I so wanted to give this book five stars... I love the heroine so much but where's the story? It's there, sort of, with the prophesies, yet the "meat" is lacking compared to book number one, which was outstanding. So, though I enjoyed it, it was kind of a let down. ( )

As she did with The Crown, Bilyeau has once again written an excellent historical novel. Again we are taken to the perilous times of the reign of Henry VIII. Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour are both dead, but Henry finally has his heir in prince Edward. However, the king is in search of another wife and that is the talk of the kingdom, along with the alliance of France with the Emperor Charles. As Henry has dissolved all of the monasteries and religious houses and continues to break from the church, the Pope's letter announcing the excommunication of king Henry is close to being made official. It is still a dangerous time and plots to overthrow the king are watched for and quashed. Many find themselves imprisoned in the tower. And those who give or seek out prophecies...prophecies that imply the demise of the king...are dealt with swiftly.

Our heroine, Joanna, finds herself once again thrust into this world of danger and intrigue. A world she has stridently tried to avoid. Making a life for herself and her small cousin, Arthur, in the town of Dartford, she is content to continue her worship and start her own tapestry weaving business, even if some of the townspeople are less than gracious toward the ex-nuns of Dartford Priory. But her simple life does not last. She is invited, along with Arthur, to stay for a time with her cousin, Henry Courtenay and his wife, Gertrude, the Marquess and Marchioness of Exeter. As she embarks on her stay with her relatives, she finds herself once again drawn into the world of political intrigue, secrets, and prophecies.

I won't go any further into the plot because I don't want to give anything away, but as you can tell, The Chalice is quite an exciting read. So well-written and historically accurate. I once again find myself greatly interested in the historical figures depicted. Even though I've been feeling over-saturated with the Tudors, with this book I'm learning new things that make me want to go in search of more historical information. For a book to inspire this kind of interest in history (as I'm sure it will), especially in those who aren't big history buffs like me, is a feather in the cap of the historical fiction genre. I praise the author on another fantastic novel. She is working on a third book and I can't wait to read it! Truly, I will look forward to any books Bilyeau has published. ( )

This series leaves me feeling rather conflicted. I zip right through them, they're very engaging, and they feature a strong female lead... but at the same time she winds up so easily flustered, and swayed, by everyone around her, and her waffling between the church and multiple men just doesn't make sense, not with someone who was supposedly so completely devoted to the church. That said, the books are a bit of a "guilty pleasure" for me and I'm quite curious what her decision will wind up being in the third one. ( )

I was eager to read the sequel to The Crown , which I really enjoyed, but somehow this one fell flat. It felt like too much was happening - and too fast. Joanna is seemingly torn amongst the men in her life- despite having taken a vow of chastity which she took seriously. The mystery of the prophecy was engaging, until the final part is revealed and completed. I felt like things moved too rapidly and Joanna did not really feel or experience them properly, but rather raced onto the next. ( )

I really enjoyed Bilyeau's previous Joanna Stafford novel, 'The Crown,' so went out of my way to pick this up.

It's still fun, not weighty, historical fiction. However, the story here is a lot less focused than in the previous novel. There's a prophecy, and a plot; both of which could affect the fate of Henry VIII and the fate of the realm. Joanna spends a lot of time vacillating between rejecting everything to do with prophecy and accepting her place in it. I thought that her rejection seemed illogically vehement, which in turn meant that her swings toward acceptance seemed a bit out-of-left-field.

Joanna is oddly positioned in her society - balanced on a cusp between nobility, religious community, and the common people. Her position is further destabilized by Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries, which means that Joanna, formerly a novice nun, is now not quite anything. (Of course, this frees up potential for the love triangle involving her, the constable Geooffrey, and the former monk Edmund). Joanna's new goal is to become a skilled craftsperson and businesswoman, weaving tapestries. I'm not 100% sure how accurate the picture of class distinctions in Tudor society that emerges here is.

Although I didn't feel quite the level of tension and excitement here that the first book delivered; I'm still quite likely to read the third in the series when it comes out. ( )