Holy Moly!!! Jesus, I truly love this series.

Well, perhaps I'm a bit partial as this book was one of those that made me fall in love with reading. But regardless, it's just so incredibly good.

Although I must admit that it is targeted at the lower age range of YA fiction, it's still highly enjoyable for this 20-year-old.

Also, I just admire this fan art of my girl!

During my reread of this book, I listened to the audiobook and it was amazing. The narrator is really talented and truly draws you into the story.

This book is so fast-paced that something related to the plot is happening every few seconds. This makes it so enjoyable because who wants to sit through a boring book?

One of my favorite aspects of this book is that it shows that women can do anything they set their minds to and break barriers.

I mean, Alanna proved that a woman could be a knight and do anything a man could. Which, in my opinion, is just amazing. She's easily in my top 10 of favorite female characters because of her tenacity.

I'm also a die-hard Jonathan and Alanna shipper. I WILL GO DOWN WITH MY SHIP!!!

Overall, it's an amazing book. Please read it.

[first read 3 January 2008; 4 stars]

The story In the Hand of the Goddess rushes through Alanna's squirehood, her Ordeal, and the final confrontation with Duke Roger the Evil Sorcerer. It concludes her journey to become a knight with a bit of a whimper rather than a bang. We see our loyal Lady Knight getting ready to head south for her own adventures, which I'm really excited about.

1. Alanna's secret isn't truly hers to disclose as she doesn't get to reveal it to the king, queen, and the court on her own terms, nor does she tell Jonathan in the way she might have liked. Her lack of agency in this regard is rather unappealing to me.

2. I'm left wondering why Gary is the one Alanna tells her secret to, especially since it seems mostly because Jonathan chooses him for her. This is exactly what I meant by Alanna's selfishness. At this stage of the story, is there really a difference between Gary and Raoul? Yes, there's more development in later books, but here and now, as she faces her Ordeal, why does she pick Gary? What sets him apart from the others?

3. lskdjfldjk JONATHAN. I wish I could have liked this story arc more. I long for a heroine to have a romance that doesn't end in a happily ever after but remains a healthy, loving relationship instead of being a "learning opportunity" for her future hero. But I really didn't like this relationship at all. Part of the problem is that it develops when Alanna is still serving as Jonathan's squire. She makes several remarks about how her life is his, not out of romantic love but because she is his liege. Her exploration of why she wants to be his lover is based on jealousy and is half-dismissed due to her own fear. It never goes beyond the surface level. It feels extraordinarily shallow and easy, more like she's not really choosing to be with Jonathan romantically but rather that he's available and she's curious.

4. Regarding that relationship, up until she decides to open her door for him, all the physical manifestations of attraction are imposed on Alanna. She's kissed several times without her permission, hugged, and touched. She doesn't initiate any of it, which makes her decision to take Jon as her lover seem to come out of nowhere. Also, when Alanna describes Jonathan's tantrums, they come across as dangerous and manipulative. She has to follow all these rules he sets, which is not cool behavior. I'm still really uncomfortable with this relationship.

5. AHAHA STUPID ROGER.

6. OH THOM.

I had a thought: I remember from an interview with Pierce several years ago that the Alanna Quartet was originally supposed to be one novel, but publishers at the time didn't think a larger book would sell, so she was asked to break her original manuscript into pieces. From my current perspective in the middle of the arc, I'm curious about the impact this has on the flow of the story.

I'm really having a rather hard time making progress with this book.

To begin with, I selected this book mainly because I was seeking a really bad-ass female character and also due to the excellent reviews it had received. However, I'm facing difficulties in liking Alanna. And the story itself as well. Why is that? Because in one chapter she is 13 years old, and then in the very next chapter, she is 15 years old and so forth. She starts becoming Jonathan's lover when I'm still envisioning her as a child, for goodness sake!

