Wings of Ebony by J. Elle is a relatively short fantasy novel that centers on the protagonist Rue. After the death of her mother, Rue discovers her godly ancestry and is taken to a place called Ghizon where her powers are unlocked. She meets her father in the process who impacts Rue’s development throughout the story. When her sister back in the real world is endangered, Rue does everything she can to save her, except there’s one problem—Rue can’t touch humans anymore because it is not allowed due to its consequences.

One thing I adored about the book was the POC representation. J. Elle did a good job of making themes in this book align to present day problems, like cultural appropriation and racism. Additionally, the fact that the protagonist was a strong female was empowering. 

I am typically a person who likes to read fast-paced novels, which made Wings of Ebony hard to get into in the beginning. J. Elle went thoroughly in depth with details, which results in good world building. However, in some parts of the novel, the overindulgence of details took away from the plot. 

While details were not always my favorite part of this book, the details about Rue’s connection with her sister were my favorite parts of the novel. As a person with a sister, I could relate to a lot of Rue’s motivations when it came to protecting her sister. Also, I am not a person who tends to gravitate towards romance in novels, so seeing the connection between sisters rather than a love-interest was refreshing. With this being said, there was still romance in the novel, but it was never overbearing and instead complemented the plot nicely. 

Overall, I enjoyed Wings of Ebony and it was a nice book, but it may not have been for me. Nonetheless, it is still a book I would recommend to others to pick up because of its POC representation, applicable themes, and the heartwarming sisterhood.