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booksdogsandcoffee's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Top tier urban fantasy!
Vee and Bebelle excel in creating a lush and contemporary fantasy world in San Francisco, drenched in the beauty of Chinese culture, magic and mythology. A well rounded and intriguing cast of characters, with a sassy badass lead.
My favorite part of the whole book was learning about the families and the dragon magic connected to each of them.
I cannot wait to get more out of this series and to read other books by these two authors.
Cw
Blood
Gore
Death
Murder
Vee and Bebelle excel in creating a lush and contemporary fantasy world in San Francisco, drenched in the beauty of Chinese culture, magic and mythology. A well rounded and intriguing cast of characters, with a sassy badass lead.
My favorite part of the whole book was learning about the families and the dragon magic connected to each of them.
I cannot wait to get more out of this series and to read other books by these two authors.
Cw
Blood
Gore
Death
Murder
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Death, and Murder
lbelow's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
4.75
What a rollicking start to a series! This book was non-stop action mixed with the ever-entangling roots of connection: to family, to friends, to place. It was SO SATISFYING when Emiko finally accepted becoming the Sentinel . I wanted to pump my fist in the air! I also enjoyed how smart she is as a character. It was refreshing to read a mystery where she isn't scrounging for clues the entire time and making wrong guesses, but knows enough to pinpoint her target and is instead outgunned and has to regroup. It brought Emiko's lone wolf character flaw into stark relief as she had to change tactics and open herself to taking allies. Honestly, after this riot of a book, I cannot wait for book 2!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Death, and Gore
wanderonwards's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thank you to Macmillan/TOR Publishing Group for sending me an ARC of this title. I received this copy for free and this review contains my honest opinions.
I’m always excited to see more urban fantasy (and everything about this book just sounded so good!) and I was secretly hoping this would be one of my top reads of the year. Unfortunately, Ebony Gate didn’t quite deliver on its promise for me. While Emiko was a promising character and I really enjoyed the world building and magic system, I think both the plot and the ways the characters interacted let this story down. At times the plot felt like it was trying to go in every direction at once and the pacing suffered, despite the story taking place over only a couple of days. Additionally, most of the other characters had only brief interactions with Emiko and their page time felt more like introductions for larger roles in later books, rather than helping the plot progress. I am hopeful this series will find its stride in the next book. Thank you again to the publisher for sending me a free ARC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Physical abuse, and Death
catsandbookstacks's review against another edition
3.5
*Thank you to @torbooks and @netgalley for the eARC.
Ebony Gate is the first book in an urban fantasy trilogy with Asian mythology roots and complex worldbuilding. I picked this up because of the comp to an Asian John Wick set in San Francisco.
There are over the top action sequences with a retired assassin, but add magical abilities. This book is fun and explores themes of finding one's home, new identity, traditions and grief.
Emiko has abandoned her duties as her family's Blade and became a hermit in San Francisco. She tries to keep everyone at arms length in order to protect them, especially after the massacre that named her the "Butcher of Beijing."
She's an interesting character who strives to fulfil her family duty when a Talon (favour) is called and ends up requesting assistance from the Tran siblings. Freddy and Fiona are entertaining, both with opposing personalities, and Freddy stood out in scenes. I also look forward to seeing more Adam, Andie and Tessa.
The novel happens over a short period of time but the pacing drags at times due to overwriting and repetition. I couldn't place what was feeling off for me until I read another review where they mentioned heavy handed omniscient reveals, which made it a little less interesting.
Emiko is also not as smart as she should be for an assassin? She talks about how she was training and how she's gotten sloppy - but she's super sloppy?
Overall, I enjoyed Ebony Gate for its fun and action-packed adventure. It intrigues me enough to want to continue the trilogy, though I do hope that the writing is tightened up in future books.
Ebony Gate is the first book in an urban fantasy trilogy with Asian mythology roots and complex worldbuilding. I picked this up because of the comp to an Asian John Wick set in San Francisco.
There are over the top action sequences with a retired assassin, but add magical abilities. This book is fun and explores themes of finding one's home, new identity, traditions and grief.
Emiko has abandoned her duties as her family's Blade and became a hermit in San Francisco. She tries to keep everyone at arms length in order to protect them, especially after the massacre that named her the "Butcher of Beijing."
She's an interesting character who strives to fulfil her family duty when a Talon (favour) is called and ends up requesting assistance from the Tran siblings. Freddy and Fiona are entertaining, both with opposing personalities, and Freddy stood out in scenes. I also look forward to seeing more Adam, Andie and Tessa.
The novel happens over a short period of time but the pacing drags at times due to overwriting and repetition. I couldn't place what was feeling off for me until I read another review where they mentioned heavy handed omniscient reveals, which made it a little less interesting.
Emiko is also not as smart as she should be for an assassin? She talks about how she was training and how she's gotten sloppy - but she's super sloppy?
Overall, I enjoyed Ebony Gate for its fun and action-packed adventure. It intrigues me enough to want to continue the trilogy, though I do hope that the writing is tightened up in future books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Death
Minor: Xenophobia
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