In a humble fishing village on the shores of the Nile lives Asenath, a fisherman's daughter who has everything she could want. Until her perfect world is shattered. When a warring jungle tribe ransacks the village and kidnaps her, separating her from her parents, she is forced to live as a slave. And she begins a journey that will culminate in the meeting of a handsome and kind steward named Joseph. Like her, Joseph was taken away from his home, and it is in him that Asenath comes to find solace…and love. But just as they are beginning to form a bond, Joseph is betrayed by his master’s wife and thrown into prison. Is Asenath doomed to a lifetime of losing everything and everyone she loves?
The Review: My Ranking: 9 out of 10 Ages 16 & up
As many of you know from reading my reviews of other Biblical Fiction, it is one of my favorite genres. I knew I was in for a treat when I picked up Asenath, as it told the story of Joseph's wife, which is something I've thought would make an excellent book for a while now.
The debut book of new author, Anna Patricio, was exceptional. I absolutely loved how much history was packed into it, while at the same time it told the tender, trying story of the wife of Joseph. It was excellent.
The writing style was smooth and easy to read, though I did find a few scenes to end a bit suddenly. This didn't hinder me from enjoying the story though. For being a debut, it was very well written and impressed me.
Asenath was a great character who was easy to relate to. I really liked watching her and Joseph's relationship develop. The turmoil she goes through during the trials Joseph has to face were heart-wrenching. Patricio did a wonderful job of making her readers ache for her characters. Joseph was also an excellent character who I thought was perfectly created. It wasn't hard at all to like this character.
Sensuality:
When taken hostage, one of their captors asks a girl how old she is, and when she replies "nine" he tells her that's perfect and that at the red moon she will become his wife. When she asks what the "red moon" is, the man tells her that another lady will inform her and it is later insinuated that it is her first monthly. There is a scene where a woman in the next room is being raped. There is no description, only that the girl can hear lots of screams. When Potipher's wife tries to seduce Joseph, it says she wore a dress that "left almost nothing to the imagination.". There is one saying of "What in Seth's damnable balls was he thinking?", Seth being a god. One scene has a wife joining her husband while he bathes and it says she helped him scrub down. Nothing is described or implied sensually.
Profanity: There are two uses of the word "b****", both uses frowned upon and one rebuked.
As mentioned above, damnable was also used.
All around, I loved this book and highly recommend it to all lovers of Biblical fiction, or to those of you who would enjoy sitting back and reading a great story set in ancient Egypt. You won't be disappointed!
An inspiring re-imagining of the tale of Esther, a young Jewish woman thrust from a life of obscurity into a life of power, wealth, intrigue . . . and tender love.
See the story of Esther in an entirely new way-with all the political intrigue and tension you remember, but told as a passionate and tender love story between a young man and woman. Misunderstood by many, King Xerxes was a powerful but lonely man. Esther's beauty caught the eye of the young king, but it was her spirit that captured his heart.
Imagine anew the story of Esther, one of our faith's great heroines, destined to play a key role in the history of Christianity. More here.
About Joan: Joan Wolf was born in New York City but has lived most of her adult life with her husband in Connecticut, where she raised two children and countless numbers of assorted animals. Joan is the author of numerous historical novels including The Road to Avalon which Publishers Weekly lauded as “historical fiction at its finest.”
For more about Joan and her other books, please visitwww.joanwolf.com.
To celebrate Joan Wolf’s debut Christian Fiction title, A Reluctant Queen, Joan and her publisher, Thomas Nelson, have teamed up to give away A Reluctant Queen prize package worth over $150!
One grand prize winner will receive:
* A brand new Latest Generation KINDLE with Wi-Fi and Pearl Screen
* A Reluctant Queen by Joan Wolf (for KINDLE)
To enter, just click one of the icons below. But, hurry, the contest ends on June 20th. Winner will be announced on June 21st during Joan’s A Reluctant Queen Book Club
Party on Facebook (details below)! Hope to see you there – bring your friends!
Joan will be wrapping up the blog tour and Kindle giveaway promotion during her A Reluctant Queen
FACEBOOK party on her FB author page. During the party she'll announce the winner of the Kindle, host a book chat discussion, test your trivia skills (Is Esther's story in A Reluctant Queen fact or fiction?), and more. Don't miss this chance to meet the author and make some new friends!
