The third in the Song of the Lioness trilogy finds Alanna, newly made a knight of the realm, in the south deserts seeking adventure. Events conspire to make her an integral part of a Bazhir tribe, using and teaching the Gift she is so afraid to use.

Unlike the second book, this covers only about a year. Though still fast-paced, the second half especially felt like a bit of a set up for the fourth book. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens to Alanna, George, Jonathan, and all the great characters in this series. ( )

This book was awesome, but the ending was a little disappointing because it leaves a lot of things up in the air that you're DYING to know about, but you'll just have to hurry up and read book 4, I guess. Again, this is a great series and I can't wait to read more Tamora Pierce's books. (book 3) ( )

I'd call this an in-between book. There were some important key events that happened and the beginning part of the book was really well written. But towards the end, where you see from George's point of view, things seemed to slow down. Hopefully the last book will pick the pace back up. My favorite part would have to be when she was living among the Bazhir. My least favorite part was her fight with Jon, but she found out more about herself after that. ( )

Merideth says: Having slain Duke Roger of Conte, and revealed herself as a female, Alanna leaves the court at Corus, to travel and find adventure. Her wish is soon granted as she is ambushed by hillmen, and then adopted by the people of the desert, the Bazhir. The traditional Bazhir don't quite know what to make of Alanna, a female warrior with the gift; but soon enough she has earned her place among them. When Jonathan is called to the Bazhir, she must sort out her feelings for her prince, as well as for the Rogue, George Cooper.

I do love Alanna. However, I feel this is the weakest book in the Song of the Lioness Quartet. A strong adventure, and a realistic romance make this a strong choice for girls.

Trini Alvarado reads this audiobook title, and does a credible job. I feel she's a little too mousy for the strong willed Alanna. ( )

After being very aggravated at the second book in this YA fantasy series, I ended up really enjoying this one. It's nice to see Alanna out of her element among the Bazhir tribesmen, instead of at knight school, where she just succeeds at everything all the time. For once, we see her struggle to come to terms with something she's not very good at and doesn't understand, though of course in the end she becomes the best ever. The later portions of the book, once she leaves the Bazhirs and becomes bogged down in more tedious relationship drama (which is typically of the contrived "I love him and he loves me but gosh, I just don't know what to do for some reason!" variety) suffers because it is less focused and feels more like setup for the next (and last) book, but overall this was the most enjoyable installment in the series so far. (originally written September 2008)