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merethebookgal's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this one! The world building was super interesting, but I think I was able to enjoy it more because of a different book— I read H is for Hawk a couple of years ago and learned a lot about falconry and caring for falcons. If I didn’t have that foundational knowledge, all of the falconry talk in this book may have been a bit confusing. I could be wrong, but I think it improved my appreciation of the story and the world centered around falconry. I’m interested in continuing the series!
sheyri's review against another edition
3.0
TW for the book:
I really don't want to give this book three stars, because it does have potential for more. But my overall enjoyment didn't allow more.
Short version:
Good, promising start, but weaker execution.
Long version:
The story itself is fascinating. We don't get to see a people completely based on falconry in a fantasy setting very often. And while most of the plot focuses on what is basically a McGuffin hunt, it is still interesting.
Unfortunately, it lacks logic, mostly when it comes to distances.
Starting with the map:
It's very, very inconsistent with its scale. There is no way you can mark a single, small house on a map that shows the entire nation. That makes it look like you could cross the entire plain/plateau in one to two days. Yet it takes the invading/enemy force weeks to do so, since the rumor that there even is an enemy force has been going around for several weeks, it seems.
Next:
Why would you send a hunting party from the capital to the Six Villages, to then go up into the mountains, to a pass that is literally next to the capital? Sure, to follow the MCs, but for that you could also meet them halfway, or, when you're in the Villages, at least speak to them?
And it isn't only distances on a large scale that don't make sense:
Kylee seems to have no problem understanding every single word her brother whispers while she stands atop a cliff that is at least a couple metres high and also several metres away from where her brother stands.
From up in the mountains, it's said you can see everything that's going on in the Six Villages far down below. Probably doesn't mean you could see every single person, but I take it as "you would see a larger gathering of people in the streets". I'm pretty sure that's not realistic.
It's also directly mentioned that the villagers can see every single movement around Kylee's and Brysen's home, even though it's a bit away from the village, on a higher level, and on a cliff (I think).
Kylee can see someone leaving their hut while she's standing in a pit. I'm not sure how deep that pit is, but there are steps leading down into it, so I guess at least two metres. So, first of all, Kylee wouldn't be able to see anything going on up there, and secondly, certainly not anything near ground level, like an entrance to a hut. The roof maybe, but not the door. Though I'm generally confused by what that pit actually looks like, since later on a bird flys up from either the slope of the mountain or the pit, and that just... what?
Lastly, some non-distance-related fail:
Also, the characters seem rather unclear in their personalities. They don't really have much depth. At least that's my impression.
Now (if you've read this far) you're probably wondering, why even three stars?
Those are lengthy examples, but mostly annoying and overall not too bad. I'd put it on outlining that wasn't detailed enough and inexperience.
And, as I've said, the story is interesting (and I will read on), it just shows that probably no one checked the continuity.
Spoiler
physical and mental child abuse, slight reference to self-harm, violenceI really don't want to give this book three stars, because it does have potential for more. But my overall enjoyment didn't allow more.
Short version:
Good, promising start, but weaker execution.
Long version:
The story itself is fascinating. We don't get to see a people completely based on falconry in a fantasy setting very often. And while most of the plot focuses on what is basically a McGuffin hunt, it is still interesting.
Unfortunately, it lacks logic, mostly when it comes to distances.
Starting with the map:
It's very, very inconsistent with its scale. There is no way you can mark a single, small house on a map that shows the entire nation. That makes it look like you could cross the entire plain/plateau in one to two days. Yet it takes the invading/enemy force weeks to do so, since the rumor that there even is an enemy force has been going around for several weeks, it seems.
Next:
Why would you send a hunting party from the capital to the Six Villages, to then go up into the mountains, to a pass that is literally next to the capital? Sure, to follow the MCs, but for that you could also meet them halfway, or, when you're in the Villages, at least speak to them?
And it isn't only distances on a large scale that don't make sense:
Kylee seems to have no problem understanding every single word her brother whispers while she stands atop a cliff that is at least a couple metres high and also several metres away from where her brother stands.
From up in the mountains, it's said you can see everything that's going on in the Six Villages far down below. Probably doesn't mean you could see every single person, but I take it as "you would see a larger gathering of people in the streets". I'm pretty sure that's not realistic.
It's also directly mentioned that the villagers can see every single movement around Kylee's and Brysen's home, even though it's a bit away from the village, on a higher level, and on a cliff (I think).
