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Review: Squire & Knight by Scott Chantler

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Squire & Knight by Scott Chantler cover shows a black dragon's head bent low to the ground in the left foreground, its tail holding up a knight in the background. In the right foreground, a boy holds up a lantern, his back to the dragon. A skeleton dog sits at his feet looking curiously at the dragon.

Squire & Knight
Scott Chantler
First Second
Published May 9, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Squire & Knight

A young squire tackles mysteries, monsters and magic, but the inept knight he serves takes the credit. Every time.

Squire is brainy, bookish, and terribly under-appreciated by the brawny, inept knight Sir Kelton, who somehow always gets all the glory. So when the two mismatched heroes find themselves in a cursed village plagued by a demonic dragon, Kelton rides off to slay it and Squire stays behind to catch up on some reading. But Squire starts to notice that something isn’t quite right about this town . . . Can he uncover its strange secrets?

My Review

I tend to be really picky about the artwork in graphic novels that I read. The cover of this one really drew me in. There’s so much going on in just that one image. The knight wrapped in the dragon’s tail and held upside down. The squire holding up the lantern and looking thoughtful– I love that the cover conveys this part of his character. He’s a thinker, which is probably harder to draw, since it is an internal process. Then there’s the skeleton dog standing beside the squire and the dragon’s face, behind him as if he’s sniffing a trail of some kind.

I loved the dragon’s character and how he talked. It’s different than the way the other characters talk, and that kind of cracked me up. I like the way the pieces of this story fit together, and the fact that it’s the squire who solves it. Brains over brawn for the win!

I think readers who enjoy fantasy graphic novels like THE LEGEND OF BRIGHTBLADE will like this one. I always read graphic novels thinking of my nephews and niece, who prefer them, and I think this is one I’ll add to my shelf for them to read.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Most human characters are white. One family from the town Squire helps has bronze skin and pointed ears.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used once.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
The squire hears rumors of a ghost haunting the town’s well. The town was founded by a wizard, and appears to be under some kind of curse. The townspeople blame a local dragon for their problems.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. The townspeople rally, intending to kill the dragon. The knight intends to kill the dragon. The dragon intends to eat the knight.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of SQUIRE & KNIGHT in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own.

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Check out other blogs talking about middle grade books today on Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays at Always in the Middle with Greg Pattridge.

Review: Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

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Sorcery of Thorns
Margaret Rogerson
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published June 4, 2019

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads | Book Depository

About SORCERY OF THORNS

All sorcerers are evil. Elisabeth has known that as long as she has known anything. Raised as a foundling in one of Austermeer’s Great Libraries, Elisabeth has grown up among the tools of sorcery—magical grimoires that whisper on shelves and rattle beneath iron chains. If provoked, they transform into grotesque monsters of ink and leather. She hopes to become a warden, charged with protecting the kingdom from their power.

Then an act of sabotage releases the library’s most dangerous grimoire. Elisabeth’s desperate intervention implicates her in the crime, and she is torn from her home to face justice in the capital. With no one to turn to but her sworn enemy, the sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn, and his mysterious demonic servant, she finds herself entangled in a centuries-old conspiracy. Not only could the Great Libraries go up in flames, but the world along with them.

As her alliance with Nathaniel grows stronger, Elisabeth starts to question everything she’s been taught—about sorcerers, about the libraries she loves, even about herself. For Elisabeth has a power she has never guessed, and a future she could never have imagined.

My Review

Wow wow wow. SORCERY OF THORNS is one of those books you could eat with a spoon. The story world feels rich and totally immersive. I loved the library where Elisabeth grew up. A library full of books that are literally dangerous?! So cool.

Elisabeth makes for a truly compelling heroine, too. She’s smart, loyal, and clever. She cares very much about doing the right thing, even when her heart and her head war with each other over what that right thing is.

Okay, and this is very weird, but I loved the demon character, Silas. In SORCERY OF THORNS, demons are creatures from another dimension who wield great power. Elisabeth has been taught that demons are evil, untrustworthy creatures, and yet she begins to suspect that Silas cares for Nathaniel and protects him, which should be impossible. I loved watching her hunch play out, and waiting to see if she’d be proved right, and to what extent. Also, OMG the end of this book! I have so much love for the ending.

Thinking about Nathaniel, I’m kind of burned out on the bad-boy-you-shouldn’t-love-because-he-isn’t-capable-of-returning-your-affection kind of thing lately, so I feel like Nathaniel had a pretty high hill to climb with me in terms of whether I’d actually like him. And honestly, by about the middle of the story, I really started to like him a lot. By the end, I was a true fan.

I haven’t read Margaret Rogerson’s first book, but you can read Gabrielle’s review. And after reading SORCERY OF THORNS, I absolutely have to get my hands on a copy of ENCHANTMENT OF RAVENS. If you liked the Thickety series by J. A. White or The Great Library series by Rachel Caine, you definitely want a copy of SORCERY OF THORNS in your hands as soon as possible.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Nathaniel briefly mentions that he is attracted to both men and women.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. At one point it seems like the kissing will go further but the couple is interrupted.

Spiritual Content
Sorcerers have the ability to summon demons (here seen as powerful monsters from another dimension). They bargain for the service of a demon, but receive no guarantee that the demon won’t double-cross them in some way to get their payment early.

Grimoires, books of magic spells, can transform into monsters if not stored properly. Even in their book form, they seem alive.

One character is a demon summoned to service by Nathaniel.

Violent Content
Lots of battle scenes in which characters face monsters and mortal peril.

Drug Content 
A few scenes show social drinking as would be appropriate for the culture.

Note: I received a free copy of SORCERY OF THORNS by Margaret Rogerson in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links which cost you nothing but which help support this blog.