*eARC provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I read a copy that I purchased from Fairyloot.*

Spin the Dawn is one of my favorites books, so I knew that I had to pick up Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim. Yet I somehow missed that this was a retelling of The Six Swans.

This was a very enjoyable book! It receives all the stars. I loved Shiori's relationships and the found family themes. There are also some references to Spin the Dawn, with mentions of the blood of the stars, sorcerers and demons, More than that, there is one specific demon from Spin the Dawn that receives an origin story in Six Crimson Cranes.

My only criticism was that there was not enough of the hot dragon prince, but I think that will be resolved in book two. I cannot wait!

I really liked this book and how she got over someone. I enjoyed the romance and the friendships. I liked she came to enjoy her family. I liked that she was able to get over a boy and move on with her life. Great story.

I absolutely loved the characters and aesthetic of this novel and the fairytale it's based on it one of my favorites. It was definitely a bit boring at times but was overall a worthwhile read.

Wow--what an inventive adaptation. Such vibrant and exciting storytelling! Perfect for anyone familiar with the original tale or for anyone who loves a good book! Going along with Shiori on her journey of sacrifice and discovery was a gift of a book! Not only do we get to grow with our feisty protagonist as she realizes the depth of herself as a person, but the plot unfolds like an intricate work of origami. The setting and description are so gorgeously and expertly delivered that the exotic setting comes to life and pulls the reader in. Highly recommend!

I wanted to like this book. It started off promising - very fairy tale aesthetic. Somewhere around 30% I just lost interest. Too often interactions didn't feel real. It has a forced, dry feeling to the interactions between characters.

The cover is gorgeous. The dragons are cool. I just didn't connect with the MC at all.

I had no desire to pick the book up after pausing, and often chose not to read rather than force myself to keep going.

Thank you to PRH International for providing me with an eARC of this book.

This such a fun adventurous story with a very accessible writing style.
It started out fairy-tale like and interesting, and the main character is a really like-able and well-written one so that added even more to my investment in the story. The atmosphere and the witty dialogues and the writing were all so whimsical, and the mystery/curse element in the story was a page-turner.

H o w e v e r

Starting maybe the 50% mark in the book, everything became kind of boring. The pace was draggy and nothing of much importance happens until the last 5 chapters, where everything is explained and revelations are made.

H o w e v e r

The way everything was revealed was very info-dumpy. It was hard to grasp all the twists and events taking place, it seemed like all of this information needed more time and more pages to take place, which is why the middle part of the book had way more potential, and I’m sad to see it was wasted.

O v e r a l l

It was a nice book, a fun story honestly. It just lacked some depth and had a rushed ending, but there is a sequel so there’s room for improvement.

I absolutely loved this book! Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC.
There are so many things to enjoy about this book. The plot was engaging. The pacing was perfect. There were multiple storylines that twined together in the end. The world building was thorough. But the standout aspect of this book is the characters.
Our main character starts out as a selfish and childish princess and eventually transforms into a clever and wise heroine. This transition is really gratifying to the reader and is continually evolving as the character reflects on her own actions, feelings, and emotions. Takkan and Kiki were my favorite supporting characters.
I would highly recommend this book for those who enjoy fantasy. I will be suggesting it to my friends, family, and students.

I absolutely love mythology and retellings! Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim checked a lot of boxes for me.
My favorite trope, arranged marriage! Fairy tale vibes, dragons, curses, and eastern mythology.

This book really subverted my expectations for it, I was expecting momentary interaction with Shiori's brothers before they're cursed and we never hear from them again. But Ms. Lim said nope! you're going to get sibling bonding all the way through it!

And the fact that the evil stepmother isn't a flat antagonist, but instead well-written and thought out. Lim doesn't fall into the stereotypes and tropes that are so common, especially in YA books with familiar themes. The twist that appears near the end, and the truth that comes to light had me shook! Congrats to Lim on another fantastic book.

Shiori is a princess, the only girl in a family with six brothers. She lives with her father and stepmother. Shiori is a mischievous, delightful character who possesses magic, which is a very big, bad deal in her world. She and her brothers end up cursed by a sorceress, and Shiori must break the curse without uttering a single sound.

