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katiethepenguin's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Colonisation, Death, Blood, Murder, Genocide, War, Torture, Violence, and Grief
calamitywindpetal's review
adventurous
challenging
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, War, Torture, Medical content, Medical trauma, Racism, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, and Blood
Moderate: Pregnancy, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Grief, Abandonment, and Genocide
Minor: Death of parent, Vomit, and Police brutality
anniereads221's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Body horror, Death of parent, Genocide, Gore, Murder, Violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Confinement, and Death
bookwormbullet's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Blood, and Classism
stormywolf's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was kind of a surprise pickup for me. I didn't love the first book, finding it just okay when compared to some of the other books surrounding the same sort of topics, so I wasn't exactly chomping at the bit to return to Rue's world. But when ads described this as the conclusion to a duology—a surprise to me—I figured it would be a good idea to go ahead and finish the series. So I went ahead and re-read Wings of Ebony and jumped straight in on this sequel.
Read my full review at The Wolf's Den
Overall, despite all the problems I had, I'd still definitely recommend this series. I think there are some great messages for younger readers about overcoming adversity and finding inner strength, of forgiveness and mercy, and of learning from the past and moving forward. I can't say I loved everything about these books, but I'm sure others will see things that I didn't and connect to the story in ways I couldn't. There's definitely an audience for this series, it just didn't happen to include me this time. If there's ever another book set in Ghizon, I'll probably check it out, but in the meantime I'll be seeing what other fantasy worlds have in store for me.
Read my full review at The Wolf's Den
Overall, despite all the problems I had, I'd still definitely recommend this series. I think there are some great messages for younger readers about overcoming adversity and finding inner strength, of forgiveness and mercy, and of learning from the past and moving forward. I can't say I loved everything about these books, but I'm sure others will see things that I didn't and connect to the story in ways I couldn't. There's definitely an audience for this series, it just didn't happen to include me this time. If there's ever another book set in Ghizon, I'll probably check it out, but in the meantime I'll be seeing what other fantasy worlds have in store for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Blood, Classism, Death of parent, Death, Genocide, Grief, Medical content, Murder, Racism, Violence, and War
Minor: Torture and Panic attacks/disorders
andromeda_1998's review
adventurous
tense
fast-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
3.25
Ashes of gold is the last book in the wings of ebony duology. I finished Wings of ebony a couple of weeks ago and in my review I made clear why I liked it less then I hoped. For me the fast pacing is the problem. Because of this choice we don’t really get to know the characters and story’s as well as I would have liked.
Characters
The characters are diverse but they aren’t as put together as I would have liked. The pacing of the books is so incredibly fast that we don’t really get to know them. Rue/Jelani is the typical ya main character but then fit into a more modern standard. I cannot speak about the representation, since it’s not my place to judge. I didn’t really like here as a main character since she is a bit whiny, especially in the second book. But even though I find her to be a bit annoying, she isn’t the main problem in the character department. The thing I hated were the two love interests. The love relationships started really superficial. And while there was a chance to get to know them better in the second book, the author didn’t really take it. We get told they love each other, we even get explained why but we don’t see it happen….
Story
The story isn’t bad. It has compelling elements and that’s exactly why it’s so frustrating that everything in this book is done so hastily. It takes away from the story.
Worldbuilding
In the first book the worldbuilding was a bit sloppy. We didn’t really get a worldbuilding. In the second book we get a lot of answers and the worldbuilding is definitely better.
I would recommend this books for readers between 13-17 years old.
Characters
The characters are diverse but they aren’t as put together as I would have liked. The pacing of the books is so incredibly fast that we don’t really get to know them. Rue/Jelani is the typical ya main character but then fit into a more modern standard. I cannot speak about the representation, since it’s not my place to judge. I didn’t really like here as a main character since she is a bit whiny, especially in the second book. But even though I find her to be a bit annoying, she isn’t the main problem in the character department. The thing I hated were the two love interests. The love relationships started really superficial. And while there was a chance to get to know them better in the second book, the author didn’t really take it. We get told they love each other, we even get explained why but we don’t see it happen….
Story
The story isn’t bad. It has compelling elements and that’s exactly why it’s so frustrating that everything in this book is done so hastily. It takes away from the story.
Worldbuilding
In the first book the worldbuilding was a bit sloppy. We didn’t really get a worldbuilding. In the second book we get a lot of answers and the worldbuilding is definitely better.
