Alanna of Trebond continues her masquerade as Alan in this book - the second book in the Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce. The story spans Alanna's fours years as Prince Jonathan's squire. During this time, Alanna participates in her first war, battles against Jonathan's evil uncle, Duke Roger, meets the Great Mother Goddess and experiences first love, all the while maintaining her disguise as a boy. First off, I would like to say that having a talking cat (or any animal in a book or movie) is a little strange. I generally don't like talking animal stories, but the author did a good job with this one. Once again, Alanna is a strong character and In The Hand Of The Goddess features a return apperance by her twin brother Thom, which is great since he's one of my favorite characters. I also like Prince Jonathan and George. Like it's predecessor, the book is a nice cross between adventure, fantasy and drama and you need solid characters or the fantasy will fall flat. The book is fast paced and not tedious, which is quite good and is an interesting spin on the coming-of-age genre. Finally, I would like to say this book has a few confusing parts - it's way more confusing than the first and I needed someone to explain those parts to me. Overall, a good read. On a side note, In The Hand Of The Goddess was banned because of sexual references and the use of the amulet to prevent pregnancy.