I could tell by the first chapter that this was going to be a 5 star book. This book flowed so easily that, before I knew it, I I finished it in one day. Elizabeth Lim has a way with words that I found absolutely enchanting in Six Crimson Cranes.

This book had hints of various fairytales but the plot itself was so unique. I loved reading about the magic system in this book. This book follows an arranged marriage trope with several twists that were absolutely addicting. This book had angst, an independent FMC/princess, a curse, and enough chemistry to make my head swim.

I loved the world building in Six Crimson Cranes so much. Elizabeth Lim slowly eases the reader into this amazing plot line with admirable skill and deft. I really enjoyed reading about Shiori’s character development as things progressed throughout this plot.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves Fantasy !

this book was incredibly entertaining, adventurous, and magical. the family relationships in this book were really well done and the ending was spectacular. i really enjoyed this book!!

Shiori is a young princess with six older brothers. Everything seems to be going fine until she stumbles on a dangerous secret that leaves her outcast from the palace and speechless along with her brothers who have been turned into cranes. As she searches for a way to break this spell, she goes through many adventures, some good and some bad.
Even without a voice, princess Shiori goes through major character development and learns to use her actions to speak for her.
There are lots of twists and turns coupled with fast-paced action that kept me reading nonstop. This is a dreamy fairytale with a sweet romance, a talking paper bird and dragons! What more could a reader want?
And can I just say... THIS COVER IS BEAUTIFUL!!!!

Another beautiful story by Elizabeth Lim. If you have read Spin the Dawn, you may remember small nuggets about Princess Shiori and now we finally meet her. Just in this first book, we see a HUGE change in her. Her character development is phenomenal.

One thing I love most about this book is the message about your voice and actions. Shiori loses the ability to speak for MOST of the entire book yet she still goes through major character development, makes so many friends, and learns a lot about herself. She also learns how to listen and observe before taking action which serves her well.

The whole cast of characters was fascinating. Takkan is definitely a new book boyfriend for me. My only complaint is that we don't get enough of him! Kiki and Megari are my favorite side characters. Even more so than the 6 princes and Seryu - who was also a fun character but I wish we saw more of!

And finally, the baddies. You think you know, but be prepared. There are lots of twists and turns and the ending was very fast paced. I didn't want to put it down. And I am not at all ashamed to say that I cried a lot during chapter 39.

Solid story and I CANNOT wait to for the sequel to explore more of the Dragon sea palace.

I asked to read the ARC of this book because Spin the Dawn and Unravel the Dusk were so enjoyable! This is another excellent fairytale retelling. I think I liked Spin the Dawn slightly better because I liked the character slightly more, but that’s a mild personal preference and your mileage may vary. If you like fairytale retellings you should read Both series!

Thanks to NetGalley & Random House Children's for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

"Six Crimson Cranes" is at its heart, a fairytale focused on redemption, perseverance, and love. Shiori is the narrator and a spoiled pampered princess until her step-mother curses her and her brothers! Her brothers all turn into, well, cranes, and she is forced to never speak word, lest one of her brothers die as a result of her speech.

Frankly, if you've read Elizabeth Lim's previous work with "Spin The Dawn" it's similar in structure and content, so if you've liked that one you'll like this one as well. She does a great job with the fairytale angle and "teaching" lessons to the protagonist (and the reader) and as a result, weaves a fascinating action-adventure-packed story. She also includes a really sweet romance, which I adored. The protagonist grew and developed which was wonderful to see. I also really enjoyed her conversations with her magic...paper...crane friend/sister? The banter was snarky and fun to see!

I had trouble putting this book down! Sooo good! I will say the pacing could be off sometimes and I feel like it could've used another couple of pages to help expand on the world, but it worked anyway. Lim meant to tell a fairytale and fairytales don't usually bother with extreme details of everything so it works, honestly.

A very entertaining & fantastical story that's sure to please all fairytale lovers!

An absolutely jaw dropping and unique entry into the YA Fantasy World. If your like me and you are tired for reading the same story retold over and over again under the YA genre then this book will knock your socks off. Not only is the story uniquely beautiful it will stick with you for YEARS to come!! This is not a story you will soon forget!

