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gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition
adventurous
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
3.25
This as a good addition to the basic Crimson Cranes universe. I liked being able to see the history of Channi and her sister. I wish that there was more time spent at the end with the romance with Hanriyu since she ultimately does marry him and become his children’s mother .
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Abandonment
Moderate: Sexism
Dismorphia: The major part of this book is you guessed it, a curse. So some of the themes are about how to cope with the curse.gossameralbum's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Murder, Self harm, Blood, Dysphoria, Grief, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Violence
Minor: Confinement
leaflit's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
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
gkaltam's review against another edition
adventurous
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
sarrie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-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
4.0
Her Radiant Curse by Elizabeth Lim was for me, almost entirely a cover buy/request. Not only did I pre-order this one but I requested a Netgalley copy based on that amazing artwork. I have to say, I’m not mad at it having read the book either! The other portion of my determination to read this was that I’ve been dying to try Elizabeth Lim and I thought this would be the push I needed. I am glad I picked it up, because -yes. She is worth the read.
Her Radiant Curse follows a young girl then young woman as she spends her life training to protect her sister. Her father, in a incredibly poor parenting moment, attempted to sacrifice Channi instead of her sister to a Demon to save his wife’s life. Instead Channi was cursed, and effectively a due date was placed on her sister’s life. She would die at 17, or Channi could hand her over. Through circumstances at this moment Channi’s face is twisted to appear as a snakes, and her blood incredibly toxic. She vows to her dying mother she’ll protect her sister against everything and everyone and thus kicks off her life.
The story has the feeling of a fable and by the end of the book that was my absolute favorite thing about this. It was fast paced, an easy and quick read and the ending seemed to present this setup of a world where more stories could be set and take flight. Not only is the ending wonderful as far as set up or a true ending, but it’s tragic and sad in a way that I didn’t see coming and one that I actually loved. For a YA Fantasy I’m impressed. Elizabeth Lim took a story that felt familiar and in the end gave it a profound and truly impactful feel.
If you enjoy fable style fantasy or YA fantasy in general this is one I can safely recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Child abuse and Violence
Minor: Gore
bellebookcorner's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
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? Yes
5.0
“All the riches and power in the world cannot buy someone who loves you truly. That’s the greatest treasure.”
If you love YA fantasy with Asian mythology vibes, a strong sister bond and a sprinkle of romance then I recommend picking up this book!
I absolutely love following Channari’s story, her story got me hooked right from the beginning making it almost impossible to put down. Plus it comes with an dazzling world building and loveable characters.
I love and admire Channari’s character. She may not be the ‘golden one’ but she definitely has a heart of gold. It was shown with how much she loves her sister and how far she’s willing to fight for her.
My heart breaks reading how the people treated her because of her appearance, even her parents. Fortunately, she has the snakes as her family and best friends to get her through all the judgement and resentment she got.
(special thanks to Ukar who always bicker with Channari and liven up the story!)
“In spite of my snake face, my heart is human.”
Overall, this is a well written prequel. It was heart-warming and also heart-breaking at the same time, I got teared up near the ending.
I highly recommend reading this one and I’m really looking forward to read what the author’s has in store next!
Her Radiant Curse is a standalone and a prequel to Six Crimson Cranes duology.
In my opinion, you can read it just fine without reading Six Crimson Cranes first. But if you’ve read it, this book is a story of Raikama – Shiori’s stepmother.
“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.”
Thank you to TBR and Beyond Tour, Netgalley, author and publisher for giving me an e-ARC of the book and for having me on this book tour. I’m leaving this review voluntarily!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
Minor: Blood
adancewithbooks's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
2.0
Thank you to Hodderscape and Netgalley for the review copy in exchange for an honest review. This does not change my opinion in anyway.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Violence, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Physical abuse
mentioned child sacrificeshainalite's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This is the first book from Elisabeth Lim I read. Six Crimson Cranes is still in my TBR, however I can easily follow the story and world building in Her Radiant Curse. I love the different vibes between the childhood and the current days told from the main character's POV. It showed her improvement and growth so well. I don't really love the adventure part of this book since it goes back and forth among places, even though I really love seeing how different kingdoms/lands are told. The friendship between main character and the snakes is my favorite even though the sisters' relationship seemed not as cool as them, for me. Everyone who loves Six Crimson Cranes, YA fantasy adventure with a little bit romance in it, dragons, curse, and durian trees need to read Her Radiant Curse!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Death, Bullying, Death of parent, Grief, Self harm, Murder, and Violence
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