This one wasn't for me. I just didn't find the premise of being a falconer to be particularly engaging. That' being said, I did give it 4 stars to be fair because it is a YA book and not necessarily written for me.

This is an interesting read surrounding the love of siblings. How far is Kylee willing to go to protect her brother? How far is Bryson willing to let his sister go to keep him safe?

London does a good job of keeping the reader engaged in the twins adventure and wondering if they will succeed in their quest.

I'm not usually a fan of fantasy, but there was something about this book that I did sort of enjoy. Maybe its because the characters were so over the top such as Brysen who just seemed to be too manly that I had a hard time believing that Brysen was going on this missing to simply save his boyfriend. It seemed to me that he was going as a matter of pride.
I liked Kylee though (his twin sister) and came to appreciate the dynamic between the twins, but wow talk about Daddy issues. Now don't get me wrong, I didn't fully understand the twins or the decisions that they made and why they made said decisions.
Basically for me it was just a fun book, that may not have made much sense to me, but did keep me reading.

Thank you the #netgalley and to the publisher for the e-arc in exchange for my honest opinon

As much as I wanted to enjoy this book as a huge bird lover, a lot of the world building just didn’t work for me. I didn’t understand the ghost eagle and why it’s powerful, I didn’t understand the religions, the conflict, or the war, and I didn’t understand perpetuating the toxic notion that you have to stick by your family no matter what, even when they’re abusive and actively hurt you. It’s a well-written novel, but too much of it didn’t come together for me to want to carry on reading the rest of the series or for this story stay with me.

This book was received as an ARC from Macmillan Children's Publishing Group - Farrar, Straus and Giroux in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book was beyond interesting. At first I did not fall in love with the characters as much as I thought I would but later on as the relationship grew between Brysen and Kylee, the story not only made more sense but got more exciting. The story with Brysen and how he dreams of becoming the best jet fighter there is and then there is Kylee who wants nothing more but to be free of this life. In order for her to be free of the lifestyle, she must help her brother with his quest and face the fears of secrets from her past all for one thing and that is power! Once you are along for the ride, you will never want it to end. I know our teen book club will have a blast with this book in their discussions.

We will consider adding this title to our YA collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

Kylee and Brysen are twins, abused by their father (she mentally, while watching their father abuse him physically), and neither protected by their mother. They live in the Six Villages, a society centered on catching, taming, racing, fighting, and selling a wide variety of birds of prey. Brysen is fascinated by the birds he cares for, but lacks Kylee's ability to speak the Hollow Tongue, the language of the birds. Kylee would prefer to leave the birds completely alone, but at times, finds herself using the Hollow Tongue almost against her will. As they struggle to support themselves and their mother, and pay off their deceased father's gambling debts, they find themselves accepting a commission to capture a ghost eagle, a giant, highly intelligent bird that may be the key to winning the coming war. As they struggle to reach and capture the ghost eagle for the crime lord to whom they owe money for their father's gambling debts, they must navigate their way through their own society, as well as that of people they meet along the way. Kylee avoids relationships entirely, but Brysen moves from one to another, both searching for the affection they did not get from either parent, learning as they go. An enjoyable and unique story.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Fierce Reads/Farrar, Straus and Giroux/Macmillan Children’s Publishing for making Black Wings Beating “Read Now” on Negalley for 24 hours back in either late July or early August! This book came out in 2018 and I’ve been meaning to read it ever since then but just never got around to it, so this forced me to finally get around to it and man am I glad I did! I also checked out book 2 from the library already and I’m SO ready to read it and to read book 3 (which releases tomorrow!).
Black Wings Beating 4/5 Stars
Summary from Goodreads: The people of Uztar have long looked to the sky with hope and wonder. Nothing in their world is more revered than the birds of prey and no one more honored than the falconers who call them to their fists.
Brysen strives to be a great falconer--while his twin sister, Kylee, rejects her ancient gifts for the sport and wishes to be free of falconry. She's nearly made it out, too, but a war is rolling toward their home in the Six Villages, and no bird or falconer will be safe.
Together the twins must journey into the treacherous mountains to trap the Ghost Eagle, the greatest of the Uztari birds and a solitary killer. Brysen goes for the boy he loves and the glory he's long craved, and Kylee to atone for her past and to protect her brother's future. But both are hunted by those who seek one thing: power.
I hate birds. Let’s just get that out of the way right now. I think they’re gross and I know some people think they’re majestic and our country sees one of them as a symbol of freedom, but I think they’re all just pretty… ew. But, besides that, I think the way that Alex London wrote the bird training aspect was interesting and the magic that Kylee has with the Hollow tongue is pretty cool. I think the idea of falconry in general is pretty interesting, so I love that this built on that. The ghost eagle was weird to me, because for most of the book, I thought there was just one single ghost eagle in the whole world, but Kylee shreds that belief when she talks about how her father had decided to go after a young one instead of one of the older ones (maybe I just missed that part in the prologue?). I liked the familial bond between Kylee and Brysen, even though Brysen takes out so much of his anger for his father and his feelings of inadequacy on Kylee and Kylee does everything she can to make up for the guilt she feels for not being a target of her father’s abuse. I loved all of the parts with the Owl Mothers and I’m so excited to see where things go in book two. One thing that definitely confused me while I was reading was the random interjections from new POVs that weren’t introduced- it would throw me out of the story for a little bit while I tried to figure out who the person telling the story was/where we knew them from/why they were important.

