3.5 and rounding to 4 since I'm feeling generous today. Really strong start and end but towards the middle it dragged on and on. I get why it had to go into this direction but I was a little frustrated with the slow middle. I still liked the story a lot and the characters as well. I hope there's no love triangle in the next book or I may scream. I'm Team Takkan!! This is one of the better YA books I’ve read in awhile.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy of the book! I will definitely be reading the next one.

I enjoyed this book - more than expected! While I tend to stick with older YA fantasies, I loved Spin the Dawn from the same author and wanted to give this one a try. It kept me guessing until the very end, but I loved the journey that the MC takes in realizing her self-worth and power. Excited for book 2!

2.5 stars

I felt lukewarm about Six Crimson Cranes. This book took a very different direction than I thought it was gonna take though this may because I'm not familiar with the Wild Swans. The Raikama twist just didn't do her justice and I thought it wasn't set up properly. Everything relies too much on Shiori's memories being manipulated by magic. I actually feel more betrayed by the book itself than by Raikama. I also thought Seryu was going to be the love interest but LOL guess this is not a monster boyfriend book. Takkan was nice, though. I don't have any complaints about him tbh. However, I would have preferred more Seryu in this book overall.

In a parallel universe Six Crimson Cranes as a book would have been much heavier on the dragons and snakes in the Blood of Stars world. Instead we got Shiori just hanging around and being in pain in the north until the plot comes kicking in and literally dragging her off. The cliffhanger ending is actually more interesting than most of the book because we will actually get to see more of the dragon kindgom (hopefully).

I have already purchased this for the library and for my home library! I love the characters, writing, and world building. This is a wonderful addition to the YA fantasy genre and I will be watching for this author in the future.

Okay, even though the ending was pretty predictable (even if you aren't familiar with the legend/tale this book is based on, as I wasn't before reading), the storytelling to get from beginning to end was MASTERFUL.

Truly, a magical spell of a book.

***Thank you to NetGalley and the pubisher for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. ***

Such a beautiful and well-written story! Really enjoyed this one. Also, the cover art is so phenomenally gorgeous.

A beautiful East Asian inspired fairy tale retelling that is uniquely told and well written enough to separate itself from the masses of others out there. Princess Shiori is secretly a magic user in a land where magic is considered evil. When she meets a dragon in human form who offers to train her, she can't refuse. Shiori's natural curiosity gets away from her when she spies on her stepmother and discovers that she too, is using magic, perhaps in an actual evil bid to take the throne from the emperor, Shiori's father. Fearful that Shiori will tell her biggest secret, her mother in law casts a spell on the princess and her seven brothers, turning them into cranes and making Shiori unable to speak, lest her words kill her beloved siblings. Cast out from the castle, Shiori and her siblings wander the country looking for the cure to the spell, and in the process Shiori ends up living at the castle of her former betrothed, who she had spurned in her youth.

Complex and many-layered without being overwhelming, complex characterizations make this story shine. Shiori is an endearing character who readers will sympathize with and relate to easily. Her struggles against the expectations of her gender and the role of magic are interesting, and it was exciting to see the evil stepmother trope turned on its head -- no spoilers, but the final revelation of her stepmother's motives had me in tears. A sweet romance that isn't pushed too hard and fits into the plot well -- though I will admit I did kind of want Shiori to fall in love with the dragon boy. Wide open for a sequel, which seems like it will expand this lushly developed world and mythos. A 4.5? Probably round up to a 5 except that I just read Iron Widow and that is like the gold star standard for me now, apparently.

I loved this book so much! I can’t believe it took me so long to get too. I loved the swan princess aspect and adore the author. Can’t wait to read more of her work!

Immersive, representative, and so so well done. I’m mad at myself for putting this one off for so long - YA fantasy lovers will gobble this one up.

I absolutely adore Elizabeth Lim, so I was super excited when I saw that I was approved to read it! She did not disappoint! It has such beautiful, fairytale like storytelling, well written characters, and a colorful descriptive setting. Plus, you can't go wrong with dragons, curses, evil step mothers, adventure, and a family who would do anything for each other. I loved this book and I can't wait to read the next one!