I loved The Blood of Stars duology from Elizabeth Lim so I was so excited to hear that Lim was coming out with another duology set in the same world!

Six Crimson Cranes follows Shiori, the only princess of Kiata who is on a quest to break a curse placed on her and her six brothers by her stepmother. This is a whimsical story with magic, family, dragons, and romance that is perfect for YA fantasy lovers. The strong sibling relationship and Shiori's character growth were some of my favorite parts of this book! The ending was an unexpected twist and I cannot wait to read the second book to see where Shiori's journey takes us next!

Thank you Knopf and NetGalley for an advanced reader's copy of this book!

Thank you to Knopf Books for Young Readers (Random House Children’s) and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book.

Six Crimson Cranes is the first book in a new YA Fantasy series by Elizabeth Lim- great for fans of The Kingdom of Back and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue!

The book follows Shirori, Princess of Kiata, as she quests to break the curse cast on her and her six brothers. In a twisted adventure that begins with the forestalling of her own arranged marriage, Shirori discovers there are more sinister conspiracies in her world than meet the eye.

Lim’s ability to craft a first-person narrative, which effortlessly resonates with the reader, is unparalleled; she gives voice to Shirori, who has been silenced by telling the story through her thoughts. Shirori’s internal struggles of trust, patience, and wit are brought to light as the reader gets to experience her inner dialogue.

The plot is expertly-paced and action-packed from the first page. It’s as if the reader’s reading speed must almost match Shirori’s running speed. Her determination to save her brothers is inspiring and forces the reader to keep turning the page, as if pausing between chapters would result in Shirori slipping away.

My only critique is that some explanations come a half-second too late. In those moments, I felt confused and had to go back and reread to make sure I didn’t miss a critical detail. I hadn’t actually missed anything, and my confusion was dispelled a few lines later; however, these instances briefly took me out of the story and into my head because I was waiting for clarification.

Overall, this is a fantastic first novel in Elizabeth Lim’s new series! Readers will be eager to read what becomes of Shirori and her family; Book Two can’t come soon enough!

4.5/5.0

I’ll be honest this book definitely started out a bit slow for me. It took me until about 40% into the book before I was fully interested and invested in where the book was going to go.
I felt like the characters in this novel were interesting. I really liked how you could see the character development of our main character Shiori. I think part of why it took me so long to really get invested in the novel is because we didn’t really get to know her brothers before they were cursed so I just didn’t fully care about her saving them.
I liked the little bit of romance that developed throughout the 2nd half of the book. I liked that it wasn’t the main focus of the book but it felt present enough and gave me something to root for.
The world building was fine, things slowly got built up throughout the book vs a major info dump. That being said I thought there could have been more description of what the various places looked like. I would have also liked more of the magic in the world. That being said she couldn’t use her magic throughout most of the book so I can give a pass on that.
Now there was a twist that I won’t go into detail because spoilers. Once things started getting revealed I thought things happened kind of quick, to the point where it felt slightly rushed. Overall I really like how everything played out and I like the setup for future books in the series. I think some of the things were kind of a little confusing because they weren’t really explained in details
I really ended up enjoying myself while reading this book. I would recommend it!

*I am choosing to leave an honest review after receiving a free copy from Netgalley*

Elizabeth Lim does it again with this Asian folklore-inspired fairytale.

At its heart, this is a book about siblings. Shiori’s entire motivation is to break her brothers’ curse—and the interactions we get with all of them are complex and beautiful. Shiori herself is a completely different character than Maia, Lim’s Spin the Dawn mc, and I’d be hard pressed to choose which one I love most. Her character transformation is achingly beautiful, and her relationship with Takkan is delightfully slow-burn and sweet. Kiki the paper crane adds much comic relief and gives us insight into Shiori’s head when she can’t speak.

I’m hoping in Book 2 we get more of everything—understanding of how magic works, more of the brothers, and a heck of a lot more shapeshifting-dragon—the synopsis seemed like Seryu would be a big part of the book, but he was barely in it. Give me more dragon! I’m submitting a motion that we surrender the exclamation marks in payment for more Seryu.

