A Voice in the Wind
Historical Fiction
Francine Rivers
Reviewed by Tetiana S.
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
A normal life suddenly turns to disaster as Hadassah’s world falls apart. Her father is murdered, her mother and younger sister starve to death and her brother is stabbed to death in front of her very eyes. Hadassah is taken from Jerusalem the only home she has ever known, and sold in Rome to serve a rich, spoiled brat who throws tantrums when she doesn’t get her way. Her new mistress Julia thinks she’s old enough to handle her own life her own way but her father thinks other wise. Julia is forced into a marriage to a man she doesn’t even know ant he is at least twice her age. A few months later, he dies trying to get her back home, when he falls off his horse and breaks his neck. For a few months Julia mourns but then she meets Caius. She marries him and feels like she has finally defeated her father. She totally didn’t know that Caius didn’t marry her for love but because she was rich. When he starts losing in bets he takes it out on her and beats her then the next day apologizes and says he never meant to hurt her. One day he came home so mad that he started beating her and wouldn’t stop. Hadassah seeing this, tries to intervene but Caius just keeps going. When he finally finishes both women are half dead. Julia hates what he did to her so when she and Hadassah recover she poisons him and he dies. She does this out of hate for him and for love for another man.
Atretes on the other hand, is fighting for his life in the arena. He once lived in a German territory but the Romans caught him and made him a gladiator. When he sees Julia, his mothers prophesy rings in his ears. She had told him that he would meet a dark haired dark eyed girl and marry her. Julia fits that description but so does Hadassah but she is just a slave, who comes to Atretes with messages from Julia. Now Atretes has another motive to fight. He want to earn his freedom and marry Julia. In order to do that he has to kill five men in a arena full of other men who are also fighting for their lives and freedom, and not be killed at the same time. Can he accomplish all that and will Julia marry him?
Voice in the Wind is the most exciting book I have read in a long time. It is thick but it goes by so fast. The story is so well arranged that you get to learn about all three characters and go with the story at the same time. There is not a boring part that you have to skip in the whole book. It’s a great book that should never be put down. Every page is worth reading and re-reading.