The Review My Ranking: 5 out of 10 Ages 18 & up
If this book was written with the intent to be accurate, it fell very short. I must say that I was quite surprised on more than one occasion at the lack of research put into this book. Still, I was able to push on and try to enjoy the story for what it was.
By a third of the way through the story, I had made the decision to simply skim it, as I was uncomfortable with some of the things Wolf threw in, such as stating that Esther was forced to become nude to examine her "desireableness" and virginity in front of Hegai, the head eunuch. While I understand that this is historically accurate, at 16 stuff like this still makes me uncomfortable. I kept reading to see if that was the only thing, but there were a few other things added that I also found unnecessary and too much for me.
So, all that being said, I did continue and skim it and it seemed to be an interesting story that I think a lot of older people would enjoy! This book just wasn't for me but I do recommend it to older teens, perhaps, and adults who enjoy Biblical Romance. ;)
Marginalized by society and mistreated by her own family, Annah befriends a young man she's never seen before. Shem is captivated by Annah's courage, and he risks everything to help her gain her freedom. Trusting in the Most High, Annah marries Shem and joins her strange new family in their solitary faith that will ultimately separate them from an ancient world of amazing beauty and appalling violence -- a world fast approaching the unimaginable catastrophe of the Great Flood. Out of this chaos, only eight people will survive. Their world is our world. Their future is our own.
The Review: My Ranking: 10 out of 10 Ages: 15 & up
***This is a rewrite of a review I wrote a long time ago. Since then, I have changed the way I review in a lot of ways, hence my rewriting of this review.***
Let me start by saying this is my all time favorite book. It was incredible, and I have high standards for what I consider a good book - this meets those standards in every way. It was so easy to enter the life of Annah - a young girl who is stuck amidst the sin and hatred that engulfs the people of the world before the flood. The fact that it's a Biblical fiction is a huge plus for me - my favorite genre! ;) It was excellently written and easy to read. I loved the story! Gramckow truly has a LOT of talent at her finger tips! ;)
Annah was so sweet and instantly loveable. I felt my heart ache as I watched her go through all the pains she did! I felt as if I were her - the best type of feeling you can get in a book! Sometimes you don't have a connection at all, sometimes you feel as if you're there with them, and then sometimes you feel as if you are them. I felt as if I were Annah, enduring all of her sufferings and rejoicing when Shem came to the rescue.
And then there was Shem...wow he was like your perfect hero - literally rescuing her from death but in such a gentlemanly fashion! He was SO awesome! He has become one of my all time favorite heros.
This book was fantastic. Though I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a book filled with tense moments and sweet scenes. Annah and Shem have the most beautiful love story I've ever seen - it was such a joy to read. The Heaven's Before will tug at your emotions and cause you to ponder the circumstances that Annah and Shem live in. It is definitely a book that you will want to reread over and over again after turning the last page. I only have a few things to mention about the content, the first being that the sins of the nation are very evident. Nothing is ever described, aside from perhaps a beating, but we do know of the lust of the men in the camps and how they commit adultery. One of Annah's own family members has a child out of wedlock. As I said before, nothing is described, but the violence is very apparent in the first few chapters. The only other thing I'd like to mention is that there are a few lovey scenes after Shem and Annah marry. I was happy that there was nothing before - it was very clear that even personal contact was frowned upon in Noakh's family before marriage. But, afterwards, some of the scenes by be a little too much for a young reader. There are several scenes of them kissing and one, the night they move into their own house, where it ends the scene with him laying her in their bed. This is suggestive, but I was very happy that Gramckow ended the scene there. It was a very good way of showing how much Shem loved his wife and she loved him without going into unnecessary detail. All in all, the book was amazing and I can't say just how much I recommend it. This is definitely not a book you will regret picking up. Purchase itHERE.
I received this free book in return for an honest review from Moody Publishers. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.
A Crown in the Stars follows the growing rebellion of mankind as the tribes of the earth continue building the great tower begun by Nimr-Rada (commonly known as Nimrod). After the Most High Himself thwarts their plans by confounding human speech, He comforts His followers by revealing to them the identity of Avram, father of the tribe that will bring forth their savior, the Promised One.
The Review: My Ranking: `10 out of 10 Ages: 14 & up
A Crown in the Stars is the third book in the Genesis Trilogy by Kacy Barnett-Gramckow, and once again Gramckow has astounded me. Written from the view point of a follower of God and a descendant of Noah's comes the story of the Tower of Babel. Beautifully penned and vastly gripping, I felt myself being whisked into Shoshannah's life. I didn't have a hard time burying myself within the pages of this incredible book. I did find that the first one remains my favorite, but Gramckow didn't disappoint with this novel.