Another reason why I don't like her is that she keeps contradicting herself. First, she claims that she is never going to love someone, blah, blah. Then, she becomes the lover of Jonathan... and where does her pride go? And of course, I completely disagree with her choice. Jonathan over George?? What the heck?

EDIT: Well, I finally managed to finish the book. It was just MEH. One of the things I don't understand is why everybody in the book likes Alanna so much? When she finally reveals that she is a girl to all her friends (friends who were deceived for YEARS), they were like 'ok, we forgive you'. Just like that? No one was surprised, or angry or anything! If this was a book for children it would be fine, but this is a YA book. The same goes for the rushed nature of the story, it all happens way too fast.

So, the first book was good and entertaining, but the second one... not so much. I really have to think about whether I'm going to read the rest of the saga or not.

Maybe back when this series was first published, it was a very big step for this particular genre of "feminine fantasy". I can definitely see how Alanna might have influenced authors such as Cashore.

However, reading it now, Alanna's adventures feel very bland and uninspired. For instance, the highly anticipated and dreaded Knight's Ordeal turns out to be a totally boring event. It also feels like a children's book through and through.

Everything is very simple and straightforward, but this childishness is maybe best illustrated by the names. Alanna's sword is called "Lightning". Her horse is "Moonlight", another one is called "Darkness". Her cat is named "Faithful". The big evil wolf they hunt is "Demon Grey". Exactly what I'd imagine a child naming his toys and pets.

The writing feels very child-oriented as well. Instead of showing the characters talk with smart dialogues etc., the reader is just told "they talked. And that talk led to event X". In general, the story is very simple, pretty predictable, and everything happens too conveniently. You can see the author pulling the strings behind the scenes when Alanna happens to go someplace she usually never goes and just there she stumbles across a surprise attack.

The pacing also felt off to me. There are frequent time skips of several months, during which the plot just seems to stop. All together, the first two books of this series cover 6 years, with actually very little happening story-wise.

The characters don't leave much of an impression either. I've encountered some incapable rulers in my books recently, also incapable detectives etc., but Alanna must have the most stupid villain ever. Duke Roger wants the throne, but you probably have a higher chance to encounter a real life unicorn than he has of ever becoming king. He is so stupid, he can't see through the smallest palace intrigues. He gets fooled by an innocent, weak, and also pretty stupid Alanna, who already cured his super special magical virus fever at only 11 years old and defeated some amazingly strong supernatural creatures that had occupied a city for centuries - but apparently that's not enough to attract the duke's full attention. Alanna almost literally has to throw her magical (and also stupid) cat with freaky eyes right in his face and show-off her kick-ass sword skills just in front of him, for him to finally start considering her a possible threat.

Well, since Alanna is anything but discreet about her specialness, this story probably needed a bad guy with Roger's IQ.

Apart from that, I still don't find Alanna as a character very like-able. She might be a good role-model for any girl being forced into an old-fashioned lifestyle by her surroundings, but she is just too special. She is a chosen-one, with rare violet eyes, gets private audiences with gods, has tremendous magical powers, a magic sword, a special magic pet cat, and is an impressive two-handed sword-fighter. She also behaves so self-importantly and doesn't come across as very bright. Well, part of that is explained and at least she doesn't stay completely innocent. As a knight, she also has to actually kill when there's a battle. But add to this a pretty classic love triangle, and you get what for me was a rather boring reading experience.

All of these things together made In the Hand of the Goddess simply feel very childish to me. It's good as a children's book, but I wouldn't recommend it to adult readers, apart from those for whom it holds a nostalgia bonus.

I really liked the first Alanna book. It was so engaging and interesting that I might continue reading the series if I have some spare time.

Rebecca then told me that in the second book, Alanna gets a magical talking cat.

Upon hearing this, I was completely shocked and excited. The idea of a magical talking cat in the story sounds really fascinating.

I can't wait to find out more about this cat and how it will interact with Alanna and the other characters in the series.

