There is a dearth of contractions, for one thing, making the speech sound like something from the TV show "I Dream of Jeannie", such as, "I am very sorry, my master." As I got farther into the story, I began to notice what an amazing set of coincidences propel our heroine to her destiny. Their speech here is too stilted, too formal. Of course they were actually speaking Greek, Latin and other languages of the time, and of course this book is having them speak English for the sake of its English-speaking target audience but it should be an everyday form of English to represent the everyday form of their native languages. Although we are supposed to be seeing them in everyday life, these characters don't speak with everyday language. One is the manner of speech of the characters.
However, certain things detracted from my enjoyment of the book. Usually there isn't a citation along with these, making one well-versed in scripture (as I would say I am) smile at times with the knowledge that this tidbit of conversation is from, say, Isaiah, or one of the Psalms. Bread of Angels, about the first-century Christian Lydia, has an abundance of this, with an appropriate scripture starting each chapter as well as sprinkling them throughout everyday conversation and private thought processes. In reading the imagined life of Ruth, Pharaoh's daughter, Rahab, and others I have enjoyed noting how the author weaves biblical scripture into the imagined daily life of the character. I enjoy reading fiction based on biblical characters, particularly women. Still, Lydia can't outrun her secrets forever, and when past and present collide, she must either stand firm and trust in her fledgling faith or succumb to the fear that has ruled her life. But fear lingers in every shadow until Lydia meets the Apostle Paul and hears his message of hope, becoming his first European convert. Determination and serendipitous acquaintances - along with her father's precious dye - help her become one of the city's preeminent merchants. With only her father's secret formulas left, Lydia flees to Philippi and struggles to establish her business on her own. Then unbearable betrayal robs her of nearly everything. But before she was Lydia, the seller of purple, she was simply a merchant's daughter who loved three things: her father, her ancestral home, and making dye. And along the way, she changes the world.
One woman rises up to take the reins of success in an incredible journey of courage, grit, and friendship. The foundation of an influential trade in a Roman world dominated by men.
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