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bkwrm1317's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
What a fierce young femme protag we have in Rue, who shows up for her people, no matter the personal cost or risk.
When Rue’s mom is killed, she is whisked away by a father who she’s never known to a strange land called Ghizon, where there’s magic, and only one other Black or Brown face - Aasim, the man she doesn’t even want to speak to, let alone bond with.
As Rue learns more about Ghizon, Aasim, and her own ancestry, she is tasked with fighting back against 100+ years of her peoples’ subjugation - on East Row in Houston, as well as in Ghizon. Tough as nails, street-wise and funny, tender hearted and loving, Rue is absolutely the type of heroine we need in these times.
When Rue’s mom is killed, she is whisked away by a father who she’s never known to a strange land called Ghizon, where there’s magic, and only one other Black or Brown face - Aasim, the man she doesn’t even want to speak to, let alone bond with.
As Rue learns more about Ghizon, Aasim, and her own ancestry, she is tasked with fighting back against 100+ years of her peoples’ subjugation - on East Row in Houston, as well as in Ghizon. Tough as nails, street-wise and funny, tender hearted and loving, Rue is absolutely the type of heroine we need in these times.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Gun violence
Moderate: Death, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Violence, and Abandonment
calamitywindpetal's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Violence, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Child death, and Racism
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Vomit, Car accident, Classism, Grief, Colonisation, Blood, and Kidnapping
Minor: Drug use and Genocide
hopevigilshuck's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Racism, Racial slurs, and Death of parent
Moderate: Xenophobia, War, Police brutality, Genocide, and Drug use
thewildmageslibrary's review against another edition
4.0
I finally read this! And, I gotta say: I KNEW SOMETHING WAS UP WITH GHIZON!
Rue would do anything for her family and that's one of her best qualities. <3 I can't wait to see what happens in the sequel!
Rue would do anything for her family and that's one of her best qualities. <3 I can't wait to see what happens in the sequel!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Colonisation, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, Murder, Police brutality, Gun violence, and Grief
Minor: Child death and Medical content
cheybrary's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Death, Racism, Death of parent, Racial slurs, and Gun violence
Moderate: Blood, Hate crime, Police brutality, Grief, and Torture
andromeda_1998's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Wings of ebony is one of those books that you want to love but even though you still liked it you feel like something is missing. It least it’s one of those books for me. Before I go into the book any further I want to put in a disclaimer: “I’m European, I have lived my whole life in a country that might not be perfect but where we can still 95% of the time trust the government to look out for us. I’m not going into the representation of this book since I do not have the knowledge to talk about his subject.”
Okay, with that been said what are my thoughts about this book?
The plot
Wings of ebony is about Rue. After her mom was killed she found herself in a strange magical country (Ghizon) where she had to learn to embrace her magic and deal with a father she has never known. We meet Rue a year after her mothers death. She found her way back to America to give her sister a birthday present but she ends up having to save her sisters life. When her sister touches her, rue breaks one of many rules of Ghizon. This starts a manhunt for Rue and she has to travel dangerous waters to keep herself and her sister safe.
The books storyline focuses heavily one Racism and police brutality. The storyline is actually pretty amazing and I really wanted to love it but the book has some flaws. The plot never really goes into a lot of different plotpoints. It is a lot of telling instead of showing. Rue is constantly telling that the block she comes from us fam, but we never actually get to explore her connections to the home she used to live in. We meet just 3 characters she knows and one she vaguely knows since he is the popular boy in school. I would have loved to see more of the connections between the main character and her home to make the reader understand the bond she feels with her community. I understand this is heavily inspired from real life but in the book itself it has no real foundation. There are more instances this happens but those are heavy spoilers so if your interested you can find them further below.
Worldbuilding
The worldbuilding is sloppy, we don’t actually get any worldbuilding about Ghizon. We just have to believe it exist but we don’t really get an explanation about who the world works. We also don’t really get to explore the magic. Magic was something the characters more really talked about than used and we never really got to see Rue grow into her powers or an explanation to the boundaries of the magic used in the book. We don’t even get an full explanation about how the magic works. Her is a piece of onyx, good luck! The history we do get doesn’t even cover the basics of the magic system.
Writing style
The writing is terrific! It’s fast paced and action pact. I’m not sure about the placing of the flash backs but some of the more emotional scenes have been done very well. I
Characters
Rue is a fun character she is a bit typical ya, she misses some major red flags but hé, she is young enough to learn. She is a really strong female character and I would have loved to she her grow.
Recommend, it’s a good book. I just miss a lot of explanation that could have made the book even better. I am a bit frustrated about that….
Other plot points that could have used more explanation:
1. The whole gang plot on the block… what does the chancellor and the governor win from selling drugs And power in a country they do not care for and don’t need to have controle over for there plans to actually work. They only endanger their ambitions with there connection with America. If it was only to hurt Rue than the did that in the most round about stupid way imaginable.
