Feathers of the Phoenix

this was a great start to the Atlantean Horse series, I enjoyed the concept and thought it worked well. I loved the use of the four horsemen and the way it was weaved into the story. The characters were what I was hoping for and invested in their story. It left me wanting to read more in this universe and from Cheryl Carpinello.

"With tears streaming down his face, the one left took one final look at his mother, the citizens, and the beauty of Atlantis before he turned the sails and left the shores of his home forever. Poseidon had watched all that transpired, saddened his test of the citizens’ compassion had failed. He sent gentle waves to ease the journey of the one left and guided the ship to another island far from Atlantis’ shores."

👫Good kid's adventure tale📖

I would place this as a story for middle-graders, maybe on the younger end, as it focuses on two siblings having an explorer style adventure chase with a villain to avoid. Don't look for a lot of character development. As an adult, I found the beginning most interesting as it posits what happened to fabled Atlantis.

Good suspense as teenagers Rosa and younger brother Jerome chase clues to assist in the revival of Atlantis. And Rosa's special ability to hear the dead who apply to her for help was a nice twist. So, a bit of fantasy adventure on a small Greek island.

Rosa keeps referencing her previous adventure in time travel to ancient Egypt and I found that a bit distracting. This story ends in a HFN and indications that the story may continue in several sequels that take the pair to other destinations. I would not mind seeing where they go even though this is not a book written with an adult readership in mind.

Thanks to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the story; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

Rosa is an experienced time traveller who appeared in the excellent Sons of the Sphinx, and I think she was responsible for giving Jerome an ankh to keep in touch. For Jerome, the idea of time travel is, well, screwy. So despite his joy at a holiday with Rosa to a Greek island to see his grandfather, when he starts experiencing odd events he dismisses them – apart from the weird people who seem to want to break into grandfather’s house. Like a good adventurer, he decides to track them down.

That leads grandfather to reveal the secret of the Five Feathers… and the adventure takes off, with secret signs, hidden caves, journeys in the dark, rock falls, and baddies around every corner. And the statue of an Atlantean horse with an all-too-knowing look in in its eye.

This is an excellent adventure, and will lead even the most reluctant reader onwards to discover the location of the next feather – and who will turn up to try to prevent Jerome and Rosa from finding it. Cheryl Carpinello writes exciting contemporary language for the more reluctant older middle grader. I’m looking forward to the rest of the series!