Shoshannah was an great character who was sensible, caring, and selfless. I found her to be a lot like her mom, Keren, who was forced into the same city in the previous books and held hostage there. Shoshannah's faith stood strong during all of her trials and having to deal with Keren's sister, now queen of the Great City, and her selfish personality and whims. I felt bad for her as she was torn away from her betrothed, Kaleb. Shoshannah was a great example of strength and how to handle hard times.
Kaleb was, to put it mildly, awesome. It took me a little while to come to really like him, but by the middle of the book I loved him. He reminded me of a friend of mine and made me laugh. He was so protective and would do anything to keep Shoshannah from harm- something that I really admire and find sweet in a man! He was courageous and didn't care about his own safety as long as his girl was safe. He was so awesome and I don't think anyone could dislike Kaleb after completing this book.
I only had one small problem with the story, which was actually just a personal preference - I really liked Adoniyram and was extremely disappointed with how his story ended. I won't say how as I don't want to give anything in the book away, but I must say I was hoping for more. Though he was on the wrong side of the fence, I really enjoyed his character and wanted him to come around. But, you will just have to read the story yourself and come to your own conclusion about Adoniyram's character. :)
As for content, there are a few minor things. Adoniyram is the son of whoever Sharah had an affair with in the previous book, and that is mentioned a bit. Nothing is in detail at all but it is known and discussed that Adoniyram was born though scandal. Another thing is that one of the men notice how indecent the women are dressed in the Great City. It doesn't explain it too much and didn't make me uncomfortable at all, but it does mention that they are inappropriately dressed, but is also frowned upon majorly by the person who notices it.Other than that, just keep in mind that there is a bit of romance in this book but everything was kept clean.
A Crown In The Stars was an excellent book that I will definitely be keeping forever. I highly recommend this book, but I suggest you read the other two in the series first. I read the first two a few months ago and still had a little trouble remembering everything!
Powerful imagery creates a "you are there" immersion in the story of the post-Flood world. Kacy Barnett-Gramckow fans raved about her extraordinary job of moving the Flood off the Sunday School flannelgraph board and into life in theHeavens Before. Now, she continues to flesh out the Bible's brief account of the rise of Nimrod and the Babel rebellion with scintillating characters and a wealth of imaginative detail.
The Review: My Ranking: 10 out of 10 Ages: 14 & up
He Who Lifts The Skies was an amazing book that captured my attention immediately. The second book in Kacy Barnett-Gramckow's Genesis Trilogy was very well researched and written. Gramckow did an amazing job at portraying people's lifestyle, culture, mindsets, etc. back then.
Kacy's characters are always very well laid out and described. I loved Keren and her personality, and Zekaryah and his mysteriousness.
I felt my heart strings pull as I watched numerous unfortunate circumstances befall Keren. She is first kidnapped and then had to watch as her own sister commit terrible sins and leave her own husband and son behind to marry a king who's ways were displeasing to God. Then being taken to a city where evil manifests itself and, to make things worse, any man she touches being sentenced to death...it must have been very hard for Keren, and I felt her despair. Still, I was amazed at how she handled it - with courage and faith that only God could bestow. She set a great example.
Zekaryah was awesome. Period. I was intrigued by him from the very first mention of his name - literally. I was wanting to know more and more about this mysterious and quiet character. Gramckow did an excellent job with Zekaryah's character and I instantly fell in love with the bad guy who longed to be good. The fact that he manages to protect Keren without touching her was really awesome and it made the ending all the more amazing! I loved Zekaryah's protective attitude. :-)
There are a few things to caution. Sharah is an adulterer. She leaves behind her husband and son to marry a pagan king. She also at the end of the story has an affair with another man aside from whom she's married to. Nothing is descriptive, just made known. Zekaryah and Keren also kiss pretty passionately at the end, but it was nothing that made me uncomfortable. It may be a little much for young readers, though.
All being said, this is a fantastic book that I highly suggest you read! I would recommend reading The Heaven's Before, the first in Gramckow's series, first as there is a lot you would be able to understand more if you have that for a background. Purchase He Who Lifts The Skies here - you won't regret it!
