Counted with the Stars by Connilyn Cossette

I picked this one up thru Book Bub as I have liked Biblical historical fiction previously – and I was wowed. He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars–if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Genesis 15:5 With everything she’s ever known swept away, will Kiya turn back toward Egypt or surrender her life and her future to Yahweh? She finds herself utterly dependent on a fearsome God she’s only just beginning to learn about, and in love with a man who despises her people. To save her older brother and escape the bonds of slavery, Kiya flees with the Hebrews during the Great Exodus. When terrifying plagues strike Egypt, Kiya is in the middle of it all. The only flaw that I can name is that occasionally she uses colloquialisms which take one out of the story because it's a bit jarring to hear modern slang.Synopsis: Sold into slavery by her father and forsaken by the man she was supposed to marry, young Egyptian Kiya must serve a mistress who takes pleasure in her humiliation. Lots of adventure, romance, history, and spiritual depth.

And one is immediately drawn into her plight. The main character is Egyptian, not Hebrew. The storyline is captivating from the very beginning. And I definitely never wondered about the non-Hebrews in the group and how they were treated. I never really thought about tradesmen from other nomadic tribes coming to sell their wares to the Hebrews. I had never thought about, for instance, the fact that most people probably never heard the voice of Moses they would have gotten reports of what he said, but the vast horde of people would not have been close enough to hear him. I have never read anything, fiction OR nonfiction that so well describes what life was like wandering in the desert. It's a fantastic story, but the narration almost ruins the book for me. This book I'd read more than once when I purchased the audio version. I am not an audio learner, so I have to read a book before I can listen to it, or I won't be able to follow the story line. She attempts to put emotion into her voice, but barely manages.

She also does have some ability to alternate voices. This reader has beautiful diction I want to like her narration.

Counted with the Stars by Connilyn Cossette