After that ending, I think we may get that wish, and I couldn’t be more excited. If you’re looking for a fresh fairytale with unique roots, a sweet and wholesome romance, and strong sibling bonds, look no further than Six Crimson Cranes.

Special thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc of this delightful book!

-Ande

📚 DON’T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER 📚

I’ll be honest upfront and say that I judge books by their cover and when I saw this one, I knew I had to read it before its release because a book with THAT cover had to have an AMAZING story inside it right? (swipe to read blurb!)

My instincts never lie. As my first Elizabeth Lim book, I think it’s safe to say I’m a fan for life. Her storytelling is out of this world and her ability to seamlessly infuse Chinese/Japanese culture into her retelling of “The Brothers Who Were Turned to Birds” and bring it to life in a whole new way is truly remarkable.

Some highlights of the book are:

- it’s an enchanting YA fantasy filled with magic, family, and hope 💜
- a retelling 🦅
- Shiori's character arc 🏹
- the strong and realistic sibling bond gave me LIFE 😍
- prose is lyrical, lilting and I just want to soak in her words 🤩
- There are dragons, quests, adventure, and peril 🐉

I mean, what more could you want in a book? I’m not a huge fantasy fan, but this one took me by the hand and took me on a journey that stole my breath until the very last page. Oh, and did I mention it’s a duology? Also, the Asian rep was just *chef kiss*


🌟🌟🌟🌟✨ 4.5/5 stars!

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Children’s for a digital ARC of Six Crimson Cranes!

I know this book is actually based on a fairytale but Lim somehow manages to make this book feel as though it is a fairytale in its own right with her whimsical and lyrical writing. The storytelling transports you into this world, joining Shiori on her quest and uncovering each twist right alongside her. This book is full of curses, dragons, a devoted family, a strong protagonist, a compelling love story and So. Much. Food. The food made me so incredibly nostalgic, I absolutely loved seeing the cultural representation in this book.

Once again, I went into this book not realizing it was the first in a series and now I NEED BOOK 2! I can’t wait to see Shiori’s continued growth in the next installment of this series.

I can’t get over this book and how amazing it was. Honestly I could not put this book down. The writing style was also beautiful. A few more things I adored about this book are: the world building and mythology, the main character and her relationship with her family, the magic system, and of course the romance and how it didn’t overshadow shiori and her main plot line.

I can’t wait for the second book!

This book is pure freakin magic. First of all, I have an unhealthy obsession with Grimm Fairytales, so all you have to say is “Hey Meghan, this book is a retelling of a Grimm Fairytale” and I’ll read it without a second thought. The Six Swans itself is a brilliant tale, and i was so excited to see what Elizabeth Lim would do with it; and she absolutely blew me away.

Part of the brilliance of this tale is that the main character, Shiori, spends the majority of the story not be able to speak. I was a little apprehensive about this, how do I get to truly know a character who doesn’t really talk? But between her inner monologue, her mental conversations with her paper bird Kiki, and her own unique ways of communicating, I was able to absolutely fell in love with Shiori.

This is a truly enchanting tale of a naive, cushioned girl who must survive a new type of life that she never could have imagine. I loved watching Shiori transform from the spoiled trickster princess, into a thoughtful, caring, and strong willed mute “nobody”. Every step of her journey felt natural and real.

Parts of Shiori’s journey were a little troupe-y; magical quest, only one who can save everybody, evil stepmother, but every time it seemed like the story was going to follow the usual alignment of a certain troupe, it veered off into a new and surprising direction. I found myself audibly gasping in surprise at multiple twists, and when it was time for the biggest twist of all, I was truly shocked and in awe.

In addition to Shiori, we have her six brothers, who since they spent the majority of the story as cranes, we didn’t get to know quite as well as i would have hoped. We got small glimpses of their different personalities and traits, but not enough for me to truly know who was who.
There was also Kiki, the paper bird who acted as Shiori’s moral compass and close friend. I never thought I would read a book and fall in love with a piece of paper as much as I did, but she was truly an incredible character.

Then there is Seryuu, the dragon/boy that Shiori meets and befriends, who helps her in some ways through her journey, and Takkan, the boy she was supposed to marry, and the unexpected surprise in her story.