Kylee can see someone leaving their hut while she's standing in a pit. I'm not sure how deep that pit is, but there are steps leading down into it, so I guess at least two metres. So, first of all, Kylee wouldn't be able to see anything going on up there, and secondly, certainly not anything near ground level, like an entrance to a hut. The roof maybe, but not the door. Though I'm generally confused by what that pit actually looks like, since later on a bird flys up from either the slope of the mountain or the pit, and that just... what?
Lastly, some non-distance-related fail:
Spoiler
If a bird is about as big as a horse, with according wingspan, it doesn't matter how little it weighs, you can't carry it on your back! Especially not down a difficult mountain track!Also, the characters seem rather unclear in their personalities. They don't really have much depth. At least that's my impression.
Now (if you've read this far) you're probably wondering, why even three stars?
Those are lengthy examples, but mostly annoying and overall not too bad. I'd put it on outlining that wasn't detailed enough and inexperience.
And, as I've said, the story is interesting (and I will read on), it just shows that probably no one checked the continuity.
thebooknerdscorner's review
3.0
The intriguing start to a high fantasy series starring cutthroat falconry, owl cults, and brutal survival against the odds.
I love London's series "Proxy," so when I saw this series at my library, I couldn't help but grab them. They seemed like an interesting fantasy starring birds, which seems to be its own subgenre this day. As I began reading it, I found the concept interesting but the overall pacing to be incredibly slow. This caused me to try out my first audiobook when I got halfway through because I kept drifting off.
Let's start with the positives. I really love the bond between the twins, Brysen and Kylee. They would do anything for one another and I'm always down for strong sibling relationships. The abuse they suffer at the hands of their parents is brutal, but it is so uplifting to see them work through this together. I also love how attached Brysen is to his hawk, Shara. He is a bit demanding of her, but in the long run cares deeply for her and is willing to risk his life for this bird.
The world in this one is super interesting and unique, if a bit confusing. There is a complex political system in this one featuring kyrgs, spies, and assassins. I kind of drifted of during the major lore dumps when the perspective changed to the outside forces rather than Brysen and Kylee's POV, but hopefully that doesn't bite me too much in the books to come. I also love the magic surrounding the birds and nature in this one. There are giant ghost hawks that people strive to capture, trees that give people unique abilities, and a magical language devoted to talking to predatory birds.
Unfortunately, this book did have a bunch of downfalls for me. It took me a long time to truly like any of the characters. They all seemed really selfish and most of their early development depended almost entirely on them just trying to survive. Once we hit the point in the book when they are starting to meet other people on the mountain, I found it to get more interesting, but that was a large portion into the book. I did come to really like Jowyn as a character and I can't wait to see how he is implemented into the rest of the series.
The pacing in this one dragged on and on to me. I kept having to remind myself why I cared about any of the characters and I often found myself zoning out. I really dislike Brysen's boyfriend, Dymian, so it really made me mad that the entire beginning plot stemmed around him. He makes me so angry. Dymian=red flag alert.
Mostly, I just found this book to be rather long for no reason. I'm hoping this gets better in the next book, due to the fact they no longer have to lore drop and hopefully they'll have bigger problems from the get-go that makes the plot more interesting. This book also contained a bunch of fight scenes and survival scenes, which I tend to quickly lose interest in. Nothing against these types of books, but it tends to be a struggle to hook me. The one scene on the mountain starring Brysen and Jowyn was very well done though, and I enjoyed that one immensely.
Overall, I think my expectations were just too high going into this one. I loved one of London's previous works and expected the same euphoria, but that just wasn't the case. The start to the "Skybound" series has loads of promise though, so I hope that I can find myself enjoying the rest of the series more.
Additional audio book notes:
I thought that both the narrators, Michael Crouch as Brysen and Brittany Pressley as Kylee, both did a very good job. I found it especially hilarious when they made bird noises; they almost always had me laughing out loud. This story is often quite violent and gory, and I feel that they pulled of the somberness of the book excellently. This was my first audiobook, so I don't have much to compare it to, but I hope to listen to many more in the near future. 4/5 narration.
I love London's series "Proxy," so when I saw this series at my library, I couldn't help but grab them. They seemed like an interesting fantasy starring birds, which seems to be its own subgenre this day. As I began reading it, I found the concept interesting but the overall pacing to be incredibly slow. This caused me to try out my first audiobook when I got halfway through because I kept drifting off.
Let's start with the positives. I really love the bond between the twins, Brysen and Kylee. They would do anything for one another and I'm always down for strong sibling relationships. The abuse they suffer at the hands of their parents is brutal, but it is so uplifting to see them work through this together. I also love how attached Brysen is to his hawk, Shara. He is a bit demanding of her, but in the long run cares deeply for her and is willing to risk his life for this bird.
