I also began to understand that the gift of wisdom can be a double-edged sword. It can blend with human wisdom so imperceptibly that we can be deceived into believing we are still fully heeding God’s wisdom when in fact we’re relying on our own, as happened with Solomon. My only complaint here is that I felt as though this theme didn’t become clear until towards the end. The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes. It would please me best if, at the last, a marble stone shall record that this Queen having lived such and such a time, lived and died a virgin.’

I absolutely adored this story. I'm a major fan of both Abishag and Nicaula 😍😍 Naamah was cool. As for Siti 😡⁣ King Solomon pissed me off quite a bit. For all his wisdom, he was a complete fool.⁣ I loved the cameos that King David and Queen Bathsheba had. Truly enjoyed this!! Solomon woos several of his wives with the same poems and sayings, including calling each of them "my dove" and a passage describing Solomon holding and kissing intimately them prior to marriage, resulting in a sexual rise from the lady, only to say "we must wait until love awakens"as he walks away.I have not yet read the individual Loves of King Solomon books, but I thought this book read well by itself, although I may have received a more “rounded” view of the women had I read them beforehand. If you are looking for a romantic view of Israel's (and the world's) wisest king, then this is the book for you. Smith introduces you to four wives of different histories from different times in Solomon's life.

Employing a sort of “low baroque” prose, featuring such nail-snagging tropes as “cantillating with gusto” and “under pressure to cut some existing liegemen adrift”, Mayer exhaustively shades in her pen portrait of Britain over the past half-century, and in so doing the prince’s own baffled visage emerges: the eternally disappointing son of flintily determined parents, he seeks everywhere to emotionally connect, yet is doomed to forever be cut off by the glassy cage of his metonymy, one formed by the myriad lenses he continues to compulsively mug it up for. Several times Mayer observes that Charles and Diana had more in common with each other than they ever realised; he may seem a highly intelligent and thoughtful man, but I fear this is only by contrast with his notably stolid stablemates. If he were the truly subversive figure implied by my own dope-smoking anecdote, then like his late first wife – although for very different reasons – he might have smashed this cage to smithereens. A must-read ... this important book is nothing short of a manual to our future King's world-view' GQ The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it whichever way He wishes. Stars for this biblical historical fiction novel. This novel follows the life of Solomon and 4 of the prominent women in his life - Naamah the Ammonitess, the mother of Rehoboam (who followed Solomon as king); Abishag - the shunamite who was in David's harem and was the subject of Adonijah's downfall; The Pharaoh's daughter (Ms. Smith named her Siti), who received her own palace and had the city of Gezer as part of her dowry, and the Queen of Sheba (named Nicauala in this book). While there was some overlap in the women's stories, it seemed that each woman got approximately a quarter of the book, starting with Naamah and ending with Nicaula. The book stayed as true to scripture as it could (there was a good bit of speculation, which is what makes it biblical FICTION) and told the story in a fresh and realistic way.

The former Prince of Wales has lived his whole life in the public eye, yet he remains an enigma. He was born to be king, but he aims much higher. A landmark publication, Charles: The Heart of a King reveals Charles in all his complexity: the passionate views that mean he will never be as remote and impartial as his mother; the compulsion to make a difference and the many and startling ways in which the Prince and now King of the United Kingdom and fifteen other realms has already made his mark. The Library's buildings remain fully open but some services are limited, including access to collection items. We're

Smith poses and explores the question of whether Solomon’s wisdom ultimately helped or hindered him and how his relationship with God was affected. Even though I had already read the bulk of this story, I enjoyed every minute of it and it never felt stale or repetitive. Smith always writes fantastic Biblical fiction and I definitely recommend this one! I love the way that Jill Smith makes me feel that I’m an observer in the palace watching all these events take place. We not only see this story from Solomon’s point of view, but a large part of the story is from the viewpoints of four women in his life: Naamath, his first wife; Abishag, who took care of King David in his last years, Siti, his Egyptian wife; and the Queen of Sheba. Following their storylines helped me to better understand how all of Solomon’s marriages influenced the political situation of the nation of Israel. As we read through this book, the author never lets us forget that Solomon, in spite of all his wisdom, chose to ignore God’s clear commands about how a king of Israel should live in regards to marriage and material gain. I was by turns very aggravated at Solomon or felt great pity for him. I have to admit that I’ve wondered how a man who had that many wives would find peace, and there’s a slight glimmer of humor as Solomon has to deal with all their requests. The book offers fresh and fascinating insights into the first marriage that did so much to define him and an assessment of his relationship with the woman he calls, with unintended accuracy, his 'dearest wife': Camilla, now Queen Consort. We see Charles as a father and a friend, a serious figure and a joker. Life at court turns out to be full of hidden dangers and unexpected comedy.The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He pleases. These descriptions bothered me as Solomon did not reveal himself as a man in love, rather he sounded like a sexual predator, manipulating his most current victim. While I understand many readers may not interpret Solomon's words and characters in this way, I could not shake the feeling that Solomon was a master manipulator. I love how the author can bring what is in Scripture to life and flesh out the people we only read about. They were real with feelings, failures, struggles, and shortcomings. I think every time I read Jill's biblical fiction novels, she makes me look inward to my own self and evaluate my own heart. And that's a good thing in my book! It brings me closer to the heart of God every time. Reading through the book of Ecclesiastes has always made me wonder about King Solomon. How could this king, to whom God Himself spoke and grant the gift of wisdom, write a book that reads so very much like the futility in our society today? Jill Eileen Smith has written an intriguing book about the life of King Solomon. Following the Biblical account very closely, she brings his story to life as we follow him through the politically turbulent years of his reign; his many marriages; and his search for true peace of heart and mind.