"I look into the eyes of your sons before me, and I see that their destiny is intertwined with the magic and the non-magic, the great sickness, a great sadness, and a great war."
Brothers Shiloh and Jonah, the oldest of the Robertston siblings, have always longed to leave their beloved family's ranch to pursue knighthood. This seems like an impossible dream, especially since no knights remain after the mysterious three-year search. However, as Princess Elenor reaches the age of fourteen and prepares to travel the world in search of a suitable partner, King Leon of Mairia announces that there is to be a tournament to find the perfect pair of knights to be her royal escort.
Determined to make their lifelong dream a reality, Shiloh and Jonah spend weeks practicing to sharpen their skills before traveling to the Castle at Paddstow to officially enter the tournament. Over the course of several days, the eighty pairs selected to compete are tested on sword fighting, archery, fitness of mind, horse riding, and heart-but the tests continue beyond the official challenges. As rivalries erupt and various duos reveal glimpses of their true personalities and motivations, Shiloh and Jonah work relentlessly to prove themselves worthy of knighthood both inside and outside the confines of the tournament. Will the brothers come out on top? Or will another tournament pair claim the title?
With magical creatures like centaurs, distinctive characters to root for and oppose, and even some surprising twists along the way, The Knights of Mairia is a middle-grade fantasy novel that shouldn't be missed. Readers of all ages will find themselves immersed in the action-charged yet heartwarming narrative that captures themes of family, courage, honor, and pure heart. Punctuated with an intriguing thread of darkness hinting at what's to come in subsequent books, this epic and fanciful story artfully conveys the value of altruism and treating everyone, no matter their background or appearance, with kindness and love.
Roberts, Brittney: - Brittney Roberts lives in the ceaselessly rainy half of Washington State with her husband and guild of happy little knights (four of the most passionately rambunctious, frighteningly brave, endlessly chatty boys you've ever met). And when she's not preventing one of them from impaling themselves with something sharp, preparing them to be functioning people in the world, or attending their weekly taekwondo classes, she's trying to squeeze in time to transfer all the words and pictures stuck in her head onto paper. It was the combination of a waltz through a dimly lit forest and her toddler's demand for yet another new story that birthed the characters of Shiloh and Jonah, the beautiful (sunny) land of Mairia, all the scary and wonderful creatures that inhabit said land, and the story that knits them all together. Does it matter that she has completed triathlons, recorded an awful CD out of high school, or can do "live long and prosper" with her toes? No. What matters is where you find glimpses of yourself somewhere in her story, be it in a fierce competitor, a person content with the slow life, a mistake maker, or a forgiver. Read and enjoy.
