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Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim

29 reviews

renpuspita's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

4.25

I can't help to compare Six Crimson Cranes with The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, since I read Six Crimson Cranes 1-2 weeks after I finish The Girl Who Fell. Both influenced by mix and match of Asian Mythology and written by Asian American author, although Six Crimson Cranes apparently happen in the established world of Lor'Yan that also become setting for Lim's previous Novel (Spin the Dawn duology). Personally, I enjoy Six Crimson Cranes more than Girl Who Fell.

The strength of Six Crimson Cranes is in the heroine character's development. Shiori'anma or Shiori, the only daughter of Emperor Hanrinyu of Kiata Kingdom, first come of as a spoiled brat (or princess). She detest her betrothal to Lord Busian's son and prefer to be together with her six brothers. But, when her stepmother, Raikama, detect her magic and since magic is forbidden in Kiata, Raikama curse Shiori's six brothers into cranes while Shiori herself find her head covered by bowl and can't talk. One word escaped from Shiori's lip and one of her brother will die. Shiori's journey in order to save her brothers and expel Raikama's curse is the the highlight of this book, because Shiori changed from a spoiled princess to a girl with strength and determination forged by difficulties and obstacle that she face during her journey.

The story itself pretty much YA and straightforward, simple to follow but still enjoyable to read. I can't help to feel annoyed reading part when Shiori being bullied by Zairena. As for Shiori's spoiled attitude at first, I didn't mind it because well, Shiori act her age and Lim also write that Shiori kinda regret her past actions especially when she finally meet Takkan, Lord Bushian's son that she supposed to marry. The world building is also like the story, pretty simple and straightforward but still interesting to read. There are some twist near the end and the story also end in a cliffhanger that will continue in book 2, The Dragon Promise.

As for the romance, it's not a main focus but there's hint of romance, especially between Shiori and Takkan. I know that there's also possibilities of love triangle because Shiori also get close with Seryu, the grandson of Dragon King (so, he's also dragon), but although I can see that Seryu is infatuated with Shiori I feel that theirs relationship more like friends. I prefer Shiori with Takkan, lol, maybe because I like Takkan's soft boy personalities and I enjoy her interaction with Shiori. Not only romance, but the love between Shiori and her six brothers also a delight to read, and how complicated Shiori and Raikama's relationship was.

For a YA fantasy with Asian mythology at its core while also a retelling of The Six Swans fairy tale, Six Crimson Crane is a must read.

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stephanielee's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? No

5.0

Shori is the youngest child and the only princess. She has 6 older brothers who she loves dearly and a stepmother who she has a complicated relationship with. Shori also has a secret- she has magic, which is forbidden in her land. She is about to be married in an arranged marriage and things go wrong. She then learns a secret about her stepmother who then curses her and her brothers. Shori is unrecognizable and is cast out into the streets to fend for herself and is not allowed to speak or for each word she says, one of her brothers will die. Her brothers are turned into cranes and their father cannot recognize them. As Shori learns to survive, she learns a lot about herself, her magic and even her stepmother. I love this as it is the kind of stepmother story that is complicated but not what you expect. I also love the character development for Shori as well as her brothers.

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fragrant_stars's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

My god I am starstruck by this book. I cannot wait to devour the sequel!! I loved the characters, and my heart genuinely ached for the main character as she went through her struggles. The Wild Swans was one of my very favourite fairytales as a child and as a Chinese person seeing this beloved myth retold as a East Asian fantasy was so thrilling to me that I procrastinated for maybe a whole year. I was so nervous because I desperately wanted to love this book, but if I could go back now I'd be shrieking at my past self to dive right in post haste.

One of the things I loved best was how much agency was given to Shiori as a character. The blurb on the back of the book suggested to me that she would be getting a lot more help from Seryu, but as I read the book

that didn't seem to be the case. Yes, he helped Shiori in some key moments, but most of the time Shiori got on using her wits. I also thought, based on something Seryu had said in an earlier chapter, that Shiori being forced to not use her words would eventually figure out to use wordless magic, and maybe that would be what saved the day- but no, not even that.

Mostly wits. I found that brilliant.

My only regret is that the Raikama, the main antagonist / twist villain / antihero of the story, died before all the loose ends could be satisfactorily tied together. Then again, I guess that's just life for ya. Death doesn't really tie things neatly, so I guess that makes sense. Even before she was revealed to be more than she seemed I could already sort of tell- which, trust me, it was a good thing and it felt soooo rewarding when my guesses turned out right!! Made me feel like I'd have loved to see a few more scenes with her before she left the story.

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meecespieces's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

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kiwij96's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

A very cozy and simple read, beautifully written and full of adventure, twists, and magic. Lacking in description at times which made me feel like I missed information. I was in love with the writing and adventure for 35 out of the 40 chapters. After that I felt like some things were both a bit rushed and strung out longer than necessary.

