I read this book for the title, description and cover. If I had read more about the author, I would probably have left it on the shelf. I had high hopes for this one but it fell short.
The fictional telling of the Queen of Israel. So many times I thought it might be referring to the Biblical account but as I read, I thought, it must be someone else.
There are scenes the mind concocts that are lovely with the descriptions from the author. There are other descriptions (rape) that I have no desire to read about even though it has existed from the beginning of time.
It is quite unbelievable that such a young child can command and have the knowledge and vocabulary that is created in this story. It could've been really good...perhaps that requires another author.

My views are my own. Book provided by NetGalley & Amphorae Publishing Group, LLC

Sadly enough I had to DNF this book at 60% as I didn't like it enough to continue. I just couldn't really get into the story.

Another book that started out good and fell flat for me. It's not the author who is to blame, it's myself. This book is a based on a good idea, but it just wasn't for me. It has a lot of five star reviews, so many people will enjoy it. Three stars to be fair to the author's writing and research.
I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. Thank you,Netgalley.
All opinions are my own.

I’ve read so many good to excellent books for the HF tours, and this book is one of the best so far. Set in a far away place in a far away time, the writing and meticulous attention to detail creates a story and characters as vivid and real as yesterday. The story intersects between three characters, their rise and fall and rise again in the ancient world of the fertile crescent. Makeda is a striking contrast to her sister Bilkis; both are matriarchal rulers of their respective lands, keepers of law and culture. Yetzer’s journey, both spiritual and professional, is a fascinating look at early Freemasonry, and it’s no surprise that when the three cross paths dams threaten to break and the earth shakes. What I truly love about the author’s style is how accessible the ancient world becomes through the eyes of his characters. This will definitely be a re-read in my future.

I was part way through this book but time and interest just got the better of me. I will go back to it again as I find the subject matter intriguing. I have posted a spotlight on my blog.

Half-sisters Bilkis and Makeda are daughters of the Mukarrib or chieftain of Saba. When a flood overruns the land, Bilkis does her best to protect Makeda, but Blikis is swept away in the waters for her efforts. Bilkis is believed to have perished in the flood, but is found by merchants making their way to Yisrael. On their journey, Bilkis' caravan is attacked and she is claimed by the King of Yisrael. Bilkis soon learns the ways of a Queen and orchestrates people and events to her whims. Bilkis grows and secures her son to the throne, ruling still through him. She decides a temple should be built and is surprised when stonemason Yeltzer is chosen for the job. In Saba, Makeda has earned her place as Mukarrib after her father passed and her mother sacrificed after building a dam to secure water for Saba's future. Years pass and the earthen dam is soon to fail. When Makeda learns of a builder of stone, she follows a a trader to Yisrael to discover her sister once again.


The story of the Queen of Sheba is veiled in mystery. The time period of around 550 BCE is not very well documented, however Marc Graham manages to bring the stories of Bilkis, Makeda and Yeltzer alive. In addition to these characters that the narrative alternates between, the landscape, dwellings, rituals and beliefs are richly described. I was amazed at how well I could connect with the lives of these people that lived so long ago. Their motivations and emotions resonated through the years. Bilkis and Makeda's relationship as well as their choices made while Queen were incredibly interesting. Bilkis and Makeda are two sides of the same coin, both strong leaders who are destined to rule; yet, one is guided by force and manipulation and the other with care and sympathy for her people. Yeltzer's character as the builder of the Temple of Urusalim was fascinating to follow, his life seemed destined to be continuous trial and heartbreak and he always seemed to make to best of his situation. The journeys of all three characters ends with the promise of more, and I would love to read more. The story of these characters and the writing carries through and resonates throughout many years creating a harmony of time and place, bringing to life a story of people who have only been known to us through a few verses of religious texts.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

Song of Songs by Marc Graham is a captivating historical novel set in Ancient Egypt that tells the story of the Queen of Sheba, her sister Bathsheba, and the man that came between them.

Ancient Egypt is one of my most favorite settings to read. I remember as a child I would ask my mom to buy me books on the Pharoahs and antiquities and I would pour over them for hours! Song of Songs reminded me of why I love it so much!

The book is told alternatively between Sheba, Bathsheba, and Yetzer, as we witness the events that take place after a great flood hits Sheba and Bathsheba's lands, separating the sisters and setting them along their new paths.

All three characters were great, though I would have liked to have spent more time with Sheba (or Makeda as she is called in the novel). Each woman was powerful and strong in her own way. Bathsheba was the tougher of the two, and her rise to the top was intriguing to read.

All three storylines combine at the end of the novel to bring it full circle, and ends in a most satisying way.

Evocative and fascinating, Song of Songs was a gripping read that I higly enjoyed. You should definitely pick this up if you want to be transported back in time!

I DNFed this title at 19%.

