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katiethepenguin's review against another edition
- 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
Minor: Colonisation, Death, Blood, Murder, Genocide, War, Torture, Violence, and Grief
calamitywindpetal's review
- 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
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
escapismforlife's review
- 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
Graphic: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Death, Genocide, and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Abandonment, and Death
anniereads221's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Racism, Body horror, Death of parent, Genocide, Gore, Murder, Violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Confinement, and Death
stormywolf's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Moderate: Confinement, Blood, Classism, Death of parent, Death, Genocide, Grief, Medical content, Murder, Racism, Violence, and War
Minor: Torture and Panic attacks/disorders
antonique_reads's review
- 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
Graphic: Medical trauma, Violence, Death, Murder, and Physical abuse
sarahmreads's review
- 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
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.
Moderate: Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Violence, and War