The Peasant King by Tessa Afshar

The Peasant King by Tessa Afshar

Jemmah has always thought of herself as perfectly ordinary . . . until she faces extraordinary circumstances.

When her mother, the Persian king's famous senior scribe, is kidnapped, Jemmah and her sister must sneak undetected into enemy territory to rescue her. But infiltrating their adversary's lands proves easier than escaping them. Fleeing through dangerous mountain passes, their survival depends on the skills of a stranger they free from prison: a mysterious prince named Asher.

Asher is not who the world believes he is. Despite his royal blood, he has had to climb his way out of poverty to forge success from nothing. A manufacturer of some of the best weaponry in the East, Asher has only one goal: to destroy his father. But following his escape from prison, Asher is irresistibly drawn to Jemmah, unaware that she guards her own secret.

Jemmah must convince Asher to give up everything he has worked for, all for the sake of a higher purpose he's not sure he believes in. The fate of the Persian empire--and possibly the Judean people--hang in the balance and in the persuasive power of one ordinary woman.

Bestselling author Tessa Afshar delivers another adventurous novel filled with romance and imagination, reminding readers of what Publishers Weeklycalls her "amazing talent for packing action and intrigue into the biblical setting for modern readers."

• Full-length historical romance novel set in biblical times
• Compelling, clean romance
• Can be read as a standalone or as a companion to The Hidden Prince
• Includes discussion questions for book groups

The Family Fiction-sponsored Reader's Choice Award 2011 named Tessa Afshar New Author of the Year for her novel Pearl in the Sand. Before relocating to the United States, she was born in Iran, lived there for fourteen years, and attended an English boarding school. In her twenties, she converted to Christianity, which changed the path of her life permanently. Tessa earned her MDiv from Yale Divinity School, where she also served as cochair of the Evangelical Fellowship. Since then, she has dedicated her life to Christian service.