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A review by ballgownsandbooks
Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I enjoyed this so much! I've always had quite a few issue with the fairytale that this is based on, so I was a little trepidatious at first, but Elizabeth Lim clearly has some of the same issues because she fixed them all, and this turned out to be a great story!
The characters were definitely my favourite thing. Though I found Shiori herself a little insufferable at first, I really appreciated her arc of learning the value of hard work and doing things for other people, and I loved the determined, resourceful and resilient girl she'd become by the end. I also ADORED Takkan - the softest of soft boys, and new fictional crush material for sure!
The focus on family was also wonderful, and I loved the way Shiori and her brothers love and look out for each other. I've always felt this story places a slightly unfair burden on the princess compared to the brothers, so I loved seeing them all work together to break the curse, and the way the love and support was so clearly shared and reciprocated equally between them all. (I will say I could have done with the individual brothers being a little more fleshed-out, as they all slightly blended together for me at times/only two or three of them really felt like they had developed personalities.)
On the other hand, I wasn't so keen on either the plot or the worldbuilding. I found some aspects of the mythology of the world quite confusing and under-developed; I sort of felt like there were too many different kinds of magic, with enchanters/sorcerers/demons/dragons all separate things, and not quite enough explanation given of any of them. In a similar vein, the motivations and aims of the various antagonists were never quite clear to me either. The stakes also never felt quite high enough. Or rather - the stakes were incredibly high, but something in the matter-of-fact tone of the narration meant I never really /felt/ the urgency or tension until right at the end.
Overall, not a perfect book but still a great read and a wonderful retelling, and I'm excited to see where the sequel goes (particularly as it seems to be promising much more in the way of explanations about dragon lore!)!
The characters were definitely my favourite thing. Though I found Shiori herself a little insufferable at first, I really appreciated her arc of learning the value of hard work and doing things for other people, and I loved the determined, resourceful and resilient girl she'd become by the end. I also ADORED Takkan - the softest of soft boys, and new fictional crush material for sure!
The focus on family was also wonderful, and I loved the way Shiori and her brothers love and look out for each other. I've always felt this story places a slightly unfair burden on the princess compared to the brothers, so I loved seeing them all work together to break the curse, and the way the love and support was so clearly shared and reciprocated equally between them all. (I will say I could have done with the individual brothers being a little more fleshed-out, as they all slightly blended together for me at times/only two or three of them really felt like they had developed personalities.)
On the other hand, I wasn't so keen on either the plot or the worldbuilding. I found some aspects of the mythology of the world quite confusing and under-developed; I sort of felt like there were too many different kinds of magic, with enchanters/sorcerers/demons/dragons all separate things, and not quite enough explanation given of any of them. In a similar vein, the motivations and aims of the various antagonists were never quite clear to me either. The stakes also never felt quite high enough. Or rather - the stakes were incredibly high, but something in the matter-of-fact tone of the narration meant I never really /felt/ the urgency or tension until right at the end.
Overall, not a perfect book but still a great read and a wonderful retelling, and I'm excited to see where the sequel goes (particularly as it seems to be promising much more in the way of explanations about dragon lore!)!