Can a Canaanite harlot who has made her livelihood by looking desirable to men make a fitting wife for one of the leaders of Israel? Shockingly, the Bible’s answer is yes. At the age of fifteen Rahab is forced into prostitution by her beloved father. In her years as a courtesan, she learns to mistrust men and hate herself. Into the emotional turmoil of her world walks Salmone, a respected leader of Judah. Through the tribulations of a stormy relationship, Rahab and Salmone learn the true source of one another’s worth in God and find healing from fear and rejection.
The Review: My Ranking: 10 out of 10 Ages: 15 & up
There are very few books that can compare to Pearl In The Sand. It was incredible. I buried myself in the book the night I received it and had it finished by morning. I cant put into words how much I enjoyed it. It was well written and historically accurate - I was enthralled by Rahab's story. Afshar did an amazing job at keeping it clean while still portraying the life of a prostitute. Redemption soaked the pages and at times I felt myself on the verge of tears at the beautiful reconciliation.
Rahab's character was extremely realistic. She felt that she couldn't ever truly be completely forgiven for the wrong she had done - being a prostitute. While she wasn't a prostitute by choice in the story, she still felt that the sin she had committed was too great to be forgotten. Poor Salmone, as hard as he tried, only made things worse.
Salmone's character was also very realistic. He was very judgmental and condescending - very much how I would expect many Christian people of today to respond if a prostitute entered their home. Harlots were a HUGE "no no" for the Israelites. I found it very likely that Salmone and some of the other inhabitants of the camp were extremely judgmental.
But he eventually came around and realized what an amazing woman Rahab was. ;-) I loved his protectiveness and longing to make everything right - even when it was hard. I absolutely LOVED Salmone's character.
The lesson in the book was amazing. You can read more about it in my book discussion post here on Book Ponderings, but suffice to say it was an extremely great lesson that all of us need to keep in mind.
Naturally with Rahab being a prostitute there are a few things I need to point out.
First off I want to say though that Tessa Afshar couldn't have handled the situation any better. She was excellent at being able to keep readers comfortable while still understanding the circumstances Rahab was in. There are a few scenes in the beginning where she is with a man and it may mention her laying sprawled under a sheet while her lover paces the room. That was as extreme as it got in that area. There is some discussion on and after Salmone and Rahab's wedding night. There are some tender kisses and such - nothing more physically described than that. It is obvious that the couple have consummated their marriage by the next morning though - but it wasn't descriptive at all past kisses. There is a bit of violence - not very descriptive, but a character is injured pretty badly. Nothing explicit is described and I wasn't bothered by it at all. Other than a few steamy moments between a husband and his wifes(kisses) and minor violence, there is nothing more to point out!
That much being said, I HIGHLY recommend you read this book. It is a story you will want to read over and over again and it will leave you releasing a contented sigh every time you turn the last page.
Marginalized by society and mistreated by her own family, Annah befriends a young man she's never seen before. Shem is captivated by Annah's courage, and he risks everything to help her gain her freedom. Trusting in the Most High, Annah marries Shem and joins her strange new family in their solitary faith that will ultimately separate them from an ancient world of amazing beauty and appalling violence -- a world fast approaching the unimaginable catastrophe of the Great Flood. Out of this chaos, only eight people will survive. Their world is our world. Their future is our own.
The Review:
My Ranking: 10 out of 10 Ages 14 & up
Let me start by saying this is my all time favorite book. It was incredible, and I have high standards for what I consider a good book - this meets those standards in every way. Enter the life of Annah - a young girl who is stuck amidst the sin and hatred that engulfs the people of the world before the flood. Annah knows the way of the people is corrupted and feels within her that there must be a God out there, hoping that such a God could care for her; unlike her family. Since her father's death at the hand of her brother, Annah has learned that silence is the best way to avoid a beating at the harsh hands of her siblings, but then a man across the river who seems to have the ability to peer into her soul saves her life...and changes everything.
This book was fantastic. Though I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a book filled with tense moments and sweet scenes. Annah and Shem have the most beautiful love story I've ever seen - it was such a joy to read. The Heaven's Before will tug at your emotions and cause you to ponder the circumstances that Annah and Shem live in. It is definitely a book that you will want to reread over and over again after turning the last page.
