In the Hand of the Goddess (Tamora Pierce) (Alana #2)

This is the 2nd book in the Alana/Song of the Lioness series recommended from Bess' childhood :) If you liked the first one enough to read more, you'll like the 2nd one too. Alana continues training to be a knight, and also starts learns how to dress and act like a lady with the help of George's mother. Duke Roger continues his attempt to steal the throne. There's some romance in this one, which I hope continues in the next two books - it's left rather unfinished as Alana heads off to explore the world as a knight. I kind of felt like some things were resolved rather easily and warranted a longer/more complex explanation, but I guess that's what I get for reading a children's book. On an interesting note, I read that this quartet was originally written as a single adult novel, but ended up being published as 4 young adult novels instead.