Shiori, a young princess, is getting ready to meet her betrothal to calm tensions from another land. She is keeping her magic a secret in order to not be at risk of her life and be banished away from her family, especially being away from her brothers. As she wants to learn more about her magic that she holds, she realizes that something is very unique about her stepmother Raikama. She really enjoyed being with her as she was growing up and then suddenly it all changed and she does not remember why. Throughout the story, she is placed in a journey that forces her to rely on survival and sacrifice that she did not do before. She is willing to risk it all just to save her loved ones and bring them back to safety.

This was a great read for me because it took me completely by surprise with the ending. The story placed the main character into difficult positions in order to find herself and value what she has. I am hoping to see a book two in the works for Shiori for sure.

Wow! I loved this book so much! This is a perfect fantasy romance novel which features both genres equally! Sometimes there's books that say they're fantasy romance but focus too much on the fantasy and not enough on the romance, which is fine for most people, but for me I love my books to have a good amount of romance so this one was perfect in my opinion! I felt like everything moved along smoothly, and you never felt like things were going too fast or too slow. This book had such a classic fairytale feel to it, it had the stepmother and the magic curse, and I mean it was based on the folk tale The Wild Swans, and while I never read that story before, I definitely did want to read it after reading this book! It also felt really unique because I haven't read many books based on this tale, so it was nice reading it and getting a retelling of something you don't always see. I also really enjoyed the world building in this book! I loved the setting and it felt really cool and real! I didn't feel like I couldn't picture the world and places, and the place just felt so beautiful! It felt like magic! I loved it! I also just felt that Lim was such a great writer that I never wanted this book to end. I just kept wanting there to be more and I'm super excited to read the sequel! I can't wait! I just want to read it right away because after everything that happened in book 1, I just wanted more! I highly recommend reading this book! It was fantastic! Love whatever this author puts out, she's definitely becoming a top favorite author!

4,5*
Pros: As a huge lover of The Six Swans tale, this East Asian retelling hit the spot perfectly. Beautiful world-building and writing style that feels like an old tale whispered around a campfire. High stakes, complex villains, full of hardships and challenges that must be overcome. Fierce and resilient female lead, kind and supportive romantic interest, and heartfelt moments about family, friendship and love.
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Cons: Rushed and confusing ending.

I was blown away by this fantasy, and I really loved it! I purchased a copy for myself and have recommended it to my library! I loved the incorporation of fairytales and folklore to create a rich and beautiful story that I will read again in the future.

I wanted to read this one from the moment I heard the description, which incorporates a retelling of "The Wild Swans" fairy tale woven in with East Asian folklore and myths. Thank you to NetGalley for my advance copy of Elizabeth Lim's Six Crimson Cranes in exchange for an honest review! This brilliant YA fantasy read focuses on Princess Shiori, who at the beginning of the story is worried about her upcoming betrothal to one of the lords of the kingdom. However, as forbidden magic latent within her suddenly blooms, she finds herself in a much more precarious situation than a simple unwanted betrothal.

When Kiki, Shiori's beloved paper crane that came to life thanks to Shiori's magic, winds up at the bottom of a lake, Shiori dives in to get her and encounters a dragon.

"The bottom of the lake tasted like mud, salt, and regret. The water was so thick it was agony keeping my eyes open, but I thank the great gods I did. Otherwise, I would have missed the dragon."

As Shiori and the dragon Seryu become friends, he helps her learn more about her magic, but their journey leads her ever closer to a curse that will change her life and the life of her six brothers forever.

The curse has profound repercussions for all of the siblings, and Shiori becomes a penniless, no-name, unknown girl in a remote area of the kingdom. No one can recognize her, and her brothers transform from cranes to men each day, unrecognizable to anyone in either form. Worst of all for Shiori, if she utters any sound at all, one of her brothers will die.

"Only a cruel heart could yield such a curse. So why didn't I believe it?"

I don't want to share more about the plot and risk spoiling something, but this is a fantasy fairytale retelling you don't want to miss! Shiori is such an amazing character, and the people she meets along the way are also excellent. I loved the way that she found her way forward even when facing inconceivable odds.

This one is perfect for the fairytale retelling category of the Unabridged Reading Challenge, and I'll probably talk more about it on the pod when we share more retelling recommendations because I absolutely loved it!

