A fresh retelling: My review of "Rachel" by Jill Eileen Smith

about the book....

Can true love overcome a legacy of betrayal?

Rachel wants nothing more than for her older half sister Leah to wed and move out of their household. Leah wishes her father would find a good man who would love her alone. Unbeknownst to either of them, Jacob is making his way to their home, trying to escape a past laced with deceit and find the future God has promised him.

But the past comes back to haunt Jacob when he finds himself on the receiving end of treachery. The man who wanted only one woman ends up with sisters who have never gotten along and now must spend the rest of their lives sharing a husband. In the power struggles that follow, only one woman will triumph . . . or will she?

Combining meticulous research with her own imaginings, bestselling author Jill Eileen Smith not only tells one of the most famous love stories of all time but will manage to surprise even those who think they know the story inside and out.

my review....

Jill Eileen Smith excels at penning interesting, well-written, and moving historical fiction. "Rachel" is a solid addition to her growing repertoire, providing a new look at the well loved story of Jacob, Rachel and Leah. She does a fantastic job at getting into the minds and hearts of the Biblical characters, giving us readers a new insight into why they may have acted the way they did. I absolutely loved how she described Jacob's encounters with God, especially the scene where Jacob wrestles with God by the river. It provided me with a fresh appreciation for how Jacob must have felt to go through such an incredible experience. Smith gives a lot of insight into the conflict Rachel and Leah must have had, as Leah marries her husband on Rachel's wedding night. The author helps us peer into Rachel and Leah's minds as they struggle with loving the same husband, and Smith also captures Jacob's desperate love for Rachel, exploring how he must have felt like a pawn in their father Laban's hands. I loved how in this story Rachel and Leah do experience a level of reconciliation that I like to imagine occurred in real life. Smith follows the biblical account as accurately as could be possible, while doing a beautiful job of fleshing out the story, and I enjoyed this book from start to finish!

"Rachel" is another winning read from an author who continues to give me a fresh appreciation for many of my favourite characters from the Bible. I award this book a solid 4 out of 5 stars.

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

 about the author....

Jill Eileen Smith is the author of the bestsellingMichal, Abigail, and Bathsheba, all part of The Wives of King David series, and of Sarai andRebekah in the Wives of the Patriarchs series. Her writing has garnered acclaim in several contests. Her research into the lives of biblical women has taken her from the Bible to Israel, and she particularly enjoys learning how women lived in Old Testament times. Jill lives with her family in southeast Michigan. Learn more at www.jilleileensmith.com.