This new piece of information has definitely piqued my interest even more and has made me eager to pick up the second book as soon as possible.

I'm sure that the adventures and experiences that Alanna will have with her magical talking cat will be both entertaining and memorable.

I'm looking forward to seeing how the story develops and what other surprises are in store for me in the Alanna series.

Review and more at:

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While I found this second book to have more thrills than the first one, I did sense that there were some elements lacking, albeit only to a small extent. For starters, I firmly believe that these books are far too concise considering they are high fantasy adventures. There is insufficient space for world building, which is a pity because the world the author has fabricated here holds great potential to be as captivating and enigmatic as Middle Earth. In this installment, we are introduced to a goddess about whom we have absolutely no backstory and no clues regarding how the belief system in this world functions. Additionally, we encounter a purple-eyed cat that is also regarded as special in the eyes of the goddess, yet we have no inkling as to why. Will we discover the answers in subsequent books? I'm certainly eager to find out.

In this book, the passage of time for our main character occurs very rapidly, with her transforming from a young teenager to a young adult in just a few pages. Once again, I must state that I relished all the adventure and thrills these books have to offer, as well as one of my favorite female characters in the realm of fantasy. Alanna herself remained as resolute and courageous as ever, even when her secret was unveiled at the end. Although I had anticipated it, it was still handled in a very adept manner, leaving me pondering what will become of her in the next book.

So overall, this was still a worthy addition to a well-crafted series. I simply wish the books could be more extensive, thereby providing more room for world and character development, as both possess significant potential here.

Okay, I'm going to start off with a disclaimer before I get into everything.

First of all, I really did enjoy this book. In fact, I enjoyed it more than the first in the series.

Secondly, although I'm going to be critical of a few things, it's important to note that the book is still good and you should definitely read it.

Finally, I have not finished the series yet, so I don't entirely know how things are going to end in the final two books.

Now, that being said, let's get started.

Alanna's adventures are truly great, and I think these books are fantastic. They remind me of the Princess Bride in many ways. Pierce manages to place action, adventure, mysticism, romance, comedy, and danger in these pages in such a fun and engaging way that we cannot help but laugh at the characters and their circumstances.

Another thing I love about her books is that she only tells you what is relevant. It's not like so many of today's books where we seem to be bombarded with every single moment of every day. Instead, we readers get to use our imaginations, and I absolutely love that.

That being said, I do have a few criticisms.

First of all, let's talk about the romance. I love a good romance as much as the next person. After Prince Jonathan was sick in the first book and we saw them battle in the Black City, I think we all knew that some sort of romance was on the horizon. So, imagine my surprise when the love interest we first see is not Prince Jonathan, who is literally a knight in shining armor, but our beloved Prince of Thieves, George. This was a pleasant shock, and I actually liked the idea. I think there are qualities in Alanna that would make her compatible with George. However, as I read a little further, the predictable started to happen. Alanna rides off for battle with her beloved prince, and they fall for each other. And just like that, we have the makings of yet another predictable love triangle.

Secondly, let's discuss the reveal. Alanna has been pretending to be a boy for quite some time now. Revealing that she was a girl through her battle with the Duke was both cheap and predictable. I understand that this saved time and added to the suspense, but after all that we have learned about Alanna, I would have much preferred to see this strong and courageous woman take control of her own destiny.

Okay, those really are my only issues with the book. Overall, I loved it. I'm glad I read it, and I can't wait to see Alanna the Lady Knight traveling with Coram and find out what the goddess has in store for her next adventure. And the addition of Faithful was truly fantastic!

3.4 stars??

Such a disappointment considering how much I enjoyed the first book.

I had such high expectations for this one, but it really fell short.

I am disappointed that there was romance/love/steam in this (and not the pairing I would choose if I had to at that).

The whole romance aspect just felt forced and didn't add anything to the story.

Also, the ending was quite cliché.

It was predictable and didn't have the impact that I was hoping for.

