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tarfishy's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Body shaming, Bullying, and Grief
Minor: Blood and Animal death
annaptobias's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Elizabeth Lim writes such a good balance of intriguing plot and complex character development. I've come to realize that I enjoy novels where stuff is actually happening, and not so much when the characters are doing a lot of navel-gazing. Her action scenes are so well-written and exciting and keep moving the book forward, thus making it really tough to put down at times.
Graphic: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent
fragrant_stars's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
I initially picked up SCC because I'm always eager for a good East Asian fantasy- and I was very much delighted by the world Lim described in books one and two. My heart skipped a beat in book two when I realised that Raikama's-- Channari's-- home was inspired by Southeast Asian culture, and now there's a whole book's worth of story about it? I could have jumped for joy. As a Chinese-Indonesian, I'm so happy to see snippets of both my cultures in this story.
Don't get me wrong, Shiori is a plenty loveable character in her own right, but my favourite has always Raikama, so learning more about her in this book was basically everything I wanted. I can't help but feel that Channari was the real protagonist all along, over these last three books. I love her so damn much.
Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Grief, Self harm, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Bullying, Kidnapping, Animal cruelty, Sexual harassment, and Slavery
Minor: Alcohol
leaflit's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Self harm and Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Bullying, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, and Physical abuse
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Child death, and Torture
currant7's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Misogyny, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Body shaming
bellebookcorner's review
- 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
“All the riches and power in the world cannot buy someone who loves you truly. That’s the greatest treasure.”
“In spite of my snake face, my heart is human.”
“Find the light that makes your lantern shine. Hold on to it, even when the dark surrounds you. Not even the strongest wind will blow out the flame.”
Graphic: Self harm, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
Minor: Blood
adancewithbooks's review against another edition
2.0
As the cover might suggest, Her Radiant Curse is a prequel to the Six Crimson Cranes duology. A duology that I quite enjoyed. This prequel however did not live up to that duology.
Her Radiant Curse focuses on Channi, the stepmother of Shiori in her younger years. Which means that if you have read The Six Crimson Cranes duology you will know the basics of this story already as it is told in there. It is something that Shiori discovers. This can be a good thing as the interest of fans is already risen. But knowing what is going to happen meant that the book needed strong story telling and compelling characters. Unfortunately I felt we got neither.
The way the story was told in some places didn't always make sense. Some parts that werent that important dragged on for a while. While there were other parts where we were run through. It didn't make for a very pleasant reading.
Channi also didn't seem to match up with the woman we got to know through stories in the duology. And of course Channi is younger and things change but it was hard to see that they were the same person. I didn't care about her character. I didn't really care about her sister and even our dragon didn't quite come out well. The best bit was Ukar, the snake companion to Channi. He called her out on her bad decisions. Not that she ever listened.
I also had problems with the ending of this book. The reasoning behind Channari's anger and punishment towards the other were weak. And she even seems to know it but she still pushes through. And quite frankly it was a bed of her own making.
This book is also meant to stand alone. For readers that haven't read the duology. I hesitate to say that this is possible. I banked a lot on already knowing the world building from the duology and didn't get it enough from the actual book.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Violence, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Physical abuse
mentioned child sacrificecamiclarkbooks's review
- 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
Moderate: Bullying, Grief, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
jazzyjbox's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
When Channi was little, her sister was born with a bright light inside her. But their mother was dying. Their father was to sacrifice the baby for his wife but took the older daughter instead. Angma, the Demon Witch cursed Channi with a snake face and promised to come back for her sister. Seventeen years later, and with the help of her snake best friend, Channi will still do whatever it takes to keep her sister safe, even ally with a half-dragon.
I am not a fan of snakes by any means. So I had to think about it too hard while reading but otherwise this is a beautiful and haunting story about Channi's love for her sister while shrouded in the world's mythology. The world building is incredible, and Channi makes for an excellent anti-hero.
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Physical abuse and Emotional abuse
Minor: Death of parent