Temper the Wind

Days of the Judges Book 1

By: Mary Ellen Boyd

Narrated by: Satauna Howery

Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's Summary

For 18 years, Gilead has been under relentless attack from neighboring Ammon. Javan, a tall, handsome Israelite warrior, has lost everything during the Ammonite attacks. The sole survivor of his family, possessor of nothing but burned land, he joined with Jepthah's army to bring vengeance, decimating 20 cities along the Israelite/Ammonite border.

During the mopping-up after the last victorious battle, Javan finds Taleh hiding in the remnants of her house. Caught off guard by her stunning beauty, he claims her for a wife, not telling her that one of the conditions she must comply with is having her head shaved. That nasty surprise is dumped on her the night their marriage is registered in the village. Now she's bald, and her husband seems to have forgotten her in the village to make her own way among people who are as unhappy to have her as she is to be there.

Unbeknownst to either of them, another soldier had also spoken for Taleh, and he will stop at nothing to get her for himself.

©2001, 2013 Mary Ellen Boyd (P)2015 Mary Ellen Boyd

Old Testament War between Israelites and Ammonites

Excellent biblical fiction about the days of the judges in Israel . . . the story is not in the least dry or boring, I was captivated by the story of the Ammonite's horrific worship of Molech, their raiding of the farms in Gilead, and the eventual war and conquering of Ammon by Israel . . . the Ammonite's callous practice of sacrificing one's own children in order to pacify Molech, broke my heart . . . and how an entire people can come to believe a utter lie, sickens me . . .yet, here we are again, in America today . . . killing our own babies, in the name of convenience, no longer even needing a false God, having elevated ourselves into gods (little g), and sadly having lost all fear of God, who will not forever stay His hand . . . Temper the Wind is a well written story of men willing to fight for what they believe, following the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob . . . It is a time of war, of rebuilding, and of love, between an Ammonite woman, captured and saved by Javan, an Israelite warrior, who loves God. Javan has many opportunities to make wrong choices, to murder, to disobey God, to give in to lust . . . and Taleh, and Ammonite by birth, is confused and doesn't know the God of Israel . . . but she never believed in the child sacrifices to Molech . . . and she has a pure heart . . . a heart that is more, and more belonging to Javan . . . nothing is simple in life, and it isn't portrayed as such . . . the rivalry between the women of the village upon Javan's return home, their anger and distrust toward Taleh, his Ammonite wife and the Israelite laws which Taleh must endure and accept make for some interesting listening . . . excellent conclusion, as well. I've already downloaded the second in the series.

Very Disappointing

The storyline was weak and neither the writing nor characters had any depth. Also, I expected the book to center on God and the relationship between Him and the characters. While there was much mention of the old Jewish Laws, there was no mention of the law and its relevance to God. Finally, listening to the narrator was brutal. Her inflections and intonations were horribly distracting. I have never written a poor review on Audiobook, so this must have been really bad for me to do so. Perhaps the author should take a few lessons from Tessa Afshar. I do, however, admire anyone who puts pen to paper and produces a novel. Ms. Boyd is no exception.

Exciting and enlighting!

This story was well read and help me understand more about the laws of the Old Testament in a fun and interesting way.

Terrible narration

The narrator was almost unbearable, the way she enunciated was very awkward. I also found the dialogue awkwardly written. I struggled all the way through this book and overall found it lackluster.

Judges Book 1

What I expected from a book about bible times was more about faith and trust in God.
I was disappointed. I found the story interesting but over dramatized in parts.
I enjoy books that inspired faith in God and encourage spiritual growth.
I will be hesitant to read book 2.

Great historical romance fiction read

This is a great historical romance story. It is a clean story and well written. The author accurately depicted how life might have been back in Israel during the time of the book of judges. I highly recommend this book to other people. It is A story well worth reading.

Temper the wind

As good as the first time I read it,
Thank you . Excellent performance and story as well.
Good story.