I’m in love. This book was so magical and beautiful.

While I enjoyed the Spin the Dawn Duology this really blew me out of the water. The magic, the lore, the twists and the love woven throughout the story were simply divine. I devoured it.

Shiori starts off as a spoiled princess who doesn’t wish to marry a stranger, which makes sense because who would want to leave all their family behind and move with into a home with a stranger they just met? Shiori sets off a change of events when she runs away from her betrothed to save her only friend and ends up meeting a dragon, who even though we barely see him BY FAR MY FAVORITE CHARACTER.

When the curse is placed on Shiori by her stepmother we really start to see her development and it’s great watching her really grow into someone strong and capable, she’ll do anything to save her brothers and it’s really her drive that helps her grow so much.

Totally thought this was a standalone and at first it was a little bummer but honestly. Gimme more dragon boy

Here's the thing. Lim is an incredible writer. Her world building and just over all ability to paint every scene with absolute sensory immersion is incredible. I quite liked how Eastern and Western fairy tales wove together into a seamless story of a spoilt princess trying to save her family after being banished by her vengeful stepmother. And that twist at the ending was awesome! However, the book. just didn't quite live up to the hype for me. Still, a solid retelling, and Lim's prose is just so gorgeous and accessible! Just not exactly for me.

I’ve heard a lot of good things about Elizabeth Lim’s books. Time and time again, I’ve been meaning to dive into one, but unfortunately have just now gotten around to it. <i>Six Crimson Cranes</i> was a wonderful journey and the ending has me hungry for more of this world.

Shiori is the youngest child of the King of Kiata. Despite having six older brothers, she does seem to be the one to cause the most trouble. She’s adventurous, something that never fades as she grows up. Betrothed to a lord, Shiori is determined to get out of the ceremony, having no desire to be married. In the process of getting out of it, she reveals her magic to her step-mother who is a sorceress herself. So as not to be discovered, Raikama (her step-mother) curses Shiori and her brothers. Now, her face half covered by a bowl and her brothers as cranes, she has to be careful because each word she speaks will kill one of her brothers.

I don’t even know where to begin to talk about this story. I was drawn in pretty quickly. After the first chapter, I feel like it slowed down a little bit to really explore the world and introduce the characters, but it was still incredibly captivating because the characters are wonderful.

Shiori was a great main character. She had this energy to her that was captivating and I can’t believe the amount of growth she had in this novel. Some of it was missed in the beginning as there was a little gap there, but we still get to see it throughout the novel as well as more growth.

Takkan and his sister were fascinating. The storyline for Takkan and Shiori was interesting. I really enjoyed their nearly enemies to lovers sort of vibes and then the background that we get for them slowly over time was excellent.

There was another plot point in there that I would love to talk about, but can’t as it’s a major spoiler, but I loved it so much. It warmed my heart and I just want to hold it close to my chest.

As I mentioned at the beginning, the ending really left me hungry for more. I’m curious where Elizabeth Lim is going to take the story and where Shiori’s journey is going to go next. I really can’t wait for the next one.

This book is a stunning mix of fairy tale and fantasy, magic and adventure. Shiori'anma's story will leave you breathless!

Six Crimson Cranes was one of my anticipated releases of 2021. I read and loved Spin the Dawn, and still haven't read Unravel the Dusk yet, but this is a prequel series to Spin the Dawn. I found that this book did not disappoint whatsoever, and I am awaiting the day the second book in this duology releases.

Six Crimson Cranes follows Shiori, princess of Kiata. She hides a terrible secret that she can do magic, but one day she loses control of her magic and catches the eye of her stepmother who curses her and her brothers for speaking out what her stepmother can do.

It was such a good book. I really appreciated the character growth this book has, and I loved each and one of the characters-their flaws and all. I really love that Shiori really grew as a character. In the beginning, I wasn't sure what to think about her, but she grew on me and I found myself really loving her. I loved the love that she had with her brothers and wished that she could help them but can't.

The plot twist at the end was something I found really interesting because were told that the character was evil and unkind. I am really interested in how this is going to play out. Unfortunately, I found that the first hundred pages were okay and struggled to get through.. After those pages, it started to pick up and I loved every word!