eyes.2c Reviews

The Tapestry: A Novel by Nancy Bilyeau      Joanna Stafford a former Domonican Novice has returned to London and court. King Henry has called for her to work on his tapestry collection. The life she has put behind her re-emerges. A series of mishaps and confrontations leaves Joanna emotionally  in a strange place. A distant cousin to Henry, she is at first housed with her cousin Catherine Howard at a time just before Catherine becomes Henry's mistresss. Joanna is shocked and saddened by the way Catherine is used by her kinsmen. Joanna is not safe. Two attempts are made on her life, old enemies circle her and new acquaintances are suspect. On top of this the power of the prophecy seems to dog her path. Geoffrey Scovill, Hans Holbein and Ambassador Chapyus are amongst her acquaintances. Powerful people are noticing her. This is unsafe. Joanna wants nothing more than to be anonymous. One feels Joanna juggling the situation, seeking the least intrusive path, yet ...

The Chalice by Nancy Bilyeau Intrigue, persecution and mystery swirls inextricably around the life Joanna Stafford. Prophesied over at 17, she has become a woman of secrets, of her own and of others. She swings between penitence, fear, anger, love and hate. Having taken up the life of a Dominican novice to find peace from her foretold destiny, all comes crashing down, along with the great religious orders at the time of the Reformation in England, under the reign of Henry VIII. Nothing is stable. All is in flux, Joanna, her world and the fortunes of those known to her. Seemingly at the apex of action, Joanna finds herself caught up amidst the indomitable will of Henry, religious fanaticism and a changing world order. Joanna is a pawn in the grand and frightening game of thrones, of kingdoms and world shattering religious transformations At the mercy of powerful factions, Joanna‘s discernment as to who is enemy and who is friend is always in doubt. Foreseen as an agent for ...