The world in this one is super interesting and unique, if a bit confusing. There is a complex political system in this one featuring kyrgs, spies, and assassins. I kind of drifted of during the major lore dumps when the perspective changed to the outside forces rather than Brysen and Kylee's POV, but hopefully that doesn't bite me too much in the books to come. I also love the magic surrounding the birds and nature in this one. There are giant ghost hawks that people strive to capture, trees that give people unique abilities, and a magical language devoted to talking to predatory birds.
Unfortunately, this book did have a bunch of downfalls for me. It took me a long time to truly like any of the characters. They all seemed really selfish and most of their early development depended almost entirely on them just trying to survive. Once we hit the point in the book when they are starting to meet other people on the mountain, I found it to get more interesting, but that was a large portion into the book. I did come to really like Jowyn as a character and I can't wait to see how he is implemented into the rest of the series.
The pacing in this one dragged on and on to me. I kept having to remind myself why I cared about any of the characters and I often found myself zoning out. I really dislike Brysen's boyfriend, Dymian, so it really made me mad that the entire beginning plot stemmed around him. He makes me so angry. Dymian=red flag alert.
Mostly, I just found this book to be rather long for no reason. I'm hoping this gets better in the next book, due to the fact they no longer have to lore drop and hopefully they'll have bigger problems from the get-go that makes the plot more interesting. This book also contained a bunch of fight scenes and survival scenes, which I tend to quickly lose interest in. Nothing against these types of books, but it tends to be a struggle to hook me. The one scene on the mountain starring Brysen and Jowyn was very well done though, and I enjoyed that one immensely.
Overall, I think my expectations were just too high going into this one. I loved one of London's previous works and expected the same euphoria, but that just wasn't the case. The start to the "Skybound" series has loads of promise though, so I hope that I can find myself enjoying the rest of the series more.
Additional audio book notes:
I thought that both the narrators, Michael Crouch as Brysen and Brittany Pressley as Kylee, both did a very good job. I found it especially hilarious when they made bird noises; they almost always had me laughing out loud. This story is often quite violent and gory, and I feel that they pulled of the somberness of the book excellently. This was my first audiobook, so I don't have much to compare it to, but I hope to listen to many more in the near future. 4/5 narration.
spector_27's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lookingforamandaa's review
4.0
4.5 stars - RTC.
Black Wings Beating follows two siblings, Brysen and Kylee. The grew up with an abusive father and a mother that never did anything to stop the abuse. After their father dies is when the story starts. This world is focused on birds from hawks to eagles to owls, we see all different kinds of birds play a part of this story. I thought the world built around birds (though there’s another people that are the opposite of the sibling’s people, who believe that the way the people of Uztar work with birds is unnatural) was really interesting. There are all these beliefs about how the people of Uztar came to cross the mountains with the help of birds. I thought it was really interesting even though I’m not someone that’s all that interested in birds in my regular life.
Brysen is gay and his boyfriend has gotten himself into trouble. So, Brysen volunteers to capture the well-known Ghost Eagle. This is seen to be an impossible task, but Brysen takes it on to save the boy he loves. Kylee doesn’t want any part of this, she just wants to get away from falconry. But when she sees how her brother goes up into the mountains with little to no preparations, she knows she must follow him to help or he will not succeed. So, Kylee goes along on this mission for a different kind of love. I liked both of these siblings. Brysen was kind of annoying and I totally saw the twist involving him coming. He had a good heart, but because of the way his father treated him, he felt as if he had something to prove. Kylee was more likeable. She has a rare ancient gift that she despises. But on this journey to capture the Ghost Eagle, both learn more about themselves, about one another, and about secrets they both have been keeping.
Overall, this was a fun and easy to follow story surrounding birds and falconry. There were a few side characters that I really liked too, but I felt like they could have been a bit better developed. I will absolutely be continuing on with the series. I listening to the audiobook, which I recommend. I enjoyed the narrators. I enjoyed this book and I’m glad I finally picked it up.
Black Wings Beating follows two siblings, Brysen and Kylee. The grew up with an abusive father and a mother that never did anything to stop the abuse. After their father dies is when the story starts. This world is focused on birds from hawks to eagles to owls, we see all different kinds of birds play a part of this story. I thought the world built around birds (though there’s another people that are the opposite of the sibling’s people, who believe that the way the people of Uztar work with birds is unnatural) was really interesting. There are all these beliefs about how the people of Uztar came to cross the mountains with the help of birds. I thought it was really interesting even though I’m not someone that’s all that interested in birds in my regular life.