I'm really starting to question whether I should accept Netgalley invites for YA Fantasy from now on. The murder mysteries they've invited me to read have all been solid but too much of the YA has been middling to terrible. And yes, that includes Alex London's Black Wings Beating, which at least has the advantages of being a) queer-friendly and b) based on Central Asian history, which has yet to be done to death in the genre. Up till the book's somewhat redemptive ending, however, this unfortunately came very close to being one of those Everyone Sucks Here books that I could only finish by virtue of looking forward to writing an eviscerating review.

The main trouble with BWB is that the main trifecta of characters -- Brysen, Kylee and Nyall, and don't think I didn't cringe my way through reading those names in a low-fantasy Asian steppe setting -- are everything wrong with the central Harry Potter troika amped to 11. Brysen is incompetent and pathetic; Kylee is constantly squashing herself down in order to prop him up, and Nyall just seems to be around in order to pester Kylee to date him. I'm pretty sure Mr London didn't do this on purpose as a meta-commentary on that other series tho it would certainly have been amusing if he had. Unfortunately, this book is entirely earnest, without a lick of satire in it. And don't get me started on the allusion to vampiric practices, ugggggggh.

Anyway, Brysen and Kylee are twins who live in the Six Villages, which randomly goes from being a remote backwater for most of the book to a strategic holding in the end (more on the world-building in a bit.) After their abusive father dies, they inherit his debts, forcing Kylee to work her ass off at the falconry business she hates in order to save her family from prison or worse. Her brother, who took the brunt of their dad's abuse while still wanting desperately to impress him, spends most of his time slacking off or focusing on his own bird, Shara, or more recently spending time with Dymian, the exiled aristocrat they hired to help train their birds. When Dymian makes the mistake of accruing too many gambling debts to one of the local kyrgs, Brysen decides to take up the challenge that killed his dad in order to save his lover: to capture the monstrous ghost eagle and bring it back as payment for Dymian's debts.

Since Brysen is an incompetent asshole, Kylee has to sneak after him to try to keep him alive on his hunt. But Nyall, who's been after her to go out with him for years despite zero encouragement from her (but tons from her brother, which is so fucking gross, I can't even. The level of disrespect towards women's choices here is off the charts,) goes after her, and things go poorly even before all three find themselves playthings of greater powers heading towards all-out religious war.

So there are some interesting bits: I enjoyed the falconry and the war kites, even as I thought raptor combat -- from pits to sky -- sounded extremely unlikely. And wtf is a war barrow? But the religious conflicts were original, even though the story of Anon's initial step to becoming a rebel warlord made very little sense. The local potentate didn't have personal guards, for real? For the most part tho, the world-building and especially the falconry felt decently thought out, enough so that I bought into the setting despite the occasional glaring error in continuity/sense. I just really disliked the three main characters and their dynamics, and while the ending points to a slightly better way forward for them, I don't trust this author to continue this series in such a way as to not provoke as much huffing and eye rolling on my end as I displayed throughout reading this installment.

Anyway, the last book in the trilogy comes out next week for people who enjoyed this far, far more than I did.

This review and more available at <a href="http://www.cometgrrl.com/book-reviews/">cometgrrl.com</a>.

This YA fantasy book pairs falconry and mysticism for a fun, but ultimately unsatisfying adventure. Kylee and her brother Brysen are desperately trying to pay off their dead father's debts to the Tamirs, the family that lords over the Six Villages. Brysen gets into some trouble, and Kylee is forced to help him get out of it.

