A review by deidra_shadetreereads
Ashes of Gold by J. Elle

adventurous challenging mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.0

I never recovered from the whiplash and disorientating pacing in the prologue and 1st chapters. I kept waiting to get the information we needed to make Rue's new attitude and passion make sense. It eventually came but waaaay too late for me. Overall, I liked the story, themes and writing okay. It's just that it felt so different from book 1 for at least 70% of the time. With so many fight scenes and such, I still got bored. And I think that that's because we, the readers, didn't get to experience Rue's moment of "truth" along with her. Instead, we reunite with her after she's been in the trenches with her people for a minute gaining an understanding of who they are and what her parents died trying to ensure she knew about. That created a disconnect for me. All that said, I'm hype for Elle's middle grade and I'd likely read another book in this Wings of Ebony series if she put one out. I had hoped to like this one a lot more than I did but it was still a good read for Black SFFathon 2022!