Here it is! The next in Theresa Dahlheim's Forging the Circle series! (It is book three). Firedance was an engaging read, hard to put down (you've been warned)! Koren grew up on an island with snow and sled dogs (!!). An injury as a child has left her with a stutter so she is reluctant to talk, magic surrounds her but she has gone untrained mostly, until the sorceress seeks her out. The world is falling apart, magic is causing havoc and she might be the one that can help. To do this, she will need training and that is where the sorceress is taking her. Follow along as she learns more about herself, her own magic, and the world beyond her little, snowy island. She has a connection with animals that I particularly enjoyed.

The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies, by Alison Goodman, was both a good read, and a hard read. The Regency era was a terrible time for women. Men could, and did control everything, and anything, with the exception of murder to a wife, sister or daughter was legal. That was the hard part (warning: some of the things that were done are vividly described by the author). The good part are the main characters, twin sisters, both unmarried and now of spinster age (42), figure out ways to right these wrongs. Face it, proper society is boring, so when Augustus is asked to retrieve some love letters written to, er, the wrong person (not the hubby) she agrees. She is more than successful (you'll have to read to find out how and why) and that leads to others coming to her, and her sister, for help. Not a cozy, but a mystery with wonderful, strong lead characters.

Reading Hermit With Dog