A review by thecandlelightlibrary
Ebony Gate by Julia Vee, Ken Bebelle

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Thank you to Macmillan/TOR Publishing Group for sending me an ARC of this title. I received this copy for free and this review contains my honest opinions. 
 
I’m always excited to see more urban fantasy (and everything about this book just sounded so good!) and I was secretly hoping this would be one of my top reads of the year. Unfortunately, Ebony Gate didn’t quite deliver on its promise for me. While Emiko was a promising character and I really enjoyed the world building and magic system, I think both the plot and the ways the characters interacted let this story down. At times the plot felt like it was trying to go in every direction at once and the pacing suffered, despite the story taking place over only a couple of days. Additionally, most of the other characters had only brief interactions with Emiko and their page time felt more like introductions for larger roles in later books, rather than helping the plot progress. I am hopeful this series will find its stride in the next book. Thank you again to the publisher for sending me a free ARC. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings