EL is known for her duologies steeped in lush Asian mythology, so I was excited to see what she could do with a standalone. So imagine my surprise when I started reading and discovered this is actually a spin-off prequel to the ‘Six Crimson Cranes’ series.

I never actually gave much thought to the particular character this follows when I read ‘Six Crimson Cranes,’ but I found this backstory to be very interesting.

As per EL standard, this story delivers in terms of artful world-building, easy-going writing that expertly tells intriguing legends, and strong characters who are worth rooting for. As anticipated, this is a really well-rounded story that lives up to expectations on every front.

Fans of ‘Six Crimson Cranes’ will really enjoy being back in this world and seeing it expanded. And readers who have not read the series will come to love EL's storytelling and magic.

Elizabeth Lim is a master at writing spellbinding prose that transports the reader into her worlds. I was wholly immersed in this story - the pages just flew by.

I absolutely adored Channi - her fierce determination and love for her sister. Like all of Lim’s stories, this book heavily focuses on familial bonds and sacrifice. I loved Channi’s serpent family, especially Ukar, and how they raised her when her own father deemed her “monstrous.” Although Vanna is the “pretty one,” Channi shows the reader what it means to truly be beautiful.

I read Six Crimson Cranes quite some time ago and have yet to read The Dragon’s Promise, so I can attest to how well this prequel stands on its own. The ending left me in tears and I’m eager to pick up Shiori’s story again to reread and continue where I left off.

If you’re looking for beautiful and heartrending stories woven with Asian mythology and featuring strong female characters, look no further than the Legends of Lor’yan. I cannot recommend this prequel enough!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children’s/Knopf Books for Young Readers for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is everything I've come to expect from Elizabeth Lim. Beautiful. Immersive. Strong family bonds. And heartbreak.

We got a taste of Channari in the Six Crimson Cranes duology. This delves into her entire backstory. From the very first page and opening sentences, I was enthralled. She just has a way of roping you in with her writing.

Her Radiant Curse follows the backstory of Channari and Vanna. Two sisters burdened by separate curses. One to scarred and serpent like, hidden away by her father. The other beautiful, with a radiant golden light emitting from her. Channi is fiercely protective if her sister, believing that she must one day fall so that her beloved younger sister may rise. She fights hard for her sisters freedom, never realizing that hers is also on the line.

This tugs in your heart strings in a way I didn't think could when I first read of the character in Six Crimson Cranes. By The Dragon's Promise, I wanted this story desperately. No matter how tragic and heartbreaking the trials the characters go through, Elizabeth creates a world of beauty and enchantments. The magic flows from the pages.

This is everything in the prequel we deserve and need. A justice done to this enchanting world.

🐍✨ Her Radiant Curse ✨🐉

𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦

Before Raikama, there was Channi.

Her Radiant Curse is the latest installment in the Legends of Lor'yan series which also comprises The Blood of Stars Duology and The Six Crimson Crane Duology.

If you've read Six Crimson Cranes, you would have already met the titular character of Her Radiant Curse, wondered about her motives, been moved by her actions, yet curious about her origins. This new book does settle that for you.

Here we learn the original true story of Channi and Vanna - two sisters who could not have been more different. And the two legendary lives they lived. This is mostly a story about a love between siblings and how far they would go to fight and protect each other. It's a heavy story, compared to any of the other books set in this world.

We are also introduced to Hokzuh who plays a bigger part than initially imagined. Because of all these new revelations of Channi's backstory, I did want to go back to re-read The Dragon's Promise to try and reconcile all the facts and put the missing pieces together.

Even if you already know what happens in the end of The Six Crimson Cranes Duology, or are completely new to this whole series, Her Radiant Curse is worth its weight in providing a story that is vastly different.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's for the ARC of Her Radiant Curse.

I loved the world from Six Crimson Cranes, with the magic, the familial relationships, especially the bonds between siblings, and, of course, the dragons! Her Radiant Curse is the prequel to the original duology and exceeded my expectations. This story follows Channi and Vanna, two sisters who were both imbued with magic; Channi with the face of a serpent, poison blood, and the ability to talk and understand to snakes and Vanna with inner light and beauty. We go back to the very beginning, to when the curse was first created, and get to see the unbreakable loyalty between sisters remain strong as they grow up.

Channi is a fiercely protective, determined, impulsive heroine whose only goal has been to protect her sister from the Demon Witch, Angma. Through this journey, we get to know various secondary characters, my favorite of which was Ukar, Channi’s snake best friend. He was the funny side character who also spoke sense when Channi was being impulsive or not thinking straight. Lim’s writing is full of magic that keeps you gripped in the story, making it hard to put down, until the very last page. I definitely recommend this to anyone who loves Lim’s other works, especially the main duology. Overall, 4 stars.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Children’s/Knopf Books for Young Readers for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so good! I love Elizabeth Lim’s writing and I’ll read anything she ever writes. This story was filled with emotion and just really good. It was sad happy and lovely all at the same time!
Thank you NetGalley for the arc.