I only have a few things to mention about the content, the first being that the sins of the nation are very evident. Nothing is ever described, aside from perhaps a beating, but we do know of the lust of the men in the camps and how they commit adultery. One of Annah's own family members has a child out of wedlock. As I said before, nothing is described, but the violence is very apparent in the first few chapters. The only other thing I'd like to mention is that there are a few lovey scenes after Shem and Annah marry. I was happy that there was nothing before - it was very clear that even personal contact was frowned upon in Noakh's family before marriage. But, afterwards, some of the scenes by be a little too much for a young reader. There are several scenes of them kissing and one, the night they move into their own house, where it ends the scene with him laying her in their bed. This is suggestive, but I was very happy that Gramckow ended the scene there. It was a very good way of showing how much Shem loved his wife and she loved him without going into unnecessary detail.
All in all, the book was amazing and I can't say just how much I recommend it. This is definitely not a book you will regret picking up. Purchase it HERE.
It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!
You never know when I might play a wild card on you!
***Special thanks to Julie Gwinn, Trade Book Marketing, B&H Publishing Group for sending me a review copy.***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Tosca Lee is author of the critically acclaimed and extensively-awarded novels Demon: A Memoir and Havah: The Story of Eve. A sought-after speaker and former Mrs. Nebraska, she continues to work for local charities and as a senior consultant for a global consulting firm. Tosca holds a degree in English and International Relations from Smith College and also studied at Oxford University. She enjoys travel, cooking, history, and theology, and lives in Lincoln, Nebraska.
List Price: $14.99
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: B&H Books; 2 edition (August 1, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1433668793
ISBN-13: 978-1433668791
AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:
A whisper in my ear: Wake!
Blue. A sea awash with nothing but a drifting bit of down, flotsam on an invisible current. I closed my eyes. Light illuminated the thin tissues of my eyelids.
A bird trilled. Near my ear: the percussive buzz of an insect. Overhead, tree boughs stirred in the warming air.
I lay on a soft bed of herbs and grass that tickled my cheek, my shoulders, and the arch of my foot, whispering sibilant secrets up to the trees.
From here I felt the thrum of the sap in the stem—the pulsing veins of the vine, the beat of my heart in harmony with hundreds more around me, the movement of the earth a thousand miles beneath.
I sighed as one returning to sleep, to retreat to the place I had been before, the realm of silence and bliss—wherever that is.
Wake!
I opened my eyes again upon the milling blue, saw it spliced by the flight of a bird, chevron in the sky.
This time, the voice came not to my ear, but directly to my stirring mind: Wake!
There was amusement in it.
I knew nothing of where or what I was, did not understand the polyphony around me or the wide expanse like a blue eternity before me.
But I woke and knew I was alive.
A rustle, a groan practically in my ear. I twitched at a stir-ring against my hip. A moment later, a touch drifted across a belly I did not yet know I owned, soft as a leaf skittering along the ground.
A face obscured my vision. I screamed. Not with fear—I had no acquaintance with fear—nor with startlement because I had been aware of the presence already, but because it was the only statement that came to lips as artless as mine.
The face disappeared and returned, blinking into my own, the blue above captured in twin pools. Then, like a gush of water from a rock, gladness thrilled my heart. But its source was not me.
At last! It came, unspoken—a different source than the voice before—and then the words thrust jubilantly to the sky: “At last!”
He was up on legs like the trunks of sturdy saplings, beating at the earth with his feet. He thumped his chest and shouted to the sun and clapped his hands. “At last!” He cried, his laughter like warm clay between the toes. He shook his shoulders and stomped the grass, slapping his chest as he shouted again and again. Though I did not understand the utterance, I knew its meaning at once: joy and exultation at something longed for suddenly found.
I tried to mimic his sound; it came out as a squawk and then a panting laugh. Overhead, a lark chattered an extravagant address. I squeaked a shrill reply. The face lowered to mine and the man’s arms wrapped, wombtight, around me.
“Flesh of my flesh,” he whispered, his breath warm against my ear. His fingers drifted from my hair to my body, roaming like the goat on the hills of the sacred mount. I sighed, expelling the last remnants of that first air from my lungs—the last of the breath in them not drawn by me alone.
He was high cheeked, this adam, his lower lip dipping down like a folded leaf that drops sweet water to thirsty mouths. His brow was a hawk, soaring above the high cliffs, his eyes blue lusters beneath the fan of his lashes. But it was his mouth that I always came back to, where my eyes liked best to fasten after taking in the shock of those eyes. Shadow ran along his jaw, like obsidian dust clinging to the curve of it, drawing my eye to the plush flesh of his lips, again, again, again.
