The Garden of Eden

The Garden of Eden #1

by L.L. Hunter

Eden Daylesford is a sixteen year old Nephilim girl stuck smack bang in the middle of a war between angels and demons. And the bad thing is that she shares both of their blood. When her mother takes her to the Michaelite Sanctuary in London to try to get rid of the deadly trait that has started to appear - one that hasn't been seen in a long time - it could stop Eden from forming any sort of relationship with anyone, including the tempting Asher. Eden has no idea just how powerful she is... Will she learn to embrace her new ability and accept her new role, or go back to her old life of an ordinary human teenager? Will she be tempted? The enticing first book in the spin off novella series to The Legend of the Archangel. Set after events in The Chronicles of Fire and Ice.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Angels, Young Adult, Paranormal

154 pages, Paperback

First published August 30, 2013

About the author

L.L. Hunter is the author of over 20 published works, including The Legend of the Archangel Series and The Eden Chronicles. She has studied everything from veterinary nursing, forensic science, and dramatic arts, but has always known her true calling was to be an author. 

She has been writing since her teens - everything from fan fiction, to song lyrics, to plays and musicals. When not working on her next paranormal romance, she can be found at home in Australia, reading somewhere comfortable with one or both of her “fur babies.” Follow her on Facebook (Facebook.com/llhunterbooks, Twitter @llhunterbooks, and her blog - http://llhunter.blogspot.com.au.

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Reviews

[Airicka Phoenix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay so The Garden of Eden by L.L. Hunter is a spinoff of her really awesome The Chronicles of Fire and Ice series and I thought it was fabulous!

So. Eden.

Love this girl. She's badass!!
And Asher...

I just love all of Ms. Hunter's men. They're all just delicious.

But back to the book.

So, The Garden of Eden is about 16yrold Eden, who is a Nephilim girl with some wicked strange powers. When said powers begin to manifest in ways that become a danger, her mother takes her to an institution where people there can help Eden.

Now the only problem I had with the whole book was the length. I know. I know. It was a novella, but darn it all! I wanted MORE ASHER!! *sulk* *grip*

All in all, tons of suspense, romance and danger. I can't wait to see what this lovely author writes for us next!!

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Garden of Eden was really good, it left you wanting more, I think my biggest complain was that it felt too short, I could read forever about Asher and Eden. The twist in the middle concerning Eden seemed to surprise I so did not see her making that decision but I felt she justified it towards the end. I knew there was something off about Jazmine, I still don't know what it is. We only got glimpses of it in the story. I wanted to know so much more about the Nephilim and Eden's family background again we were only given little detail but that detail we did get grabbed your attention and had you hanging onto every word. I can't wait to read the next chapter in The Eden Chronicles.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...................3.5 stars.


Song Choice: "Time Is Running Out" BY Muse, and "I Wasn't Prepared" by Eisley.

First thoughts: I am conflicted. On one hand I really liked this. On the other hand....I had some disagreements with it. Overall as this is my first thoughts, I thought this could have been expanded on, honestly I think it would have worked quite wonderfully as a full length novel, if not a longer novella. I will go more in depth about that later. But if i was to take that statement out of it i thought it was a very interesting, fun read. Quickly paced, with both a mixture of light and dark humors/tones I thought it was really cool.

Thoughts on Plot: So here is where I was mostly conflicted about. I thought there was soo so so so so so much potential for this to be a full length novel that i was wondering why we were rushing through parts that could have been expanded, and slowed down on. The story was developing fast, and don't get me wrong I LOVE my reading materials to start off fast and going. Which this did, but as much as I love that, somethings in this moved a little too fast for me. And as my friends who have read L.L. Hunter's other series and i kept bothering saying that i thought you HAD to read the first series that this was a spin-off first (you don't by the way) but i was convinced for awhile that you did. That isn't to say that i didn't like this book, I really truly enjoyed it I just wish that more time was spent developing relationships, and the world.
Now my second thing about this is a bit of my own philosophy... i shouldn't say philosophy... i don't really know what to call it but it has to go into a sort of spoiler. its not that spolier-ish but i know someone will get mad if i don't hide it.

okay so the whole reaper thing, death for me is unavoidable. and i thought it would have been interesting to see L.L. Hunter portraying it in a different light than she did. Okay i think i would have been alright with how it was portrayed again if the world had been expanded on, maybe it is because of the lack of my reading the first series to get the REAL grasp of it, but according to friends you really didn't need to read the first series...so if that is the case, i am sticking to my guns. sorry <3

Kay but i did mention earlier this story moves fast and i love that, the writing is a lot time is what helps with that, I really enjoyed the mixed tones of light, romantic feels, while also still feeling helpless and dark. Awesome :D

Characters:

Eden: She was kind of awesome. I really liked her. she made awesome decisions. :D!!! i am not being sarcastic. anyways she was sassy but also i felt that there was so much more we could have learned about her. But when she talked she had a snarky come back and was ready to beat you down with sass. She was very real to me because at times she seemed almost indecisive which is totally awesome because aren't we all?

