I loved this take on the story of Lilith, the woman who in Jewish myth is Adam's first wife. I've been wanting a good Lilith novel for ages, and this is a great one. Author Marmery has clearly done a lot of research into the various aspects of ancient female goddesses, and it pays off--Lilith is a smart tale that blends archaeological history, the myths of the Bible, non-Biblical myths, Judaism and non-Jewish religions and more into Lilith's autobiography, full of compassion and sass. I get the feeling that Marmery wasn't quite sure where this story would go when she began it, but that it unfolded itself as she went, giving it a feeling of anticipation and openness and true grappling with ideas of how gods work and live and die. A treat to read, and a treat to ponder.

I love how the author writes from Lilith's perspective, it starts with her beginning and continues until her ending. I would recommend this to anyone who has a fascination with Lilith and wants to know more about her.

There were so many highs for this book. The descriptions and writing truly just draw you in and Marmery has a really good grasp of culture, archaeology, and ancient texts to make this story of Lilith believable and mythical at the same time. The story follows Lilith who was originally in the Garden of Eden with Adam, and was later cast out due to her disobedience to Adam. I am a Christian, and I had zero understanding of who the mythical Lilith was until this book. I fiercely resonated with the stark divisions of patriarchy that is a main running theme within this book, who repeatedly abused, shunned, and villainized women to protect their own patriarchal goals and world-view. One sore plot point I felt the book had was that there were literally ZERO good male characters. Now, that may have been the point, but it was honestly a bit tiring to read and it felt really long and desperate (which I think was again a very intentional theme of the book). I really liked the perspectives of Eve, Noah's family, Jezebel, and Mary Magdalene. Truly we would have a radically different world (and Christianity) if there were more writings of a female God (Heavenly Mother), or book of scripture of other biblical women (like Mary Magdalene in this context).

Three stars goes to how the book lagged for me and that while I do recommend it, I don't know how many would really enjoy it.

Thank you to Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book!

This book is odd, but not in a bad way.
The writing style is simple and easy to understand, but sometimes it's a little too crude for me. Some scenes needed more elaborate writing, and the story kinda lost a bit of its epicness because of that.
I did love the way that several different cultures and religions were included and explained.
It's interesting that the forbidden fruit was also the fruit of Knowledge. I really liked the idea that Yaweh was trying to keep his humans uneducated and that Asherah was trying to free them.
I love how the references for the facts are included at the end. It shows how the Cult and Asherah was destroyed hy the Church. The historical facts will surprise many people and give a new sense of understanding of the book.
I'm fond of the take of Yeshua and Maryam both worshipping the Goddess as well. They were partners, equal in every way and both fo them wanted the world to be balanced and in peace. There are many paralels between Maryam and Yeshua. Both are preachers and they have followers, both are betrayed and turn into martyrs. Peter, of course, ruins everything with his sexism (which is also documented historically).
Lilith is obviously the star of the book! She's a symbol of equality and empowerement - she was turned into a demon in the Bible for choosing not to have sex with Adam. She wants to restore the Goddesse's words and ideals, os that the world is an equal place for men and women. I also enjoy her relationship with Samael, who treats her kindly and would do anything for her.
This book is interesting to read and I really like the feminism included, as well as the preaching for kindness and equality, but some thing are a little unrealistic. The characters have sex literally the moment they meet, Samael's relationship with Lilith could've been a lot more explored. It lacked depth. I think the main problem with this book is the pace. There are many plot points but they all get resolved so fast that they stop feeling important.

TW:sexism, violence, rape, abusive relationship, pregnancy, miscarriage, sexual content.

While I was greatly looking forward to a feminist retelling of Lilith, this one did fall a little flat for me. I am not Christian, but I have always enjoyed biblical retellings, so I was intrigued by this version of Lilith. While I did enjoy the storytelling within the book, I did have issues with some of the dialog and writing; The way the characters spoke and the inner dialog of Lilith would vacillate between modern and archaic which became confusing and took me out of the story.
I did appreciate the feminist retellings of some very well known biblical stories, and how the female characters in those stories, who are typically minor side characters, were the main focus.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of Lilith in exchange for my honest review.

