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Book Review: “Six Crimson Cranes” by Elizabeth Lim

Book Review: “Six Crimson Cranes”

  • Author: Elizabeth Lim
  • Series: “Six Crimson Cranes” #1
  • 454 pages, ebook
  • First published July 6, 2021
Six Crimson Cranes by elizabeth Lim cover

Being a grown-up child, but thirsty for fairy tales
Immerse yourself in another fairytale world. Escaping reality and being in a place where magic is possible for a few hours. For me, that’s the fantasy genre and reading in general. While I was reading Six Crimson Cranes, I told my sons (one is 8, the other 6 years old) about the enchanted princess and her brothers. And they asked me if I wasn’t a bit too big for such fairy tales. Well, no, I’m not! I thirst for such fairytale worlds.

A prince, a dragon and an enchanted princess

If you have read the fairy tale “The Wild Swans” by Hans Christian Andersen, you can relive this sweet story.

The only princess of Kiata is promised to the prince from the far north. Shiori’anma is willing to do anything to find a way to escape her burdensome duty. The princess is rebellious and still willing to childishly defy her arranged betrothal. But Shiori’anma has a secret that she has skillfully guarded for as long as she can remember, and a single friend who knows it. The Princess of Kiata possesses magic that has been forbidden by the Emperor, her father. If he found out, he would dispossess her and Shiori’anma would be banished forever.

And lo and behold, on the day of their engagement, Shiori’anma spoils everything. To prevent the emperor’s children from thwarting her plans, Raikama curses her and banishes her from the palace. Shiori’anma loves her brothers and is prepared to do anything to save them. The curse that weighs on them all and that one of them will die if she speaks is cruel and puts her to a great test. But Raikama’s motives are a mystery to us.

Six Crimson Cranes

Elizabeth Lim’s world is beautifully constructed, exactly in the style of Chinese myths and legends. There is a combination of dragons and magic, an arranged marriage, an evil stepmother, brothers and sisters willing to die for each other, enchanted talking paper cranes and a curse. You might think that there’s nothing among the elements listed to surprise you, but you’d be wrong. Lim is a very skillful storyteller and manages to captivate the reader. The plot is fabulous and the author, in her own unique way, manages to make it original and avoid the trivial.

When I saw the cover, I was immediately convinced that I wanted Six Crimson Cranes. My expectations were very high. As I got into the story, I had a few moments of doubt, but little by little Shiori’s misadventures won me over. I was enthralled and really wanted the princess to find a way out and save her brothers. Elizabeth Lim manages to build up her heroine as a brave and dedicated sister. It’s easy to like her and even easier to remember all the secondary characters.

Deeply guarded secrets

In Six Crimson Cranes, there are deeply guarded secrets that completely change Shiori’s destiny. Carefully revealed secrets that clearly signal to us that this will not be the end of the story for Shiori’anma. Ancient powers and secrets. Elizabeth Lim has managed to turn everything on its head and come up with a very unexpected ending for Six Crimson Cranes. Everything the book needed to become one of my favorite books of the year. I sincerely hope the sequel will be even more fabulous.

My rating

The rating I have given to Six Crimson Cranes cannot be anything less than 5 full stars. The book inspires and manages to evoke all kinds of emotions. For lovers of fairytale, light reading, I would say that you should definitely give it a chance.

The Dragon’s Promise Book #2

A princess in exile, a shapeshifting dragon, six enchanted cranes, and an unspeakable curse…

Shiori’anma, the only princess of Kiata, has a secret. Forbidden magic runs through her veins. Normally she conceals it well, but on the morning of her betrothal ceremony, Shiori loses control. At first, her mistake seems like a stroke of luck, forestalling the wedding she never wanted. But it also catches the attention of Raikama, her stepmother.

A sorceress in her own right, Raikama banishes the young princess, turning her brothers into cranes. She warns Shiori that she must speak of it to no one for with every word that escapes her lips, one of her brothers will die.

Penniless, voiceless, and alone, Shiori searches for her brothers, and uncovers a dark conspiracy to seize the throne. Only Shiori can set the kingdom to rights, but to do so she must place her trust in a paper bird, a mercurial dragon, and the very boy she fought so hard not to marry. And she must embrace the magic she’s been taught all her life to forswear–no matter what the cost.

Weaving together elements of The Wild Swans, Cinderella, the legend of Chang E, and the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.

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