I would recommend this books for readers between 13-17 years old.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Toxic relationship, Hate crime, Toxic friendship, Genocide, Colonisation, War, Racism, Racial slurs, and Death
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.5
4.5 ⭐ CW: violence, medical trauma, descriptions of blood, caste system
Ashes of Gold is the second book in the Wings of Ebony duology. This book was a great coming of age story and an important one for Black girls. Literal Black Girl Magic.
"Leading is a never-ending battle between believing you are good enough to do it and understanding you are capable of making a grave mistep."
We pick up with Rue/Jelani back in Ghizon and trying to figure out how to get rid of the Chancellor and get magic back to her people. She struggles with the mantle of leadership, feeling unworthy and inexperienced, even though the Ancestors chose her. This only gets worse when Rue makes some fatal mistakes, her people lose their home, and she is captured.
As Rue struggles to piece back her memories of her imprisonment, she has a crisis of trust. Not knowing who is actually on her side and who is working against her. I'm not gonna lie, I totally fell for the red herring and was a little disappointed at first that I had seemingly figured out the twist, but nope! I am shook and heartbroken.
Where do I even begin with the messages in this book? First, let's start with an oppressed people taking their land back, and the consequences the oppressors and those complicit have to endure when they take something that isn't meant for them. Second, we have commentary about horizontal hostility, the concept of those on the margins fighting against each other when the real enemy are those in the center (in this case the Grays). Third, we have themes on anxiety, the imposter syndrome that Black girls especially face, and the importance of believing in yourself and trusting yourself. Elle gives us a story about how it's not about never making mistakes, it's about what you do after. "You don't always have to know what you're doing. It's okay to try something and mess up. And learn from it."
We also get a great depiction of allyship from Bri in this. We saw her starting to work on her privelege last book, so we get to see her struggle through that and be called out on her privelege. We get much more world building of Ghizon this book. I also love how Elle fuses magic and science and technology.
Ashes of Gold is the second book in the Wings of Ebony duology. This book was a great coming of age story and an important one for Black girls. Literal Black Girl Magic.
"Leading is a never-ending battle between believing you are good enough to do it and understanding you are capable of making a grave mistep."
We pick up with Rue/Jelani back in Ghizon and trying to figure out how to get rid of the Chancellor and get magic back to her people. She struggles with the mantle of leadership, feeling unworthy and inexperienced, even though the Ancestors chose her. This only gets worse when Rue makes some fatal mistakes, her people lose their home, and she is captured.
As Rue struggles to piece back her memories of her imprisonment, she has a crisis of trust. Not knowing who is actually on her side and who is working against her. I'm not gonna lie, I totally fell for the red herring and was a little disappointed at first that I had seemingly figured out the twist, but nope! I am shook and heartbroken.
Where do I even begin with the messages in this book? First, let's start with an oppressed people taking their land back, and the consequences the oppressors and those complicit have to endure when they take something that isn't meant for them. Second, we have commentary about horizontal hostility, the concept of those on the margins fighting against each other when the real enemy are those in the center (in this case the Grays). Third, we have themes on anxiety, the imposter syndrome that Black girls especially face, and the importance of believing in yourself and trusting yourself. Elle gives us a story about how it's not about never making mistakes, it's about what you do after. "You don't always have to know what you're doing. It's okay to try something and mess up. And learn from it."
We also get a great depiction of allyship from Bri in this. We saw her starting to work on her privelege last book, so we get to see her struggle through that and be called out on her privelege. We get much more world building of Ghizon this book. I also love how Elle fuses magic and science and technology.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Medical trauma, and Blood
antonique_reads's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Violence, Death, Murder, and Physical abuse
sarahmreads's review
challenging
dark
reflective
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
3.75
Rue is back in an intense conclusion to the Wings of Ebony duology. This time, she's in the center of a war to earn back the magic for her people that was stolen by the Chancellor. War is here, and lives will be lost. Will Rue be able to earn her people's magic back and unite her people, or will she die trying?
I will definitely say that as much as I wasn't a huge fan of the first book, I liked this book a lot more. One of the sequel's strongest points is the storytelling element. The author does a great job emphasizing how important this fight is and Rue puts herself into it completely. There are some great characters that are introduced that I think added more of the personal element for Rue to be fighting for the Ghizoni people, and it helped to develop the world as a whole. I do think that we got a better idea of what Ghizon was prior to the war, with a bunch of street names added and what not, but I still wasn't completely invested, mostly because street names don't have much of an impact on me, especially when it's done in a war setting like this.
