The Grip Of God – Book Review
Attention, historical fiction fans. If you love sweeping sagas set in eras and lands that you don’t read about every day – if you love being the first in your literary circle to bring a new author to light – if you love stories so grand that a single book can’t contain them – then I have a story for you!
The Grip Of God by Rebecca Hazell – Book One in The Tiger And The Dove Trilogy – is an epic tale that takes place in the 13th century, during the time of the Mongolian invasions. This chilling quote from Genghis Khan sets the tone for the book:
If you had not committed great sins,
God would not have sent punishment like me upon you.
The central character in this book is Princess Sofia of the Kievan Rus – who we first meet as a rather high-spirited, spoiled 12 year old living a life of luxury in her father’s palace. Little does she know how drastically her life is about to change…
When Sofia is taken prisoner during an invasion and forced to become a slave girl and concubine to a brutal young captain in the enemy’s army, she is forced to muster every bit of cunning and resourcefulness she has in order to survive. She must also learn new ways of thinking in order to adapt to the new culture that surrounds her.
The Grip Of God isn’t a quaint bedside novel for the faint of heart. It’s gritty – seamy – often depicting the darker side of human nature, life, and spirituality.
If you don’t mind these things – Rebecca brings this rarely written about era to life with compelling characters and vivid prose. The Grip Of God is a fascinating book. Start reading it now, so that you’ll be ready for Books 2 and 3 when they release in the near future!
I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.
What Others Are Saying About This Book
“How deftly and compellingly Hazell takes the reader with her into that mysterious and exotic world, and makes it all seem so very close to hand!”
Peter Conradi, Fellow of Britain’s Royal Society of Literature and author of Iris Murdoch: A Life
“I enjoyed watching her morph from a spoiled sheltered princess with slaves of her own, into a tough, savvy survivor, with a new awareness of social injustice. The book is action packed. I couldn’t put it down.
An Amazon Reviewer
“I got completely caught up in the characters and story and always looked forward to getting back to them. What a fully fleshed and fascinating world you developed and it was wondrous to learn so much about that time and the Mongol culture. Your gifts come out in your lush descriptions of place and objects. All very vivid and colorful.” Author Dede Crane Gaston
The Grip Of God is available both in paperback and Kindle versions and through your local bookstore by special order. The subsequent two novels in the trilogy are scheduled for publication later this year.
About Rebecca Hazell
Rebecca Hazell is an award-winning artist, author and educator who has written, illustrated and published four non-fiction children’s books, created best selling educational filmstrips, designed educational craft kits for children and even created award winning needlepoint canvases.
Rebecca is also a senior teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist lineage who holds an honors BA from the University of California at Santa Cruz in Russian and Chinese history.
Rebecca lived for many years in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 1988 she and her family moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and in 2006 she and her husband moved to Vancouver Island. They live near their two adult children in the beautiful Cowichan Valley.
For More Information:
- Visit Rebecca’s Website.
- Connect with Rebecca on Facebook.
- The Grip Of God is available on Amazon.
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Follow The Grip Of God Book Tour!
2014 Tour Schedule:
Monday, February 17
Review at Must Read Faster
Tuesday, February 18
Guest post/giveaway at Must Read Faster
Friday, February 21
Interview at Oh, For the Hook of a Book
Monday, February 24
Review/giveaway at Oh, For the Hook of a Book
Wednesday, February 26
Review at A Rose in the City
Thursday, February 27
Review/Giveaway at Book Drunkard
Friday, February 28
Guest Post at Book Drunkard
Monday, March 3
Review at She is Too Fond of Books
Thursday, March 6
Spotlight/Giveaway at Celticlady’s Reviews
Friday, March 7
Review at Historical Fiction Obsession
Monday, March 10
Guest post/Review/Giveaway at Lost in Books
Tuesday, March 11
Guest Post at The True Book Addict
Thursday, March 13
Review/giveaway at Create with Joy
Review/Giveaway at The True Book Addict
Friday, March 14
Guest post/giveaway at HF Book Muse- News
Guest post/giveaway/review at Le Vanity Victorienne
The Grip Of God – Giveaway
Would you like to win a copy of The Grip Of God to read on your Kindle? If so, please follow Create With Joy and Leave A Comment that contains the following information:
- Your Name
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- How You Follow My Blog (with ID)
- What Interests You About This Book
This giveaway is open through Friday, March 21, 2014 at 11:59 PST.
Additional Information
The winner will be chosen using a random number generator. The odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received. If the winning entry does not comply with all conditions set forth in the entry/giveaway, another entry will be drawn. The winner will be contacted via e-mail and have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. The sponsor is solely responsible for prize fulfillment. The winner releases Create With Joy from all liability associated with this product/contest.
No purchase is necessary. Void where prohibited by law. All decisions by Create With Joy and the sponsor are final. By submitting an entry, you are indicating that you have read and agree to these Official Rules.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.
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Wow sounds like an interesting novel! I haven’t heard of the author before!
Twitter: CreateWithJoy1
says:
Hi Laura,
This was my first introduction to Rebecca as well! This is her first adult novel (she has written a few children’s books, I believe).
If you have a Kindle, be sure to enter the Giveaway. It’s the first novel I’ve come across that’s written about this era!
Many thanks for the great review!
Yes, I wrote 4 books for young readers, 3 of which received awards or honours, and one of which was distributed world wide by Mercy Corp.
Rebecca Hazell
Twitter: CreateWithJoy1
says:
That is fabulous Rebecca! I’d love to learn more about your books for young readers.
I review books for readers of all ages at Create With Joy!
Twitter: truebookaddict
says:
I’m finally getting a moment to stop by! Terrific review, Ramona. I’m so glad you liked the book and I can’t wait for you to read the next two. Thanks again for taking the time to be on the tour. I know you’ve been having rough times. You are a true gem. 🙂
Twitter: CreateWithJoy1
says:
Thanks for inviting me to participate in the book tour Michelle – so glad I was able to join in, in spite of everything!
I follow by Goodreads, Twitter@DeniseDuvall2, and Bloglovin’.
Kievan Rus and the Tartars belong to a very dark and violent part of European history. It’s the part of the globe, where my family is from. This is what makes the book interesting.
Twitter: CreateWithJoy1
says:
Delighted to connect with you Denise! Sounds like you will really enjoy this novel based on your family genealogy.
Best of luck in the giveaway!
The Genghis Khan quote is indeed chilling. What a world. Fascinating period in history though.
Mary Preston
marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Email Subscriber: marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Twitter: mommynificent
says:
This looks fascinating! I’m curious how young you think a child could handle reading this. As it’s about a 12-year old, do you think a 12-year old reader could handle it? I’m currently piecing together a history curricula for our family to study less well-known time periods of history, so I’m wondering if this would be a possibility for jr. high or high school perhaps? Thanks for sharing this at Booknificent Thursday! Looking forward to seeing what you have to share this week!
Tina