I LOVED this book. I really enjoyed the characters and couldn’t put the book down. I loved the whole idea of the curse and wondering how she was going to overcome it. I loved the romance in the story and while it appears the next book is leading toward a possible love triangle, I am very hopeful it will not go in that direction. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fairy tales, mythology, magic, romance, curses, etc. I will be waiting eagerly for the sequel!

Wow this book was so well written. I felt like I was in a fairy tale and it was amazing. As I was reading this book I felt as though I myself could not speak just like the MC. The character work kept me connected to the story and worried about the outcome. I am very excited to continue the series.

✨Book Review✨

Six Crimson Cranes
By @elimpix

“Pain didn’t get easier. I just had to get stronger.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I have always been fascinated with the legend of the 6 brothers turned into birds and their sister cursed to remain mute while trying to save them lest they die. I remember fondly the first version I ever read was by @juliettemarillier and actually found a HB edition for my collection! But getting sidetracked….

Being of Asian descent, it’s hard finding stories that honor our legends and culture. The author did such a beautiful job with this retelling - she not only crafts such vivid imagery that is illustrative of our culture, but also teaches you our values of honor and tradition that still rest so deeply within us today. Shiori’s battles during this journey are struggles we deal with still today - whether following our heart and passions are disrespectful to our parents and to our duty to honor them. Yes our choices like Shiori’s are not always smart and often lead to undesirable consequences. But as she learns from them , we too learn from ours. I really loved how this story teaches you so many values.

I loved was how magic was created with the writing. It was so easy to imagine this world with how descriptive and detailed everything was - our culture is so so so beautiful and to have that displayed through an even more exquisite story was perfection.

Going in blindly as I often do, I was not expecting this to have a sequel… I didn’t like the way things ended and while not really on a cliffhanger, you can bet your butt there is more to be told.

“A viper is poisonous whether it wants to be or not.”

I believe Elizabeth Lim is a magical being, there's no way she's able to write books like this and be human.

I have no words to describe Six Crimson Cranes. I've been putting this review off because I simply could not gather my thoughts to talk about it and I still can't. This is one of the most beautiful, well written books I have ever read, and I'm not saying it because she's one of my favorite authors.

I recommend this book with my eyes closed to anyone who loves a good fairytale retelling with dragons, magic, talking paper cranes, a reckless princess and an amazing hero.

What an engrossing novel and amazing writing. I loved Six Crimson Cranes, what an amazing retelling.

I have to say that I love the author's note at the beginning of this because I can understand why I love this book so much. I also would check out the Fairytale movies from Blockbuster and watch them over and over again. I love Fairytales but I’ve started to love retellings even more, seeing authors take the base of the story and putting a different spin on it. I remembered the story about The Wild Swans but I also noticed another fairy story being a part of the curse. I’m only not mentioning it because the similarity is not in the book synopsis. Ha ha.

Let’s talk about how amazing Shiori is. What a great character because she comes off in the beginning as being spoiled. She is the only princess with seven older brothers. Who love to dote on her, so she often gets what she wants. However, when faced with an adversary Shiori shows her strength, loyalty and love to her family and friends. She fights hard to save her brothers and I think is rewarded with a better understanding of herself, her magic and her family.

I love the romance in this book. It’s just very sweet and reminds me of dramas. I've been on a drama kick lately so maybe everything does. I just enjoy when characters seem to come together naturally. When they can work together for something common and trust in one another.

I also enjoyed all the side characters from Raikama, Shiori’s brothers, Takkan, Seryu and more.

I’m so excited for the next book. There is a name drop at the end that made me gasp.

Thank you Random House Children’s, Knopf Books for Young Readers for this eARC via netgalley.

Shiori has magic within her. Shiori must make sure that no one knows the secret magic that she harbors within her. With her upcoming betrothal to a young man she has been promised to, Shiori is even more on edge. When things go awry and her stepmother seems to know her secret, things take a turn for the unexpected. Shiori’s brothers get caught in the mix as they are cursed to spend their time as cranes. Shiori must not utter a sound or death will come for her brother. With her identity hidden, Shiori must work to break the curses cast on her family as well as herself.

