Of Fire and Lions is a new favorite. I love Mesu Andrew’s writing, her attention to detail and care in maintaining historical and biblical accuracy astound me. She has brought to life some compelling characters in this novelization of the biblical story of Daniel. Sunday school stories of the lion’s den and the fiery furnace are retold in a way that truly reinvigorated them for me. I struggled a bit with the jumping between time periods but I’m so glad I kept at it. Mesu’s books are always impeccably researched and carefully crafted but it’s the way she makes the characters real and alive that is, for me, the best quality of her work. ( )

Of Fire and Lions takes on a biblical journey with Daniel and Abigail. From their childhood friendship to proving their faith with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego being sent into the fiery furnace for not conforming to their ways. Now years later Abigail's secret is about to become unraveled.

Daniel has always been my favorite book of the Bible, his faith has always been unwavering and unshakeable. This is a brilliantly written version on Daniel, and wonderful example of faith that knows no bounds. ( )

I have always shied away from Biblical fiction because of my fear of the author's interpretation on a character or event of the Bible taking away from the truth of God's Word. Of Fire and Lions was my first taste of Biblical fiction and there are things that definitely threw me off, the biggest being the fact that Daniel is married. Since the Bible doesn't say anything about him being married I've always assumed that he was single, and though I did appreciate the author's explanation and reasoning behind making him married, this fact was a little bothersome to me.

What redeemed the story for me was Daniel himself and the story as a whole being full of emotion but connecting to Abigail was tougher for me. I'm not entirely sure why but I undeniably felt a disconnect with her character. I also felt like the entire narrative was disjointed, the reader being switched from the past to the present, back and forth like a ping-pong ball, and being expected to keep up with the changing settings, characters, and situations.

I fought to love this book but sadly it was a disappointing read for me. Maybe I had too high of expectations or it wasn't the right season for me to be reading this book, but it was a struggle to make it through, and solidified my doubts for reading Biblical fictions in the first place. ( )

I was SO excited for this book to come out! I have always wanted to have a greater idea of what life must have been like for the exiles in Babylon. I really wanted to be able to picture Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the furnace. How did their friendship start? How did they stay true to God while in a foreign land with so many threats to their faith? This book did a fantastic job answering those questions and giving me a great mental picture of those events.

I love how Mesu winds history together with the Bible and a bit of fiction to create such a beautiful story.

The only reason I gave this 4 stars rather than 5 is because of the backstory of Belili. I think it is very real and very likely. That isn't a problem. I just thought her telling of it dragged out too much. I just wanted her to be honest. It got a little tiresome to read about how her kids had such a struggle with her without knowing what was going on. ( )

First time author. Well written. A novel about Daniel with a lot of speculation, but very supportive of the Biblical story. ( )