With a forgotten language, opposing religious factions, and a strong female lead character—Kylee—this novel started with a lot of promise. It gets bogged down by the spelling of each character's name; We have Kylee, Brysen, Nyall, Nyck, Vyvian, Yzzat, Dymian.... is there a law in the Six Villages that names must contain the letter Y? While this might be a minor or non-issue for some people, I found it to be very distracting.

Quite a bit of the plot is predictable. There are two big plot twists; one you can see coming from miles away and the other is sort of a let down given the obviousness of the other. I felt it dragged on for a long time, and then it had a bit of a cliff-hanger ending, where to find out how it ultimately ends, you need to read the next book. All in all, I don't think I liked it enough to read the next book, so it gets 2.5 stars from me.

I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley.com in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Kylee wants to be free of the ancient voice that dwells within her. Her twin Brysen wants to save the boy he loves from death by a cruel mafioso. The twins both want to rid themselves of the debt their late-father burdened them with. Brysen's desire to prove himself as an exceptional falconer and as a worthy boyfriend compels him to recklessly traverse the mountains to do the impossible - to catch the legendary bird that killed their father and thus repay their debts. Kylee silently follows her brother on this adventure merely to protect him. Neither twin realizes it is them that the powers that be hunt and not just a bird...

I loved the fast=paced adventure! The violent scenes are more gruesome than necessary. The second book has better reviews that the first; I really look forward to following Brysen, Kylee, and company through the other books!

Black Wings Beating is the story of siblings, Brysen and Kylee. Brysen wants to be the best falconer, meanwhile Kylee wants nothing to do with it. There’s a war brewing and it leads them down a journey to save one another.
This is a really fun book; it’s a face paced, plot driven story. There’s a fun magic system going on and we follow characters who I enjoyed reading about.
I can’t wait for the sequel!

I picked this up on a whim from Netgalley when it was offered as a Read Now book. I did opt to listen to the audiobook because I was really intrigued by the synopsis and wanted to get to it faster. This is told in dual perspectives and I appreciated that the alternating chapters were narrated by different people. I find it easier to distinguish between the characters in an audiobook if there is a male and female narrator for the two main characters. This was narrated very well, I thought both narrators did a great job with the main and side characters as well as with telling the story and expressing emotion.

I really liked this. It had a unique story, and I appreciated that the focus was on the brother sister dynamic, not a love triangle or focused heavily on romance. There is some romance but it is not the focus of the story as we so often see in YA Fantasy. Kylee and Brysen are twins and the product of an emotion and physically abusive father and a devoutly religious mother. Brysen takes the brunt of the abuse as he can never seem to please his father. Kylee has shown promise as a falconer but has no desire to follow in her father's footsteps. After their father's death, Kylee and Brysen try to make ends meet carrying on the family business and raising and training birds of prey. Unfortunately, Brysen makes a deal to save the boy he loves and the twins head off on a dangerous quest to capture a dangerous bird. Brysen hopes that he will finally earn some respect as a falconer, and Kylee hopes they can pay off their debts and she can escape the falconer life. Things don't go exactly as planned, Kylee has always had a way with the birds and upon meeting the Owl Mothers she learns more about her connection to the birds and why she can so easily control them. The twins and their companions learn that there is a war brewing and a much bigger plot that they are to play a role in. Hearts are broken, betrayal is uncovered, potential new relationships are forged, and most importantly the bond between a brother and sister is strengthened.

I would have liked a little more world building. I hope to see the Sky Castle and the locations described a little more in the next two books. I'm also still not totally clear on the political climate between the 3 factions and the war that is coming and why. THe way this book ended I think we'll get more of that in the next book as Kylee learns more about her "powers" and continue on their adventures. The character development was a little tropey, we've seen characters like Brysen and Kylee before. She is the female savior who takes care of everything while he's the annoying brother who keeps making bad decisions. They don't ever talk to each other about their resentment of one another, but they love each other and won't be separated. Despite the fact that I've seen characters like this before, I liked them anyway! Book two is already out and book three comes out soon, and these have just moved to the top of my TBR. I can't wait to find out what happens next.

This was a middle-of-the-road read for me. While I liked a lot of aspects, there were some things I disliked, and overall, I just didn't feel strongly enough about the book to really warrant adding an in-depth review to the blog.