2. The father plot, we didn’t see them grow. She just hated his ass till he got killed. There is no relationship there and that’s her fault.
3. The romance plot, it basically was a case of: “o look, a dark skinned boy with dimples and magic, I’m willing to sell my soul for him now” we read one scene between them before the boy was willing to risk his life for his “queen”. This was a big case of telling and no showing. It’s a shame. Give us some bounding before making them randomly kiss. <spoilers>
Okay, with that been said what are my thoughts about this book?
The plot
Wings of ebony is about Rue. After her mom was killed she found herself in a strange magical country (Ghizon) where she had to learn to embrace her magic and deal with a father she has never known. We meet Rue a year after her mothers death. She found her way back to America to give her sister a birthday present but she ends up having to save her sisters life. When her sister touches her, rue breaks one of many rules of Ghizon. This starts a manhunt for Rue and she has to travel dangerous waters to keep herself and her sister safe.
The books storyline focuses heavily one Racism and police brutality. The storyline is actually pretty amazing and I really wanted to love it but the book has some flaws. The plot never really goes into a lot of different plotpoints. It is a lot of telling instead of showing. Rue is constantly telling that the block she comes from us fam, but we never actually get to explore her connections to the home she used to live in. We meet just 3 characters she knows and one she vaguely knows since he is the popular boy in school. I would have loved to see more of the connections between the main character and her home to make the reader understand the bond she feels with her community. I understand this is heavily inspired from real life but in the book itself it has no real foundation. There are more instances this happens but those are heavy spoilers so if your interested you can find them further below.
Worldbuilding
The worldbuilding is sloppy, we don’t actually get any worldbuilding about Ghizon. We just have to believe it exist but we don’t really get an explanation about who the world works. We also don’t really get to explore the magic. Magic was something the characters more really talked about than used and we never really got to see Rue grow into her powers or an explanation to the boundaries of the magic used in the book. We don’t even get an full explanation about how the magic works. Her is a piece of onyx, good luck! The history we do get doesn’t even cover the basics of the magic system.
Writing style
The writing is terrific! It’s fast paced and action pact. I’m not sure about the placing of the flash backs but some of the more emotional scenes have been done very well. I
Characters
Rue is a fun character she is a bit typical ya, she misses some major red flags but hé, she is young enough to learn. She is a really strong female character and I would have loved to she her grow.
Recommend, it’s a good book. I just miss a lot of explanation that could have made the book even better. I am a bit frustrated about that….
Other plot points that could have used more explanation:
1. The whole gang plot on the block… what does the chancellor and the governor win from selling drugs And power in a country they do not care for and don’t need to have controle over for there plans to actually work. They only endanger their ambitions with there connection with America. If it was only to hurt Rue than the did that in the most round about stupid way imaginable.
2. The father plot, we didn’t see them grow. She just hated his ass till he got killed. There is no relationship there and that’s her fault.
3. The romance plot, it basically was a case of: “o look, a dark skinned boy with dimples and magic, I’m willing to sell my soul for him now” we read one scene between them before the boy was willing to risk his life for his “queen”. This was a big case of telling and no showing. It’s a shame. Give us some bounding before making them randomly kiss. <spoilers>
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Colonisation, Classism, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gun violence, Murder, Violence, Racial slurs, and Police brutality
meluhnie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Murder, and Grief
Moderate: Racism, Cultural appropriation, Gun violence, Violence, Colonisation, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Drug use, Kidnapping, Police brutality, and Religious bigotry
serenityreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Hate crime, and Gun violence
asiamh's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
The story & characters are very well written! But, the story isn’t as centered as much on the MC’s magical powers as I had hoped. Its a good read, but includes a lot of black trauma.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Police brutality, Racial slurs, and Death of parent
bookishplantmom's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I thought this book was fine. Not bad by any means but it did not work for me all the way. I loved the voice of the main character and her growth throughout the book. She is definitely stubborn and that came through both in her interactions and in her decisions. I did not connect with any of the secondary characters which is too bad because much of what drives Rue is her relationships. I loved the themes underlined in here around community, colonialism, racism and allyship. I would have liked more detailed or grounded world building. Because there are two main settings it kind of felt like I didn’t get enough of either one to fully visualize them - more so for the fantastical elements. I also really wish that we had seen a lot of what was simply told to the reader. Some major plot points happen off page and that was disappointing to me. The magic itself was basically absent and very soft. I found the writing was good but at times repetitive with specific phrases coming back over and over. I liked the plot of this book but because I did not connect with the characters I didn’t feel invested in the outcome. It’s almost as if because everything happened so fast I didn’t get a chance as the reader to get to know the people and places we visited well enough to care about their ultimate fate. We jumped for one thing to the next to the next so fast so many times that in the end I got too little of too many things for it to all come together for me in the end. So this was middle of the road for me. There isn’t anything bad about this book it just didn’t click for me but I really enjoyed reading from an unapologetically Black girl pov that was really special to me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence
Moderate: Death of parent and Police brutality