This was a fantastic journey to follow. I really enjoyed the magical experience that this book brought. I love how this author incorporates so much magic and whimsy into this rich fantasy world. I love how the stakes definitely feel real for our characters as well as how things are more high stake than some other YA fantasy novels.

I really appreciate how the author makes the reader pause and think over the masterful inclusions that make the journey more complex for the characters. This book had everything I love about fantasy books with strong world building. Overall this was an excellent read.

Shiori does not have things come to her easily in this book. I had a great time reading about her journey to save her brothers from their cursed state.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an ARC!

(I did actually finish this about two months ago, it just took me forever to write the review)

Why are Asian mythology books so addictive -

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.

Anyway, as I’m pretty sure everyone knows by now, I LOVE Asian retellings.

This did not disappoint.

The plot is, again, an Asian retake of “The Wild Swans.” Shiori, the princess of Kiata, has forbidden magic. She’s only ever used it by accident, but it escapes once more right before her betrothal ceremony. This could be considered lucky, since she didn’t want to marry that guy, and had been hoping to cancel the ceremony anyway. But she meets a dragon.

Now, dragons aren’t supposed to interact with humans, and most people have just dismissed them as old creatures of legend. But Seryu, the dragon Shiori meets, is about her age - and worse, he knows about her magic.

From there, a lot of shit goes down, involving Seryu’s dragon pearl, Shiori’s magic, and her very beautiful, slightly suspicious stepmother who definitely has secrets of her own.

Shiori ends up cursed, her magic contained, all six of her brothers turned into cranes, and dispelled from the palace. If she speaks, one brother will die for each word past her lips.

I have no complaints with the storyline. I liked “The Wild Swans” as a fairytale (although I believe “The Girl Who Trod On The Loaf” is superior), but Elizabeth Lim’s Asian mythology elements just brought it to another level. I love fairytale retellings, especially Asian ones.

You could say that the world-building of this book was similar to “Spin The Dawn” (walnut shells enclosing magic, enchanted remnants of the gods, enchanters becoming demons, etc.), but considering that she was drawing from the same mythology, that’s not really a sound argument.

The world-building of Kiata was so intricate and it was pretty well-done. There was some info-dumping, which made it hard for me to follow - I think it should have been integrated more smoothly into the storyline somehow.

But I loved the whole aesthetic of the world. I love the whole feel that Asian-inspired books have. Maybe it’s because I’m Asian, so I can connect to it more (although anyone who knows me can confirm that I have an unhealthy obsession with Greek mythology).

“Fear is just a game, Shiori,” I reminded myself. “You win by playing.”

The characters were written well, even if they weren’t developed and fleshed out as much as I think they could have been.

Shiori was a strong protagonist, and being in her head was a good experience. She was stubborn, a bit spoiled, and very entertaining. She could be impulsive and in over her head at times, but she was flawed in a good way. Her character grew pretty gradually, but I think the development was good over the course of the book.

Raikama was a very compelling, powerful antagonist and I was really interested in her backstory. But I feel like she could have been developed a bit more, and the transition of her character throughout the plot felt really choppy and abrupt.

Shiori’s brothers - there isn’t much to say about them, because they weren’t very major to me and I lowkey don’t remember their names. But they were good characters and I liked reading their relationship with Shiori.

Kiki was a mood, as much as an animated paper crane can be. She was so much fun to read and I really liked having her as a character.

Megari was hilarious and even though she was minor, I really liked her. She was such a fierce, bright character for a little girl.

Seryu was a bit annoying and I wasn’t sure how to feel about him. I liked his beginning appearance, but I think he’s being built up to be something of an antagonist, or at least an antihero, in the next book. I found him too possessive and brash for me to really like him.

Takkan was a bit of a standard prince-with-a-heart-of-gold, but that’s not anything to complain about. His character wasn’t super memorable to me, but his romance with Shiori was sweet. I didn’t ship them, but I don’t really do shipping that much.

