As much as I wanted to enjoy this, I simply could not get into it. The pacing was awkward, which makes sense considering the timespan but was in need of some cuts. There were elements that could have been compelling, especially near the end, but weren't fleshed out nearly enough while other elements dragged on.
The takes on feminism lacked nuance, making everything feel incredibly black and white. Basically every single man was irredeemably evil, and Lilith is a perfect human being, even though she stood by and did nothing for a good portion of the story. Additionally, the final take seems to be that the end goal in life, and the way to immortality and happiness, is through having children, which I personally did not love.
The history was very well researched from what I could gather, but the execution was not for me.

A triumphant feminist retelling of the oft-maligned Lilith, Nikki Marmery's novel is a masterpiece in myth retelling. Written in a conversational style, the novel follows Lilith's fall from Paradise and her quest for revenge with matter-of-fact precision.

A telling story of human nature, Lilith's quest brings her into contact -- and conflict -- with other big-names in the Biblical world, like Noah and his wife Norea, Queen Jezebel, and Mary Magdalene.

When I say I could hardly put this book down, I mean it. I was reading it on the plane to a friend's bachelorette party weekend and used every moment of downtime to get through a few more pages. It was that intriguing!

Amazing biblical historical fiction about Lilith, the lesser-known first wife of Adam. Condemned as a demon in biblical history, superseded and overshadowed by Eve, Lilith was actually the first woman, a child of Yahweh and Asherah. She was conceived as an equal to Adam, molded from the same clay. She was also the first self-proclaimed proponent of women's equality. Her refusal to submit to being inferior to Adam led to her banishment from the Garden of Eden. The story beautifully follows her immortal journey through the ages as her descendants rise and strive time and again to establish women's rights and position as equal to men. I loved the retelling of Lilith and her descendants. An absolutely unputdownable read!!

Thank you Netgalley, Alcove Press, and Nikki Marmery for the ARC.

Marmery brings Adam’s first wife Lilith to light in this new novel. Following the larger women of mythology trend so popular as of late, Lilith brings a new mythology to the conversation, twisting some of the more well-known stories of Christianity to emphasize the female perspective. Marmery’s language creates a strange world where many faiths exist, layered upon each other, and force these beings and their creations to interact with each other. Marmery’s world fits with the larger literary trend she seeks to join, and her characters, particularly Lilith, experience a vast spectrum of emotions on their own quests for knowledge, revenge, and justice. Marmery’s characters drive the stories forward, and the flaws of these characters make them more personable and interesting in their challenging of established myths and stories. Seeing events from Lilith’s perspective, while limited, add another depth to readers’ understandings of these stories. Overall, Marmery’s new story expands the mythology retelling trend in current fiction and historical fiction literature in a new and exciting way.

I enjoyed the story but the tone felt like a false archaic language and at times it was distracting. The lessons and analysis of the evils of man were thoughtfully examined, but there were times it dragged.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Brought to life in the Garden of Eden, Lilith is the daughter of Asherah, and Yahweh. When Adam begins to dominate her, Lilith refuses, and is cast out. Searching for Asherah, she realizes that she is missing and Yahweh is behind her disappearance. When Lilith realizes that Eve has been created as Adam's helpmeet, she tries to speak to her, and shows her the Tree of Knowledge. Granted immortality, Lilith move through history, seeking Asherah and finding ways to restore balance and regain Paradise.

I could not put this book down. It was well written, and the character development was master level. I enjoyed the author's interpretations of biblical history and loved how she weaved Lilith throughout. I can't recommend this book enough. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Oof. I made it to 58% in this book, and then I had to DNF. For me personally, mythology retellings only work when I can form a strong connection with the characters, and I found that aspect to be entirely lacking in Lilith. The story reads essentially like, "and then she did this, and then she saw that, and then she said this, and then she did that," which is a whole lot of recitation of facts and random bits of scenery. I didn't feel any emotion for events that should have been EXTREMELY emotional, and my detachment is ultimately what caused me to DNF the book.

