It’s Good to be Queen
by Liz Curtis Higgs

Liz Curtis Higgs is one of my favorite Bible teachers and I’m once again in love with one of her books, It’s Good to be Queen.  In this new book, she studies the Queen of Sheba and her visit to King Solomon in 1 Kings 10.  It’s such a brief portion of Scripture and yet she unpacks it line by line in her unique way, making it compelling and full of rich wisdom and Biblical truth.

She includes 10 chapters, each with a unique lesson the Queen of Sheba teaches us through her example:  It’s Good to be Bold, Open, Humbled, Honest, etc.  The book also includes discussion questions and a study guide for use by book clubs and small groups.   One of the fun touches she adds to the book are occasional quotes from other queens such as Queen Elizabeth.

I love Liz’s easy-to-read style, her well-researched points and her witty humor.  I wasn’t, however, particularly a fan of the intense quoting from her social media followers.  I’ll be frank, I get why quoting from social media followers works for an author.  Fans feel like they are connecting and feel excited to be quoted in the book and you get the material you need.  However, I could have read her Facebook post comments to see what everyone on Facebook had to say.  When I read the book, I’d like something a little more.

Some of the paragraphs in this book actually seem like strung together quotations, one after the other:  “Sandra says……  Kelly writes…….Laurie admits……Brittany tells us…..”   It made the writing feel more stilted than I’ve noticed in any of her books where she relied more on her own voice.  I wouldn’t even have minded an occasional comment like, “So and so wrote me….” or “This person said….” or even “hundreds of women on my Facebook page identified with this,” but four or five paragraphs in a row of nothing more than quotes from her followers grew tiresome at times.

I’m still a huge fan of Liz Curtis Higgs and I still enjoyed this book, but I wish social media wasn’t allowed to invade  an author’s style and actual book content so heavily.  What I really wanted to read were Liz’s stories, her research, her thoughts, her heart and the Holy Spirit at work through her, not a compilation of comments from her Facebook fans.

With that said, as a Bible teacher, Liz remains one of my favorites and I could skim right over what I didn’t like in order to fully enjoy everything that is wonderful about her as an author.  She brings such rich insights to the text.  I love how she examines a verse or even one particular word in several different translations.  Even if you’ve read a story a hundred times, she can bring fresh perspective, just as she does in this book, It’s Good to be Queen.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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