My favorite thing about these two boys is that although I suspect a bit of a love triangle is forthcoming, the relationships she had with them in this book was mostly platonic. Even as feelings developed and lines blurred, there was no cases of insta love, mad dashes of declaring undying love for an almost stranger, the relationships form slowly and over the course of the entire book, and it was so refreshing to read a story where the main character’s journey was their own and not dependent on the love of another. (Although, familial love plays a huge role in the story) I didn’t realize how much some stories depend on the romance aspect before I saw how amazing it is for a story and character to grow without it.
I’m not sure how either of these relationships will continue, if it will be a love triangle, no love story, or just one, but I love not knowing yet. I can’t wait for them to develop further and see what happens next.

Overall, I thought this story was absolutely incredible. Shiori’s journey to save herself, her brothers, and her kingdom was so well done and truly magical. It was a pretty straightforward journey, without too much action or crazy plot twists, but every step of her journey just felt so necessary and right, there is truly nothing more I could have wished for in this tale. The story also wrapped up so nicely that it almost could be a standalone, but I’m still anxiously awaiting the sequel.

I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

OMG this book is breathtaking and beautiful! The characters are well written and I LOVE the interactions between Shiori and her stepmother.

The world that was created, the kingdom, the magic and the legends are absolutely stunning. The entire book had me enthralled and I finished it in one sitting.

I love the ending between Shiori and her stepmother and the resolved issue with the brothers. This is a very beautiful take on the goose girl.

I cant wait for the second book!!

3.5 stars

This was a unique retelling of the six swans fairytale. Shiori, a headstrong princess of Kiata, is exiled by her evil stepmother after being discovered as a magic user. Her stepmother turns her brothers into cranes, and Shiori is forbidden from speaking, because with every word she utters, one of her brothers will die.

This is a light, fast read. The world was unique and well-built, but the writing itself was nothing to write home about. It felt simplistic. I also wished the other characters had more depth and personality. I felt that only Shiori was properly developed - her brothers had no personalities, really. We were told about their likes and dislikes, their relationships with Shiori, etc. but we were never shown any of that. So it lacked development to me.

However, if you like a plot driven book and read fantasy mostly for the world building and not the characters, I think you'd enjoy this book. The plot was a bit weirdly paced at times and had some things that I think could have been edited out to tighten up the writing. But regardless, it was an enjoyable read, if maybe not a memorable one.

Elizabeth Lim has written some of my favorite Disney Twisted Tale stories, so I was so excited to read another of her original works! Six Crimson Cranes builds such a beautiful world and has such rich characters, I couldn't put it down. The twists and turns on Shiori's journey to save her brothers and return home kept me glued to the page and I loved her growing relationship with her former betrothed. The use of math and folktales to help build this world are weaved into the story beautifully and is just another reason Elizabeth Lim remains and auto buy author for me. The way this builds on the world we were introduced to in The Blood of Stars duology is wonderful, and I loved the little hints of details, that, if you read the other series, you can connect the stories, and that makes the read so much more fun! I cannot wait to see where Shiori's journey takes us next!

Shiori is a mischievous princess with forbidden magical powers. When she accidentally draws the attention of her stepmother, a beautiful and dangerous sorceress, Shiori is banished from her home. Even worse, her six brothers are turned into cranes and Shiori is warned that, for every word that crosses her lips, one of her brothers will perish.

Far from home and unable to speak or use magic, Shiori must use her wits and hard work to free her brothers and stop an insidious plot to seize the throne.

This is a lovely tale that features cute animal allies and a light romance that should be popular with a wide range of readers. It ends on something of a cliffhanger, so expect more volumes.

Lim's other work, Unravel the Stars, was a fusion of Project Runway and Mulan. Lim once again combines elements in this work but sticks to fairy tales and legends. While the book draws most heavily from Aarne-Thompson type 451, or "The Brothers Who Were Turned into Birds"( where a young woman labors to save her brothers who have been transformed into birds) the book also includes elements from a number of other Western and Eastern stories. I enjoyed the mix of tales a lot here.

An enchanting retelling of folk tales with magic, love, dragons, serpents, politics and families. There is lots of adventure and intrigue. I am looking forward to the second book.