Lilith is a theme, character, story, that has always intrigued me, so as soon as I heard about this book, I knew I wanted to read it.
It wasn't what I expected. That doesn't mean it isn't good...it just caught me off guard, but the intrigue was there and I couldn't stop reading.
There is an underlying theme that never really gets dealt with...it is just always there, in the background, how women are treated, have been treated and as you read this story, you realizing there is an underlying level of anger within all of us regarding this treatment.
While the story starts at creation and follows along with the stories we've read in the bible, there's a lot of leeway too , where the author takes you on a journey.
Like I said, I was intrigued enough to finish the book.

This book was odd. Right off the bat, I loved the cover and the description really sucked me in. Overall though I had trouble getting up the motivation to pick this one up. I really thought this new take on what happened in the garden of eden was going to blow me away but it did not meet expectations. I think the author's writing style was part of that.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an oppression to read an ARC of this book.

Not for me. I think I was hoping for a more elegant historical fiction/fantasy and the modern tone was just too much.

I think this is a perfect book for someone. I think I just must not be smart enough cuz I struggled to follow the story with the writing style

I was first drawn to Lilith by the fierce description. The premise was clear: a decisively feminist retelling of the Hebrew creation myth. Finally, a chance for Lilith to reclaim her story and power. An epic journey throughout the stories of history all to right the wrongs down to woman. As someone who grew up hearing these stories as part of my religion, and has always struggled with a lot of the blatantly misogynistic aspects of them, I was enraptured by the story. The plot itself was inspired and triumphant.

However, despite my strong desire to be sucked in by this story and be a part of the reclamation, I struggled to make my way through it due to the writing. It was filled with lush, descriptive details, but when it mattered most (when characters were interacting or plot was being moved forward) the writing read as very simple, out of place with the time, and undemanding. I had hoped that it would develop as the characters and plot did, but it did not and it did the story a disservice.

This novel is a stunning and riveting story inspired by ancient myths and suppressed scriptures. It narrates how women came to be suppressed and controlled by men, focusing on the character of Lilith, the first woman who was banished for believing she was equal to Adam. The novel covers several biblical characters and events, including the building of the Ark, but the story is less about the origin of man or religion than the beginning of the subjugation of women. The story is beautifully written, with a balance that shows how much and how little things have changed, but it offers hope for our collective future. The novel takes the reader through millennia with Lilith as she tries to spread the word that only she knows to be true, that the religion that many flock to is fraudulent. The characterization of some characters needs work, and the beginning of the novel moves too fast, which can be overwhelming. However, by the middle-end, the story is perfect, and the reader is able to form connections with the characters. The novel is a masterpiece that deserves a place alongside Circe and is perfect for those interested in mythology, religion, and women's rights. Overall, it is a stunning, enlightening, and riveting story that the reader will not forget

Lilith was really beautifully written. I really enjoyed this different perspective of well know stories. At times, the story could be fast and difficult to follow, at others, slow. Overall, I enjoyed this book!

This was a good read! The book might be a bit modern for some that were expecting a more accurate version of Lilith. I thought the book was funny at times, emotional, and drama filled.

Thank you NetGalley for the ebook ARC!

Lilith was such a fascinating read. This book brought to me a new perspective on retailing's and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I can't say i absolutely adored the writing or where the story led me. But it was different and interesting and sometimes a change of pace is nice.

The narrative style of this book really bothered me. I felt like there was a lack of depth, which made both the setting and the character development lackluster. I also thought that the dialogue was too modern. I was expecting something similar to Madeline Miller or Natalie Haynes.

That is to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book. This is a heard one for me to rate. My feelings about it are truly all over the place. It tells the story of Lilith, the first woman according to Judaism and a figure that has been claimed by many modern witches, from her point of view. I feel like I may have gotten more out of parts of this had I known more about Jewish mythology. What I do know is that this story takes a feminist look at the mythology of Lilith all those she interacted with over the course of (I’m assuming ) the first testament. And then up to modern day. Parts of this book were beautifully written and insightful. Parts were downright boring. Overall the book left me feeling kind of “meh”.

