Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Her Radiant Curse by Elizabeth Lim

1 review

sol_journal's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

*Thank you Netgalley, RHCBEducators, and Elizabeth Lim for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!*
Posted to: NetGalley, Goodreads, and The StoryGraph
Posted on: 8 July 2023

4.3 (rounded down to 4) out of 5 stars.

Before Shiori, there was Channari- and Elizabeth Lim does an *amazing* job giving us the past of the stepmother who was once Serpent Queen.

When I saw the NetGalley listing, I KNEW I had to request this title and honestly, I hate that I did because it’s made me want to pause *all* of my current reads to go back and re-read the rest of the books that are a part of the Legends of Lor’yan. I mean, getting a taste of Channari and seeing her past? Beautiful, I absolutely *devoured* this book as quickly as I was able to.

It sounds like I’m entirely biased for this rating, and I’m trying hard not to be, so I’ll get to a few nitpicky parts.
The characters were wonderful! I loved being able to see more of Hokzuh, of Channi, and even a little surprise appearance from a certain emperor. I know a lot of importance was placed on Vanna and how beautiful she was, how she literally *glowed*, but I think this was more often brought up as a reminder to why things tipped the way they had- and why Channari fought so hard to free Vanna from this selection and everything that came after.
There were a few little plot points too that were murky, though I really think that I was so excited to read this that I skipped some key words and moments in my haste to see how it would end. (Mild Spoilers up until the end of the next paragraph!)
Like, I can’t entirely remember the reason the Serpent King bit Channari besides being there when the Witch Demon was. I kind of also wish Nakri was explained more/touched on more though she was also more a side character- just an interesting one in my opinion!

Every character isn’t without their flaws though. I think Elizabeth Lim does a good job showing this, no matter how badly you know it will go and you’d wish they’d be able to work it out somehow else. Some of the characters were left wanting more- like Oshli and some more hints of him and Vanna. Or again, with Nakri as I kind of loved her character! The characters that *were* given more light to shine though, they were a lot more rounded and developed through the end of the book.

Overall, ‘Her Radiant Curse’ lived up to every idea I thought it would be. The flows of time/scene changes were a bit patchy here and there for brief moments, but to unravel Channi’s story and how she became Raikama was *amazing*. Even though readers of the Six Crimson Cranes duology know just how this story will end, you can’t help but sink into the words and hope that somehow, someway, the ending will re-write itself. I loved every page of this book, and I really cannot wait to re-read it whenever my pre-order arrives!
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