Lilith is a feminist retelling of some of the more famous Bible stories - Adam and Eve (and Lilith who was Adam’s first wife), Noah’s ark (with a focus on his wife and children), Jezebel (a story I knew nothing about), and Mary Magdalene. The basis of this book is that were two equal gods at the beginning, a god and a goddess and the god turned on the goddess, breaking his promise of equality with the consequence of the lost goddess being the degradation, demotion and subjugation of all human women. This is evident in how women are treated throughout history - they were worn down and often died through multiple pregnancies, used as prizes in war and collateral in peacetime through marriage, and thrown aside by men who feared them by simply being called a whore. All of these stories are told through this lens. By the way, I use past tense here but that is only because the story takes place in the past.

While this book was sometimes a bit slow I really did enjoy what the author was trying to accomplish. My 20-year old self would have loved this book (I went to every Lilith Fair concert I could from 1997-1999 - just showing my age). It shows some of the innate sexism in the Judeo-Christian tradition that I have always personally struggled with and is part of the reason I am culturally Jewish than religiously so. This book is probably not for conservative religious people, but I certainly appreciated the non-traditional views. Some parts certainly read faster than others, it’s an interesting take if you are open to it.
3.75 stars rounded to 4

Thank you Netgalley and Alcove Press for the chance to review

I'm a bit unsure what to say about Lilith. This is a retelling of the story of the first woman Lilith, who was banished from the garden of Eden for disobeying Adam.

The prose feels stunted, making the book feel repetitive even though the plot changes quite a bit throughout. I did enjoy the love story within, but it just wasn't enough for me. I think the message is a bit confused too. While I appreciate much of it, it reads a bit like someone's first try at feminism. The publisher refers to it as ambitious, and it certainly is. I do think that fans of Madeline Miller may enjoy this, but it just wasn't for me.

3.5 stars -- I couldn't request an advanced copy of Lilith fast enough. I was so excited to get my hands on this modern retelling of a woman who has been essentially ignored for far too long.

The finished result was -- not as strong as I had hoped. Lilith never felt like the main character of this retelling in a way I desperately wanted her to be. Throughout her centuries of travel and efforts to rewrite the narrative, she found and followed many important women, and I was happy their stories were included in this book. But this resulted in Lilith feeling more like a passive narrator than an active participant in the journey. Her voice still felt stunted in a way that I wish it didn't. Because this element was missing, it felt like a lot of the story dragged on without that clear purpose. Ultimately still well done and an important addition to this genre, but definitely not amongst my favorites.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

"Lilith" follows Lilith from the beginning in the Garden of Eden all the way through to the present day. Throughout the book, we follow Lilith as she sets out on her mission to spread her wisdom and avenge Asherah. On her journey, we see her meet and interact with different women like Eve, Jezebel, and Mary Magdalene.

The writing was very pretty and poetic. I found the feminist perspective that this book had interesting. I also liked seeing how Lilith would play a part in the stories of these notable women from the Bible. At the same time, there were times when I felt like I was just spectator to everything that was happening instead of going on the journey with her. I also felt like this book took a more Christian perspective in terms of how certain things were portrayed.

The book had me in the beginning and then lost me about a 1/4 of the way in. I didn’t like the writing, the language style. It felt disjointed.
I love Lilith lore so much so I was excited about it but it just wasn’t for me, love the idea though and would like to see this story done again in the future.

An excellent retelling that digs deep into the myth of Lilith but makes the story so approachable. With some modern inflections, it gives it a relatable feel. The story of her origin, and the origin of “man” as told by Lilith will equal parts infuriate and validate anyone with an inkling of feminist sympathies. Adam has nothing on the mother.

A little disappointing as I had extremely high hopes. This was a moment to really tell a story about Lilith who has gotten the short end of the stick throughout the years.. did not meet that mark.

As soon as Yahweh said "and if the woman told you to jumpeth off a cliff, would you?" I knew I had to put it down.

