Nothing in their wildest imagination could have prepared Rosa and Jerome for what lay in wait in Ancient Iceland as they search for the 2nd Feather…
Rosa can hear the dead. That gift has already pulled her into impossible places… and deadly danger.
Now, on the Autumnal Equinox, Rosa and her cousin Jerome are summoned again. Their mission: travel to Iceland, the Land of Fire and Ice, and retrieve the second Golden Red Feather of the Phoenix. Because only when all five Feathers are united can Atlantis rise from the ocean depths and its lost people finally return home.
But Iceland isn’t empty.
Ancient guardians still roam beneath the Norse Star… and something far worse has arrived first. A shapeshifting Horseman rides the frozen wilderness, hunting the Feather, and willing to kill for it.
With earthquakes shaking the land, wicked laughter in the wind, and a mysterious Ancient One waiting in the ice, Rosa and Jerome must survive the most dangerous quest yet… before time runs out.
Under the Norse Star (Feathers of the Phoenix Book 2) is available at Amazon and the author’s website.
╰┈➤Book Details
Genre: Time Travel/Fantasy
Sub-genre: Norse Mythology/Legends/Teens & Young Adult
Language:English
Pages: 132
Paperback ISBN: 978-1804401323
╰┈➤Here’s What Readers Have To Say!
“Spellbinding, chilling, and dazzling, Rosa’s icy quest for Phoenix feathers enthralls completely. Highly recommended.” – The International Review of Books
“It’s a multilayered adventure that blends time travel, ancient lore, and danger. It can easily stand alongside Rick Riordan’s Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, which blends modern fantasy with Norse mythology. But Under the Norse Star also stands out in its own way with its rich world-building and its engaging and memorable storyline.” – ReaderViews
Off in the distance, calving ice trembles and explodes, bouncing off granite, sending ocean waves crashing across the northern fjords of Eyjafjordur. Puffins flee into the cloudless sky. Killer whales expose their white bellies as they leap in the air and dive deep into the reverberating blue ocean to escape. And always the stench of rotten eggs makes its way across the water to the land beyond.
Just beyond the horizon, beneath the ofttimes frozen earth, molten lava courses. Continually through light and dark, it forges a way through millennium old glaciers, melting a pathway through the volcanic rock. Sharp, red hot surfaces create vents the liquid fire rises through, filling the air with odorous sulfur. Gaseous clouds form inches above the ground, fatal to any invaders, and wind their way up my valleys bounded by basalt cliffs
Still further yet across its width, mountains tremble, shake, cry, and break as the Earth-fire comes alive. Thunderous roars fill the air, twisting trees, crashing rocks, splitting the earth. More caustic odors flow from newly missing mountain crowns. Fiery liquids flow down those sides further reshaping the terrain and carving out deep furrows. Immense heat incinerates all it touches: vegetation, trees, and ice. The mountains keep belching, sending scorching lava faster and faster down the slopes. Soon entire valleys disappear beneath hot, red glows. As night approaches, the mountains cough and quietly go to sleep. In the cool of late night and early morning, fires burn out, leaving blackened lava rock on the earth. Steaming vapors find a way through and curl up into small clouds hanging just inches from the burnt ground.
Protecting and watching.
Long before the dawn of civilization, before today’s world took shape, this island stood here. Long before humans set foot on its shores and rocky landscape, beings lived here. Mystical beings which guarded and protected this isle.
Always this isle is guarded. Land Spirits (Landvaettir) watch. In the North, a massive Griffin roams. A Fire Breathing Dragon guards the East. The South sits under the all-seeing eye of a Giant who stands taller than the trees. In the West, an enormous bull watches for danger. My guardians, forever on duty, ensure the safety of our home. I oversee them all.
And above all, long before names were given, long before humans knew of them, heavenly stars lit this northern world. Given names by the Norsemen, these guiding stars brought far away travelers to these shores. Today, some call them by different names, but one is always known by the same name: the Norse Star. This star and others still shine, in the light and in the dark, upon this land adding mystery to the magical. These beings watch closely even over me.
This is my home.
I am the Gyrfalcon. Greatest of Strength and Speed. I am the Land of Fire and Ice.
I am Iceland.
But once, from centuries far removed, a simple golden red Feather floated down and hid itself here. And now danger threatens all.
– Excerpted from Feathers of the Phoenix: Under the Norse Star Book 2, Silver Quill Publishing, 2025. Reprinted with permission.
Cheryl Carpinello is a retired high school English teacher. Her Tales and Legends appeal to readers of all ages, particularly those who have struggled with reading. Through her 25 years teaching diverse readers, she’s found that stories from the Ancient Worlds and Arthurian Legend draw in readers of all abilities.
She writes Arthurian Legend focused on these cornerstones: Courage, Honor, Loyalty, & Friendship. Her tales from Egypt & the new series Feathers of the Phoenix meld the ancient/medieval worlds with today. The Atlantean Horse and Under the Norse Star, books 1 &2 of Feathers of the Phoenix, brings the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse out of the Bible & into the modern world.
Her Grandma/Grandpa’s Tales, short illustrated nature stories, help the youngest readers build their reading skills. At the 2nd grade reading level, these stories are suitable for readers aged 4 and up.
She also does classroom & zoom visits where students can create their own Illuminated Poetry.
As retired teachers, Cheryl and her husband love to travel. They attend college football games around the US each year and also travel abroad for fun and research. They’ve been to Egypt, the UK, Iceland, Norway, Mexico & the Caribbean.
Visit her website at https://www.cherylcarpinello.com.
Connect with her on social media at:
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╰┈➤Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cheryl.carpinello1
╰┈➤Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ccarpine1/
╰┈➤BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/cheryl-carpinello
