Tagged: book 4
Book Blast: Written All Over Her by Mia Darien
Written All Over Her
By Mia Darien
Book Four in the
Welcome to Adelheid series
Published: May 27,
2013
One word can change the story of your life forever.
Abduction. Torture. Surrender.
Eleven months from her adolescence have framed thirty-one years of Detective Nykk Marlowe’s life. Despite the trauma of her past, and the unique physical scars it left her with, she’s built a career as a detective for the Adelheid Police Department.
Her personal life might only consist of caring for her sister and a pet rabbit, but she accepts that. She accepts that she’ll never be able to be like “normal” people, even the supernatural ones. As long as she can keep the past where it belongs, she’s okay.
But when the body of a teenage girl shows up with the same scars that Nykk sees in the mirror every day, her “okay” life gets turned upside down and she’s forced to confront the past she’s been looking away from for sixteen years.
And when it turns out there’s already more than one victim, the pressure’s on to stop the killer before any more girls are tortured, mutilated, and murdered.
“…This installment of the Adelheid series is dark, creepy, and extremely well written…”
“…Another winner from Mia Darien. It’s impossible for me to NOT fall in love with Darien’s carefully crafted protagonists…”
Parsifal’s Page by Gerald Morris
(Cover picture courtesy of Better World Books.)
Piers, watching from the door to the shop, gaped with awe at the night.
Piers is desperate to escape the dirty, tedious labor of his father’s blacksmith shop. So when a knight shows up and says he’s on “the quest,” Piers begs to go along. Surprisingly, his father lets him, and soon he is off on a series of adventures he never dreamed possible. However, Piers’s knight quickly runs into difficulties and is slain by an odd character named Parsifal, who is on his own quest. Piers has no other choice but to join him. As their journey continues, Piers begins to realize what being a knight really means.
Apparently the legend of Parsifal is quite famous, although I have only heard of it through the title of Richard Wagner’s opera, fittingly called ‘Parsifal‘. And no, I had not even watched the opera, just heard of it. My only encounter with Parsifal thus far was briefly when Gawain wrestled with him in the Other World. However, I’m glad Gerald Morris saw fit to bring Parsifal to the front of the stage.
This story is not told by Parsifal himself, but rather by Piers, his page. Piers was raised to believe knights should follow a strict code of courtesy and that questions were impertinent. It is this latter belief that gets both of them into trouble and in the end Piers’ views of knighthood are drastically altered. Since this fourth book in The Squire’s Tales is told from the point of view of Piers, we do not get to see Parsifal’s thoughts, which is a real shame. I personally would have liked to learn more about Parsifal’s motivations and his life in the Other World, but Piers is a decent enough narrator.
Once again the story is not so much about Terence and Gawain, although they appear in it and definitely challenge Piers’ views of the relationship between squire and knight. While Parsifal’s Page is not my absolute favourite book in The Squire’s Tales, it’s certainly a good book and a fitting retelling of yet another popular Arthurian legend. Sometimes authors lose their steam by the third or fourth book in a series, but this is certainly not the case for Gerald Morris. He has attacked the legend with all the enthusiasm you would expect and delivers a heartwarming tale of friendship and love.
I give this book 4/5 stars.