Review: The Fisherman's Bride by Catherine Magia

She has no name. She is not even a footnote. Her tale is hidden behind the well-told fable of her husband, the man who would become Simon Peter, the first Apostle.

 Cast off by her family after shunning a wealthy suitor to marry a humble fisherman, her life is fraught with hardship. She endures her husband’s growing restlessness, fish shortages from the Sea of Galilee, and the oppression of an all-powerful Roman Empire over her people. Then her life is forever changed when her dying mother is saved by a miracle performed by a young carpenter—a man who speaks with understanding and acts with compassion. A man who can inspire the extraordinary.

 Simon Peter lives on in history as the undaunted martyr of the carpenter. This is the untold story of his young bride. Her journey traverses villages and deserts, love and tradition, and a brewing revolution, to an awakening of faith that challenges everything she has ever known.

Publication Date: November 2, 2016

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services LLC, CreateSpace

Kindle & Paperback; 240 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction/Biblical Fiction/Christian Literature

READ AN EXCERPT.

****

The Fisherman's Bride is a relatively quick read, coming in at 240 pages but there is a lot packed into this little gem.  I was excited to be part of this tour as I love reading fiction with Biblical settings.  There is also that little bit of apprehension wondering if the author can make the book authentic and believable in a small amount of pages.  I am happy to say that Catherine Magia did a great job with this story.  Not only breathing life into a young woman that isn't mentioned in the Bible but also the early years of Simon Peter's life.

One of the things I really enjoyed reading was the detailed lifestyle of the times, the struggles between social classes and vivid descriptions of the land.  Written from the POV of Peter's wife (she is never named) it wasn't hard to connect and feel the struggles she encounters when she goes against her father's wishes in whom to marry.  Life is hard enough in this land and then to feel the repercussion when married to a follower of Christ takes its toll on this young woman.

 There were times I would have loved a little more depth in various situations and felt the book could have been longer, but all in all a solid debut with a sequel in the works.

Thank you to HFVBT for the invite to be part of this tour and an ebook copy.

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Catherine Magia was born in Brooklyn, New York, and moved to New Jersey as a teenager. Although her formal education was in the hard sciences, Catherine has always maintained a passion for the written word, publishing her poetry in several literary journals including the Michigan Quarterly Review. She discovered the voice of Simon Peter's wife on a soul-searching journey, a trek through the biblical lands of Israel, Jordan, and Egypt. She spent seven years researching and writing her debut novel, traveling as far as Ephesus, Turkey.

 She is working on her second book - the conclusion to The Fisherman's Bride. By day, she works as an associate director of marketing research in the development of new cancer medications. She is currently based in Boston.

 For more information please visit Catherine Magia's website and blog.