Review: The Tapestry

The Tapestry (Joanna Stafford #3)
by Nancy Bilyeau
Historical Thriller
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Plot Summary:

After her Dominican priory in Dartford closed forever—collateral damage in tyrannical King Henry VIII’s quest to overthrow the Catholic Church—Joanna resolves to live a quiet and honorable life weaving tapestries, shunning dangerous quests and conspiracies. Until she is summoned to Whitehall Palace, where her tapestry weaving has drawn the King’s attention.

Joanna is uncomfortable serving the King, and fears for her life in a court bursting with hidden agendas and a casual disregard for the virtues she holds dear. Her suspicions are confirmed when an assassin attempts to kill her moments after arriving at Whitehall.

Struggling to stay ahead of her most formidable enemy yet, an unknown one, she becomes entangled in dangerous court politics. Her dear friend Catherine Howard is rumored to be the King’s mistress. Joanna is determined to protect young, beautiful, naïve Catherine from becoming the King’s next wife and, possibly, victim.

Set in a world of royal banquets and feasts, tournament jousts, ship voyages, and Tower Hill executions, this thrilling tale finds Joanna in her most dangerous situation yet, as she attempts to decide the life she wants to live: nun or wife, spy or subject, rebel or courtier. Joanna Stafford must finally choose.

Review:

This is the third and final adventure for Joanna Stafford, former novice to the Dominican priory.  I have so enjoyed Joanna's journey, and the historical setting that the author has created from the real history, and I think this is a wonderful conclusion to the trilogy.   As this series has progressed, the focus has changed from a historical mystery for the main character Joanna to solve, to a mystery now more focused on Joanna.  However, the mystery in this novel is less hair-raising compared to the dangers of living in the court of King Henry VIII.  The author has created a perfectly chilling portrait of King Henry as a spoiled despot with a touch of vulnerability - especially when he is surrounded by so many ambitious men.  This novel posed somewhat as a history lesson as many of the people featured were people who lived at that time and the author weaves Joanna's story perfectly around them.  I was glad that I wasn't as familiar with the history, as I wasn't sure what would happen to some of the characters so there was a lot of suspense for me.

In this series, Joanna is faced with some great challenges - in the beginning it was adjusting to the loss of her priory and her plans for her life, and in this book, I felt one of the major challenges was dealing with the loss of Edmund who she had planned to marry until King Henry made it impossible.  The romance in this book is very understated - mostly because Joanna finds it difficult to deal with her own feelings about men.  Even though it's not a big part of this book, I was very invested in that aspect, especially as there is a bit of a twist towards the end and things did not go the way I was expecting.  But to get the true impact of that, it's important to read the first two books to understand the characters and their actions.

I found this a very satisfying, and thrilling conclusion to Joanna's story.  There's a lot of drama, suspense and twists and turns, and Joanna is the very epitome of a graceful, intelligent heroine.  This whole series was a joy to read, and I'm glad Joanna received a fitting and touching finale.

(I received this book from the publisher or author for a fair and honest review. I was not compensated for this review.)

Review: The Chalice

The Chalice
by Nancy Bilyeau

Plot Summary:

'The Chalice' is a historical thriller told from the point of view of a young woman caught in the crosswinds of time: She has pledged to become a Dominican nun in an England ruled by Henry VIII, who has ruthlessly smashed his country's allegiance to Rome. By 1538, the bloody power struggles between crown and cross threaten to tear the country apart. Joanna Stafford has seen what lies inside the king’s torture rooms and risks imprisonment again, when she is caught up in a shadowy 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, each more omniscient than the last. The life of Henry VIII as well as the future of Christendom are in her hands—hands that must someday hold the chalice that lays at the center of these deadly prophecies. As she struggles to forge a life for herself in a country that rejects her faith, she must also decide if her future should be shared with a man--and if so, which of the two men who love her should be chosen.

Review:

Joanna Stafford's first adventure, in The Crown, read very authentically, with rich details, intrigue and mystery on every page.  The Chalice continues Joanna's story with a new mystery - one that is more personal to her which changes the tone of this book.  The mystery is still there, but the story felt much more focused on developing Joanna's character further - there were flashbacks into her past and more was seen of her relatives.  And I enjoyed this change in tone because I loved Joanna's strong, resilient nature and her resolute character that doesn't come from her doing everything perfectly but from learning from her mistakes and striving to do better.  The layers to her character that were just showing in The Crown were fleshed out more fully here as she struggles to understand the destiny that has been put upon her.

