Heart of the King: An Epic Fantasy Adventure (The Lords of Alekka Book 4)

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The Heart of a King by Jill Eileen Smith is an intriguing imagining of the life of King Solomon and “the women he loved.” Overall, The Heart of a King was an intriguing, gripping look into the life of one of history's most famous kings. Highly recommended for fans of well-written Biblical fiction. My first book by this author but not my last. A well written Biblical Fiction that was easy to read and easy to keep up with the characters. I love the way she described Solomon’s love and the sacrifice he did for God. This story of Solomon and four of his wives were enlightening. I never thought about the king taking a wife or more wives just to form alliances with another country. Of course it’s no secret that Solomon let his wives and women turn his faith away from the one true God. I think the author did a great job describing and showing us the personalities of each wife and Solomon. To be the wisest man ever lived he sure let women turn his head. To me this shows even more that darkness should have no part of our lives if we are trying to live for God. And that no matter how close we think we are to God “things” will pull us away if we are not careful. This is what I like about Christian Fiction. If you let it, it will speak to you in some form, confirming the Word of God. So all this being said I love the way this book is written, the description of the homes and the gardens, it made me want to sit out on the bench outside that magnificent palace. Each wife portrayed had a different personality and experience with Solomon, as would be expected. Seeing things from the viewpoint of his Egyptian wife was interesting, especially considering she is the one who had a palace built for her outside Jerusalem. As a result, we learned the author's speculation on how this came about to be mentioned in the Bible. While I didn't much like the personalities of the women, I very much enjoyedntheir stories. Nicaula was the fourth wife and queen of Sheba. I loved her second to Abishag. She was smart, kind, pure. Everything about her screamed royalty. She did almost make some dumb mistakes, but she felt convicted about them. I loved her desire to know more about God. She ruled well. Carried herself as a queen and didn't allow Solomon to play with her emotions. Of the four she was the most intellectual.

I’m a huge fan of biblical fiction and have enjoyed many of Jill Eileen Smith’s books in the past, but this one definitely left me with mixed feelings. My new favorite from this author, The Heart Of A King is a novel I think lovers of biblical fiction would very much enjoy reading! Let tyrants fear. I have always so behaved myself that, under God, I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and good-will of my subjects; and therefore I am come amongst you, as you see, at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the midst and heat of the battle, to live and die amongst you all; to lay down for my God, and for my kingdom, and my people, my honour and my blood, even in the dust. The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it whichever way He wishes. Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Charles share a joke as Raymond Blanc looks on during the 2014 Edible Garden Show. Photograph: WPA Pool/Getty Images

Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits

In writing a biography of someone who is first and foremost a figuration, one that cannot by definition be transparent, the sensible course is to examine what exactly he’s a figuration of – and this is the approach Mayer adopts. Yes, she has some interview subjects: princely besties such as Emma Thompson and Nicholas Soames, but what they have to say is anodyne, while the positive remarks of staff members and campaigning associates is for the most part dreadfully dreary hagiography. On some of the hoo-ha the prince has triggered – from the “Spider” memos, to the seven boiled eggs, to his position on Islam – Mayer has had to rely on second and even third-hand testimony. However, this doesn’t matter, because by anatomising what the prince is emblematic of, she reacquaints us with – gulp! – ourselves. This book brought four of Solomon's wives to life: Naamah, Abishag, Siti and Nicaula, the queen of Sheba. All became characters that you cared about for different reasons. Some of them there is very little known about but that, too, is something that this author handled well.

With tenderness and hopefulness, this story will wrap you up and put you in the center of a time, that is only read about in the Bible, of a time many have forgotten to remember. The rich historic detail is vivid and captivating and Smith has once again managed to make me fall in love with yet another amazing book. This is beyond 5 star worthy and I hope you, too, will fall in love with the story of Solomon and his loves. King Solomon was a very layered man. Reading this book gives you insight and perspective into this wise king. My favorite aspect of the story is the way the author pulled so in much of the Old Testament. I loved Solomon and David's excitement as they planned the temple and the descriptions of the temple and the sacrifices once it was built. Bits of wisdom from Proverbs and portions of the Song of Solomon were sprinkled through the book as were portions of Ecclesiastes. This was done quite well. Nicaula, the virgin Queen of Sheba who seeks Solomon's wisdom and a trade agreement. In her search, she finds wisdom for herself in a relationship with the God of Israel. Although I cannot say I agree with all of the author’s creative licenses, I believe she did a masterful job of weaving a fascinating story of “what might have been” in the life of the wisest man who ever lived.Not all of the wives are believers. The contrast between the four wives adds interest in the book. I particularly enjoyed the dissonance between Siti and Nicaula. Solomon's relationship with Adonai seems weak. Namaah and Abishag mention the strength of his faith, but it is not apparent to the reader. Yes, we are give the prayer when God offers Solomon anything and grants him wisdom and descriptions of his obsession with the building of the temple. The temple obsession is not a convincing argument for his love of Adonai, just his love of his father and fulfilling a duty.