Asher: Hey there cutie. He was interesting character. I thought he had some swoon-astic lines that i will be dreaming about for the days to come ;) but at times I wasn't sure whether i wanted to punch him for being such a guy or hug L.L. Hunter to making him also very realistic, being in his head felt real, it was awesome. :D

The ending. :| YOU .... NOT NICE. NOT NICE. Yes I will totally be reading the next one, and look forward to other works by L.L. Hunter.


So check out my other reviews here: http://theviolethourbookreviews.wordp...

[Jacinta Maree · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Garden of Eden was the exact thing I was looking for, thank you to author L.L Hunter for this gorgeous, breathing taking book about the world of Angels and Demons. Poor Eden Daylesford is just sixteen years old, meant to be in the prime of her high school life but fate has other plans for her. Her mother takes her away to Michaelite Sanctuary in London, in hopes of removing a forming, deadly trait that has been nested inside of Eden since the beginning. A trait mind you that is far more powerful than she could've imagined.

This was a great first taste to a great series, I was flipping the pages in my disbelief that it was over. I. Love. Asher!
Oh my god, he is everything a book boyfriend should be and more. I also loved their relationship, and how Eden and Asher interacted with each other. They were just so cute, I was biting my smile and giggling almost half the time.

Everything was just so unique, the characters were loveable I seriously felt for Eden and her hard choices. Absolutely gorgeous book, great read, loving characters and a twist to kick you out of your chair! Five Stars all the way!!

[Justine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.
I just want to say that I think this is one of my favourite covers! It's perfect and I love purple! I enjoyed this novella because it was a mixture, it combined angels, demons and mythology! I found that to be pretty cool and make for a great read. I did find a few areas that were confusing I think if there had been a little bit more detail I wouldn't have been confused.i liked the little bit of romance even though it was insta- love. I found the characters fun to read about and I want to learn more about them. I want to know more about the villain and their motives and the outcomes. Besides being a bit confusing I found The Garden of Eden to be an interesting read.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this is my favourite story by L.L. Hunter to date despite being tricked into thinking this was a full length novel. The story just grabbed me and I look forward to reading more in the series. I would recommend this novella to both angel and demons lovers and to those who enjoy mythology.

[Heather andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Lakyn cannot help you. Come on, let's go in." Damn straight Lakyn can't help you he's all sorts of a**. Eden she's a saucy little thing, but know who he daddy is I expected nothing less, "I don't need help I'm fine, really. Anyway it's not like this place is like any kind of rehab." Asher I loved him (yes another one I loved Laura) "sorry, that's so rude of me. I was raised better. I'm Asher." Eden and Asher are kind of awkward towards one another at first it's cute it reminds me of a crush in grade school, "when I looked at him, and he caught me, he looked away and back at his dessert." There were some steamy scenes and anyone who knows me, knows I love a good steamy (winks), "the position was doing all sorts of bad things to my body." Asher liked being in his mind more than Eden's probably because it's more unfiltered, "ye. Definitely crazy. I was crazy, and she was crazy. Match made in Hell." (that's literally in case you're wondering people.) Um... yeah the ending I didn't like it and I can't say why, BUT I can go yell at the author now and tell her why

[Melissa Crowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

16 year old Nephilim Eden is on the run from the dark forces that run through her veins. Her mother has taken her into hiding with the Michaelites, but this only causes more dramas and sees her escaping.
A job offer from The Grim Reaper looks like it could answer some of Eden’s questions on who she is and help her harness her powers, but this only leads to further danger.
Great storyline. Great characters. This is a spin off to The Legend of the Archangel, which I have not read and do not feel like I am missing anything as this story stands on its own two feet.
I haven’t read a lot of the fallen angel, nephilim genre, but this book has left me with a need to know more. I highly recommend it.

[Candy Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy Cow,I did not see that ending coming at all! L.L. Hunter takes you on a journey inside of the life of Eden.She is half angel and half demon.When her trait appears it can prove to be devastating. All Eden wants is to be a normal teenager but that is no longer an option when her trait becomes a danger to all.Her mother seeks refuge at a Michaelite Sanctuary in hopes of finding her help to control it.Meeting Asher, a boy who lives there,could be her undoing.The choices she makes can either save or destroy them.And not everyone one is who they seem to be and no one should be trusted.

