A review by cortanasreadingnook
Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim

adventurous challenging 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

5.0

What an exquisite retelling of The Wild Swans! Set in an East-Asian inspired fantastical world, we meet Princess Shiori and her six older brothers. With magic long lost in Kiata, its practice is a strictly forbidden act, but when Shiori finds out that she is able to wield magic by bringing a paper bird to life, she grabs the attention of Raikama, the king’s concubine and her stepmother, eventually cursing her brothers into cranes and exiling her from the kingdom she’s known her whole life. Determined, Shiori sets out to find her brothers and break their curse altogether. With a catch: she can’t speak lest her brothers die. Six Crimson Cranes is a well-executed, captivating, and beautiful tale of family, young love, and friendship that will leave one crying or laughing altogether. I cannot fully describe the feeling of reading this book for the first time, but it is a colorful story imbued with magic and dragons and eventually fulfilling one’s destiny.