I was already pretty sure I was going to dnf this but that was the final straw. Only made it 10% of the way into the ARC. I love retellings, especially ones that take a "misunderstood" female character from literature/folklore/mythology/etc and expand upon her story -- Circe and Kaikeyi were absolutely riveting to me. but Lilith had none of the intrigue, character development, and beautiful writing that made those stories great. Lilith conveniently grows wings because of Asherah's blessing. Except that Asherah is missing and Lilith has to find her so how is she being blessed by her??? Eve is to blame for her subservience and also she's not as pretty as Lilith -- don't forget that. The fact that Adam invents patriarchy, capitalism, and rape casually and Lilith is just like Bummer. WHAT. Also, I don't know, this felt very modernly anti-Christianity in a way that is weird to do with a figure of Jewish and Mesopotamian mythologies. It just felt out of place.

This read like a baby's first feminism take on Lilith and also was so grossly equating motherhood, birth, and menstruation with womanhood. Not only is that transphobic but it's so reductive and demonstrates a woeful misunderstanding of what should be the fundamental priorities of feminism.

Disappointing.

Lilith, Adam's first wife. She was there before Eve, and she was there after. Who is the real mother of all humankind?

I didn't know much about Lilith before I read this book, and that was one of the reasons I wanted to read it. I thought it would be about what I knew--Lilith and Adam's relationship in the Garden of Eden--but it was so much more beyond that. Marmery wound Lilith into many of our most popular Bible stories like Noah, Jezebel, and Mary Magdalene. I loved hearing these well-known stories from a completely different perspective, and it was clear Marmery had done an extensive amount of research.

Above all, Lilith is about history and legacy. Who gets to decide what someone's legacy is, how they're remembered? Why do we remember Lilith as a demon, a killer of babies? Who wrote these tales, and how might they be wrong?

If you like feminist retellings in the vein of Clytemnestra or Circe, you'll want to read Lilith.

Reviews to follow on @pittelsbookclub on TikTok and IG.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review
Pub Date: October 17, 2023

~3.5 stars. I really struggled at the start of this one but I think I had to get used to the writing style. It was written more in a "telling" style than a "showing" style that I am more familiar with (at least that is how I have seen others explain it). I also struggled a bit with not knowing where the story was really going in the beginning. I felt there was more of a goal a little later in the book which was easier for me to get behind. There wasn't a ton of description but this book also covers the timeline from the Garden of Eden to present day so that is to be expected to keep the book at a reasonable length.

I loved the ideas and themes in this book and that kept me going and I really enjoyed the last 50/60%.

This is the story of Lilith, Adam's woman before Eve. Fascinating retelling of the religious stories I grew up with, and enticing food for thought. The beginning was a little slow for me, but the second half was riveting. I love deconstructing the stories of mythologies and religions that our cultures are based on. Absolutely loved this!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

This book is a little hard to review and rate. The message and meaning of this book was an absolute 5 star for me. I found myself saying out loud to the book numerous times, "YES!! All of this!!". I did really enjoy the writing but did feel like there were a couple of moments where the conversation was more modern day linguistically that would pull me out of the story. I think since this story of Lilith spans thousands of years, it made the story, for me, feel long at times and also sped up at times. However, I'm so happy I read this book and will look for other works by this author. I loved the character of Lilith and her mission but didn't connect to certain aspects of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book!

As a fan of mythological retellings especially told from a villified woman's perspective, I thought Lilith would be right up my alley. Having known her from fantasy stories as the mother of all demons, I was excited to see another portrayl of her.

The chapters were quick reads overall. And once I committed to the book, I was able to finish rather quickly. But I found myself reaching for other books before wanting to delve back into this. There was a disconnection between me ans the character. While I know Lilith comes from Mesopotamian and Judaic mythology, I thought we'd see more of that flowing through the pages. I felt this more of a heavily influenced Christian side.

None of the males in the book were at all likeable. And I'm sorry to say this includes Samael. And while this should have been a strong feminist retelling, I honestly found the female characters...lacking. including Lilith. Which was really disappointing

I'm glad I read it just to have a look into what others think of Lilith, I just think this could've been a stronger depiction of her.