Marmery really did her homework for this retelling. There's nothing like having your own foundational myth flipped. I didn't love "Lilith" quite as much as Marmery's prior novel "On Wilder Seas" because it was not as plot-driven and much more philosophical (and sometimes repetitively so as Lilith encounters different women) but it really, truly, made me ponder how much differently the Jewish and Christian religions could have unfolded if not so repressively and cruelly patriarchal, conveniently embracing some ancient texts and suppressing others.

If Lilith was kicked out of the Garden of Eden before the curse, she could indeed be both wise and immortal! I never thought about the implications of this before. In this feminist spin, she carries the truth of the Divine Feminine through the centuries, encountering familiar figures from the Torah and the Bible, hoping to find women who will listen to her Truth and carry it forward. The women she finds who are bold enough to call for the worship of the Queen of Heaven are invariably stamped out and demonized as wicked whores, along with the message, in favor of a single-male-god religion, and their places of worship burned and razed to the ground. Right up to the present day, Lilith is still present in the world and still hopes women will listen.

I feel very conflicted on the character of Lilith with in novel; as a person with jewish heritage Lilith is a character used to speak on the greed and darker aspects of humanity. However I have found that Marmery is not of Jewish decent or faith which makes me lean towards this portal of Lilith is based on Christianity; so on that aspect of her character I cannot speak. The story its self was a read that is very similar to that of Madeline Miller's Circe; Lilith does understand the themes and ideas that the story is trying to covey it lacks the heart that Millers work has knowing that we are supposed to understand Circe and what lead her to her darker actions. Lilith rather gabbles with the idea that the reader is ready for a villain arc rather than a retelling.

With a title like just plain "Lilith," and my immediate assumption being okay, please tell me this is apocryphal/kind of biblical/demon/vampire/oh-my-god-we-all-love Lilith. And I was glad to find out that it is! We've seen a lot of recent interpretations, all of them different, in recent media that depict Lilith whether it was "Supernatural" making her at first a creepy demon child and then a woman who tricked Sam and Dean and hell on earth, etc, or it was the Sabrina Netflix reveal which personally I... yeah -- that was a different interpretation and let's leave it at that. There was also the "True Blood" horrendous Lilith and Bill and Lilith thing and I just ... okay, that just another interpretation. I haven't been able to find an interpretation in visual media of Lilith that I like. The closest I have ever gotten is the Lucifer comics that were a springboard-off from Neil Gaiman's Sandman for the Lucifer who appears in that Sandman universe, and Mazikeen. Oh, how I love Mazikeen.

Anyway, back to Lilith and this book. The book wastes no time making Adam of the Bible seeming like a complete douche, pretty much. Then when Lilith doesn't "play her part" the wrathful angels come after her. They're frightening. And then there's Eve--in this version, Lilith tried to warn Eve, but Eve wasn't having any of it, and so God re-made Lilith into a demon. She also talks about being blessed by another deity (I think?) Asherah and because of that, Lilith has wings.

The book is told in the style of a sort of "Circe" kind of vibe where it's like an epic poem or like Homer's Odyssey but it's kind of shaped more to appeal to modern readers. It reads very much in the same vein as a Dante's Inferno, and seems to stick to a chronological imagining of "this is how things went down," which is fine for the readers who enjoy it! I was expecting more like... okay, are we going to diverge from the Lilith narrative? Are you going to show us how she's doing something other than what we already know she did -- ish?

She gets involved with, as you might imagine, Sammael, AKA one of the names of Lucifer. She also gets involved with Ereshkigal, who comes to us from Mesopotamian mythology as a dark goddess of the Underworld.

And then we get into Noah's Flood .. She starts to find out as time passes and she goes to all these different places, how her legend grew, and how people turned her into this jezebel who drinks the blood of infants.

I've decided to give the book.a 4 overall because the writing is of a good quality.

I've always been interested in the mythos of Lilith, Adam's purported & greatly vilified "first wife", so I requested this novel quite eagerly. While I enjoyed the concept, I did have a few issues with this book, particularly the whole section with Jezebel, which was just too over-the-top. However, the Garden of Eden & the Ark sections were exactly what I wanted from this one. I'm glad I read it & would recommend to those who think they'd be interested in this mythology. My thanks to the publisher & Net Galley for the complimentary DRG, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.