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squisheebee_'s review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book literally had me completely spellbound from the first page. Literally ran to order the sequel AND the authors book for a separate series. Like omfg. Yes it’s YA. Yes the pros is super easy to ready but god is it beautifully written AND the story!? Don’t get me started. I will not take slander about this book. If it was not for you that’s fine, but it was certainly for me. 😇

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cecinamo's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

It was an incredible story! I read the Six Swans fairy tale as a kid, so this book was somehow quite nostalgic to me xD. The main character is absolutely amazingly written. The side characters too! I especially liked

Raikama! I thought her story was so interesting and the relationship between her and Shiori was so cute ;^;. It was a nice twist to make the stepmother kind instead of evil like in the original fairytale

. Also Seryu was robbed ;-; He was such a cool character and we didn’t see enough of him.. I liked Takkan, but he seemed a little to perfect… Would definitely recommend this book tho!!

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lotoblanco's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad 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? No

5.0

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eetishmeh's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

[This review was written before reading the second book in the duology.]

I absolutely loved this book.

The worldbuilding was vast and beautiful, and showed me that an intricate fantasy world could be crafted without having to be rooted in Western tradition.

Shiori was an incredibly strong main character, and I enjoyed reading her journey immensely.

To be honest, when I first started reading, I was worried that the middle would drag, since I've seen a few reviews say so. Thankfully, I didn't get that sense! Yes, it was harder to get through than the rest of the book, but only marginally. Definitely not as bad as what I'd anticipated.

Another thing I was worried about was the sadness levels. Now, I haven't read Elizabeth Lim's other novels, but my friend has read both books in her previous series and told me that the first book was depressing to the point of being dull. I was concerned going in because I don't like stories that are too sad, but it turns out that this is more like... hurt-comfort, I suppose? Shiori hurts for a while, then later some turn of events makes the tone less sad so we don't dwell on her suffering for too long. (Sorry, Shiori!)

I normally am iffy with the arranged marriage trope, but this one won me over! Mainly because Takkan's amazing haha. I also love the way Shiori sees Takkan in a different light as they grow closer, and she progressively thinks of him less as her betrothed and more as her friend... then something more, too. It's realistic and it makes me feel soft and fuzzy inside <3

I thoroughly enjoyed the way Elizabeth Lim writes hints at future subplots. They weren't too predictable, yet it was amazing how I could look back at the clues that were there all along!

As for the retelling aspect, it kept close to the original folktale (or the Hans Christian Anderson version, I suppose) while also adding a lot of its own spectacular elements.

Also, I've seen some people mention it already, but in terms of swear words and explicit scenes, this book is entirely clean!

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to those who love East Asian fantasy and retellings of classic fairytales! As someone who falls into both categories, I know I loved it a lot.

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camiclarkbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

“Six Crimson Cranes” by Elizabeth Lim was an absolute nail-biter of a fairytale retelling!

When I started “Six Crimson Cranes” by Elizabeth Lim, I expected a fun, light-hearted fairytale retelling. I was way off, but in the best way possible! It was an absolute nail biter that kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time.

Princess Shiori’anma has magic inside her, which is strictly forbidden in her kingdom. Normally, Shiori is able to control her magic and keep it hidden, but on the day of her betrothal ceremony, she loses control and draws the attention of her stepmother, Raikama.

Raikama—a powerful sorceress—banishes Princess Shiori and turns her older brothers into cranes. She warns her that there will be dire consequences if she tries to tell anyone of the curse: for every word Shiori speaks, one of her brothers will die.

Alone, penniless, and unable to speak, Shiori relentlessly searches for her brothers. Along the way, she discovers a conspiracy to seize her father’s throne, which only she can prevent. Shiori uses the resources she has at her disposal—an enchanted paper bird, a temperamental dragon, an unexpected ally, and the magic she was taught to hide—to put the kingdom back to rights and to undo the curse on her brothers and herself.

Shirori is one of the strongest heroines I’ve encountered in a YA fantasy novel. She overcomes adversity again and again and continues to fight to find her brothers after they are cursed by their stepmother. Through it all, Shirori remains largely positive about her situation, looking for the silver linings, and never lets herself stay discouraged for long.

I was not as optimistic as Shiori while reading “Six Crimson Cranes.” I remained in a state of anxiety for her and her brothers. There were many times I thought it was impossible for them to get out of the newest impossible scrape they found themselves in—especially given what they’d just gotten out of. It was an endless loop of “out of the frying pan and into the fire” for the poor princess and princes.

Lim wrote an amazing East Asian retelling of “The Wild Swans.” It’s so clever and creative and I can’t believe it took me so long to read it!

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