[Tammy Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Garden of Eden is a great start to a what could be a wonderful well rounded series. I was totally into the story it is a grab you by the seat of your pants pay attention kind of book. I enjoyed the characters especially Eden and Asher. I was a bit confused by the story and I think had there been a little more back round to it there would be less confusion. Over all I completely loved the story and am looking forward to learning more about The Eden Chronicles. I can't wait to see where L.L. Hunter takes us next.

[Donna Harms · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must read after The Chronicles of Blood & Stone. Rachel takes Eden to the Michaelites for help with her daughter's gift. Regardless trouble finds Eden if she doesn't find it for herself. A great read and highly recommended!

[Zarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unreadable. I kept starting this and getting two pages, tops, before I had to stop. Needs editing and a new set of characters. I hated Eden. Spoiled, egomaniacal and TSTL. Yuck.

[Kat · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book felt rushed, the world building wasn't explained, I'm assuming that the author expects the reader to have read the other series which this is a spinoff.

I both Eden and Asher are in insta love immediately, which is Typical YA, but it was way too fast and hurried.

Just as I thought we'd be getting to the good part, her training,

(And I had hopes what Seems a good story line, it gets confusing because we jump from her fooling around with Asher on her bed, to her going off to reap souls (which o was ok with... But there's a huge leapfrog (I guess to keep page numbers down)
But with another objective she's worked out (no where in-between the page's of this book! )We're just told in an offhand paragraph, and then it skips and we find out Asher's been to earth on a secret mission... And this is after Abraham has said he can read their thoughts 🤔.
The idiotic kissing and knocking down books and soul's was another ridiculous scene.
It's a shame as the premise is what made me buy the book just didn't develop. Maybe in book 2 it does, but I don't think I will be buying to find out.

[Shekeilah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A paranormal book that took the challenge of having a Nephlim as a main character. I don't see much of Nephlim books, or maybe I haven't read a lot of paranormal books. I can't say that it's great, but it's refreshing.

[Ariana Woodson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty entertaining and was a fast read. It also has an interesting plot to it, but I felt as if it was missing a few chapters of information that ended up making some of the characters, and story to some extent, fall a little flat.

The story is about a 16 year old girl named Eden who also happens to be nephilim. She has a dangerous power that has kept her and her mom moving around quite a bit. It also prevents her from making any meaningful relationships in the event someone gets too close to her and she causes something she can never take back. At their new home at the Sanctuary, Eden meets a young boy named Asher. They have an instant connection, but she knows she can't get too close to him. As events unfold and Eden becomes more determined than ever to be the master of her own fate, she learns more about her powers, her family, and herself.

As I said earlier, the story was pretty interesting. Starting out, it seemed like it would be slightly unoriginal with some kind of a twist thrown in to make itself stand out. However, a few chapters in and it went in a completely different direction that what I was expecting. I really appreciated this from the author. I also liked the different points of view utilized to give the reader multiple points of reference as to what was going on in the story. Although, I will say that sometimes it seemed slightly unnecessary as, for example, Asher would get 2-3 sentences of what just heppened before switching back to Eden. In these situations, Asher's two cents was almost unneeded.

Now as to why I only gave the book 3 stars. I mentioned it briefly earlier, and I feel it warrants knocking this book down to 3 stars. The book just seemed like it was going too fast. Not necessarily fast paced, more like there was some information missing between events. For example, for those who are less familiar with paranormal/supernatural creatures the author doesn't fully explain what a Nephlim is or the difference between them, demons, angels, and humans. The story could follow a different mythology than reality so I felt this should be explained more. Going back to events happening in rapid succession, this also lent to some minor characters not being developed enough. Eden's mom is hardly mentioned after the first few chapters while nothing is mentioned of Asher's absence. It just seemed like the author was rushing to get to the climax and the story didn't fun smoothly for me. As a result, I was left with a feeling of "Wait, what about them? And her? And him?." More explanations and backstory would've made me connect more with the characters. But because there wasn't, instead of anticipating the next book, I'm just kind of like "Well that happened. Guess it would be nice to know how this progresses."

If you want a fast read with an interesting story and some cute romance I would recommend this book to you. But if you want a more in-depth paranormal romance I would move on if I were you.

[Paula Ratcliffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eden has problems boy does she have problems. When she discovers that her trait can literally kill people her mother drags her to a monastery. Hoping this will help training Eden to be a nun, but Eden has other ideas and one of them is a cute boy named Asher. But can she really be with a boy when she can easily kill him?

I loved this book it was told from two points of view Eden's and Asher's. Eden has all sorts of issues I guess that is what happens when you dad is a big bad, and as much as Eden's mother wants her safe nothing can seem to keep Eden from her destiny.