He touched my face and traced my mouth. I bit his finger. He gathered my hands and studied them, turning them over and back. He smelled my hair and lingered at my neck and gazed curiously at the rest of me. When he was finished, he began all over again, tasting my cheek and the salt of my neck, tracing the instep of my foot with a fingertip.
Finally, he gathered me up, and my vision tilted to involve an altogether new realm: the earth and my brown legs upon it. I clutched at him. I seemed a giant, towering above the earth—a giant as tall as he. My first steps stuttered across the ground as the deer in the hour of its birth, but then I pushed his hands away. My legs, coltish and lean, found their vigor as he urged me, walking far too fast, to keep up. He made for the orchard, and I bolted after him with a surge of strength and another of my squawking sounds. Then we were running—through grasses and over fledgling sloes, the dark wool of my hair flying behind me.
We raced across the valley floor and my new world blurred around me: hyssop and poppy, anemone, narcissus, and lily. Roses grew on the foothills amid the caper and myrtle.
A flash beside me: the long-bodied great cat. I slowed, distracted by her fluidity, the smooth curve of her head as she tilted it to my outstretched hand. I fell to the ground, twining my arms around her, fingers sliding along her coat. Her tongue was rough—unlike the adam’s—and she rumbled as she rolled against me.
Far ahead, the adam called. Overhead, a hawk circled for a closer look. The fallow deer at a nearby stream lifted her head.
The adam called again, wordlessly, longing and exuberant. I got up and began to run, the lioness at my heels. I was fast—nearly as fast as she. Exhilaration rose from my lungs in quick pants in laughter. Then, with a burst, she was beyond me.
She was gone by the time the adam caught me up in his arms. His hands stroked my back, my hips, my shoulder. I marveled at his skin. How smooth, how very warm it was.
“You are magnificent,” he said, burying his face against my neck. “Ah, Isha—woman, taken from man!”
I said nothing; although I understood his meaning, I did not know his words. I knew with certainty and no notion of conceit, though, that he was right.
At the river he showed me how he cupped his hands to drink and then cupped them again for me. I lowered my head and drank as a carp peered baldy from the shallows up at me.
We entered the water. I gasped as it tickled the backs of my knees and hot hairs under my arms, swirling about my waist as though around a staunch rock as our toes skimmed a multitude of pebbles. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders.
“All of this: water.” He grunted a little bit as he swam toward the middle of the river where it widened into a broad swath across the valley floor. “Here—the current.”
“Water.” I understood, in the moment I spoke it, the element in all its forms—from the lake fed by the river to the high springs that flow from the abyss of the mount. I felt the pull of it as though it had a gravity all its own, as though it could sweep me out to the cold depths of the lake and lull me by the tides of the moon.
From the river I could see the high walls of our cradle: the great southern mount rising to heaven and, to the north, the foothills that became the long spine of a range that arched toward the great lake to the west.
I knew even then that this was a place set apart from the unseen lands to the north, the alluvial plain to the south, the great waters to the east and far to the west.
It was set apart solely because we dwelt in it.
But we were not alone. I could see them after a time, even as we left the river and lay upon its banks. I saw them in sidelong glances when I looked at something else: a sunspot caught in the eye, a ripple in the air, a shock of light where there should be only shadow. And so I knew there were other beings, too.
The adam, who studied me, said nothing. We did not know their names.
The first voice I heard urging me to wake had not been the man’s. Now I felt the presence of it near me, closer than the air, than even the adam’s arms around me.
I returned the man’s strange amazement, taken by his smooth, dark skin, the narrowness of his hips, his strange sex. He was warmer than I, as though he had absorbed the heat of the sun, and I laid my cheek against his flat breasts and listened to the changeling beat of his heart. My limbs, so fresh to me, grew heavy. As languor overtook me, I retreated from the sight of my lovely, alien world.
Perhaps in closing my eyes, I would return to the place I had been before.
For the first time since waking, I hoped not.
I slept to the familiar thrum of his heart as insects made sounds like sleepy twitches through the waning day.
When I woke, his cheek was resting against the top of my head. Emotion streamed from his heart, though his lips were silent.
Gratitude.
I am the treasure mined from the rock, the gem prized from the mount.
He stirred only when I did and released me with great reluctance. By then the sun had moved along the length of our valley. My stomach murmured.
