Reviews with content warning for Death - A Crane Among Wolves

A crane among wolves gives us a historical retelling of a Korean tyrant and how heroes sometimes aren’t truly heroes. The book doesn’t shy away from the atrocities and horrors of human actions while still not being explicit (so quite appropriate for a YA read).

The romance was also quite sweet with subtle but important character developments in both the FMC and ML. However, this book is more of a retelling of history rather than a romance fiction. So don’t expect any focus on romance at all and you’ll enjoy a pleasant read

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kailanlovescats's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Don't get me wrong, this was a good book. But I think I wasn't prepared for how heavy the book would be, despite the content warnings at the beginning. Actually, once I heard the content warnings I did get a minor sense of foreboding.... knowing some of the things in the book are historically accurate also made it feel heavier, as it was easier to put myself in their shoes! So if you struggle with what's mentioned in the warnings, proceed with caution!

ultimately there is a happy ending! You just may cry rivers to get there. Just ignore ch 42

The story is equal parts detective mystery, historical romance, and rescue mission; and has beautiful writing. It was a bit slow at times.

I do wish some words were written in korean vs English as it would've helped with the immersion. Example, having Iseul refer to her sister as Eonni instead of older sister.

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nataliebootlah's review against another edition

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dark emotional lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

A historical, Korean whodunit, complete with a mysterious serial killer, a brimming coup, and some romance of course.

Iseul will do anything to stop the ruthless King Yeonsan, who has kidnapped thousands of women for his own pleasure, including Iseul’s sister. On her journey through the forbidden territory into the capital, Iseul crosses paths with Prince Daehyun, the bastard little brother of the tyrant king, who numbingly despises his brother. Together, will they be successful in overthrowing the crown?

Hur masterfully wove fiction into the true historical events of the dark, 1500s Joseon era. Slow burn romance, questionable characters at every turn, a serial killer on the loose, the fatherly-figure found in an investigator, a cold and calculated prince. I loved how the author explains what really happened in the author’s note, but I loved the storytelling even more.

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fullnessofjoy's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

June Hur strikes again! If I can put into words how much I enjoyed this novel, it would be to describe it as a historical time-travel pill into the intrigue and danger and darkness but also the light and love and romance of a 16th century historical Korean tale. It is a heady, dizzying, wonderful feeling. Hur pitches this novel as a bit of a historical Kdrama - and if you know anything about me - that is one of my favourite genres ever! :) This novel combines beautifully the romance and drama and danger and action and loveable, emotional character moments, the soft lingering romance and exciting scenes - with the depth of historical knowledge, perspective and insight to a very difficult, painful period of Korean history. As a history lover, Hur’s attention to historical perspective and knowledge was truly admirable and made me so much more engaged with this story, knowing that these events and even some characters are drawn from real life. But Hur never trumps historical fact over character depth and the beauty of a well-told story. There were so many swoon-worthy, heart-pounding moments in this scene, I was HOOKED!

Can we also talk about the romance between those two loveable characters? Aww, I loved them so much - they were flawed, real and wonderful and I was rooting for them very much. There are some wonderful side characters too ahhh! My review is all over the place, but I just loved this novel SO SO MUCH and will encourage you to read it ASAP.

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spellbindingtomes's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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kenny_2288's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I struggled to get into this book for the first 100 pages or so, but then it picked up and became more worth the read.
By the end, I enjoyed the journey of the two main characters, even if it took me awhile to warm up to Iseul.

I think the book struggled balancing the inner turmoil of its two main characters, the murder mystery, & coup storyline, so the story often felt imbalanced or awkwardly paced. Most of the time I felt like the murder mystery seemed rather unimportant in light of other things going on in the story, but the mystery itself could have used some more development.

Occasionally I felt like the story got bogged down in some nitty gritty historical facts or irrelevant characters who were only ever mentioned but not seen, and I think this problem would be fixed if the book was a bit longer and had more time to flesh these parts out. Similarly, the supporting characters were nice enough, but I wished I had gotten more time with them to explore their personalities and really care deeply about them. As is, they’re a bit flat, and one in particular, Woonsik, feels especially disappointing because he comes off as more of a spring board for plot/characterization motivation rather than a fully developed character in his own right (which is a shame, cause he does have a lot of heart to him). I just wish the book was able to accommodate a further dive into his character.

I grew to appreciate the romance of this story, but again, at first I struggled to buy into it in comparison to the incredibly pressing and dark subject matter of the rest of the story. However, romance didn’t ever seem over the top or too out of character and I was glad it remained rather limited as befitting of the rest of the story. This story is a historical fiction & drama book first, romance second, so if you’re hoping for a heavily romantic book, this ain’t it.

Overall, a good read and I’m glad I pushed through my lackluster impression at the beginning. This book is a good example of historical fiction that doesn’t shy away or dilute the horror of history. The story is often bleak but not without hope, and while it doesn’t necessarily have a “and they lived happily ever after ending,” I think it is better for the more realistic ending (which still felt satisfying).

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sydapel's review

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Another really solid historical YA about a period of history I had no idea about! While pretty simplistic in form and execution, this has all the benchmarks of a great YA: tension between main characters, exciting action points and a healthy dose of angst. In particular, I love the characterization of the female main character, who is wonderfully stubborn and determined, but learns how to hone her impulsiveness into subtle action.

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