Brysen is gay and his boyfriend has gotten himself into trouble. So, Brysen volunteers to capture the well-known Ghost Eagle. This is seen to be an impossible task, but Brysen takes it on to save the boy he loves. Kylee doesn’t want any part of this, she just wants to get away from falconry. But when she sees how her brother goes up into the mountains with little to no preparations, she knows she must follow him to help or he will not succeed. So, Kylee goes along on this mission for a different kind of love. I liked both of these siblings. Brysen was kind of annoying and I totally saw the twist involving him coming. He had a good heart, but because of the way his father treated him, he felt as if he had something to prove. Kylee was more likeable. She has a rare ancient gift that she despises. But on this journey to capture the Ghost Eagle, both learn more about themselves, about one another, and about secrets they both have been keeping.
Overall, this was a fun and easy to follow story surrounding birds and falconry. There were a few side characters that I really liked too, but I felt like they could have been a bit better developed. I will absolutely be continuing on with the series. I listening to the audiobook, which I recommend. I enjoyed the narrators. I enjoyed this book and I’m glad I finally picked it up.
donbon's review against another edition
It was a little too YA for me. I overlooked that to read a queer fantasy, but it was getting a bit too much.
And then it felt like nothing important happened for 100 pages. And then when the whole reason for these two kids to go get the legendary ghost eagle came up, it was as a debt payment owed by the gay brothers scuzzy boyfriend.
And the icing on the cake were the names.
Kylee, Brysen, Dymian, Nyall, Nyck, Symon, Vyvian, and more. Every couple sentences this naming scheme kept wrenching me out of a story I probably could have eventually warmed up to.
And then it felt like nothing important happened for 100 pages. And then when the whole reason for these two kids to go get the legendary ghost eagle came up, it was as a debt payment owed by the gay brothers scuzzy boyfriend.
And the icing on the cake were the names.
Kylee, Brysen, Dymian, Nyall, Nyck, Symon, Vyvian, and more. Every couple sentences this naming scheme kept wrenching me out of a story I probably could have eventually warmed up to.
bookish_notes's review
3.0
I’m going to have to re-read this book. I listened to it on audio, but I was definitely missing some things while listening. All I really know is that this book is BRUTAL. The descriptions are intense and there’s a lot of people getting horribly murdered or tortured. I like it and look forward to reading the second book, but I’ll definitely have to read this book in text form the second time around. The narrators were great, but I just tend to miss things listening to fantasy books as audiobooks.
Trigger warnings for physical abuse, emotional abuse, and graphic depictions of torture and murder.
Trigger warnings for physical abuse, emotional abuse, and graphic depictions of torture and murder.
animar19's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Brysen is intolerable for most of the book, especially in his treatment of Kylee. His character development was stagnant for most of the book but had a glimmer of light at the end and I hear gets better in future entries. I enjoyed the book otherwise and understand why Brysen was like that so I will be continuing the series
emilie_rose's review
4.0
4 stars (was originally 3.5, but was amended).
Twins Brysen and Kylee go on a journey to capture a ghost eagle, the same type of bird that killed their abusive father, to be able to pay off their debts. But there is war brewing in their world and the outcome of their journey could do much more than just pay off their debts, as their people are following them, hoping to both gain the power of the ghost eagle and the power that Kylee holds, one she barely understands, but could do great things with.
I loved the representation in this book. . Brysen is gay and the books characters never bat an eyelash at that.
I loved the shift in viewpoints between Kylee and Brysen and how we spent quite a lot of times in their heads. I found the interludes between sections to be interesting, but some of them seemed to not really mean much, but I am hoping that the information given in them will mean more as the series continues.
I also enjoyed how fully fleshed out of characters Kylee and Brysen were and how we really got in their heads and knew their thought processes. I may have been annoyed at times by them, especially Brysen, as he was kind of dense and a bit of a jerk and was really only out for himself for most of the book and he was hard to sympathize with, but he did have a well thought out personality. Kylee had a bit of that too, where she was very convinced she was right and sometimes seemed to have a bit of a martyr complex when it came to doing things that were against what she wanted, but the flaws that these characters exhibited made them seem very real to me. I may have not always found them to be sympathetic characters, but they did seem very real.
However, I thought that the other characters suffered a little in comparison. I think that there were a lot of characters and they came off a little one note and predictable at times, but maybe that was just in comparison to how well we knew the twins.
Maybe it was just that there were so many different players that it felt a little much, but I had trouble connecting to anyone else. They all seemed a little bit like story archetypes sometimes, like the alternate love interest or the one who is pining for someone who’s not into them, but I hold out hope that we get to know them better in future books.