Big thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the chance to review this book pre-release. I am absolutely in love with everything that Ms. Lim releases. She weaves such intricate and unique stories that just sucks the reader in that they barely even realize they've been sitting reading for a whole day. Her Radiant Curse is no exception, and I am so lucky to have been able to read it ahead of release. A more formal review will be available on my IG/TikTok and Goodreads.

I loved this book so much! Elizabeth Lim writes very fun and fast paced fantasy stories that I enjoy every time. I loved learning more about Channi’s backstory, and I thought this was a great prequel!

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an e-ARC of this book!

Elizabeth has done it again! 👏 I absolutely loved six crimson cranes and I love this one as well… maybe even a little more! So well written and an immersive tale.

“Never will I apologize for being the monster they made me.”

ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

TW: blood, body horror, bullying, death, death of a loved one, pregnancy, self-harm (it's not for the intent of self-punishment, but it is quite detailed and a large part of the story), slavery, torture, violence.

First things first: Elizabeth Lim supremacy. I've said it a thousand times and I'll continue to say it. No one does it like her.

This might actually be my favorite book she's ever written, which is insane to me because the Blood of Stars has been my favorite duology since I read it. But this book was just on another level. It was everything I wanted and more.

Her Radiant Curse was everything a prequel should be. It was a fantastic, heart-breaking story in its own right but with the context of Six Crimson Cranes? Devastatingly glorious. Not only did I not want to put this book down, it made me want to immediately reread SCC. Every reference was so well-done and never made me feel like they had been included solely for the purpose of being a reference, if that makes sense.

This book is perfect for anyone that loves whimsically dark stories with a thread of mythology that runs throughout, a story that - at its heart - is ultimately about the power of familial love and the strength that it can give us, whether by blood or not. It's the kind of story that transports you, that leaves you disoriented when you're pulled out because you were that engrossed.

I don't rave about books often, but this deserved it.

I am a mess of a emotions that is heartbroken this is over and still so shocked and grateful that I received an arc for it. Definitely one of my favorite books of the year. No contest.

Elizabeth Lim is back again with the lore inspired books by asian culture.
This time it seems to be inspired by japanese myths. This seems to be a prequel to Six Crimson Cranes which I have not yet completed but i loved that series so far and this one feels very similar.
The sisterly bonds and magic system, world building is fantastic. Romance is cute and funny. Enemies to lovers!
This was a fun read.

In Her Radiant Curse, we return to the Lor'yan universe with Shiori's step-mother, Raikama, formerly known as Channari.

The story started off strong and had extremely good pacing, filled with lots of action and dialogue that further developed the plot. As a prequel to Six Crimson Cranes, this story had a lot of room to explore how Channi became Raikama. I loved the bond between Channi and Vanna and how they were both doing what they thought would help one another. The many twists woven into the story were all tied up very neatly at the end, allowing a smooth transition into Six Crimson Cranes.

We also see the close bond of Channi and her younger sister Vanna. It’s really sad to see how awful she was treated by her community, especially her own father who grew to treat her as a servant and to hide away/ be ashamed of. The only one who cared for he was Vanna but even then she treated Channi’s snake like features as a curse meant to be fixed. In the end I found their sisterly love to be sweet as they only ever wanted the best for each other.

Upon further reading, this tale is much darker than its counterparts. Channi really doesn’t have a choice, always fighting for her and her sister. There’s quite a bit of action which helped with the pacing of the book, making it feel like a much shorter read than it was. I loved gritty it was and how you could feel the bond between the two sisters.

Of course with a darker story comes a character who in SCC was quite a mystery which is unraveled and then revealed to be much more complicated and complex than I had thought. Channi is so stubborn and quite fearless in her quest to save her sister and ultimately herself.

We meet many new characters in this prequel. I enjoyed the banter between Hokzuh and Channi as well as Ukar, who was my favorite character. Hokzuh's ending in this story was unexpected (in my opinion, I don't know what else would have happened lol). Angma is a cunning villain and yet I also felt sorry for her towards the end.

the writing and expansion of the worldbuilding is so immersive and magical. I felt like I was present in every action scene and every quiet moment in between. Lim's writing has gotten even more magical in this new book and I find myself wanting to stay in her books.

As a prequel to the SCC duology, there are many things that needed to be concluded for Shiori's story to begin. I love how Lim was able to wrap everything up pretty well, but I did feel that some endings could have been done differently. Regardless, I loved this book in its entirety and can't wait for it to be on my shelf!!

a new favourite from elizabeth lim!!! i adore lim's whimsy, her magical worlds, and her main characters, but the sister relationship in this, like, altered my brain chemistry. i read the entire book in twenty hours and cried; this is as beautiful as it is heartbreaking, as true as it is magical.

I am heartbroken, overwhelmed, and in awe of this whole book. This is now going on my list of favorite books I have ever read.

Initially, I was scared that I was not going to love this book as much as I loved Six Crimson Cranes, but wow... I was proved wrong. The minute I picked up this book I was drawn in, I kid you not when I say I read over half the book in one night after already finishing another book that same day. Usually, I reach a limit when it comes to reading, and can't really make it past 350 pages in one day without draining myself. But this book was an exception, I did not want to put it down. And if I didn't have to be up early, I would have finished this whole book in one night.