A book of a boy and a girl bound together by birth and bird. Twins Brysen and Kylee are opposites so together they are at their most complete. Brysen wants to be the best falconer and have glory, while Kylee wants nothing to do with it and just wants out. But war has come to their home and now both must embark on a treacherous journey to save each other.
This is a wonderful and action packed book. The magic doesn't stop from the start until the end and will leave you wanting more. The first few chapters set up the book but once you get past that it is full steam ahead and no slowing down. The author has created such wonderful characters including the ghost eagle. This is a a great YA series, one that should not be overlooked.

I have been wanting to read Black Wings Beating since it released in 2018 and I'm so glad I finally did! This book has so many things I love: twins, animal companions, quests, and unique magic systems. If any of those tropes are to your taste, I highly recommend picking this book up. I also adored the LGBTQ+ representation in the book and I am planning to jump right into the sequel, Red Skies Falling.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book to be super original and unique. I have never read a book where the world building took me someplace I wasn’t expecting go—bird land.

Basically, there are these twins, Kylee and Brysen, and they live in the land that honors individuals who can speak the language of falconers, as well as control powerful birds in certain situations like war and battle. Kylee has the power, but doesn’t want it. Brysen wants the power, but doesn’t have it. The two head-butt often and it comes to a halt when they have to set out to find a rare, dangerous bird called the Ghost Eagle. They set out to find this bird because Brysen’s crush asks him to find the bird for this gangster-type character named Gorwyn. If the bird isn’t found, than Brysen’s beau, Dymian, will die. On the other side, this group of people who believe birds carry sin, as well as the people who keep and train them (Utzari), want to get rid of all birds, so they plan to go to war with the Utzari.

This book was really good—loved the diversity, as well as the impact that trauma plays on both main characters, especially Brysen. He’s a little stubborn and childish, but he acts like this because he was abused as a child. Kylee, on the other hand, is stoic and cold—which is a defense mechanism in itself.

I really enjoyed the narration. Presley and Crouch did a phenomenal job. Alex London’s effortless and eloquent writing style is truly remarkable and I can’t wait to see what happens in Book 2.

Synopsis: The people of Uztar have long looked to the sky with hope and wonder. Nothing in their world is more revered than the birds of prey and no one more honored than the falconers who call them to their fists. Brysen strives to be a great falconer--while his twin sister, Kylee, rejects her ancient gifts for the sport and wishes to be free of falconry. She's nearly made it out, too, but a war is rolling toward their home in the Six Villages, and no bird or falconer will be safe. Together the twins must journey into the treacherous mountains to trap the Ghost Eagle, the greatest of the Uztari birds and a solitary killer. Brysen goes for the boy he loves and the glory he's long craved, and Kylee to atone for her past and to protect her brother's future. But both are hunted by those who seek one thing: power

The book was intriguing and it had me hooked from beginning to end. The characters were well developed, The world development went just as well. It’s a book that once you start you can of get hooked into reading it all it’s a wonderful start to the trilogy and cant wait to read the next book.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an advanced copy of this book. I am providing a voluntary review. All thoughts and views are my own.

Okay, first and foremost, I think my favorite part about this book is the gay rep with the main character Brysen that isn't used as a plot point. He simply is who he is and there's no pomp and circumstance surrounding it. He gets to have an adventure completely unrelated to his sexuality, and sadly, that's not a super common thing to see in LGBTQ+ lit.

I also loved the intricate details of everyday life world-building. It is so deep and rich and wonderfully detailed. I'll admit, it was a bit exposition-heavy at the beginning, but all of that time and effort held up the rest of the story quite well. Although, despite having so much knowledge about the inner-workings of the society, I will admit I was a bit confused about some of the bigger, wider-arching aspects of the society, such as their leadership.

I'll admit, I picked up this book primarily because of the cover—which wouldn't have been enough on its own, but when I saw it had LGBTQ+ rep I pounced. The cover is just gorgeous. But I'm glad I picked it up, for whatever the reason, and am interested to continue on to the next book in the series!

Fans of high fantasy are in for a journey filled with desperation, diversity and political intrigue as two siblings set out to save their world by trapping the Ghost Eagle, the deadliest killer in a world where falconry rules. Complex world building, well-developed characters and high octane emotional energy give young adult readers something to sink their teeth into, all while being able to dissect and identify the mechanics of sibling relationships.

BLACK WINGS BEATING by Alex London is boldly written, intense and the world created is anything but mundane. Dreams may be crushed, relationships tested and inner strengths will grow.

A tale written with passion and imagination that comes to life and pulls readers in.

I was invited to receive this copy from Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley! This is my honest and voluntary review.

I have not had the time or interest to get through this book, unfortunately. I requested based on the author and would love to get to it eventually.