Sing and the darkness will find you.
Shipwrecked on an island seven years ago, Lucy has been warned she must never sing, or disaster will strike. But on All Hallows Eve, Lucy hears tantalizing music in the air. When she sings it, she unlocks a terrible secret: She is a Chantress, a spell-singer, brought to the island not by shipwreck but by a desperate enchantment gone wrong.
Her song lands her back in England — and in mortal peril, for the kingdom lies in the cruel grasp of a powerful Lord Protector and his mind-reading hunters, the Shadowgrims. The Protector has killed all Chantresses, for they alone can destroy the Shadowgrims. Only Lucy has survived.
In terrible danger, Lucy takes shelter with Nat, a spy who turns her heart upside-down. Nat has been working with his fellow scholars of the Invisible College to overthrow the Lord Protector, and they have long hoped to find a living Chantress to help them. But Lucy is completely untrained, and Nat deeply distrusts her magic. If Lucy cannot master the songspells, how long can she even stay alive?
Beguiling and lyrical, dangerous and romantic, Chantress will capture readers in a spell they won’t want to break.
Praise for Chantress — and for its sequels, Chantress Alchemy and Chantress Fury:
“Wonderfully felt, seen, and dreamed, Greenfield’s debut fantasy is an enchanted read.” — Franny Billingsley, National Book Award finalist and author of Chime
“Chantress is like the best kind of magic — absorbing, mysterious, and delightful.” — Rebecca Stead, Newbery Award winning author of When You Reach Me, First Light, and Liar & Spy
“I simply loved it. It was a delicious journey into a fantasy world that mingles music, magic, altered British history, and romance.” — Cinda Williams Chima, NYT-bestselling author of The Demon King
“This is an enticing medieval fantasy with a headstrong heroine that will pique the interest of girls who like strong female characters….. Lucy is a very engaging character who immediately has readers rooting for her and the band of rebels she encounters.”— Library Media Connection
“Engaging…girl-centric historical fantasy.”— Kirkus Reviews
“The heroine of this whimsical and entertaining young-adult novel could be the female answer to Harry Potter…. This is mesmerizing reading for girls in pursuit of their own power.”— Marjorie Preston, Shore News Today
“Chantress is one of those rare books that’s so beautifully written you want to read it slowly and savor every word, but the story is so compelling you want to race through the pages! I loved it.” — Mary Pearson, author of The Adoration of Jenna Fox and The Fox Inheritance
“With a spirited heroine, fearsome monsters, and luminous worldbuilding, this story had me hooked from the first page. Chantress is truly enchanting.” — Jessica Spotswood, author of Born Wicked
“A pure and elevated pleasure, like strawberries of the perfect ripeness or a gorgeous aria. In Greenfield’s gripping fantasy novel the menace is palpable, and the practice of magic is described in such an evocative and haunting manner that I yearned to hear it. This exploration of the costs of a fear-based society and the real but worthwhile risks of freedom is deeply relevant to our times.” — Katherine Sturtevant, author of At the Sign of the Star and A True and Faithful Narrative
“Chantress is a beguiling and mesmerizing story, full of mystery and song. From the first word, I was enchanted by Amy Butler Greenfield’s unique twist on English history and by her compelling, magical, and loveable heroine, Lucy.” — Nancy Werlin, NYT-bestselling author of Impossible and Extraordinary
“Young readers who prefer action with a touch of fantasy and strong female characters will enjoy this book.”— Kelly Czarnecki, VOYA
“Alchemy, feminism and two separate wicked plotters…keep the pages turning.”— Kirkus Reviews
“An overall compelling sequel, with plenty of red herrings to keep readers guessing and wondering what’s next in store for the last lady chantress.”— Booklist
For more about the book, check out the Chantress pages here.
Alchemy Pie 