Typically I don't like reading fantasy historical fiction books, but this book was a great read. It had so many little details of scripture and ancient Israel that made it so much more enjoyable. I like learning about scripture with historical context and even though this story was fiction, it really felt like it was real at times. Just an FYI the setting is during king Solomon's time.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me a digital copy to review!

I had to stop reading about halfway through (around page 130) because it felt like there wasn’t much of a plot. The constant use of footnotes, like Moshe¹, started out helpful, but quickly became exhausting, especially when some pages had three or four of them explaining Hebrew terms, greetings, or cultural references. While I appreciate the effort to make the text more accessible, from an outsider’s perspective, it sometimes felt unnecessary—we could likely figure it out from context (Torah references, for example). The inconsistent use of footnotes and language throughout also made the reading experience feel uneven and, honestly, a bit unsatisfying. Tzakhi’s journey is imaginative, but I found it a little dull. I hate to say it, but overall, the story just felt kind of... meh. I feel very bad for saying this, but it's just a bit of a slog to get through :(