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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
Thank you to NetGalley and S&S/Denene Millner for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
CONTENT WARNING: violence, blood, murder, torture
I’ve been so excited to read this book, and before I started, I did a quick audiobook reread of the first book in the series. Getting into the story again only made me more excited about reading this one.
I quickly got caught up in Rue’s world(s), and the story starts with her back in Ghizon, readying herself to battle against the Chancellor. But things go disastrously, and she winds up in a cell with no memory of what happened. But, since she’s Rue and known for being stubborn, she doesn’t give up and wait to find out what happens next. She makes something happen.
Once she gets back to Yiyo, things get even more complicated. The people there don’t fully trust her, and she’s still worried about the people she left back home in East Row. As she comes up with even more dangerous plans, she has to figure out who she can trust with her life … and the life of the people she is now responsible for.
I loved Rue’s journey in this book — it’s such an amazing story of self-discovery. She has to figure out where she really belongs, what she truly wants, and most importantly, who she is now and how that fits with both the person that she wants to be and who she needs to become. She is sort of thrust into positions of leadership all throughout the story, and constantly fights against this role. Rue knows what she wants to do, and she knows that she can fight for it, but she doesn’t know if she is capable of leading, or if she even wants to.
Along the way, she also has to let down her walls, and learn how to let other people in. It’s something she hasn’t really been very good at, although she’s ride or die for the people she cares about. And at the end of the last book, Bri, her Ghizon ride or die, was kind of on shaky ground. Bri is struggling with her own issues — everything she grew up believing has turned out to be based on a lie, and while she’s been trying her best to accept and adjust to this, it’s a slow process and Bri makes mistakes. It was interesting to see how her friendship with Rue shifts as a result of this, and I kept hoping that Bri would make the jump from willing to learn and become a true ally to Rue’s people.
There’s probably the weirdest love triangle I’ve ever seen in this book, and I think a lot of that stems from the fact that there isn’t any drama or hurt feelings surrounding it. There’s something developing between Rue and Jhamal, but Julius, her old flame, is still in the picture. I wasn’t sure which way this was going to go, but in the end, I loved how it all worked out.
Overall, this book was really enjoyable. It’s fast-paced, with a lot of action and a good number of plot twists I didn’t see coming, although there were a few that I guessed in advance. It talks about prejudice and greed, learning to accept differences and work together, and the power of friendship, found family, and community. I’m super impressed with J. Elle’s writing, and will definitely be on the lookout for more of her work.
CONTENT WARNING: violence, blood, murder, torture
I’ve been so excited to read this book, and before I started, I did a quick audiobook reread of the first book in the series. Getting into the story again only made me more excited about reading this one.
I quickly got caught up in Rue’s world(s), and the story starts with her back in Ghizon, readying herself to battle against the Chancellor. But things go disastrously, and she winds up in a cell with no memory of what happened. But, since she’s Rue and known for being stubborn, she doesn’t give up and wait to find out what happens next. She makes something happen.
Once she gets back to Yiyo, things get even more complicated. The people there don’t fully trust her, and she’s still worried about the people she left back home in East Row. As she comes up with even more dangerous plans, she has to figure out who she can trust with her life … and the life of the people she is now responsible for.
I loved Rue’s journey in this book — it’s such an amazing story of self-discovery. She has to figure out where she really belongs, what she truly wants, and most importantly, who she is now and how that fits with both the person that she wants to be and who she needs to become. She is sort of thrust into positions of leadership all throughout the story, and constantly fights against this role. Rue knows what she wants to do, and she knows that she can fight for it, but she doesn’t know if she is capable of leading, or if she even wants to.
Along the way, she also has to let down her walls, and learn how to let other people in. It’s something she hasn’t really been very good at, although she’s ride or die for the people she cares about. And at the end of the last book, Bri, her Ghizon ride or die, was kind of on shaky ground. Bri is struggling with her own issues — everything she grew up believing has turned out to be based on a lie, and while she’s been trying her best to accept and adjust to this, it’s a slow process and Bri makes mistakes. It was interesting to see how her friendship with Rue shifts as a result of this, and I kept hoping that Bri would make the jump from willing to learn and become a true ally to Rue’s people.
There’s probably the weirdest love triangle I’ve ever seen in this book, and I think a lot of that stems from the fact that there isn’t any drama or hurt feelings surrounding it. There’s something developing between Rue and Jhamal, but Julius, her old flame, is still in the picture. I wasn’t sure which way this was going to go, but in the end, I loved how it all worked out.
Overall, this book was really enjoyable. It’s fast-paced, with a lot of action and a good number of plot twists I didn’t see coming, although there were a few that I guessed in advance. It talks about prejudice and greed, learning to accept differences and work together, and the power of friendship, found family, and community. I’m super impressed with J. Elle’s writing, and will definitely be on the lookout for more of her work.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a good fantasy book and a great sequel to Wings of ebony, the only problem I had was that there was a lot of just the same thing and I enjoyed the inner monolog more in the first book than I did in this book.
I give this a book a 3.5 it was an decent read for me but it didn’t blow my mind tho
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
I really wanted to love this book. As I adored the first novel. But this story didn’t seem like a continuation, it just felt like an entirely different book. Rue seemed to lack any character development and was just stagnant. I really hate that I didn’t like this.
This is a great followup. Rue/Jelani is turning her sights on returning the stolen magic. I like all the new characters, the love interest storyline, you got Julius returning, and of course the Chancelor. I like how street smart Rue is so she reads people well and has good instincts. This story is about not only getting back the stolen magic, but also believing in your own. Great story, loved it. It flowed well, despite a lot of back and forth around Ghizon. These people feet must be tired. Check out my youtube channel for more thoughts
PHEW this one took me a bit to read.
I think it didn't hit as hard because I really loved the unique urban fantasy of book one. This mainly was typical fantasy (which is fine, but not as special) and oddly romance-centered at times. I enjoyed the adventure of the story but didn't really feel connected to any of the characters. They all played their roles as needed by the plot. I do still appreciate the commentary that continued from book one, though.
I think it didn't hit as hard because I really loved the unique urban fantasy of book one. This mainly was typical fantasy (which is fine, but not as special) and oddly romance-centered at times. I enjoyed the adventure of the story but didn't really feel connected to any of the characters. They all played their roles as needed by the plot. I do still appreciate the commentary that continued from book one, though.