The Squire's Quest by Gerald Morris

**Contains one small spoiler**

The Squire’s Quest is the ninth in a series of books by Gerald Morris called The Squire's Tales. Even though I haven't read the rest of the series I was still able to enjoy the book. This one made me want to go back and read the other books in the series, and there was enough background information that it was easy to catch up. The Squire’s Quest had enough magic to make it interesting to someone who likes to read fantasy, but not so much that a historical fiction fan would turn away from it. Some parts were predictable, but there were other parts that really surprised me, and the end was especially jaw dropping. Although the lovers lived, it reminded me of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, but even more tragic. The writing was easy to follow but there was some language that may not be appropriate for younger ages. The women characters in the book were very strong while the men were both charming and devious, a good combination in any book.

I laughed out loud in parts of the book and cried in others. When I first began reading this book I wasn’t sure I would enjoy it. I’m not usually a fan of King Arthur type books but this one grabbed my attention relatively quickly and held on. This is a great “boy book” with lots of fighting and intrigue, but it also has just enough romance that girls will enjoy it as well. The only part that didn’t seem to flow well was when a couple of the main characters disappeared for over a month and no one seemed too worried when they finally reappeared. Mr. Morris did mention some of the changes that took place while they were missing, but I would think the characters would have been missed a little more than they were. I’ll give this one 4 stars. Well-done Mr. Morris.