Daughter of Eden: Eve's Story, (Paperback)

I love biblical fiction and I consider Jill Eileen Smith to be one of the premier authors of this genre. In this book, she weaves fiction and the first book of the Bible into an engrossing tale that centers around Adam, Eve, and many of the others mentioned in the early chapters of Genesis. Smith helps us to imagine the views of Cain, Abel, Seth, Enoch, and Methuselah, along with the intriguing thoughts of Archangel Michael and Lucifer! What I especially loved is that she gives Eve the human traits of so many of us women! Wives who wonder if their husbands are losing interest and mothers who fear for their children's physical safety and pray for their spiritual health. From the time that she realizes that she's pregnant, Eve worries that her actions in the Garden will hinder her children's relationship with God! She experiences many "What ifs" and often questions if she has been truly forgiven? Yes, I know that these are fictional details, but they make her so very relatable! Smith's descriptive powers helped me visualize the beauty of the Garden and feel the overwhelming peace that Adam and Eve experienced in that holy place. A peace that was shattered by their disobedience, along with the beautiful innocence that was forever destroyed! Daughter of Eden: Eve's Story is the painful story of being separated from God but a wonderful affirmation of the redemption that is available to all mankind. It is a beautiful story that clearly demonstrates God's gift of salvation! Believers will certainly appreciate this book but it's a story for all readers to enjoy and savor! I pray that it spurs us to refer to the Bible for the original story, and I believe that it would be a wonderful addition to a women's study group. I received a copy of this book from the author and Revell. There was no obligation for a positive review. These are my own thoughts.

This story starts with Adam and Eve living a perfect life in the Garden of Eden. In snake form, the devil entices Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. That led to Adam and Eve being expelled from the garden, and living with the consequences of that sin. Now the story really begins--what life was like after Eden. Adam and Eve have no skills whatsoever, and just trying to find food and shelter are monumental tasks. While doing that, they are dealing with the anger they have at themselves for giving in to temptation, and the deep grief of not being in God's presence anymore. Despite Adam making the choice to eat the fruit, he blames Eve, and has lots of anger towards her. He also expects Eve to let him treat her like a slave. Eve constantly feels terribly guilty for her part in all of it. This book is a fascinating study of how hard it would have been for the couple just to exist, let alone have, and then raise, children. As the children grow, they face more difficulties including Cain's murder of Abel. As time goes on, some of their family fall away from faith in God. Additionally, some become involved with fallen angels, which leads to more heartache, and serious problems with their eternal souls. This is a great story of what might have been, bittersweet situations that could have taken place. One that stayed with me was when a lion they had played with and rode on while in Eden, tried to kill them when they were ousted from the Garden. This is a clean five-star book, built on the pages of the Bible. It will appeal to anyone who wonders what it may have been like for people to experience these things. Thank you, Revell Publishing, for providing Tickmenot with a book to review. Opinions are my own.