Book Review: The Garden of Eden by Millie Belizaire
The Garden of Eden by Millie Belizaire Published by Amazon Digital Services LLC on December 20, 2019
Genres: African American, Romance
Pages: 356
Format: eBook
Buy on Amazon
Eden is an R&B superstar who has lost her passion for music. Andrew is a pastor who doesn't believe in God. Although for different reasons, both of them move through life with an enormous amount of pressure on their backs.
On the night of her concert in New Orleans, Eden sneaks out of an afterparty and mistakes Andrew's car for her ride home. Despite the fact that Eden claims she's famous, Andrew's never heard of her and he doesn't care that she's stranded.
Eden's not used to people saying no to her. And that's exactly what Andrew does, marking the beginning of a journey neither of them saw coming.
Andrew and Eden are unlike each other in many ways, but both are dealing with their own demons. Just as their issues threaten to crumble them both, they find each other.
**This is a standalone.**
This book is a contemporary slow burn romance.
Despite the summary and story elements, this is NOT Christian fiction. At least, not in the traditional sense.
Language and sexual content in this book may offend some.
Eden and Andrew are both artists. Andrew’s preferred medium is pencil and paint. Eden’s is music. She’s on the cusp of superstardom after winning multiple awards but is quite lonely. There aren’t many friends in the industry, her relationship with her mother is a bit rocky and she is losing her true self in the musical machine.
New Orleans provides inspiration for her; the music, the food, the culture, and Pastor Andrew. Andrew ain’t your typical pastor. He might be ministering to the youth but his belief in God is up for debate. Between him and his daddy, I don’t know if I’d be a member of any church they are a part of, for different reasons. That church? Whew! Anyway, let me not get sidetracked, you’ll learn about that soon enough. He’s a man whose been hardened after tragedy and complicated parental relationships.
Both characters have insecurities they push down and while it causes rifts at times during their friendship, they ultimately balance each other. They find solace in each other. It’s an emotional read, as we have to watch both characters mature in their own right to get on solid ground. However, by the end, I am only truly convinced that one of them has made true progress. I won’t tell you which one. 🙂
Their love wasn’t a quick one, these two are creatives who ultimately bonded over their passions. Their journey wasn’t a quick one, I wouldn’t necessarily say that it was a slow burn romance because I felt as if they were intimately connected from almost the beginning, but the relationship did indeed take some time.
New Orleans is one of my favorite cities and anytime I can revisit the city, whether in books, movies or in person, I welcome the chance. The secondary characters were solid and are definitely written to evoke emotion out of the reader, even if it is disdain.
The Garden of Eden is my first read by Millie Belizaire, but it won’t be my last. I’ll be checking out some more of her work.
Natalya is the author of All The Things I Never Said, a soul-stirring collection of short stories, prose and love letters for the soulful wanderers, the brokenhearted and the hopeless romantics.
You can follow her rantings and occasional sparks of brilliance on Twitter @NatalyaMuncuff.
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