Book Review: Pegasus and the Flame

A young girl, a winged horse, and a war of epic proportions make for an adventurous start to an exciting new trilogy.

When Pegasus crashes onto a Manhattan roof during a terrible storm, Emily’s life changes forever. Suddenly allied with a winged horse she’d always thought was mythical, Emily is thrust into the center of a fierce battle between the Roman gods and a terrifying race of multiarmed stone warriors called the Nirads. Emily must team up with a thief named Paelen, the goddess Diana, and a boy named Joel in order to return Pegasus to Olympus and rescue the gods from a certain death.

Along the way, Emily and her companions will fight monsters, run from a government agency that is prepared to dissect Pegasus, and even fly above the Manhattan skyline—all as part of a quest to save Olympus before time runs out. When I picked this up off the shelf, I made the mistake of thinking it was a YA book. Truth be told, if I had known it was for a younger audience, I probably wouldn't have read it. 

It had a slightly predictable storyline regarding the flame, but there were enough surprises along the way to keep my interest. Emily is sweet and I like how she bonded with Pegs (although I really can't stand him being called Pegs), and I also liked how she couldn't communicate with him unlike the Olympians. My favourite character was Paelan as he had some character growth that the others seemed to lack - hopefully that will be present in the next books.

I will be reading the next book, Pegasus and the Fight for Olympus, but my interest wasn't held enough for me to stick it to the top of the list. I did like it, and I would recommend it, but with the caveat that this is definitely aimed at the 12-15 age bracket.