I've read the first book of this series called "Pegasus: The Flame of Olympus" and this first book showed a lot of promise. The lead heroine Emily was a can-do girl and nothing will stop her from protecting what she believed is right and her friends and family. I gave this first book a lot of slack especially with the lack of villain complexity (the villains were very black and white to a cartoony level) and lack of depth in the story and characters as not only is this a first book of a series but one targeted to grade school kids. I knew if I was a young girl in fifth grade I would have adored this kind of story and probably would have re-read it several times.Sadly, the potential of "Pegasus: Olympus at War" never did measure up to what I was hoping for. I was very irritated by the back seat that Emily, who was the leading lady, was placed into time and again. While her male friends were doing all of the dangerous legwork, they constantly pushed down Emily to a damsel-in-distress position and that irritated me to no end. I'm a big fan of strong female characters, and kid or no, Emily's most recent character changes from book one to book two was a huge let down. In fact, until the very end of the book I was not inspired by her place in the story at all. I understand she had to go through some changes with her newest role but it was done in such an extremely passive way that Emily's character was totally killed for me.One good thing about this second book though was that the villains were finally put in a more complex light. Not too cartoony nor black and white and regained much of that complexity that I was starving for in the first book. The supporting characters also had more complexity as they grew to more than what they were, particularly Joel who is the only human in their adventuring party. However, the big negative was the development of Emily who should be more important since the story is about her and I honestly can't forgive her for being so passive throughout the majority of the story. I was honestly excited to read this second book after the first but now that I have read it, I can honestly say that I will not be reading the third upcoming book in this series. There are some "Independent Readers" books that are enjoyable to read for both kids and adults like the Harry Potter books or the Percy Jackson books. This book series is sadly not one of them. ** ATTENTION **THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS BUT I WOULD PREFER NOT TO HIDE IT FROM THE LOVELY EYES OF ALL YOU GOODREADERIANS OR WHATEVER YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE CALLED! SO IF YOU PLEASE, DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW IF YOU DO NOT WANT SPOILERS. IF YOU DO, DO NOT COME CRYING TO ME AND ASKING ME TO MAKE YOU UNSEE IT BECAUSE YOU DID NOT READ THIS MILDLY AMUSING PARAGRAPH THAT IS IN ALL CAPITALS! SO ANYWAYS, IF YOU DARE, PROCEED AND READ THE REVIEW >.>Such a good book! I am in love with this series. I love how it's not the Nirads (personally I think four armed monsters would be rather cute, even if their skin is like marble) and showing the Nirad's kind personality is so lovely. Emily's spirit, bravery and defiance is always well written and beautifully portrayed. I lovelovelovelovelove the sistery-brothery bond between Joel and Emily, it really shows how much they care for each other. "Now dry those tears before you blow us all up and ruin my plans for escape" - Joel.The last part, where it's talking about how no one knows who's really holding Emily's heart has gotten me into a frenzy. It's obviously Joel, but then again Kate O'Hearn might have used this to make it Paelen. After all, it's always talking about how Paelen can cheer Emily up and his crooked smiles, etc. but then I think it's Joel again because of how much they like each other: UGH. Love stories that confuse me always get me worked up, but they're always the best ones, so I guess I'll just wait and see. *takes deep breath, calms down*I love how the Gorgons have personality as well. How boring would it be if they were just vicious killers? They still ARE vicious killers, but there's more than that. They grieve their sister and are thirsty for power and defeat of others above them. But there are two sides to every story. Although they did want to kill Emily's dad in the end, they spared him at first (I know they had reason too, but at least they DID, they could have just killed him on the spot). Anyways, REALLY great book and I totally recommend it!**sorry for the spoilers.
What do You think about Olympus At War (2013)?
I wasn't real sure about the sequel when I started reading it, but the story got better as it went.
—jamie
I like in this book how it talks about Medusa and her sisters.
—Amatus
Just as enjoyable as the first book. Keep writing!
—theduchessa
