I enjoyed book one but this one didn’t quite grip me. Rue’s character felt very insecure throughout this book which felt like a step back for her. I wasn’t a big fan of the love triangle either but I felt the ending was satisfying. The pacing felt kinda off to me but overall I thought this was a solid duology.

I really enjoyed reading this book! I loved the first one, loved the world and these characters, and I was so excited to be back in it! I love this story of rebellion, of standing up to oppressors, and of Rue, who has found her power along the way-now just has to find how she's going to use it!

I do have to say, I was a bit confused at the beginning. It seemed like the ending of the first book, that they had the Chancellor on the run. So I was a little confused going from the ending of Wings of Ebony to the beginning of this book.

I really couldn't this book down, it was so compelling, and I just had to know what was going to happen next, just like the first book! This whole world has been so unfair to Rue and her fathers people, and I just wanted them to get the justice that they deserved!

There was also a love triangle, which really sucked for Rue, because both Julius or Jhamal were good guys, and they both were connected to a part of her. It was great that she had something good in her life while everything else was going wrong! Loved how it worked out!

This was a fantastic read, and I loved reading it!

Thank you Simon & Schuster Canada for sending me a copy of Ashes of Gold by J. Elle. All thoughts and opinions are my own. After hearing so many good things about Wings of Ebony I had to pick it up and it didn't disappoint!! Sequels are always a wildcard so I HAD to know what happens next. Rue is an inspiration to so many who never saw themselves represented as the strong main character and I'm here for every moment of it!! She never sacrifices her morals and heart for anything and stays resilient in the midst of pain. We see this beautiful arc throughout the duology in her relationship to her father and ancestral home. Human and god, she's vulnerable and powerful, having her humanity become her strongest asset. Fighting for every home she's ever had or wanted, Rue is the hero the world never knew but always needed. I can't wait to see what Elle and Simon & Schuster do next. Thank you for shining a light and showing the world that everyone can be golden.

My Review: It’s A No From Me
Rep: Black

Maybe this is a case of the book not being the right fit for me, as there are tons of positive reviews for this book on Goodreads. However, I really did not enjoy Ashes of Gold.

The Pros: What Worked For Me
I liked the way this novel started. The first chapter piqued my interest because it seemed to be from the perspective of a different character, and gave some backstory to the situation that Rue finds herself in.

The Cons: What I Didn’t Like

The worldbuilding was really badly done. It was so confusing, with the author injecting details only when necessary. All of it was just telling the reader instead of actually giving an experience. It’s a shame because the worldbuilding and magic system was very intriguing when I first heard about it.
There were so many moments when I was reading that just left me feeling perplexed. Some of the things Rue says and does were just baffling. I don’t want to ruin it for other readers but it just didn’t make any sense.
The romance was not good. I’m not a fan of love triangles generally, but this was a badly done love triangle.
The plot was all over the place. There were so many elements introduced to it that the main plot point lost its significance.
The characters were all one-note. The way they spoke and connected with each other was unrealistic and forced. I was not a fan.

As bad as this sounds, I found it easier to write a list of the cons than find positives about this novel. The premise was interesting but the execution suffered. I wish there had been a good editor to just … clean this story up and give it the opportunity to really shine. Unfortunately, that was not the case here.

A great conclusion to the Wings of Ebony fantasy duology! This book is full of Black girl magic set in both the modern world and a magical alternate universe. Full of adventure, romance, betrayal and magic. Recommended for fans of the Legendborn or Blood like magic series. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance review copy I only wish there was an audiobook version available for this book! Hopefully one is coming soon!

If you haven't read Wings of Ebony (book 1) pick it up!

This YA urban fantasy is so beautiful. It is just an amazing story to begin with but it also deals with important themes like finding a place in the world, systematic racism, and loss at a young age.

It was an epic conclusion to the duology with a shocking ending that will stick with me for a long time.

I loved the first book so I was excited to get my hands on Ashes of Gold. Unfortunately, I found this to be dragging on and on and I didn't even really care to finish this book.

