Six Crimson Cranes Duology by Elizabeth Lim
Six Crimson Cranes is a duology a fantasy book based on a world loosely based on Asian legends and fairytales. The books follow Shiori’anma, a princess of Kiata and the adventures she goes on to save those she love.
The Duology includes:
- Six Crimson Cranes.
- The Dragon's Promise.
- Side Story: Her Radiant Curse. (To be read)
I read both books as audiobooks and I would recommend as there are quite a few moments which are slow.
This book was a fun read but a little slow paced and frustrating at times.
The main plot point of the book was the curse Shirori's step-mother, Raikama/ the Nameless Queen, put on her and her six brothers. Her six brothers were turned to cranes while Shiori was cursed with a bowl on her head, to stop her magic and to disguise her features, but also silence. For if she spoke or made a noise, a brother would die.
The journey of Shiori trying to break the curse while being mute was painful. Shiori was a very determined character who continued to get back up every time she was knocked down. And she was knocked down a lot. She did get herself in a lot of trouble so it wasn't much of a surprise there.
I really enjoyed her character growth throughout the story and the relationships she made during her journey (especially with her love interest!).
I would have loved if her brothers characters were more individual instead of "the brothers". Their individual characteristics were not developed enough to be memorable to me.
I also wasn't fond of Shiori's and Raikama's magic. Shiori never really did much with her magic except for bringing her origami bird to life. Shiori was written to be this amazing magic wielder but she could barely use magic for majority of the story and most of it was to do chores. Raikama's magic didn't sit well with me because the curse to turn the brother's into cranes was such an unexpected choice and her reasonings didn't make the most sense.
Overall I would give the book a 3.75/ 5 simply because I would have loved to see more.
The next review contains some spoilers from Six Crimson Cranes.
This book was a struggle to get through. Personally would have preferred if Six Crimson Cranes was a standalone and this could have been a side story of sorts.
This book follows Shiori and her quest to return the dragon pearl left to her by Raikama, now known as Channi.
Shiori and Kiki had made their way to the Underwater Dragon realm with Seryu. This realm was supposed to be exciting! It could have been fleshed out more and it could have been a fun time if the characters weren't so annoying. Everyone wanted to fight and bicker.
They didn't stay very long there and Shiori and Kiki headed back to Kiata and headed on a different journey with her six brothers and Takkan. This is the point where the book got really sloooow for me. The brothers had slightly more individuality in this book but only two or three.
The best part of the book was going back to Raikama's home and her hometown; learning about her sister and her growing up and their connection. The rest was a bore. The demons where meh. It was too many things thrown together without much reasoning.
I was not a fan of incorporating different Asian legends so loosely. The thread tying peoples fates together? Sure. I found it odd that Shiori was tied to Raikama even after death.
The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl (Star-Crossed lovers) legend felt so out of place and completely unnecessary. Like why?? It really was not needed.
I give this book a 3/5 but maybe that is a little generous seeing as to how many issues I have.
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