SPOILER-FREE: 4 STAR Review for The Garden of Eden by Millie Belizaire
‘Fruit though? You ever heard about somebody risking it all over a fucking apple?’ -Inner Monologue of Drew
When the book opens readers meet Andrew Lavigne, affectionately called Drew, as he gives his interpretation of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
Which isn’t bizarre given the book title, however there’s more to it. Drew is a Pastor, and his father a Bishop to a church in the heart of New Orleans, Louisiana. I then began to understand that this is not your average Pastor. No. Drew is actually a Youth Pastor by title and an agnostic by choice.
‘I stopped talking to God after Katrina. The hurricane. Obviously.’ -Inner Monologue of Andrew
Katrina changed Drew’s life, as I’m sure it did for many others. Katrina was a taker. It came in and swept away Drew’s faith. The first time it was a hurricane, but this time it’s a tornado named Eden that comes in suddenly and unexpected.
Eden blows into Drew’s life one night and unbeknownst to Drew she slowly changes him. Unlike Katrina the natural disaster, with Eden it’s more so a smooth transition.
Well, smooth until you ask Anika Palmer because she wasn’t feeling his life changes at all. Especially with Eden involved, but I for one most certainly enjoyed reading it!
‘For the first time in four years, I canceled Saturday therapy.’ Inner Monologue of Andrew
Eden Xavier is not new to anyone that’s read Belizaire’s debut Collide Series, it’s where she made her first appearance. Sidebar: If you’ve not read it I highly recommend you do it because it’s a great read!
Now back to Eden: Yes, the book is named after her but Andrew Lavigne STOLE MY HEART in this one! Believe it or not, Drew is far from the normal male leads that I prefer to read.
His appeal to me mostly rested upon getting to know him in all his nuances. The way Drew saw himself, God, saw people in color, art, his family and how he viewed them all helped me get to know and appreciate the man Andrew Lavigne.
This was a big step away from my usual, for me typically a male lead grabs me with his confidence, cockiness, alpha qualities and sexy good looks as a description. Superficial? Yes, but hey it’s a book I can do that in the book world LOL!
Millie Belizaire definitely takes her time carving out these characters giving you what I call their “ins and outs” that being the character’s inner workings and their outward approach to life. Belizaire delves into both Eden and Drew allowing readers to gain a better vantage point from each of them as their romance blossoms.
I believe her writing the story this way allowed me to fully value these characters more. The progression was gradual and the romance was well worth it because you read and grow into it with both Drew and Eden.
I HIGHLY recommend The Garden of Eden to all Romance Lovers!
Series: No. One of the main characters(Eden) is however first introduced in the debut Collide Series by Belizaire.
Recommendation: YES! Go 1-click! What are you waiting for!!
Plot/Storyline: Good plot with true to life twists! The storyline has two very different people from very different worlds finding love unexpectedly.
Writing: Excellent! I enjoy the way she dug in and wrote a story of two people you can actually relate to in one way or another.
![Interview With Author and Executive Producer Miasha Coleman [Audio + Video]](https://shareehereford.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/YouTube-Pics--45x45.jpg){kind=small}