Overall, I was really let down by this book and I'm not sure if I'll be continuing with the series.

I'll probably wait and see what others have to say before making a decision.

I absolutely adored this book, and it truly comes as no surprise.

The writing within its pages remains simply amazing, captivating me from the very first word. The characters are even more interesting than before, each with their own unique personalities and storylines that draw you in and make you care about them deeply.

The ending was really satisfying. It tied up all the loose ends in a way that left me feeling content and fulfilled. I don't think it could have been any better. I wasn't expecting a love triangle, but to my surprise, I don't hate it. Even though I prefer George, or at least, I think I do ^^.

Anyway, this is a great series, and Alanna has come such a long way. It was really cool to see her twin brother again. I'm glad we're finally rid of the Duke. His presence had been a source of tension and conflict throughout the story, and now that he's gone, I can't wait to see what the future holds for Alanna and the other characters.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good adventure, with interesting characters and a captivating storyline. It's definitely one that you won't want to miss!

In The Hand of the Goddess is the second book in Tamora Pierce's Song of the Lioness Quartet. This series was something I adored as a young teen, and I'm delighted to discover that it still manages to be highly entertaining as an adult.

In this installment, Alanna's pursuit of becoming a knight persists. It chronicles her years as a squire, her very first encounter with the horrors of war, and her arduous struggles against the menacing Duke Roger. Moreover, it's the first book in the series to truly introduce the element of romance. Alanna finds herself in a rather unexpected situation as both Prince Jonathan and George, The King of Thieves, are vying for her attention. This is quite a surprise considering she initially had very little interest in the topic of love.

The Hand of the Goddess is filled with numerous big and memorable moments. One of the most significant is the climactic encounter with Duke Roger at the end. Just like The First Adventure, it progresses at a remarkably brisk pace, covering several years within just over two hundred pages. The series' remarkable characterization and engaging storylines make In the Hand of the Goddess an extremely enjoyable read that has endured remarkably well thirty years after its original publication.

Re-reading January

I find myself in a rather unexpected position this January as I re-read this particular book. I think this might be my least favorite Alanna, at least on this go-round. The battle scenes seemed to drag on, and I found myself growing bored. I was impatiently waiting for all the revelations that were promised to happen at the end.

However, I did appreciate my past self's comments about the love triangle. I've come across many poorly executed love triangles in recent reads, but this one still holds up. I like how neither George nor Jon tries to push Alanna into anything. She doesn't just pay lip service to having bigger priorities than love; she actually takes action and follows through on it. And yet, she still experiences love and is understandably unsure about what it all means. This aspect feels so genuine and relatable to me.

Original Review

As I've mentioned, I've read this book numerous times before. At the beginning of this re-read, I was enjoying it, but I was progressing at a rather slow pace. Then, around the halfway point, something changed, and I found myself reading straight through. I think I've always had a bit of a harder time connecting with younger protagonists, so I tend to prefer the books more when Alanna gets a little older.

One of the things I really enjoyed about this re-read was Alanna's deepening relationships with both George and Jon. I've been vocal lately about my dissatisfaction with the love triangles that are so prevalent in current popular YA literature. Maybe the biggest reason I decided to embark on this re-read was because I remember thinking that this love triangle was done exceptionally well. It's refreshing to see a story where the characters' emotions and actions are so well-developed and realistic.

I lost my bus stop. The reason was that I was completely immersed in the last battle described in the book. I was so engrossed that I didn't realize I had passed my stop by a long way.

However, when I finally became aware of it, I felt that it was actually worthy. Because by the time I realized, I had already gone through the whole exciting scene in the story.

I really liked this book. It was about a woman who disguised herself and tried to become a knight in a kingdom full of magic, threats, and all kinds of great dangers. The story was full of adventure and excitement, which kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end.

Although I missed my bus stop, the experience of getting lost in the world of the book was truly unforgettable. It made me realize how powerful the magic of a good book can be.