.
I subscribe to a newsletter that shares daily deals in Christian e-books, and over, and over again I kept seeing this incredible cover of a beautiful pensive woman set above a desert landscape. It stood out among all the other covers by a mile and a half, and by the title – Counted Among the Stars – I knew it had to be Biblical fiction, one of my absolute favorite genres to read. But I had never heard of the author, and so over, and over, and over again I passed on the download, until my curiosity about the pensive woman on the cover could be put off no longer.
Connilyn Cossette’s first book, a regular on that email list, was also my first read of the year, followed in rapid succession by the remaining four books of her series. By mid-February I’d exhausted all of her published work, waiting rather impatiently for the release of her sixth book, and hooking a few friends into the stories with me as well.
I’d like to think it was a divine appointment, me reading these books, because they ironically matched the timeline of history that we were studying in homeschool. So as my boys were learning about the period of the Exodus, the early days of Israel’s wanderings, and eventually the leadership of Joshua, I was traveling a parallel path through history in Connilyn’s books. I couldn’t have planned it better if I’d tried, and my own personal understanding of the time period was extremely enriched through her work.
Out from Egypt Series
Until the Mountains Fall
I waited an excruciating three months to read Connilyn’s newest book after my initial reading spree, and it was everything I’d hoped for. Until the Mountains Fall is a beautiful story of a love that simply won’t be extinguished despite heartbreak, betrayal, recklessness, rebellion, and the imminent threat of war.
Set in the context of the cities of refuge in ancient Israel and shortly before Joshua’s passing, the arc of Rivkah’s story mirrors that of the Prodigal Son. She, and her once betrothed Malakhi, must journey separately through treacherous territory – both geographical and personal – before they can even hope to see God’s redemptive work fleshed out through the telling of their stories.
Friends, I could not put this book down, and while I will divulge no spoilers to ruin this incredible story for you, when I came to the final page, I was ecstatic to discover the story isn’t finished just yet. The final installment of the Cities of Refuge series, Like Flames in the Night is set to be released next spring! #allthepraisehands
Cities of Refuge Series
Here’s what I loved:
I am purposely going to stay away from any kind of plot points or spoilers in this review so as not to ruin the novel for you. I do, however, want to share some of the big-picture reasons I’ve fallen in love with Connilyn’s characters and their stories, because I DO believe these are special books – ones that you should go out and start reading as soon as you’re done with this review. 😉 Here’s what I loved:
Connilyn Cossette marries scholarship with creativity in every single book.
If you’ve spent any amount of time reading fiction, you can tell pretty quickly through the plot points of a book how much the author had to put in to creating it. Amazon is FULL of lovely books with simple stories that sell well and are soon forgotten.
Connilyn’s books have settled into my soul. The characters are well developed and the morals of their stories are deeply meaningful. Her plots take twists and turns that genuinely take me by surprise, and yet are completely and utterly believable when taken in context. Over the course of six books now, we have seen generations of the same family live their lives, fleshing out the story of the ancient Israelites in a way I have never understood before.
Her books have deepened my understanding of Scripture.
With expert artistry, Connilyn weaves together fact from the time period and the truth of Scripture with the ingenuity of her story lines in such an effortlessly beautiful way, the Biblical passages that inspire her novels leap up off the page in full color and with fresh life.
It is a gutsy move to write an entire book based on a verse about levirate marriage, and yet she does it in Until the Mountains Fall, and it was INCREDIBLE. The story of Rivkah and Malakhi was insightful and meaningful ALL BY ITSELF, but it also opened my understanding to a custom of the ancient Israelites that reveals something important about the very heart of the God who established it.
She balances cultural context with Scriptural sensitivity.
Unlike many other Biblical fiction authors, Connilyn’s characters are NOT Bible characters, but ordinary people who lived in Bible times. This is an important point for me. She is not adding to Scripture, but using Scripture as a canvas to illustrate the time, and then imagining what it would have been like for people to live in that context.
In her latest book, instead of fictionalizing Joshua, the reigning leader of Israel, she mentions him as a way of establishing time. This does nothing to change my understanding of this great man of God and his place in Israel’s history, it only creates an understanding of the day in which Rivkah and Malakhi live, and also gives me an understanding of that period of Biblical history.
Each book can be read independent of the others, but they are enriched as a whole by reading them in order as a complete series.
Rivkah and Malakhi’s story in Until the Mountains Fall is complete and independent of the stories told in Connilyn’s previous books, but it also expertly builds upon the stories that precede it.
Shira, a character from Counted Among the Stars, and Shadow of the Storm, is the many-great-grandmother of Rivkah. Moriyah, who is primarily featured in both Wings of the Wind, and A Light on a Hill, is Malakhi’s mother. In this way, she tells the story of family through generations, with all the beautiful nuances an understanding of family history brings.
Every book has it’s own WOW factor.
It causes me to chatter incessantly to my husband about how amazing and thoughtful these stories are, and badger my girlfriends about picking up the next novel. I’ve come to the end of each book moved, and so appreciative to have found these series.
Make them your summer reading. You won’t be disappointed, until you’re left waiting for the next novel to drop!