I will admit that my commitment to this book was a bit wishy-washy. I was completely invested in the first 10% of the book because of how quickly things took a turn for the worst. Then the rest of the first half of the book just... dragged. It felt like all they did was sneak around, almost get killed, then try to make their way back to base. A lot of it for me could have been shortened because it got so repetitive and boring. But then as soon as the major "someone will betray you" line got dropped, I was sold for the rest of the book. I was screaming, I was cheering, I was cursing out characters. It was an emotional rollercoaster. I did guess the first of many plot twists, but even then I was emotional. I even teared up at one point for a character I didn't really like. This was what mainly made me give this book a higher rating than Wings of Ebony.
Now for what I didn't like. As I mentioned prior, a lot of scenes in the beginning felt repetitive and slowed my interest in the book. I would also say the same for Rue's development with confidence in herself. It waned for a good portion of the book, believing she could not be Queen of her people. As a result, for a majority of the book I wasn't completely sold that she could be a leader at all, especially for what happened at the beginning of the book that was almost completely forgotten about by the end of the book. There was also a lot of back and forth between her two main love interests, who I absolutely rooted for one over the other because I did NOT like the other one. And while I was happy with the ending that Rue got with the one love interest, it felt like a bit of whiplash getting there.
While I love that this story is about forgiveness and self-reflection, I will say that the ending with some specific characters did feel a bit rushed in terms of their redemption. It was shoved into one whole chapter and it didn't really seem like there were any ramifications, which I was disappointed by. It's a road to recovery, not a highway to recovery.
I cannot fully speak on the POC representation in this story as I am not a person of color, and highly recommend searching for reviews by reviewers of color to get a better idea of how it is executed.
Ashes of Gold is a solid end to a debut duology, full of Black girl magic and empowerment, powerful plot twists, and a story that will leave your heart warm.
I received a copy of this story as an e-ARC from NetGalley. Any and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
I will definitely say that as much as I wasn't a huge fan of the first book, I liked this book a lot more. One of the sequel's strongest points is the storytelling element. The author does a great job emphasizing how important this fight is and Rue puts herself into it completely. There are some great characters that are introduced that I think added more of the personal element for Rue to be fighting for the Ghizoni people, and it helped to develop the world as a whole. I do think that we got a better idea of what Ghizon was prior to the war, with a bunch of street names added and what not, but I still wasn't completely invested, mostly because street names don't have much of an impact on me, especially when it's done in a war setting like this.
I will admit that my commitment to this book was a bit wishy-washy. I was completely invested in the first 10% of the book because of how quickly things took a turn for the worst. Then the rest of the first half of the book just... dragged. It felt like all they did was sneak around, almost get killed, then try to make their way back to base. A lot of it for me could have been shortened because it got so repetitive and boring. But then as soon as the major "someone will betray you" line got dropped, I was sold for the rest of the book. I was screaming, I was cheering, I was cursing out characters. It was an emotional rollercoaster. I did guess the first of many plot twists, but even then I was emotional. I even teared up at one point for a character I didn't really like. This was what mainly made me give this book a higher rating than Wings of Ebony.
Now for what I didn't like. As I mentioned prior, a lot of scenes in the beginning felt repetitive and slowed my interest in the book. I would also say the same for Rue's development with confidence in herself. It waned for a good portion of the book, believing she could not be Queen of her people. As a result, for a majority of the book I wasn't completely sold that she could be a leader at all, especially for what happened at the beginning of the book that was almost completely forgotten about by the end of the book. There was also a lot of back and forth between her two main love interests, who I absolutely rooted for one over the other because I did NOT like the other one. And while I was happy with the ending that Rue got with the one love interest, it felt like a bit of whiplash getting there.
While I love that this story is about forgiveness and self-reflection, I will say that the ending with some specific characters did feel a bit rushed in terms of their redemption. It was shoved into one whole chapter and it didn't really seem like there were any ramifications, which I was disappointed by. It's a road to recovery, not a highway to recovery.
I cannot fully speak on the POC representation in this story as I am not a person of color, and highly recommend searching for reviews by reviewers of color to get a better idea of how it is executed.
Ashes of Gold is a solid end to a debut duology, full of Black girl magic and empowerment, powerful plot twists, and a story that will leave your heart warm.
I received a copy of this story as an e-ARC from NetGalley. Any and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Violence, and War
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