Garden of Madness by Tracy Higley

Garden of Madness, by Tracy Higley, is a historical fiction novel set in Babylon during the days of King Nebuchadnezzar. It takes place during the king’s seven years of madness and tells the story of his daughter Tiamat. It begins when Tiamat is about to be married to Shealtiel, the son of the captured king of Judea and then skips ahead seven years to when Shealtiel died and Tia is caught in the middle of her plans, her mother’s plans for her, and the plans of an evil man to take over the kingdom. Tia must learn to trust in God and surrender her control in order to save her father and his kingdom.

I found this to be a very interesting book. I haven’t read that much about King Nebuchadnezzar and this was a different point of view than I had previously read. I had known that King Nebuchadnezzar went mad for seven years, but I had never thought about how his kingdom fared during that time. This book offered an interesting, albeit, fictional, look at what might have transpired during those seven years. I was fascinated by the politics and undercurrents of the court. Tia started out being a very naïve princess who thought that she had power and control, to finding out that she was just a pawn and was expected to surrender to her fate like a good princess. She was trying desperately to control her own life and control everything around her, thinking only she was able to change her fate.  As she grew in maturity, and in her understanding and faith in God, she started to realize that she wasn’t in control and that she never could be. She needed to trust in God and surrender all her plans for the plans that He had for her. I would definitely recommend this book. It was an excellent read.

I received this book from Booksneeze for my honest review.  I was not required to write a positive review.