The fate of Camelot hangs by a thread. The legendary sword Excalibur has vanished. But who took it—and why?
When Aria and Liam are transported into ancient England, they land face-to-face with the most famous druid in history: Merlin, and his adopted son, a teenager named Arthur.
Merlin has a problem. Arthur is the secret son of the late King Uther Pendragon, and his only chance to claim the throne of England is by pulling the sword Excalibur from the stone. But the Circle of Druids —the most powerful magical society in England— has hidden it. They’ve chosen their king, and his name is Lancelot.
Merlin needs Aria and Liam’s help to find the sword before it’s too late. There’s just one problem: Arthur is the most insufferable person they’ve ever met.
And the more time they spend with Arthur, the more Aria and Liam start to wonder if saving England might mean stopping him from getting the sword. Because the boy who’s supposed to be king? He’s acting like anything but one.
Can they find Excalibur and trust Arthur with it, or should they let Lancelot pull the sword and risk being trapped in the past forever?
Book Details
Author: Coline Monsarrat
Publisher: Apicem Publishing
Series: Aria & Liam
Age range: 8 to 12 years old
Genre: middle-grade, adventure, historical, fantasy
Time-period: England (5th century)
ISBN: 978-1-959814-28-3
Format: paperback and e-book
❝ During this adventure, I learned an important lesson: when everything is handed to you on a silver platter without any effort, life actually becomes harder. There are some things you can’t get with the snap of a finger, and if you’ve never trained yourself to work hard and improve, you can become so lazy that it’s like walking through life with weights around your ankles. That’s why it’s important not to always take the easy route. Sometimes, working hard is the best way to reach your dreams.❞
❝ Let’s be honest: I wasn’t sold on Arthur for a LONG time during this adventure. I even wondered if Liam and I should just give up on him. But the truth is that giving him a second chance when he showed that he really wanted to change was the best decision we could have made. Change takes time, but having the intention to improve is already half the journey. So never stop trying, and when you realize you’ve made a mistake, work to change it! ❞
In writing this book, I wanted to explore two themes I believe are essential for children to understand early: entitlement and the relationship between effort and achievement. The legend of Merlin and Arthur felt like the perfect vehicle. Merlin’s magic shielding Arthur from every hardship growing up is a powerful backdrop for showing what happens when a child is never asked to struggle. Life feels easy, until suddenly it isn’t. My own belief is simple: an easy life is built on doing hard things, not avoiding them. The second theme is broader. Aria and Liam find themselves in a dilemma: should they help someone simply because he is destined to rule, or step aside for the person who has actually earned it? It is a question about fairness, merit, and the values we use to build a just society.
More Books in the series
Coline Monsarrat grew up believing books were gateways to magical realms where anything was possible. Her love for history and her endless curiosity shaped her belief that life is an adventure waiting to be written—and we are the authors of our own stories.