Rachel by Jill Eileen Smith

Book Description:

Beautiful Rachel wants nothing more than for her older half sister Leah to wed and move out of their household. Maybe then she would not feel so scrutinized, so managed, so judged. Plain Leah wishes her father Laban would find a good man for her, someone who would love her alone and make her his only bride. 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 and the victim of a cruel bait and switch. The man who wanted only one woman will end 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, 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 Thoughts:

Great Biblical Fiction!  Jacob tricked his brother Esau out of his birthright.  Now, Jacob is to be married.  He loves Rachel and worked years for the opportunity to marry her.  Rachel's father, Laban has a duaghter older than Rachel who must be married.  Tricking Jacob, Laban substitutes Leah for Rachel and Jacob is married to the wrong sister.  Jacob is forced to work years longer for Rachel and the two sisters are forced to share a husband.

The best thing about this book is that it is an real story from the Bible.  Jacob and Esau is a well known story as is the 'love triangle' of Jacob, Rachel and Leah.  In this book, the characters have more of a personality and we see their possible interactions.  Rachel and Leah have an obvious sibling rivalry.  You empathize with all three of them because it isn't a position any of them chose to be in.  Rachel has to share her soulmate with her sister...it is just all the way around a raw deal.  They have to figure it out and make the best of it!

I rate this a 5/5.  The author made the Bible story 'come alive' in a whole new way.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy of this book.  I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.