“It shall come to pass in the last days, saith God: I will
pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall
prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream
dreams. And on my servants and on my
handmaidens I will pour out my Spirit in those days and they shall prophesy.” (Acts 2:17-18)
Juliana whispered, “My dreams…are they prophesy?”
“’tis your gift.” Father Gregory’s drawn face told the young girl it
was a heavy burden.
From the opening pages, a terrifying
cloud hangs over Mistress Juliana St. John, the daughter of a knight and successful
business man in the days of King Henry the VIII. The cloud goes with her as she
enters the home of the king’s sixth and last wife, Kateryn (Katherine) Parr to
further her education and polish her womanly etiquette.
Juliana’s education and etiquette comes
with secrets and are sometimes down right sickening. Her dreams are infrequent
but frightening. Her emotional highs and lows kept me turning the pages.
The first-person point of view allowed me to be in the
story. I wanted to dance. I wanted to hide. I did cry. My stomach turned. My heart
ached. And I cheered the courage of the heroine, Juliana.
Ms. Byrd pulled details of the time and wove them neatly
into a “could-have-happened-this-way” fictional account. I appreciated the
family trees at the opening of the book and turned to them frequently to affirm
the historical truths.
It’s difficult for me write a review of this book because there’s
so much I want to tell you, but don’t want to give away any of the secrets.
You’ll just have to read it to find out the prophesies of Juliana, the
fulfillment of them, and the secrets she must keep.
If you’re interested in the history of King Henry the VIII
and his wives, I recommend Sandra Byrd’s Ladies in Waiting
series—“To Die For,” “The Secret Keeper,” and coming in 2013, “Roses Have
Thorns.”
See my review of “To
Die For.”
Be sure to visit Sandra’s website
Get your copy at Amazon,
Christian
Books, or Barnes
& Noble
Published by Simon&
Schuster
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and review this, Merrie. I so appreciate you!!
ReplyDeleteOf course, Sandra. You are such an awesome writer, my mentor, and an inspiration to keep writing!
DeleteWow, sounds like quite a book. Thanks for posting this great review.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lynda. Yes, I really enjoyed this and the Sandra Byrd's previous book, "To Die For." She puts the reader write in the middle of the story.
DeleteI'm looking forward to reviewing your book when it comes out. :-)