Book Review: A Stray Drop of Blood

From Google

Hello everyone! 

Today I’m going to be reviewing A Stray Drop of Blood by Roseanna M. White.

My computer’s RAM quit, so I’m currently without a laptop and doing this all on my phone, so I apologize in advance for any formatting errors, and the lack of pictures. 

Alright. Moving on. 

My rating is 4 out of 5. 

About the Book:

Beautiful is a dangerous thing to be when one is unprotected. For seven years, Abigail has been a slave in the Visibullis house. With a Hebrew mistress and a Roman master, she has always been more family than servant . . . until their son returns to Jerusalem after his years in Rome. Within a few months Jason has taken her to his bed and turned her world upsidedown. Maybe, given time, she can come to love him as he says he loves her. But how does she open her heart to the man who ruined her? Israel's unrest finds a home in her bosom, but their rebellion tears apart her world. Death descends with Barabbas's sword, and Abigail is determined to be there when the criminal is punished. But when she ventures to the trial, Barabbas is not the one the crowd calls to crucify. Instead, it is the teacher her master and Jason had begun to follow, the man from Nazareth that some call the Son of God . . . Born free, made a slave, married out of her bonds, Abigail never knows freedom until she feels the fire of a stray drop of blood from a Jewish carpenter. Disowned by Israel, despised by Rome, desired by all, she never knows love until she receives the smile of a stoic Roman noble. 

My thoughts: 

This book destroyed me. I haven’t touched a book since. It was literally the most love/hate relationship I’ve ever had with a book. It made me feel every single emotion there is. Happiness, love, anger, hatred, utter confusion. I questioned my morals at times. 

I love books that can do that to me. 

To give a little bit more detail than that, I really loved how White made the biblical story world so realistic. I’ve never studied ancient Israel or Rome, but she wove in so many details that I felt like a master of it by the time I was finished. 

I also loved how she stayed completely true to the biblical account of the events surrounding Jesus’ crucifixion, but created such an amazing story for these new characters. 

This book combines all the things I always wish christian fiction had more of. The characters were so flawed and imperfect and human. The salvation that many of them experience feels real and genuine, and I love how that saving faith doesn’t just make them all suddenly sinless. They still struggle afterward. Big time. I also like the fact that their personalities stayed the same after being saved. I wasn’t left reeling thinking who is this character all the sudden. 

I love how even though Jesus was literally walking the earth during the time of this story, Roseanna doesn’t take liberties with miracles. She uses them, and they are talked about, but she doesn’t build up a huge problem only to have a miracle step up and save the day. 

And oh my goodness the characters. Amazing.

Abigail is the main character and she’s everything a female role should be. She’s strong, and witty, and fun. But also feminine, and vulnerable. 

Jason was the character I wanted desperately to hate but absolutely couldn’t. He was the one who had me questioning my morals. I feel like I should have hated him, at least at the beginning, but I didn’t. 

Titus is another character that gave me fits. He starts out as an angry jerk, and I loved him. Through the middle of his character arc I could not stand him, and I threatened to stop reading the book because he made me so mad. And then towards the end I once again started to like the guy. 

Menelaus was a side character who didn’t get a lot of page time, but I loved him anyway. 

Content:

This is definitely not a book for younger readers. It deals a lot with topics like sex and rape. 

Now, the author handles it fantastically, and doesn’t get graphic, and she’s very good at portraying the pagan lifestyle of Rome during that time, but some people still might be uncomfortable with it. For the most part I had no trouble with it, but there were a couple characters that made me uncomfortable, so that’s why I gave it four stars. 

Overall, it was a thrilling roller coaster of a ride, and once I’m able to pick up a book again, it will probably be the sequel.