The Chalice

The Chalice by Nancy Bilyeau

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Summary: IN 1538, ENGLAND is in the midst of bloody power struggles that threaten to tear the country apart. Aristocrat-turned-novice Joanna Stafford knows what lies inside the king’s torture rooms and risks imprisonment when she is caught up in an international plot targeting the king. As the power plays turn vicious, Joanna understands she may have to assume her role in a prophecy foretold by three different seers.

Joanna realizes the life of Henry VIII, as well as the future of Christendom, are in her hands—hands that must someday hold the chalice that lies at the center of these deadly prophecies. . . .

Review: In the novel the Chalice, which is the second book in a series with leading character Joanna Stafford; the young novice who has been ripped out of her life as a young novice waiting to take vows and thrust once again into the world of England's politics in the late 1530's.  This novel was different from Bilyeau's first novel in the respect that the reader learns more about Joanna's past and what has led up to the terrifying prophecies she must now face and which will determine what path her life will follow.

I loved Joanna's spirit in this book she seemed to grow more as a character and as a person.  Sometimes the prophecies mentioned throughout the book would get a little muddled in my mind as  I read and I would've liked more explanation sooner but other than that it is a beautifully written book.  I read it in a few days because I did not want to put it down...I would recommend reading The Cross which is the book meant to be read before this one if you want to understand in detail what is happening.  But this book can easily stand on its own as a great novel.