You know those books that are you instantly are like, “I need to have this?” That was me and Wings of Ebony. I’ve been looking forward to this book for months now and when I was finally approved on Netgalley I immediately started reading! Keep reading this book review to find out what I thought about this super hyped book!
Summary
“Make a way out of no way” is just the way of life for Rue. But when her mother is shot dead on her doorstep, life for her and her younger sister changes forever. Rue’s taken from her neighborhood by the father she never knew, forced to leave her little sister behind, and whisked away to Ghizon—a hidden island of magic wielders.
Rue is the only half-god, half-human there, where leaders protect their magical powers at all costs and thrive on human suffering. Miserable and desperate to see her sister on the anniversary of their mother’s death, Rue breaks Ghizon’s sacred Do Not Leave Law and returns to Houston, only to discover that Black kids are being forced into crime and violence. And her sister, Tasha, is in danger of falling sway to the very forces that claimed their mother’s life.
Worse still, evidence mounts that the evil plaguing East Row is the same one that lurks in Ghizon—an evil that will stop at nothing until it has stolen everything from her and everyone she loves. Rue must embrace her true identity and wield the full magnitude of her ancestors’ power to save her neighborhood before the gods burn it to the ground.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgalley. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
What I loved about Wings of Ebony is Rue’s character, loyalty, and love for her sister. Wings of Ebony immediately begins by asking what we will do for family. When Rue leaves East Row, she becomes immersed in a world of castes, magic, and order – people who don’t question. And that world isn’t glorified. It almost feels dystopian in the ways that their society functions, and what lies at the root of their foundation. Most magic users have such disdain for humans, that we immediately relate to Rue’s love of her family.
To her trying to do what is right in a society where disobedience results in death. Us versus them morphs into a magical ethical issue similar to one in “Black Panther” where Rue wonders why magic, for its immense power, couldn’t be used for good to help humans. Wings of Ebony turns into a fight for existence. It is action packed and the contemporary world of East Row never recedes into the background. In fact it only gains more significance!
Elle has written some fabulous world building twists that I just want to gush about, but I can’t. In conclusion,Wings of Ebony is a multi-layered story that tackles the corruption and power of authority. Because as Rue struggles with her own identity, to figure out how much of herself she recognizes as magical or as human, she has to figure out how to accept herself. What people she wants to surround herself with at the end of the day. And what lengths she will go to in order to expose the truth.
Find Wings of Ebony on Goodreads, Amazon, Indiebound, Bookshop.org & The Book Depository.