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Divine Heretic

On sale

22nd July 2021

Price: £8.99

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Selected: Paperback / ISBN-13: 9781787479258

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Everyone knows the story of Joan of Arc, a peasant girl who put Charles VII on the throne before being burned by the English as a heretic and witch.

But things are not always as they appear.

Jeanne d’Arc was only five when three angels and saints first came to her. Shrouded by a halo of heavenly light, she believed their claim to be holy. The Archangel Michael and Saint Margaret told her she was the foretold Warrior Maid of Lorraine, fated to free France and put a king upon his throne.

Saint Catherine made her promise to obey their commands and embrace her destiny; the three saints would guide her every step. Jeanne bound herself to these creatures without knowing what she’d done. As she got older, Jeanne grew to mistrust and fear the voices, and they didn’t hesitate to punish her cruelly for disobedience. She quickly learned that their cherished prophecy was more important than the girl expected to make it come true.

Jeanne is only a shepherd’s daughter, not the Warrior Maid of the prophecy, but she is stubborn and rebellious, and finds ways to avoid doing – and being – what these creatures want. Resistance has a terrifying price, but Jeanne is determined to fight for the life she wants.

But when the cost grows too high, Jeanne will risk everything to save the three people she loves most in all the world.

Not everyone is destined to be a hero. Sometimes you have no choice.

Reviews

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Lush . . . richly described
NERDS OF A FEATHER
A good and vivid alternative historical take on Joan of Arc. Joan's story of a young woman striving for autonomy, strength and freedom is a message and story that resonates in 2020 as much as 1430
PATRICE SARATH, author of The Sisters Mederos and Fog Season
A Joan of Arc like no other. Moyer takes the myth of the Maid of Orleans and comes at a different tale, a darker one. For those of us who love Jeanne d'Arc and have always wanted to rescue her from the flame, a new retelling
BETH CATO, author of Breath of Earth
Divine Heretic rewrites Joan of Arc's life with heart and humanity, creating surprising new twists in the tale we all think we know
THE TIMES on Brightfall
A treat for those who like their myths with extra magic
HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY
This Jeanne, however, is wonderful, a richly drawn woman who is capable of fierce love, of deep friendships, of railing against her fate for as long as possible, until it threatens the lives of those she loves. And her voices! Oh wow! I think this is the best book I've read all year and I thoroughly recommend it
LIBRI DRACONIS
Full of surprising twists and subversion of the legend as it is traditionally told, Jaime Lee Moyer manages to make the story truly her own . . . weaving it into a new tapestry worth discovering for itself
BLUE BOOK BALLOON
As I grew more and more absorbed in Divine Heretic, I came to love the way it isn't conventional fantasy
RUNALONG THE SHELVES
I am absolutely intrigued by how history and myth get mixed together
SF CROWSNEST
This is a good adventure and historical romance story with a woman at the heart of it.
SF BOOK REVIEWS
Interesting and different
LYNNE M. THOMAS, Hugo Award-winning editor of Chicks Dig Time Lords
Jaime Lee Moyer has consistently published books that touch me profoundly, and this one is no different . . . a book about resilience, about found family and holding onto the things and people you love, about finding joy in the little moments, and a book about understanding that courage means doing the thing anyway because you know what is right, no matter how scary. Strongly recommended
BOOKS FOR LIFE
It blew me away . . . It was perfectly told
CROOKS BOOKS
A bittersweet story about how promises can be twisted, how they can break you, but also how they can save you
THE ELOQUENT PAGE
A genuinely intimate quality to Divine Heretic I very much enjoyed. The idea that a single person shapes the direction of a nation, and the burden that power carries, is examined in a very unique way
NEVER IMITATE
Recommended to fans of historical fiction, especially Roman Catholic history and strong female characters