The world building was mostly well done, but I found it to be a little confusing at times. It took me a while to get that there was the Council of Forty, which were the Kyrgs that were the ones with the most power ( I think, I'm still not totally sure) and then there were lower level kyrgs and there were the different religions and cultures, Kartami, Uztari, the Owl Mothers and then the Altari, which were present in the beginning and then somewhat disappeared. It did all get a bit confusing at times, so that could have been better explained somehow, but I mostly followed it.
I also thought that some of the plotting reveals were off. We find out later in the book that, and they did a big scene where they told each other that, Brysen not realizing Kylee already knew and Kylee telling him for the first time, but since we as the audience already knew that, it kind of made that scene anti climactic. If London has kept that info quiet until that moment, it would have made it more of an impact.
Lastly, this is super nit picky, but the names of the characters bothered me somewhat. They seemed like super modern names, at least for the most part, that had been spelled differently to make them seem more fantastical. It took me out of the story a bit at the beginning, but I got used to it more as the book went on. Not a book ruiner, just somewhat distracting.
Verdict: This book was an original idea that did a good job with its main characters, but needs to flesh out the side characters more. It was definitely entertaining and kept my attention, but did suffer from some plotting issues and the way that it released information. But this is one book that I will definitely be on the lookout for the sequel when it is released.
Edit: I have been thinking about this book since I posted this review and have decided while all of this still stands, the amount that I enjoyed this book, regardless of anything else, means that this book deserves four stars, so I am amending my rating to reflect that.
Twins Brysen and Kylee go on a journey to capture a ghost eagle, the same type of bird that killed their abusive father, to be able to pay off their debts. But there is war brewing in their world and the outcome of their journey could do much more than just pay off their debts, as their people are following them, hoping to both gain the power of the ghost eagle and the power that Kylee holds, one she barely understands, but could do great things with.
I loved the representation in this book. . Brysen is gay and the books characters never bat an eyelash at that.
I loved the shift in viewpoints between Kylee and Brysen and how we spent quite a lot of times in their heads. I found the interludes between sections to be interesting, but some of them seemed to not really mean much, but I am hoping that the information given in them will mean more as the series continues.
I also enjoyed how fully fleshed out of characters Kylee and Brysen were and how we really got in their heads and knew their thought processes. I may have been annoyed at times by them, especially Brysen, as he was kind of dense and a bit of a jerk and was really only out for himself for most of the book and he was hard to sympathize with, but he did have a well thought out personality. Kylee had a bit of that too, where she was very convinced she was right and sometimes seemed to have a bit of a martyr complex when it came to doing things that were against what she wanted, but the flaws that these characters exhibited made them seem very real to me. I may have not always found them to be sympathetic characters, but they did seem very real.
However, I thought that the other characters suffered a little in comparison. I think that there were a lot of characters and they came off a little one note and predictable at times, but maybe that was just in comparison to how well we knew the twins.
Maybe it was just that there were so many different players that it felt a little much, but I had trouble connecting to anyone else. They all seemed a little bit like story archetypes sometimes, like the alternate love interest or the one who is pining for someone who’s not into them, but I hold out hope that we get to know them better in future books.
The world building was mostly well done, but I found it to be a little confusing at times. It took me a while to get that there was the Council of Forty, which were the Kyrgs that were the ones with the most power ( I think, I'm still not totally sure) and then there were lower level kyrgs and there were the different religions and cultures, Kartami, Uztari, the Owl Mothers and then the Altari, which were present in the beginning and then somewhat disappeared. It did all get a bit confusing at times, so that could have been better explained somehow, but I mostly followed it.
I also thought that some of the plotting reveals were off. We find out later in the book that
Spoiler
Kylee and Brysen followed their father up the mountain the day he was killed and that Kylee was the one to kill him to protect Brysen.Lastly, this is super nit picky, but the names of the characters bothered me somewhat. They seemed like super modern names, at least for the most part, that had been spelled differently to make them seem more fantastical. It took me out of the story a bit at the beginning, but I got used to it more as the book went on. Not a book ruiner, just somewhat distracting.
Verdict: This book was an original idea that did a good job with its main characters, but needs to flesh out the side characters more. It was definitely entertaining and kept my attention, but did suffer from some plotting issues and the way that it released information. But this is one book that I will definitely be on the lookout for the sequel when it is released.
Edit: I have been thinking about this book since I posted this review and have decided while all of this still stands, the amount that I enjoyed this book, regardless of anything else, means that this book deserves four stars, so I am amending my rating to reflect that.