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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
reflective
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
The best of the crimson crane books—a well-plotted and heartfelt story about love.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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:
Complicated
6 stars
channari's story is so tragic and bittersweet omg 😭 thank you to elizabeth lim for her beautiful mind and saving me and my book bestie from the absolute duds from our faves recently. she's the queen of YA fantasy and has just proven to me that she is able to write epic fantasies, romance, and total tragedies. i kind of wish i read this before six crimson cranes but it was still a wonderful reading experience regardless. the worldbuilding, the characters (even the villains), the plot, the way i remembered everything from six crimson cranes was chef's kiss. i knew elizabeth lim would make this a heartwrenching experience and, after she beat me up, i thanked her for it.
i will say that, as beautiful as it is—tran nguyen is a gorgeous, talented, hardworking artist—i wish the publisher kept the original cover for the usa paperback edition (click here for image comparison of original cover vs paperback). it's a really cool nod but
channari's story is so tragic and bittersweet omg 😭 thank you to elizabeth lim for her beautiful mind and saving me and my book bestie from the absolute duds from our faves recently. she's the queen of YA fantasy and has just proven to me that she is able to write epic fantasies, romance, and total tragedies. i kind of wish i read this before six crimson cranes but it was still a wonderful reading experience regardless. the worldbuilding, the characters (even the villains), the plot, the way i remembered everything from six crimson cranes was chef's kiss. i knew elizabeth lim would make this a heartwrenching experience and, after she beat me up, i thanked her for it.
i will say that, as beautiful as it is—tran nguyen is a gorgeous, talented, hardworking artist—i wish the publisher kept the original cover for the usa paperback edition (click here for image comparison of original cover vs paperback). it's a really cool nod but
and the cover should reflect that. readers who are new to the world of loryan won't realize it at a glance so it's fine but that's my biggest gripe.
i love stories about sisters, i love the mythologies that i recognize and the ones that i don't, and i love elizabeth lim's writing. this has me hyped for forgery of fate!
---
us covers: tran nguyen
uk cover: kelly chong
buddy read with my book bestie, @theboneforest.
i love stories about sisters, i love the mythologies that i recognize and the ones that i don't, and i love elizabeth lim's writing. this has me hyped for forgery of fate!
---
us covers: tran nguyen
uk cover: kelly chong
buddy read with my book bestie, @theboneforest.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
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
A prequel to Six Crimson Cranes. You do not need to have read the others to read this. Elizabeth Lim has a way with storytelling that I just love. Even though I knew what would happen I really enjoyed learning the story of the sisters.
Actual rating - ♾️✨
This book should be renamed as Her Radiant Angst because of the way this book destroyed me into a million pieces 😭 As someone who has read the Six Crimson Cranes duology and enjoyed it more as a comfort read, I least expected this book to skyrocket into my all-time favorite books and the one that broke my reading slump.
⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹
I want to first appreciate Elizabeth’s growth in her writing and pacing of the story. The writing style felt mature versus its counterpart with themes that focused on abuse, insecurities, and parental death. Despite Elizabeth taking a different turn in her writing and plot focus, she kept the whimsical tone and the word play consistent from her previous series. The best way I can summarize the vibes of this book (and why I enjoyed reading this book so much) is reading your favorite fairytale villain's backstory. It has the animal side character, a close found family group, a mission that the heroine needs to achieve, a mother figure/sister bond, and a sub-plot of a romance being built up along the journey. The punch in the gut is the tons of angst that occurred in this book where you hope that the main character gets their happy ending only to be thrown more pain along the way.
Focusing on our heroine, Channari, story, I fell deeply in love with her character. The times she wishes to protect her sister were heart-wrenching and the times she wishes to break the curse made me want to hug her so badly. However, what I loved most about Channari’s story is the recurring themes of beauty that played out in this book. Throughout the story, the readers get to learn how the world is cruel for their beliefs in beauty. Shaming Channari for her snake-like skin because of the curse she obtained as a child yet their actions represent the ugliness in people, including her father. Or how her sister, Vanna, beauty is appreciated despite the pain and struggles reflect similarly to Channari’s pain are some examples of the wisdom Elizabeth integrated in this story. It’s honestly why the title itself is one of my favorites that I love in this book.
⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹
The last point I want to make is that I highly recommend reading this book in publication order. Yes, you can read it before the duology or read it as a standalone, but the story and themes hit deeper when you read it after finishing the duology. I feel this book should have more fanart and love as it is criminal how underrated this book is. I can only imagine the pain I will feel now knowing Channari’s backstory whenever and if I do a reread of the Six Crimson Cranes duology. 😭
Other remarks:
♡ Butterflies 🦋🥲 If you know you know
♡ The friendship/found family between Hokzuh, Channari, and Ukar is what I wished for in the Six Crimson Cranes duology. So this is just another point to add to why I love this book so much
♡ Angma is hands down adding to my favorite villain list in stories now
♡ Forever will love and cry the sister bond between Channari and Vanna
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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