Deception's Pawn

Deception's Pawn by Esther Friesner, 321 pages

The sequel to Deception's Princess follows Lady Maeve to her new home where she will be fostering.  There she meets a new group of girls who are about her age and makes what she thinks are real friends for the first time in her life.  She comes to realize that they may not be as real as she hoped, as she struggles with pranks and snubs from the other girls.  She also finds that people are still trying to force her into relationships that she doesn't want.  Her foster mother thinks that Maeve and her son are following in love.  While Maeve likes him as a friend and enjoys his company, especially since he is the caretaker of the falcon she originally healed, she has no interest in marrying him.  Maeve is still struggling to carve her own path so that she can have the life she wants.  Friesner's books always have great, strong, female protagonists, which make them interesting, especially to teens girls who like historical fiction.