Come Visit a Rose-Red City Half as Old as Time*

Petra:  City in Stone                     by T.L. Higley

In Petra: City in Stone, I  felt like I was being whisked back in time to this ancient lost city.  Historically accurate without sounding like a history book, Higley takes the reader on a journey of what might have been, mixed right alongside  the story of what was.  Higley does a spectacular job of creating a feel of the life and structure of the city.

Cassia’s waiting for the circumstances to be right to get herself and her young son away from her abusive thief of a man Aretas, but how can a woman with a young son survive without money or a place to go?  Especially when Aretas will certainly come after her and punish her for leaving.  When the opportunity finally presents itself, Cassia takes young Alexander and leaves for Petra, the city of her husband’s birth.  She is hoping to find his estranged family and ask them to take her in.

The Treasury at Petra

Watching his betrothed and his friends as they are fed to the lions, Julian is afraid his brash and outspoken behavior as a leader of the followers of The Way will soon mean death to his prominent family.  Julian steals away to Petra, the city of stone, hoping to start anew and make a new name for himself as a talented sculptor of stone.

Petra, the ancient city carved into the desert rock is a place where worship of demon gods abounds.  A small group of followers of Christ know it’s only a matter of time before open persecution begins.  When both Cassia and Julian are pulled into the care of this group, things will never be the same.  Can Cassia learn that love must be shared out of abundance and that abundance can only come through Jesus?  How long will Julian run from his God given call to leadership?  The life of Cassia’s son Alexander hangs within the answer to these questions.

Siq, a narrow passage that is the only road into Petra

I really enjoyed reading this book, and will look for new titles in this series to read in the future.   I give it 4.5  stars.

This book was provided to me for review by NetGalley.  All opinions rendered are my own.

* “a rose-red city half as old as time” is a line about Petra in a sonnet by John William Burgeon