Ashes of Gold

By: J. Elle

Narrated by: Bahni Turpin

In the “thrilling…masterful” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) conclusion to the Wings of Ebony duology, which #1 New York Times bestselling author Nicole Yoon calls “bold, inventive, big-hearted, and deeply perceptive,” Rue makes her final stand to reclaim her people’s stolen magic.

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 East Row. And girls from East Row don’t give up. Girls from East Row pick themselves back up when they fall. Girls from East Row break themselves out.

But getting free and finding her friends is only half the battle. Rue vows that when she reunites with them, 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 a heart that is half human, half 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.

Critic reviews

"In the closing of this duology, Bahni Turpin brings this story to life by embodying specific characters and masterfully representing the cultural spaces with great precision through characters who are from vastly different worlds. This YA fantasy is the story of Rue, a powerful teen who escapes imprisonment and fights to return magic to her kinfolk, the Ghizoni people. Turpin brings out Rue’s American accent while simultaneously connecting her to people from a faraway land — Ghizon. The tone of the story is dramatic, with nonstop adventure. There are numerous moments of warmth, especially when Turpin narrates the love triangle in Rue’s life or moments of loss. But the high energy in Turpin’s voice is unmistakably exciting."

Mind bending

Loved the character development and the plot twists. Stay on the edge of my seat all the way down to the last 40 minutes.

The stubbornness of Rue is out of this world!

I did love this story. The fight back. Bring magic back to our people. Bridge the gap! Togetherness! The ending gave everything it needed to give!

good story.

I found this to be a good part too... I just wasn't feeling the double love triangle that was going on I felt like it focused too much on that and not on Ru growing it to herself like she was at the end of the first book... All in all is a good story and I listen to it again

Lead character, Jalani unites as she stands tall.

I loved the story, especially Jalani's growth as she stayed true to self & her people. It's the kind of worth sharing with the YA crowd, able to handle the language.

A strong sequel with lots of suspense.

This second book in the series is a strong follow-up to its predecessor. Meeting the main characters deep in the middle of a plot, this book keeps you guessing at what will happen next. Beyond that, this book models what concepts like friendship and allyship could look like. This is actually a double-edged sword as I often wondered if certain dialogue wasn’t written just to “teach” the audience and some character choices are a little more thoughtful/mature than you would expect to find in the real world. But as far as criticisms go, I’d be a proud author if the only “flaw” was that I gave my protagonist really good friends.
Well done. ;)