He led me to the orchard and fed me the firm flesh of plums, biting carefully around the pits and feeding the pieces to me until juice ran down our chins and bees came to sample it. He kissed my fingers and hands and laid his cheek against my palms.
That evening we lay in a bower of hyssop and rushes—a bower, I realized, that he must have made on a day before this one.
A day before I existed.
We observed together the changing sky as it cooled gold and russet and purple, finally anointing the clay earth red.
Taken from me. Flesh of my flesh. At last. I heard the timbre of his voice in my head in my last waking moment. Marvel and wonder were upon his lips as he kissed my closing eyes.
I knew then he would do anything for me.
That night I dreamed of blackness. Black, greater than the depths of the river or the great abyss beneath the lake.
From within that nothingness came a voice that was not a voice, that was neither sound nor word but volition and command and genesis. And from the voice, a word that was no word but the language of power and fruition.
There! A mote spark—a light first so small as the tip of a pine needle. It exploded past the periphery of my dreaming vision, obliterating the dark. The heavens were vast in an instant, stretching without cease to the edges of eternity.
I careened past new bodies that tugged me in every direction; even the tiniest particles possessed their own gravity. From each of them came the same concert, that symphony of energy and light.
I came to stand upon the earth. It was a great welter of water, the surface of it ablaze with the refracted light of heavens upon heavens. It shook my every fiber, like a string that is plucked and allowed to resonate forever.
I was galvanized, made anew, thrumming that inaugural sound: the yawning of eternity.
Amidst it all came the unmistakable command:
Wake!
The Review: My Ranking: 8 out of 10 Ages 16 & up
First off, let me say that I enjoyed this book tremendously, and following finishing it I had a deep discussion with a friend about some of the ideas portrayed in the book and our own thoughts on them. This book is wonderful if you are looking for a good book on the story of Eve and Adam and the fall of man. Lee did an excellent job of opening one's mind to the possibilities and pondering what it might have been. I was searching my Bible afterwards as my friend and I conversed, looking for verses that might relate with how Lee portrayed it. It was an excellent story to get one thinking.
On another hand, this is definitely a book that I would only recommend to older teens and adults. Naturally, we have probably all read Genesis 2:25 and know the conditions that Adam and Eve live in. While Tosca does keep it in-descriptive while in the garden, it is clear that Eve and Adam are unclothed, and some minor things are said, like Adam ran his hand down Eve's back or along those lines. It is also said right after they eat the fruit that they realize how they abused each other's bodies while under the influence of the fruit of the tree, and nothing more than that, but that is said. It is obvious that they are sleeping together in many scenes, though nothing is ever described - which I was happy about - but nonetheless, the idea is there, and not necessary, and I felt if it had been left out it would've been a better book. The obviousness that they lay together often is throughout the book, and though nothing is described and stays that way, it is a present happening. Also, it does mention Eve noticing her body change throughout the book as she has multiple children. The saying of body parts so boldly might make some uneasy, as it did with me. There was also one mention of a male body part when she gives birth to her first son, which I found completely unnecessary. Another thing I'd like to point out is the violence in it, as, of course, we have the murder that happens between Cain and Abel, known as Kayin and Hevel in Lee's story. The scene isn't very graphic and is only explained later, but still should be pointed out if the reader doesn't do well with violence. And the last thing I feel a need to point out is that Kayin loves Eve as more than his mother, and it causes strife between him and Adam. Though Kayin never tries anything, he tells Eve on a few occasions that he loves her. The same thing happens with one of Eve's daughters and Adam, but this was less prominent and wasn't ever mentioned more than once. This was the edge for me. I would not have continued this book if it had had any more content in it, and I did not find all that Lee wrote necessary. At the age of 16, I nearly put it down because of the blunt content. Let this be a warning to other teens who plan to read this book.
So, now that I'm through all the warnings(wink), let me finish by saying it was a great book that I highly encourage more mature readers to read. It will really get you thinking and can open your eyes to what it may have been like for Adam and Eve. I am eager to read more of Tosca Lee's books. She will soon be releasing another book called Iscariot, and I am eagerly looking forward to it's release in the fall! :-) And what do you know...I just learned that she is writing a trilogy with my favorite author - Ted Dekker - the first book releasing this summer! Wowza is that going to make quite the trilogy or what!?
So, look forward to the release of Forbidden, by Tosca Lee and Ted Dekker, and Iscariot by Tosca Lee this year!
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