The plot of the story was very compelling, with the prophecy surrounding Joanna the focal point.  The mystery aspect lay in that and in trying to figure out who Joanna could trust.  And it seemed like every chapter ended with an exciting plot development or twist which made this such a page-turner.  And don't get me started on the romance in this book!  Seriously don't, I might cry.  There is a slight love triangle element to this story that tore me apart because I really couldn't pick between the two men - both were good men with fascinating depth and both had great chemistry with Joanna. And I really cared about the characters and I didn't want any of them to get hurt.  Oh futile hope.  Not only was the triangle intriguing but there were also some unexpected twists in how the relationships turned out.  I felt the romance aspect was very well done because I was so invested in the characters and they very much deserved a happy ending!

There were many great characters introduced in this book, especially Jacquard and Chapuys - both ambiguous, complex and such puzzles, while also introducing a greater historical scope to Henry VIII's actions.  This book takes a look at the complex, larger historical picture of the events of that time while also keeping the plot character-driven and all in a very engaging and readable writing style.

Even though this is a second installment for Joanna Stafford, this book reads very well on it's own and I so enjoyed the unfolding drama and the historical conflict in this story.  The resolution was maybe too quickly and easily tied up, but this novel is definitely worth the read for the roller coaster ride of emotions and the captivating plot.  And I'm so glad that there will be another book in this series, titled "The Covenant"!

I received this book from the publisher or author for a fair and honest review.  I was not compensated for this review.
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Read my review of the first book The Crown

Review: The Crown

The Crown
by Nancy Bilyeau

Plot Summary:

In this debut historical thriller, an aristocratic young nun must find a legendary crown in order to save her father’s life and preserve all she holds dear from Cromwell’s ruthless terror.

When novice nun Joanna Stafford learns her rebel cousin is condemned by King Henry VIII to be burned at the stake, she makes the decision to break the sacred rule of enclosure and run away from her Dominican Order in Dartford to stand at her cousin’s side.

Arrested for interfering with king’s justice, Joanna, along with her father, Sir Richard Stafford, is sent to the Tower of London. Joanna’s father is brutally tortured by Stephen Gardiner, the Bishop of Winchester who leads the Catholic faction bent on saving England’s monasteries from destruction. In order to save her father, Joanna must submit to Gardiner’s will and become a pawn in the struggle between religious extremes. Gardiner forces Joanna to return to Dartford Priory with a mission: find the long hidden crown worn by Saxon King Athelstan in AD 937 during the historic battle that first united Britain. Gardiner believes the crown itself to possess a mystical power that will halt the Reformation.

Uncovering only dark betrayals and murder at Dartford, Joanna flees with Brother Edmund, a troubled young friar, and with time running out, their hunt for the crown leads them through royal castles, to Stonehenge, and finally to the tomb of the mysterious King Athelstan under Malmesbury Abbey. There Joanna learns the true secret of the crown, a secret tracing all the way back to Golgotha and the Relics of the Passion. Now, as Cromwell’s army of destruction advances, Joanna must finally determine who to trust and how far she is willing to go to protect a way of life that she passionately loves.

Review:

I haven't read historical fiction in awhile, and boy was this a great one to get back into the habit! (excuse the pun)  The detailed, well-researched history described in this book created a completely immersive background for which a story of espionage, mystery and betrayal was woven perfectly throughout.  For such a densely detailed novel, with so much history to establish, the writing is compulsive and completely engaging, and the author made these characters from a different time so relatable to today with their basic heroism and failings in human nature.  Human greed and lust battles against intentions of goodness and the spark of the divine.  The story and characters are complex in their motivations and because they are under the political pressures of a very demanding King.   I was completely caught up in this vision of the past and the complications and pitfalls the characters found themselves in.

Joanna, as the main character, is a complex personality.  She has many facets or hidden depths, which reveal themselves as she bears her struggles.  I was never quite sure what she would do, but at her simplest she was inquisitive, intelligent, and observant and that made her a very admirable character to me.  She's both transparent and not, and it's refreshing to have a heroine who does not easily fall in love or is so impulsive as to get herself constantly into scrapes.  Although she does get into rather a lot of scrapes but they can't be helped.  She's mature and intriguing and full of life.

The heart of this story is a the mystery of the Crown, and the labyrinthine windings of the Crown's story and the secrets of the Abbey made for some startling twists and revelations.  It was a completely unpredictable conclusion to me, and yet one that of course made sense after the fact.  The story is just a really good mystery, set in an interesting and volatile time period with well-drawn out and engaging characters and with great, fluid writing.  I found every page compelling.

I received this book from the publisher or author for a fair and honest review. I was not compensated for this review. 
Special thanks to TLC Book Tours

I'll be reviewing the sequel, "The Chalice" on my blog August 1st!

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