This is the sequel to my previous read, Queenmaker. That book showed tremendous promise but was hampered by the first-person viewpoint of a woman confined to a palace and removed from all action. It felt like one long dialog and very much like the author's first novel. Still, I owned the sequel already and I liked the premise, so I decided to give Wisdom's Daughter a chance. I'm so glad I did!

This book was exquisite. It corrected the problems of the first book in a huge way - there were multiple characters to follow, each with a distinct view on the same events. There are several different settings, and in this volume they are fully realized. Most of all, it is enlightening, witty, and sparkling with chemistry. The book begins with Bilquis, the Queen of Sheba, journeying north to the land of the acclaimed Solomon the Wise to find a female heir for Sheba. The heir turns out to be Baalit, Solomon's own beloved daughter of his true love first wife. Bilquis and Solomon have incredible chemistry,and I don't mean in a sexual sort; they are two intelligent, lonely adults who have found their match. Baalit is a delightful main character, too, who feels confined by the male-dominant Hebrew society and obviously is looking back on her 14-year-old self and shaking her head at her youthful errors. Wisdom's Daughter even manages to build on the main character of the previous book, Queen Michal, and makes her feel more real and genuine, even though she is dead.

Another quirk I loved about this book - King Solomon's queens. As I recall from my Sunday School days, Solomon was maligned for taking brides from pagan lands and letting them continue their believes in Jerusalem, which was then blamed for the fall of the kingdom. That is all covered here, but it includes some of the perspectives of the queens themselves and shows them as sad, lonely figures. They are far from home, married against their will, and all they have to cling to of their home is the old gods - and for some, those are even exaggerated to provide them some comfort and refuge. It provides an enlightening, more feminist view of these women who are voiceless and blamed.

This is an excellent work of historical fiction, and I highly recommend it for those who would love to explore a mostly-ignored period of time. This isn't a romance, and it's definitely not Christian in focus. It's just plain good. It will be joining The Red Tent on my shelf. ( )