A review by fullnessofjoy
A Crane Among Wolves by June Hur

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious 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

5.0

June Hur strikes again! If I can put into words how much I enjoyed this novel, it would be to describe it as a historical time-travel pill into the intrigue and danger and darkness but also the light and love and romance of a 16th century historical Korean tale. It is a heady, dizzying, wonderful feeling. Hur pitches this novel as a bit of a historical Kdrama - and if you know anything about me - that is one of my favourite genres ever! :) This novel combines beautifully the romance and drama and danger and action and loveable, emotional character moments, the soft lingering romance and exciting scenes - with the depth of historical knowledge, perspective and insight to a very difficult, painful period of Korean history. As a history lover, Hur’s attention to historical perspective and knowledge was truly admirable and made me so much more engaged with this story, knowing that these events and even some characters are drawn from real life. But Hur never trumps historical fact over character depth and the beauty of a well-told story. There were so many swoon-worthy, heart-pounding moments in this scene, I was HOOKED!

Can we also talk about the romance between those two loveable characters? Aww, I loved them so much - they were flawed, real and wonderful and I was rooting for them very much. There are some wonderful side characters too ahhh! My review is all over the place, but I just loved this novel SO SO MUCH and will encourage you to read it ASAP.
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