Channi is genuinely one of my favorite characters ever, and she verged on this path of a morally grey character that only made me love her more. She was messy and determined, and would not let anything stop her from protecting the ones she loves. Even when it made her do questionable things, or hyper-fixate on ending her enemies.

I am 100% going to be buying the physical copy of this book when it comes out because it is now my favorite book that I have read this year, and also just look at that gorgeous cover. My black and white Kindle did not give that cover justice when I was reading it, and I need to see it in real life.

Also, the ties this book had to Six Crimson Cranes had me sobbing, I love you, Elizbeth Lim.

I went into this not knowing much about Elizabeth Lim’s world of Six Crimson Cranes, but this was highly enjoyable and wasn’t confusing at all. It was captivating and tender, with themes exploring the power of sisterhood, sacrifice and beauty, that were done masterfully. The plot was fast paced, full of high stakes and unpredictable twists, and I couldn’t put the book down, I especially adored the main character Channi, who, in all in fierceness and utter loyalty to her sister, was a character I could immediately root for and I saw a lot of her traits in myself.

This was a great read and I highly recommend for fans of East Asian fantasy! 4/5 stars.

The worldbuilding here was very cool (loved the southeast asian/Malaysian influences), but the actual plot was a slog. I could not get into it beyond the worldbuilding (and the food).

I have really enjoyed all the books sent in the world of Lor'yan, and I was so excited to return to the Six Crimson Cranes series with this prequel. Raikama was one of my favorite characters in that duology and since I liked that series more than the Spin the Dawn/Blood of Stars series, I was ecstatic when I saw that I had received access to an e-ARC.

This is a beautiful story. Throughout, I was expecting to give it 4 stars or maybe 4.5, but the ending was so heart-wrenching and came so full-circle that I just had to give it 5 stars. I have realized that if a book makes me feel for the characters and the story by the end, it's more often than not a 5 star read because of the visceral reaction I end up having when I'm finished.

Channi was a phenomenal main character. All of Elizabeth Lim's characters have fascinating backstories and internal conflicts, but Channi's was my favorite. The way she thought was so refreshing and I loved how much she cared for her sister. Her grappling with her own curse and the world around her was also so interesting to read about and I think she was an amazing narrator.

I wanted to know everything about all of the characters. Even those mentioned very quickly were ones whose stories I desperately want to explore. King Meguh and Queen Ishirya were such interesting characters; I loved Hokzuh and Angma; Adah and Lintang were really intriguing parent figures; Oshli was an amazing friend for many of the characters; and Vanna was a mysterious yet endearing character; and I absolutely need a book about Ukar because he was the best animal sidekick I've ever read about.

This world was utterly entrancing and I adored every location we explored here. I felt myself visualizing everything so vividly and I just want to explore all the different kingdoms and cities. The way Elizabeth Lim describes settings is enviable and I just love her imagination and creativity that spills onto the page. Her prose is some of my favorites and I love her world-building that's woven throughout and especially all the magic and curses so integral to the story. There's so much lore and legend to this series/world that I loved reading about in this installment.

The plot was so engrossing. It's interesting because when I look back, there weren't a ton of major plot points even though this book is quite long. There would be one main beat of the story stretched over many chapters, but it never felt dragged out because there were mini-reveals and revelations during those beats, and it also never felt too rushed. The pacing was immaculate and I just needed to keep reading at all times.

And the ending wrapped everything up so perfectly for me. Everything came back around in such a stunning way that I knew this book deserved a full 5-star rating. Looking back, I can appreciate so many aspects of this book and I think it is a perfect story and a wonderful addition to the Legends of Lor'yan. I did not expect the ending at all, but I think it was done with such genius and deftness. The epilogue almost made me cry from both joy and sadness during school when I was reading it as well. I cannot wait for more from this world and from Elizabeth Lim in general.

Having read Elizabeth Lim's other series, I completely forgot that this book would be tied into Six Crimson Cranes, and it was such a delight when I finally put it all together! This was a wonderful story about the love between two sisters who were meant to be each other's downfall, and instead used their love for each other to motivate each other to survive.

I especially loved how Channi always viewed herself as ugly, and yet never resented Vanna for being the beautiful one, rather she always accepted their differences as the reason she wanted to protect her sister. Although she assumed Vanna would be weak and unwilling to fight for her the same way she would, the moment she realizes that she was wrong and that Vanna's love for her was also unconditional broke my heart.

The story takes place over a matter of days but is constantly moving forward and paced well considering how much action happens. Although this is a standalone, I hope that there will be further books exploring this universe.

What an incredible story of inner strength, family, love, and survival. I LOVED the endearing relationships between sisters, and the foreshadowing of the the two previously released books! The pacing could have been less prolonged, and fillers at every end of the chapter. Otherwise I loved this story and the end had me in literal tears

I recieved a free e-arc through NetGalley. This is my honest opinion of the book.

Absolutely magical and emotional read. I will see I didn't realize this was a prequel to Six Crimson Cranes and have not read the story. But this story has a wonderful sisterly bond and great adventure. The magic is cool and it's constant motion and a fast read. Great book would recommend although this is my first book from this author in was a fun read! 4.5/5