Reviews with content warning for Violence - Wings of Ebony

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>

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meluhnie's review against another edition

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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

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foreverinastory's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I really enjoyed this debut!

Wings of Ebony follows Rue after the fatal shooting of her Moms. Her estranged father comes and takes Rue to a land called Ghizon where its inhabitants have magic. Rue is stranded there for a whole year. But with the help of her genius best friend, she's able to transport herself back to Earth without being tracked. What starts out as a simple task to deliver a birthday gift to her sister, becomes increasingly more complicated when Tasha is almost killed in a car crash. Not only that but something is infiltrating East Row with drugs and murdering young Black kids. Rue knows the police are no help, so it will be up to her and the other occupants of East Row to figure out what's happening.

Y'all this book was so good! I really enjoyed the portal fantasy type world going on here. There's also so much going on in terms of colonisation, and systemic racism. J. Elle put so much into this book. I loved getting to know more about Rue's home of East Row, and the magical world of Ghizon. Rue is such a strong and relentless character, I loved her so much. She is fierce in her determination to protect those she loves and cares for. I was rooting for Rue 200% of the time, I wanted to see her succeed.

The world building is done so well in this book. But it is more of a slow build. We don't get all of the mechanics of Ghizon right away. The other thing is that the history of Ghizon has been written by the victors, which have secrets to hide. So if you're confused about how things work, just keep going. Trust me.

I loved how much family plays a role in this story. J. Elle didn't pull any punches either when it comes to the emotional side of things. I definitely was traumatized by a particular scene in the end. I can't wait to see what else J. Elle writes!

Rep: Black and Indigenous (to a fantasy land based off Africa) female MC, Black and Indigenous side characters.

CWs: Abandonment, blood, car accident colonisation, death, death of parents, gaslighting, fire, grief, gun violence, injury/injury detail, murder, racism, violence.

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queer_bookwyrm's review

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-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

5.0

"Moms raised a diamond. And diamonds don't crack."

I was gifted an arc copy of Wings of Ebony by J. Elle. Wow. Just wow. This book is the perfect blend of urban fantasy and social justice novel. I devoured this book in two days.

We follow Rue in East Row, where we see the desolation that gang and drug activity can reduce a hood to. Rue is trying to see her younger sister Tasha from a distance on the anniversary of their mother's death. Rue isn't supposed to touch any human now that she lives and Ghazan and has magic. Tasha is almost in a car accident until Rue intervenes, touching Tasha.

A whole bunch of problems ensue for the sisters, but we get to see Rue grow and learn about her abilities and her true history in Ghazan. It was so nice that romance was a main piece of the plot! There were hints of maybe romance to come, but this story was about getting justice.

This book was also about the importance of family; sticking together. And just blood family. "The whole block fam." I loved the way Elle depicted Bri struggling with her privilege, and the nuance she brought to the conversation without apologizing for it. We also see the ill effects of colonialism depicted in Ghazan along with an oppressive caste system.

It was also refreshing to have a book that ends with the racist getting exactly what he deserves. I loved this book so much, but I don't want to say much more for fear of spoilers. Just read this book! I seriously hope there is a second book coming!

The only thing I didn't like was the way the author made everyone stutter all the time. It took me out of it every time. Such a minor issue that it didn't impact my rating. I would have liked to see more of the world building, but maybe that happens in a later book?

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0ri's review

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adventurous challenging emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Book started off a bit predictable, but then swerved hard and was a ride.

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effy's review

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

It took me longer than I would have liked to settle into this book although that was possibly because I was only able to listen to an hour or so at a time initially. I found Rue difficult to love but I also understood the way that she was acting.

The latter half of this book was much, much stronger and I really enjoyed the reveal of this book.

I found the reveal that the magic was stolen from the black tribes to be very clever and also really confronting to read. This was an exceptional revelation and made me feel exactly as it should have made me feel.

I really enjoyed this author's perspective and hope that there will be further books to continue the story but I will gladly read more books from the author regardless.

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books_and_mags's review

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adventurous dark emotional tense

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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destdest's review

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adventurous challenging hopeful inspiring tense fast-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

What a ride! Make this a movie (either animated or live action is fine)! I loved the strong sense of community Rue’s (neighbor)hood had and all the soul food references. Collard greens and neckbones and thick, lemony slices of pound cake? Yum!

I enjoyed Rue’s narrative. Girl got some spunk. She’s not just this magical brick wall of a girl who pushes everything down inside; she had vulnerability too. It was a great and needed balance.

Wings of Ebony was a breeze to read. The chapters passed by quickly and kept my interest. Shoutout to Ms. Leola you the real MVP!

I’ll read a book two for sure!

we’re going to get that Jhamal vs. Julius love triangle, right? I don’t care if it’s a YA cliché. I WANT IT!

4.5

Ending thoughts:

the dad dying was a lil’ cliché. Yeah, Jhamal and Rue has those insta-lovey teas, but crushes don’t have rhyme or reason. I’m not like Rue I don’t need any explanations or apologies from racists. I just need their power taken away from them. But in the context of the story, yeah, the full confession was needed to help throw the book at him.

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