The Old Testament is full of profound stories of people still iconically remembered today through novel and movie retellings. My excitement is always piqued by those retellings, and I try to read or watch as many as I can. When the chance came for me to review Jill Eileen Smith’s latest novel, The Heart Of A King, I happily dived in. Here we find no heart and stomach, and no interesting play on the Queen’s femininity or sex. This has led some historians to wonder if Sharp’s later recording of the words is unreliable and inauthentic. 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. We also see him struggle with himself and his god. He seem to questions if he is doing what is right by his god. His he not following God commands or comments? I appreciated the uniqueness of each woman’s story, and how they intertwined, not only with King Solomon, but also with each other throughout their lives.

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. The king's heart is like streams of water. Both are under the LORD's control. He turns them in any direction he chooses. This is a balanced story about Solomon, showing both his mistakes but also his desire to stay true to God. Naamah the Ammonite, his first wife and a friend of his youth. Namaah seeks to know Solomon and his God in a more personal way. She also hopes Solomon will obey God's commands to kings and be the husband of one wife. The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.

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The king's heart is in the hand of Jehovah as the watercourses: He turneth it whithersoever he will. 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.

The heart of a king [is] streams of waters in the hand of YHWH, | He inclines it wherever He pleases. However, I did not enjoy this book very much. The imagined personalities of the first three wives were terrible.

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This novel was a home run for me. It brought the bible to life, and made my longing to dive in deeper that much greater. I look forward to reading more of Smith's novels, and reading them with my bible nearby so I can reference as I'm reading. I can certainly see after reading this why so many people love her books! It is not my desire to live or reign longer than my life and reign shall be for your good. And though you have had, and may have, many mightier and wiser princes sitting in this seat, yet you never had, nor shall have, any that will love you better. Now, updated and revised with a new preface and two new chapters - covering details of Harry and Meghan's exit and its implications, the cash-for-honours scandal, Prince Andrew, and more - this significant study reveals a monarchy threatened and a man in sight of happiness yet still driven by anguish and a remarkable belief system, a charitable entrepreneur, activist, agitator and avatar of the Establishment who just as often tilts against it. My other difficulty was the fact that Solomon spoke love poetry (essentially, passages from Song of Songs) to each of these women when he wooed them, and yet he didn’t seem to love any of them with the depth his words implied. At times it even felt as though he knew he was doing lip service rather than giving expression to his heart. I’m not sure I can quite put into words how that made me feel about Song of Songs—perhaps disillusioned?—but it wasn’t a feeling I welcomed. 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.

We have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety to take heed how we commit ourselves to armed multitudes, for fear of treachery. But I assure you, I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people.I liked reading about his relationships but I totally understood how Naamah and Nicaula both felt-that they wanted the love of one man and didn't want to share him. What a complicated time!