Six Crimson Cranes

Shiori, the beloved and only princess of Kiata holds a secret, she carries magic within her. Magic that was banished from Kiata along with the demons that used to roam free. Shiori has been very good about hiding her powers, but on the day that was supposed to be her betrothal ceremony, she loses the control she's had upon her powers. It may still have not been such a big ordeal, except Shiori's stepmother, Raikama, caught her.

Shiori quickly learns Raikama has dark magic of her own, but before she can do anything about it, Raikama banishes Shiori from Kiata and curses her brothers to turn into cranes. And for every word that Shiori speaks one of her brothers will die.

Alone and unable to tell anyone who she is, Shiori searches for her show more brothers, and along the way learns that with the now-missing princes and princess, Kiata - and her father - are in a dangerous situation. A situation that may cause Shiori to rely on the last person she would ever think to turn to.

I was not really familiar with the folktale in which this story is based upon, so reading Elizabeth Lim's author's note in the beginning was very interested and good to give things a context, but overall I was just happy to let Elizabeth Lim take me on a journey.

And I loved the journey.

It's a little easy, at first, to see Shiori's side of things. Seeing how she's been the beloved only daughter of the emperor, she's wanted for nothing her entire life. Now, when faced with a betrothal she doesn't want, she wants to rebel. But before any of that can happen, she's banished and all the privilege she's grown up with is taken from her. She has to learn to make her own way. And because she loves her family, her brothers, so much, she will not stop fighting to end the curse.

It was such a joy really to see Shiori go from this girl who was not unkind, but definitely needed to mature a bit, into this young woman who, by losing her voice, ends up finding it. Pretty much everything about the story supports Shiori's eventual and overall growth including her interactions with her wouldbe betrothed Takkan.

There were a few places where the story was close to dragging a bit and I think that's because this book is still setting up things that are to come in the next book. So there has to at least be a little bit of development to lend itself nicely into the next stage of Shiori's journey.

I will say that I loved the moments when Elizabeth Lim bucked more traditional conventions of fairy-tales. I'd say more but I want to avoid spoilers. Suffice it to say, I'm sure everyone can think of certain fairy-tale tropes - there's a big one in particular here - and Elizabeth Lim turns the tables a bit on it. I'm not sure if this is part of the actual traditional tale or if it's her own spin on things, but there are hints throughout that all is not entirely as Shiori sees or remembers and I think, also part of her growth story, it plays well into everything else.

Overall, I was really pulled into this story from the start. While this book definitely ends on leading readers into what comes next for Shiori it was a satisfying ending on it's own. I'm highly anticipating where Shiori goes from here. show less

**An ARC of this book was provided to me by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.**

Six Crimson Cranes is a fantasy must-read! Join Shiori as she tries to break a curse and save her country from the demons trapped in the Holy Mountains. Lim takes inspiration from The Six Swans with Shiori's curse, from Snow White with an evil stepmother but the evil stepmother twist at the end was actually AMAZING?!?!, and a dash of Cinderella when a handsome suitor who picks up Shiori's slipper tries to find her. Yet Lim finds a way to take these tropes and turns them into an utterly charming and unique new tale.

Shiori is everything you could ever want in a main character—she's head-strong, loyal, and caring. She's creative and clever and best show more of all she's not afraid to trust and she's brave enough to admit when she's wrong and learn from her past. Watching her face adversity and grow was an absolute pleasure.

After the success of Lim's previous duology and now this, she has become an auto-buy author for me! show less

SO YOU JUST GONNA LEAVE ME LIKE?

:Cracks knuckles: Folks I just spent the last two chaptere crying because Lim decided to be like "Oh Lexie you think you're sooo clever knowing all the fairy tales involved? SUFFER"

Because fairy tales are honest to god misery machines I swear it.

What starts as a story about a spoiled, if likeable, princess learning that curiosity does skin the cat weaves itself into a tale of family, friendship, jealousy and love...making it indeed worthy of the Tales it takes inspiration from.

Dragon Rights however.

In some ways knowing the principle Tale this book pays homage to, I felt a little impatient to get to my favorite bits of that Tale. That's a problem of MY OWN and no reflection on Lim's writing. She deftly show more moves Shiori through the seasons, teaching her humility as well as her own patience. We linger longest in the North (Iro), but as the pieces come together that makes sense.

I wished for more Seryu, but it looks like my wish comes true in the next book. For this one we wrap up the Curse, as well as mysteries about Raikama and Shiori's own magic.

And of course I CRIED for a character who deserves their OWN book if we're being honest. show less

《 five stars 》

⭒˚.⋆ ❝ find the light that makes your lantern shine. hold onto it, even when the dark surrounds you. not even the strongest wind will blow out the flame. ❞ ⋆.˚⭒

This book is a sheer delight! Featuring a charming, whimsical world, a cast of fun, loveable, and sometimes quirky characters, and a playful, clever, adventurous, and all-around magical writing style, I found much to love, and very little to complain about. Six Crimson Cranes is for sure going on the list of books I will tirelessly recommend to everyone I meet.

Mildly rebellious, curious and very loyal to her brothers describe Shiori very well. When she senses something off about her stepmother, she follows her, only to discover the woman is far from what she seems. The result is her having a curse placed upon her in the form of an unbreakable walnut bowl. Her six brothers are also cursed, becoming crimson swans at daylight, only to return to increasingly tenuous human forms at night. If she speaks a word, one of her brothers will die. All of this sends her fleeing, then after speaking to a trickster-like dragon in human form, to find a magical plant that's covered with steel-like thorns, so she can weave a net. Add in evil pursuers, battles, romance and a couple dandy plot twists near the end show more and you have a great read that sets up more to come. show less

I thoroughly enjoyed "Spin the Dawn" by Elizabeth Lim so I was keen to give her latest novel a try. I must say, I found "Six Crimson Cranes" very engaging and entertaining. I have always loved the fable of "The Six Swans" and I thought the author did a fabulous job of weaving it into this fantasy novel.

Shiori was a brave character who was easy to like and I was cheering for her all the way. She was determined to save her brothers and break the curse regardless of the cost, and I enjoyed following her journey. I also loved her paper bird friend, Kiri, who was an absolute delight and brought humour to the dialogue between her and Shirori. Takkan, Shirori's betrothed and hero of the novel was a sweetie. Not only was her heroic, he also show more read poetry, drew and sang! What more could a girl want?

The world-building was lush and vivid, and everything felt real and beautiful. Ms Lim is a talented writer and story-teller. The writing was magical and I felt completely transported into Shiori's world. I can't wait for the next novel to be released. A fabulous read. show less

* I got this book for review from the publisher for my honest thoughts*
I really loved this read. I thought it was super unique read. The structure reminded me so much of the structure of spin the dawn. I was a tad more invested in these characters and really loved how the fairytale elements was mixed with fantsay elements. This book also had some really fun and unexpected twists and turns. I also really loved the main character of this read and the focus on siblings realtionships. I also really loved the political alliance (marrige that was featured) def excited for the sequel!