I am so sad that Until the Mountains Fall by Connilyn Cossette is the last book in the Cities of Refuge series until 2020 when the next book, Like Flames in the Night, will be released. That isn’t THAT far away but oh my goodness, I love this series and these characters. I recommend you read my reviews for the first two books, A Light on the Hill and Shelter of the Most High, before reading this one. This review will have slight spoilers and those do not. Let’s get into the synopsis and then my thoughts!

Synopsis

Recently widowed, Rivkah refuses to submit to the Torah law compelling her to marry her husband’s brother and instead flees Kedesh, hoping to use her talents as a scribe to support herself. Without the protections of her father, Kedesh’s head priest, and the safety of the city of refuge, Rivkah soon discovers that the cost of recklessness is her own freedom.

Malakhi has secretly loved Rivkah for years, but he never imagined his older brother’s death would mean wedding her himself. After her disappearance, he throws himself into the ongoing fight against the Canaanites instead of dwelling on all he has lost. But with impending war looming over Israel, Rivkah’s father comes to Malakhi with an impossible request.

As the enemies that Rivkah and Malakhi face from without and within Israel grow more threatening each day, is it too late for the restoration their wounded souls seek?

My Thoughts

The previous book told the story of Eitan, Moriyah’s oldest son, and this one picks up with Malakhi, Eitan’s younger brother. I love how each book focuses on different characters in the same family because it adds so much depth to this world and their family unit. As the story begins, we learn that that family unit has been broken with the death of Gidal, another of Moriyah’s sons, and we’re introduced to his widow, Rivkah.

I’m going to be honest, I didn’t like Rivkah for a huge part of this book. It’s not that she was badly written, she was just a truly flawed character. She was selfish, immature and not very likable but that made her character arc so much more inspiring. It also made her more realistic and I did come to really love her.

It’s obvious from the beginning that Rivkah and Malakhi are going to end up together but it was anything but a straight forward romance. Both of these characters go through some serious and traumatic events. At some points, I doubted that they would even end up together. I love when I can’t truly tell where a book is going because that keeps me interested. Often in Christian fiction books, there can be a lot of “fluff” and less realism. That’s totally fine but I prefer my stories to have more grit and this series has plenty of that.

As a Christian, I loved the overall message that we can never run too far from God and that He still wants us even after we mess up. This whole series has been not only entertaining but uplifting. Of course, even if you’re not a Christian, this is still just a really well written series that’s full of adventure, history and romance. I honestly recommend it for anyone.

I am going to be anxiously awaiting the next book in this series! I never seek out ARCs but I might have to for this one because I’m impatient, lol. I’d love to know if my reviews have made you interested in this series or if there’s any books you recommend I read! Thanks for reading and have a great day!