Such a disappointing read for me.

As someone who enjoyed the first book in the series, Wings of Ebony, I enjoyed its finale Ashes of Gold just as much. Maybe even more! Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with an Earc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Hmm. I feel really conflicted about my enjoyment of this book!! I loved Rue, she was a very layered protagonist and a lot of the side characters are really well done too. The world is so unique and I really felt like I was on Ghizon at some points.

However, I always felt like I was just missing something? I think it all stems from the really abrupt beginning of book 1; I still think this may have been better as a trilogy or just slightly longer books because the jumpy start really carried all the way through and almost made it feel as though nothing that was happening was real...even tho obviously it's a fiction book, lol.

Aside from all of that, I think this is such an important series because it's got so many strong Black characters and really delves into empowerment and culture. I think that part is awesome - from my limited perspective, anyway!

Rue has no memory of how she ended up locked in a basement prison without her magic or her allies. But she’s a girl from the East Row. And girls from the East Row don’t give up. Girls from the East Row pick themselves back up when they fall. Girls from the East Row break themselves out.

But reuniting with her friends is only half the battle. When she finds them again, Rue makes a vow: she will find a way to return the magic that the Chancellor has stolen from her father’s people. Yet even on Yiyo Peak, Rue is a misfit—with half a foot back in Houston and half a heart that is human as well as god, she’s not sure she’s the right person to lead the fight to reclaim a glorious past.

When a betrayal sends her into a tailspin, Rue must decide who to trust and how to be the leader that her people deserve…because if she doesn’t, it isn’t just Yiyo that will be destroyed—it will be Rue herself.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Ashes of Gold in exchange for an honest review.

I thought it was impossible to tell Wings of Ebony was a debut well reading it but I was wrong. Somehow J. Elle takes already really strong world building and narration skills and refines them een further here with an even more organized, well paced plot and gripping storytelling. I do think I enjoyed the first book a tad more simply due to the added benefit of it introducing me to these worlds, characters, and metaphors, but this was an incredibly strong sequel.

Ashes of Gold by J. Elle is the sequel to Wings of Ebony. In this conclusion, Rue is determined to take back the magic that was stolen from her people. But Rue has no memory of getting locked up in prison without access to her magic. When Rue is able to escape, she is reunited with her people, but she feels the fact that she is half-human means she doesn’t belong. She is unsure she can be the leader her people need her to be. When Rue is betrayed by someone she put lots of trust in, she struggles with trusting anyone else. Rue must decide who to trust if she wants to protect and restore the magic of her people, and herself.

This sequel is full of action and heart. Rue is a natural leader. I really liked how this book went down. I wish we were getting a third book!

Ashes of Gold provides some respite from the chaos that was book one as J. Elle takes a more methodical approach this time, delivering a full-throated and robust story from beginning to end. Events that we were shown glimpses of in Wings of Ebony are now fully fleshed out, with added detail and more gravitas, and characters we’ve come to know are given the room to express themselves even more so. Plotting a 3-act structure over two books is tricky, but she spaces out the beats logically, giving each one the time they need to be considered before moving on to the next.

The second act in particular is J. Elle flexing her storytelling muscles as she takes Rue and her band of misfits on a journey thought Ghizon’s crumbled cities and burnt landscapes, attempting to gather the resources they need for one final push to victory. With much of the events of the first book hanging over this story, and some new bits of intrigue and betrayal, this is no easy feat. But J. Elle makes it all work with a steady hand, confidence in the material, and a whiz bang new story thread that most folks will definitely enjoy. I think fans of careful and deliberate plotting will enjoy these moments, I know I did.

With complex new characters, returning favorites, and a host of new obstacles for Jelani/Rue to contend with, Ashes of Gold builds on the promise of Wings of Ebony, and brings this story to its rightful conclusion. And while some may be disappointed, or even heartbroken, with the decisions she makes, we can no longer doubt J. Elle’s craft as a storyteller. If you thought she was a one-and-done…you were wrong.

More to come…