*cue laughter from all of my friends in the background*

Yes, that’s a bit of a lie. But I only really ship the couples that I’m intensely in love with, and Shiori x Takkan didn’t do that all the way for me.

I think my favorite thing about this book was just how well-built it was, from the way the fairy-tale was structured to how smoothly the Asian culture was integrated.

My least favorite thing was that Shiori’s perspective felt choppy. Her opinions about Raikama and her magic felt like they were switching from one thing to another so suddenly, and it took away from her development.

I also didn’t like the ending very much, because it felt a bit cliché and it didn’t really shock me the way I think it was supposed to.

Overall, I really liked “Six Crimson Cranes” and I’m really excited for the sequel. But looking back on it, I didn’t really love it the way I thought I did when I was reading it two months ago.

“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.”

As a big fan of fairytale-retellings, especially seeing recognisable stories from my own culture, this book truly was a dream come true. It had everything I needed, a magical world, arranged marriage side romance, as well as a plot twist I actually did not see coming!

At first I had a bit of a hard time getting into this book, but that was probably because I was busy with school and other duties. But when I got around 20 % in then I was totally hooked, like I managed to finish the book within hours after I was hooked. And this book also reminded me why I like YA fantasy books with hints of romances. I've been lately busy with writing an important report with tough themes, so this book really gave me the break I needed.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, just like I've enjoyed the other works by Elizabeth Lim. I can always trust her to write amazing books that I'll love! And I'm so happy it's getting a sequel, and at the same time I can't wait for it to be released. Oh how I wished it was released already tomorrow. But I've got to wait until 2022... either way I'll definitely be in the front lines to get a hand on the sequel!

Top 5 Reasons to Read this Book
- Magic: This whole book is full of magic. And, the amazing thing about that, is that magic is banned in the story. So we’re reading a book full of magic about how magic is banned. It’s beautiful.
- Adventure: There is a lot of adventure to be had here. We get to tackle the minor issue of Shiori’s brothers being changed into cranes while also trying to figure out what to do with Shiori’s forbidden magic. It’s a thrill ride that you don’t want to miss out on.
- Romaaaaaance: A million heart eyes for the wondeful love story in this book.
- Retelling: This book is technically based off of one specific fairytale, but it kinda feels like a mix of many different ones. Lim explains some of her inspiration for this story at the beginning of hte book and I think that inspiration really adds to the magic of it all. It’s so fun to see so many stories come together to create this one.
- Family: We don’t interact loads with the family in this book, but I still felt a connection to them somehow. Plus, Shiori’s love for her brothers is felt so strongly throughout the book. Her dedication can’t be denied.

Six Crimson Cranes was such a unique and interesting YA Fantasy. I really liked Elizabeth Lim's other series (The Blood of Stars) so I'm not surprised that I really enjoyed this one as well. I loved seeing the bond between our main character, the Princess Shiori and her family (especially her six brothers). She would have done anything for them, to save them from their curse (and her own). In this book, you'll find magic, a bit of romance and even dragons!

Overall, this book was magical and well-executed. There were a couple of slower moments where I put the book down but that's the only negative I have to comment on.

(Thank you for letting me read and review an ARC via Netgalley)

Let me take a moment to compose myself before I start. because I loved this book.
I actually love the lore that goes along with this book but I was so excited to see another author pick it up since it is not a popular subject.

I actually hadn't paid attention to the author when I requested/bought the book. I just saw what it was about and knew I had to give it a shot. But once I saw the other works I knew I was in for a treat since I loved the Spin the Dawn series. In fact the year it was released it was my favorite read of the whole year.

But back to the book at hand. We go on a journey of a young girl who accidently gets her brothers cursed. Only the bad guy is not who you think it is. I think that is why I loved the book so much. There is of course going to be a love triangle, because lets face it , we need that angst but I am excited to see how the slow burn plays out.
Not gonna lie I am totally on the young dragons side. .. >,>

But the picture this author paints is beautiful just like her books before it is not one to disapoint.