Reasons:
- Over-sexualization of female characters. (A man beheads most of the people in the camp, but he makes one "funny" sound and the woman laughs coquettishly and is in love with him. An 11-year-old describes her older sister as having full lips and the "curves of womanhood". Apparently, none of the men are capable of looking at women without noticing their breasts, hips, scent, etc.)
- Sexual violence against female characters that does not advance the plot (including a child r*pe).
- General violence that also isn't well explained. (Why did that guy behead everyone?)
- Long, descriptive passages that make it hard to follow the plot. (Okay, the description certainly helps bring the setting to mind, but there are often several pages of description for a few lines of dialogue/action).
- It's not clear why we should invest ourselves into the characters. (To be fair, I might not have given it enough time.)

If you choose to read it, beware there are vivid descriptions of r*pe, war violence and death.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year because I love biblical fiction! I find the Queen of Sheba to be one of the most remarkable women in the Bible. This retelling was very original. It was well-written and full of historical details. Full review to come on the day of the blog tour.

Song of Songs by Marc Graham tells the story of the Queen of Sheba. I would probably call it historical fiction, although the Queen’s existence is disputed and historians never confirmed that she actually existed. Because of the writing style, however, it reads like a historical piece. There are many descriptions of everyday life in that time, but it is very captivating throughout. Something different always seems to be happening. The story is told from three different perspectives: Makeda, the Queen of Saba (Sheba); Bilkis, Makeda’s sister and Queen of Yisrael; and Yetzer, son of a builder. There are, however, some points in the story where many chapters in a row focus on one character. I was very anxious to get to another person’s story after a while.

The synopsis that is described when you look up Song of Songs is as follows: slave-born Makeda becomes Queen of Saba after her sister is wiped away by a flood and both her parents die. The livelihood of Saba depends on the dam that collects flood water and disperses this over the land in an irrigation system. When the dam starts crumbling, Makeda travels to Yisrael to ask for the help of master builder Yetzer. Upon her arrival, she discovers that her sister Bilkis is very much alive, and thriving as Queen of Yisrael. Bilkis intends to marry Makeda off to her son in order to keep the throne in the family, however, Makeda falls in love with Yetzer.

This part of the story, however, doesn’t happen until about 80% in. The rest is all a description of the growing up of the three characters as well as an introduction into how their futures where shaped to become what they are in the end. Even though I enjoyed reading about this very much, and I loved seeing the evolvement of the different people, I was constantly waiting for the synopsis that I’d read about to start. I feel that the fact that the part that I was expecting came so late, ruined some of the joy of the beginning of the story for me. Expectation management is very important in this case. I would recommend changing the synopsis that can be found on Goodreads for example, to prevent this from happening again with other readers.

One final thing that I want to mention is that I didn’t enjoy reading about so much violence. Sacrificing innocent babies, chronically dying parents, rape, incest, burning people in molten bronze. Not my cup of tea and very cringe-worthy at times. I do, however, admit that I realise that it’s part of the time and the setting of the story. So I’m willing to forgive a bit more (especially since I’m also a large Game of Thrones fan, where things like that are very common as well).

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and would certainly recommend it to fans of historical fiction.

This was an incredibly intricate piece of historical fiction, telling the story of Makeda or as we know her, the Queen of Sheba, and her half sister Bilkis, as well as builder Yetzer who meets the sisters after coming to build a temple in Yisrael. While the story was interesting and the characters were well developed, I could’ve done with a bit more Makeda and a bit less Bilkis. I found myself wanting to relish more in the happy ending for Makeda and Yetzer and found the comeuppance for Bilkis to be a bit lacking.

The story starts with a seven year old Makeda and with heavy rains falling on Saba lands. As the flood comes, its strong currents take everything and everyone with its course. The waters sweep Makeda and wash her with the rest of the storm’s debris.

Bilkis, half-sister of Makeda, after the flood is found at a desert by strangers. She is taken to Urusalim with their caravan. Her path leads her to become the Princess of Yisreal. She gets married to Auriyah, a prince of the Habiru.

Yetzer, son of a mason, is a craftsman. He is skillful with his hands, but he yearns for knowledge. When explosion of rock kills his father and injures him, he is nursed back to health and at the same time taught by Pharaoh’s daughter. “Kemet is the very heart of wisdom and learning,” where he wishes to remain. He wants to be enlightened. He gets his chance, but he is also warned that his trial would leave him “enlightened, enslaved or embalmed.” His path takes him to a different greatness, the one that involves his hands, building Urusalim’s famed temple.

With Makeda’s father gone, her mother has her people working on a dam, clearing the channels blocked by silts and debris and revitalize the fields. After the death of her mother, Makeda inherits her father’s titles along with a crumbling dam. Upon hearing of great temple being built in Urusalim, her path takes her there in hope of learning how to build a permanent dam.

The stories of three main characters develop individually and later connect creating some rivalry and some love.

The story is richly imagined, set in a time when the gods rule over the lands, either bringing so needed rain or punishing people with floods. But I had a hard time connecting with the characters. Yetzer’s character is the most interesting one. However, at some parts descriptive writing overshadows the characters.