After twenty years of peace in the land of Etria, war has come crashing across its borders. Both Wanonia to the north and Ruschmann Blackwell to the south have waged attacks.
Suddenly, three young brothers find themselves thrust into the role of battlefront soldiers. Following separate paths, the three hone their skills and fight for their people.
The eldest brother, Borus, becomes a full-fledged swordmaster.
The middle brother, Kass, masters horseback archery.
The youngest brother, Jules, delves further into the art of weather magic.
Years pass as friendships are tested, and lives are lost. Only then are Borus, Kass, and Jules reunited on a top-secret diplomatic mission. Can their bond as brothers withstand the challenges they face? Or will they become the latest casualties of the dragon sorcerer?
From Award-winning author Elizabeth R. Jensen comes The Hawk's Flight, a gripping tale of adventure and the unbreakable bond of family.
The characters, refreshingly, demonstrate honesty, integrity, and even a vulnerability too often uncharacteristic of masculine heroes, as all three care deeply for their friends, family, and kingdom. The brothers’ skills allow for a variety of types of fantasy action: Jules, the only “weather mage” in Etria, explores the techniques and application of magical powers in striking scenes, while Kass’s apprenticeship with a knight master gives him the rare opportunity to gain skills unforeseen for squires of the era. Meanwhile, Borus, the eldest, wields his sword and leadership skills with increasing alacrity. Jensen emphasizes throughout that this kind of heroism demands commitment and hard training.
While the brothers and their journeys are vividly detailed, this volume leaves it to readers to fill in much of the social, economical, and especially physical landscape of the lands in which the Wolfensbergers train and battle. Still, the eloquent writing and courtly dialogue (“It is not always the enemy outside the walls that is the worst one, it is the enemy inside your head”) as well as the serious treatment of boys maturing into heroes results in a rich, engaging read that takes young people seriously.
Takeaway: This chivalric trilogy emphasizes character, training, and adventure.
Great for fans of: Margaret Peterson Haddix’s Greystone Secrets series, Diane Magras’s The Mad Wolf's Daughter.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
IndieReader Approved - 4 Star Review
The second installment of the Three Brothers Trilogy for middle grade readers finds the three Wolfensberger brothers in an epic battle to protect their homeland.
Three brothers on very different paths come of age as heroic soldiers as they seek to protect their country from both the invading hordes of neighboring Wanonia and the traitorous Ruschmann Blackwell and his ruthless bandits. The eldest brother, Borus, is a master swordsman, the middle brother, Kass, an archer, and the youngest brother, Jules, has studied hard at the Trinity Page and Squire School and now excels at weather magic. Through the six year time frame of the novel the brothers follow their own trajectories until they unite in a titanic battle with Waha, a sorcerer who can change into a dragon at will.
THE HAWK’S FLIGHT (Book Two of the Three Brothers Trilogy) is a dramatic and well paced novel which colorfully evokes a time of medieval knights and their tales of valor. There are plenty of swords and a lot of sorcery. There are dragons and whispers of demons, fairies and other strange creatures. Author Elizabeth R. Jensen is excellent at world building and her imagined realm of Etria and its surrounding countries is a convincing simulacrum blending elements of the historic middle ages of Europe with the elevated fantasy of Arthurian legend. Her lead characters, who have grown in age, of course, but more importantly in stature since they debuted in the previous novel, The Wolf’s Den, are well drawn and their fraternal bond is a nice counterbalance to their individualized, sometimes headstrong, desires. Jensen continues to build on the familial regal lineage with the shadow of the elder Wolfensberger ever present.
The novel is surprisingly violent including blood thirsty battle scenes and the late appearance of a severed head. More sensitive younger readers should perhaps approach with caution but for most the relentless action will thrill. Jensen’s decision to write in the present tense lends an immediacy to the proceedings and heightens the drama as the brothers cope with whatever obstacles are thrown in their path. In addition, illustrator Melissa Stevens provides a wonderfully detailed map at the beginning of the novel which sets the scene perfectly. Indeed, the layout and design of the entire book is very stylishly executed.
Elizabeth R. Jensen’s THE HAWK’S FLIGHT (Book Two of the Three Brothers Trilogy) is a beautifully designed and thoroughly entertaining sword and sorcery fantasy that builds on the groundwork of the first book and showcases a fully rounded cast of characters with enough intrigue and jeopardy to hook young readers into needing to find out how this saga will conclude in the final volume.
~Kent Lane for IndieReader
5-Star Review:
Reviewed by Pikasho Deka for Readers’ Favorite
The Hawk's Flight is the second installment of the Three Brothers Trilogy by Elizabeth R. Jensen. The Kingdom of Etria is in the middle of great turmoil as war plagues its borders, with Wanonia in the north and the traitor Ruschmann Blackwell in the south testing its resolve. As King Renard marshalls his knights, the three young grandsons of General Burchard Wolfensberger, Borus, Kass, and Jules, find themselves marching on the battlefront as pages to knights. While Borus shows extraordinary ability with the sword, Kass excels in horseback archery, and Jules grows into a mage. After an eventual peace between Etria and Wanonia, the brothers are sent on a diplomatic mission where things don't go according to plan. Meanwhile, an attack on King Renard threatens to plunge Etria into chaos once again. Will the brothers be able to fulfill their prophesied destiny?
A delicious mix of action, magic, and courtly intrigue makes The Hawk's Flight a captivating fantasy odyssey for young adults. Author Elizabeth R. Jensen weaves a gripping yarn set in a fictional medieval land of kings, knights, princes, and magic where three young brothers are thrust into momentous events of great impact. The narrative transports the reader into a fantastical setting where Jensen engages you with her intricate world-building and distinct characters. The brotherly dynamic between Borus, Kass, and Jules feels genuine, with their different personality traits and interactions making for some absorbing scenes. I had a wonderful time reading The Hawk's Flight and think other fantasy readers will feel the same.