Then we meet Asher who loves everything about Eden from her beauty to her thoughts. Unfortunately when the girl you love can kill you well how can you be together? That is the messy part of this book but I loved it all the same.

I can't wait to see what L.L. Hunter weaves for us next. This book reminds me of authors like Aimee Carter's Goddess series. If people like The Goddess Test Series or The Iron Fey series they will love this. L.L. Hunters writing draws you in and wants you having more and had me hooked and left hanging to see what happens next!! INCREDIBLE, ENGAGING & ADDICTING!!

[Hayley Guertin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Garden of Eden was so good! The book starts out by throwing you right into the story, letting you learn as it progresses. It doesn't waste time on back story or explanation on how everything came to how it is, which I liked.

The book was well written. It was written in a way that made the story go by really fast, which had me read it in one sitting. The book was nice and fast paced, not lingering too long on the stuff that isn't really necessary for the story being told, which made the book that much more enjoyable.

The characters were nice to get to know. We didn't go into too much detail about their past, or anything about them, but we got to know their personalities pretty well. I love that the main character, Eden, fell in love with Asher so fast, almost like love at first sight.

The story kept me interested from beginning to end. I loved reading this book, and I cannot wait to read the next book in the series, Garden of Death, especially since Garden of Eden ends with a huge cliffhanger. I loved the story and the characters, and I am definitely giving this book 5 out of 5 stars.

[Kimberly Schaaf · Rating 4 out of 5]

What has taken me so long to read L.L. Hunter??!! WOW!!

The story world that she has created with Eden and Asher was beautiful. Vividly described and vibrant!!

I truly enjoyed the snarky humor of Eden. She has a vibe that portrays confidence with an uncertainty that you would come to expect from a teenager with a very interesting and problematic trait. She has so much that she wants to know about herself and learn about how to navigate in the world and it was really wonderful to watch her transform from a scared and confused girl to someone with a bit more confidence and certainty about her place.

And Asher...boy oh boy. L.L. does a great job at writing a very yummy book boy. I am anxious to see where he falls into the rest of Eden's story.

I am impatiently awaiting the next book in this series!!

Well written and worth the read!!

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I started reading it last night. I read until I couldn't see anymore and then started up again as soon as possible today.

This is the beginning of a series of books dealing with Nephilim, demons, and the like. The main character is Eden. She is a young Nephilim who also has demon blood in her. She has the touch of death and is in line to become the next Grim Reaper. You follow young Eden to reap her first soul and are saddened when you find out who it is. This is the point when I could not stop reading. I wanted to finish it last night it was that good.

I cannot wait to read the second part of this series!!

[Genieinachanelbottle · Rating 5 out of 5]

LL HUNTER ROCKS!!! The Garden Of Eden is Breathtaking brilliant romantic and funny.. an action-packed and exciting world of Angels Demons & Love!!! I totally fell for all of the characters was hooked from the first page.. Eden is awesome a beautiful sassy fun heroine and queen of sarcasm! ASHER the total Smokin' HOT devilishly funny hero! Abraham MR. Tall Dark & Death yeah we get a sexy reaper hehe.. and Jaz OMG the evil BAD GIRL from hell lolz.. the ending was a killer I NEED TO BUY The Garden of Death LIKE NOW!!!

We want MORE EDEN & ASHER!!! <3

[Tahlia Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was absolutely wonderful, as it used a creative setting. The book uses lots of different ways to see the other person perspective and see how the other characters are feeling. The book uses creative ideas on what each character should act to the different things that happen in there lives. It uses a good set out in which the events happen. I think that the character Eden was presented really we'll. Also Asher was a really cool character as he is a very open minded in what happens to him though out the story. Overall this book was really well written.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like this book, of course i dont like how it ended because now i've got to get the next book to see what happens!! lol I havent decided yet if i am going to get the next book or not, i am reading a few series right now, deciding which ones i am going to continue. I think i might get the next book and continue the series, although it is a Young adult story, so its a lil less mature then things i normally read...but kinda refreshing...has interesting story line

[Lauren Boehm Lynch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the chemistry between Eden and Asher! L.L. Hunter takes you on a wonderful ride as Eden and Asher try to figure out how to help each other and their growing love for one another. The Garden of Eden was a wonderful read! And I so can't wait to read the next book! I received this book for free for a true and honest review.

[Angie Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms. hunter did it once again! garden of Eden is a wonderfully fast past book that I read in one setting and was on the edge of my seat the whole time. major cliff hanger that I just live! very much ready for the next book in this series!

[Kate McQuarrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic book! Wayyy to short though. I need more. I need answers.