Books like The Chalice

This is one of those books that didn't quite stand the test of time since I last read it. I still like certain characters like Dain and Thum, but I think one of the problems with this book for me was that I found both Alexeika and Pheresa, the two female lead characters very irritating. While I maintain that Pheresa isn't "that bad" of a female character (she does actual aspirations and ambitions). She rests mostly on being pretty for this novel. Alexeika, on the other hand, is pretty bad ass, but fits into the generic tomboy princess character. Plus she makes a lot of decisions that don't quite make sense. Still, the story itself was interesting, even if the ending is a bit wrapped up in a hurry.