"Rachel" by Jill Eileen Smith

When Rachel's cousin, Jacob visits from a distant land, she finds favor in his eyes immediately. He is smitten with her and agrees to work for her father, Laban for 7 years in exchange for Rachel's hand in marriage. But through a deceitful act on Laban's part, Jacob marries Leah instead. Rachel is understandably distraught. Leah was 10 years her senior and the two have never gotten along. Now Leah has stolen her husband! Jacob is equally as distraught and immediately confronts Laban. Laban allows Jacob to take Rachel as his second wife only a week later, but Jacob must pay the bride-price for Rachel which is another 7 years' worth of work! Jacob willingly agrees to this because of his love for Rachel, but he secretly wonders if God is punishing him for his past faults and deceits.

But can Rachel live with the thought of being a second wife always coming in second to her older sister?  Does Jacob have enough love in his heart to love two wives? And can Jacob bear the constant bickering coming from two sisters who have never gotten along?

Biblical fiction has easily become my favorite book genre now that I have had the opportunity to read more of them! In my opinion, "Rachel" by Jill Eileen Smith is one of the best I have read yet in this genre. I absolutely loved everything about this book. I found myself disliking Leah almost instantly. It made me sick to think that she could actually go along with Laban's plan, but I suppose back in those days, women were probably not given much of a choice.

I felt like the author did an excellent portrayal of this story, and at times I felt like I was in this book right along with the characters! I felt Rachel's jealousy towards her sister, and Leah's loneliness at the thought that although she was Jacob's wife, she would never have his love like Rachel did. I cannot even imagine living in a time where it was normal to "share" your husband with another woman. Or that you could be married to someone who may never love you. This is one of those books that really gives you an insight into what life was like in those days.

I would highly recommend this book and rate it as 5 stars! "Rachel" will definitely remain a favorite of mine for years to come.

I received this book for free from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group to give my honest unbiased opinion. To find out more about Jill Eileen Smith and her other Biblical fiction books, please visit http://www.jilleileensmith.com/.