Jenn's Reviews > Ebony Gate

Ebony Gate is the story of Emiko Soong, the previous Blade of her clan, just trying to live a mostly normal life in San Francisco. Emiko does not have magic like the rest of her family and the seven other clans, and has struggled with that difference. Emiko is endearing and does not make friends easily. Paired with an interesting premise, this book was one of my highly anticipated releases for 2023.
The beginning of the book felt slow, with a bit of information overload. After that, it was almost nonstop action. While fun, the pacing felt off at times, but did not ruin the story. The fight scenes were excellent, too. I will say that the interwoven mixture of Asian mythology and culture was confusing at times, while I kept trying to recall which was currently in reference and how that related to Emiko and the story.
Overall, I'm intrigued enough to definitely pick up the next book, but was a little underwhelmed overall. Book one ends with some unanswered questions that I'm looking forward to seeing addressed in the next.
Thank you to NetGalley and Tor/Forge for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.