Six Crimson Cranes

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Penniless, voiceless, and alone, Shiori searches for her brothers, and uncovers a dark conspiracy to seize the throne. Only Shiori can set the kingdom to rights, but to do so she must place her trust in a paper bird, a mercurial dragon, and the very boy she fought so hard not to marry. And she must embrace the magic she's been taught all her life to forswear--no matter what the cost. Six Crimson Cranes follows our mc Princess Shiori, who has a secret: she has forbidden magic running in her veins. Then on the day of her unwanted betrothal, she is discovered by her stepmother, Raikama. Raikama is also a sorceror and she banishes Shiori, placing a curse on her and her brothers. Her brothers have been turned into cranes and for every word that Shiori speaks, one of them will die. She must now find a way to save her family- and discover the dark conspiracies lurking in the kingdom. She is not literally useless like every other main character to ever exist. She is not clumsy, not 'not like other girls and is not just plain boring. No matter where life takes you, you will be like those stars - connected by the light you shine together.”

talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done before, unafraid to reference or not reference, put it in a blender, shit on it, vomit on it, eat it, give birth to it. And later she finds out she’s not the only magical entity at the palace. Her stepmother is also a snake-human who can perform dark magic and as soon as she catches Shiori who learned her secret: she curses her by putting a bowl magically glued to her head, even her eyes are covered by bowl so nobody can recognize her. I’m looking forward to read the second book! This is one of the most amazing fantasy reads of 2021! On the whole, ‘Six Crimson Cranes' is a fantastic start to a series that I can easily see becoming a favourite of mine. The writing is terrific and well-supported by a complex storyline full of numerous twists and lovable characters. However, it does start off quite simple and slow-paced, so I’m giving it 4 stars. I would still highly recommend this book for all YA fantasy lovers as it refreshingly avoids most tropes associated with the genre. Raikama casts a curse, turning Shiori’s brothers into cranes and banishing her from home, unrecognizable to anyone and unable to speak because for every sound that passes her lips, one of her brothers will die. Forced to work with the boy she didn't want to marry and a rebellious dragon she’s been taught not to trust, Shiori searches for a way to lift the curse from her brothers and herself.Elizabeth Lim grew up on a hearty staple of fairy tales, myths, and songs. Her passion for storytelling began around age 10, when she started writing fanfics for Sailor Moon, Sweet Valley, and Star Wars, and posted them online to discover, "Wow, people actually read my stuff. And that's kinda cool!" But after one of her teachers told her she had "too much voice" in her essays, Elizabeth took a break from creative writing to focus on not flunking English. She is so smart and helps those who deserve her help, and she loves her brothers with all of her heart.

My dumbass didn’t realize that this book is an Asian retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Wild Swans.” I definitely should have known from the synopsis, or even from the fact that Elizabeth Lim’s entire repertoire consists of Asian fairytale retellings. But no. My brain cell doesn’t operate on logic.Now I haven't read many retellings of this particular fairytale, but I was engrossed in Shiori's plight from the get-go. And I loved her BFF origami bird. I had honestly forgotten what it was like to read a fantasy book with a good plot. *cough*sjm*cough* Princess Shiori made a deathbed promise to return the dragon’s pearl to its rightful owner, but keeping that promise is more dangerous than she ever imagined. A dazzling fairy tale full of breathtaking storytelling‘ Stephanie Garber, Sunday Times bestselling author of Caraval

The only reason this didn't get a higher rating was bc it was pretty slow-paced and for the first half, it felt like we were kinda going in circles. it was worth it by the end, but it took me a while to get super invested bc of how slow it was 🫤 A stunning remake of a fairytale’Chloe Gong, New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights Wow, Lim had a chance to build such a wonderful world and she took it. I love worlds that involve Asian mythology so I'm a little biased on this part. But wow, just wow. I'm not just talking about the monarchal regime, but THE CULTURE. I can never highlight how important culture is in a book's setting. You can't be lazy with it, because readers will know. But my oh my, did Lim outdo herself. There were so many traditions, clothes, manners. There were even activities that represent apologies. It was so amazing because in every different location the cultures and beliefs shifted. Not to mention religion was also mentioned. I loved learning about offerings and the relationships between dragons gods, priestesses, and demons. Each race had specific cultures and events that played a big part in their evolution. Lim obviously took a long time to trace the cultures and weave the strings. And learning little tidbits of culture and information on the world made the book ten times more enchanting. Even so, I feared that the contents of this book would not match its stunning cover, but all it took was the first sentence to relieve my concerns. The enchantingly vivid writing that follows this sentence swiftly earned my rapt attention. Its smooth, simple flow wrapped itself around me like a snug blanket, lulling me straight into the world that Elizabeth Lim skilfully constructs. Shiori finds herself exiled to farther village and the bowl is not the only curse she has to deal. Raikama also forbids her to talk or write anything about her situation: if she opens her mouth to form a word her brothers will start to die one by one. She also turns her brother into six cranes and cursed their own father not to remember his own children.Find the light that makes your lantern shine,” she used to say. “Hold on to it, even when the dark surrounds you. Not even the strongest wind will blow out the flame.” Beautifully written in a way that feels just challenging enough/ 'on grade level' for young adult readers (which in my experience is around 8-13 i.e. -- My Harry Potter years.) but still enjoyable for any new adult/adult readers. Now onto the prince Takken. Now I do love Shiori but this stupid little bitch thought he was a menace and the worst person alive and it turns out he is the loveliest person alive wtf. I do love Takken and he is an angel but I love Seryu more I'm sorry, not sorry. I'm manifesting no love triangle and that she will end up with Seryu and no Takken. They can be besties for life. I'm so sorry Takken my love but dragon boy wins.