Reviews with content warning for Death - Descendant of the Crane

Hesina is princess of Yan, a country that had ones been terrorized by the magic sooths, which are now outlawed. When her father, the King, dies, she is convinced that his death was not of natural cause and goes out of her way to find the real killer. But what she hasn't accounted for was the politics of the court, intrigues and betrayals playing their part in uncovering the truth.

First of all, this book is not a comforting, fun little fantasy book. It is Hurt/NoComfort, bawl your eyes out, talk about in therapy stuff. But it is a great book. My favourite part was without question the worldbuilding. The east-asian inspired setting of Yan, where the rules are dictated by eleven mysterious revolutionaries of the past is explored in depth, with all the lore, history of oppression and connecitons to its neighbouring countries, is what makes the sotry of Hesina so easy to get captivated by. Supported by a very pretty, descriptive writing style, I found myself speeding through the almost 500 pages in less than four hours.

I also fell in love with the characters. Hesina is a great protagonist with a lot of agency and not without faults. The rest of the cast mainly consists of her family, a wild mix of real siblings, bastards and adoptees, all of which got their moment to shine. Then, there is also the thief, who Hesina conscripts to help her uncover the Truth, Akira, with whom Hesina also develops a bit of a romance. Though there wasn't a lot of focus on that, I enjoyed their dynamic and would have wanted to see a bit more - maybe in the next book?

All in all, "Descendant of the Crane" was not at all what I expected. It was dark and sad, and very quick-paced, but it all took place in such a detailled world, with well developed character and in a beautiful style that I had no choice but to love it. It ended on a pretty open note - which I actually prefer, because now I can just pretend they all lived happily ever after. Nevertheless, one of the best endings I read in a while. I cried a lot.

Content Warnings

btwnprintedpgs's review against another edition

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challenging reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

What an absolutely stunning book. I read this back in 2019 as an eARC, but I didn't have the words at the time to properly express how amazing I found this book, even more so today than I did back then.

At its heart, Descendant of the Crane is a book about morality. We all want to do the right thing, we all want to believe in the systems that have been put in place, and we all want to hope that the people around us are true, faithful, and honest. This book breaks down the concept of morality and truth and makes Hesina, our MC, question what is real and what is a veneer over a broken system.

What I love most about this book is that it showed the truth of humanity - no matter your position, your intentions, or your heart, humans are fallible and we make mistakes. Hesina makes choices that she believes are right and will lead her to the truth, but the brokenness of the system results in consequence after consequence, loss after loss. And she owns up to them, which is so rare to see, but you can see her taking accountability and bearing the weight of the losses on her shoulder.

The twist at the end still haunts me and I wish that we could've gotten a sequel for this one. Alas, not in the cards, but where it ends, there's hope for everyone left and I loved the potential we're left with.

Descendant of the Crane remains a favourite for me, and I definitely recommend picking this one up. I think it'll surprise you.

TW: death, grief, torture, violence, blood, injury detail, genocide, slavery, racism (of a magical group of people); mentions suicide, war, vomit

Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
World Building: 4.5/5
Writing: 5/5
Pacing: 5/5
Overall: 5/5

eARC gifted by Joan He's previous problematic publisher, so I won't be thanking them, but acknowledging the gifted copy.

Content Warnings

booksandtea997's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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typedtruths's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.0

DNF 95 pages.

Despite borrowing both the ebook and physical copy from the library, I didn't manage to finish it before its due date. I'm focusing on reading my own tbr this year so it wasn't a priority. I was definitely enjoying it enough to pick it back up again, sometime in the future.

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lilifane's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

To be honest, I only purchased this book because of the beautiful cover. I didn't even read the whole synopsis (because I never do), so I didn't expect much. All I knew was that it's Chinese inspired fantasy. I didn't even know it was young adult. When was the last time I read YA fantasy?!
Anyway, I really really really enjoyed it.
The world building was super interesting, the plot was SO much fun. Because there is also a murder mystery and a court trial and sooo many secrets and twists. It's full of things I like. And although it is fantasy, it clearly dealt with important current topics like racism, prejudices and fear of the unknown. (There is a scene where the protagonist recognises her own priviliges and it's just SO good.)

You follow Hesina, the crown princess of Yan. At the beginning of the book her father, the king, is poisened and so she has to start her rule way too early. And not only does she have to deal with some political issues (foreign and domestic) right away, but she also wants to resolve her fathers death and find his murderer.

I really liked the setting of this, the beautiful palaces and gardens with secret passage ways. Loved how complex the politics actually were and the way Hesina handled the situation. Usually in this kind of YA story, where the protagonists have to take over responsibility earlier than expected, they tend to be really bad at it and have to learn the basics first (so annoying). But here, Hesina immediately knows what to do. You realise that she has been preparing for this moment her whole life and she knows her duties and the rules of the court very well. Of course, she makes mistakes, but as a reader you never get the impression these were some stupid (newbie) mistakes. You always understand why she acts the way she does and it makes sense. You get the pros and cons, you see the problems every decision might cause, because there is no clear right or wrong, no clear black or white. And all actions have consequences, and unexpected things might happen, so you never knew what will happen next. Even if you think you do, you really don't.

Absolutely loved the mystery and the way it was uncovered step by step. I mean, some of it was pretty obvious but I was still surprised a few times. And the way Hesina made some of the discoveries was just SO cool.

Although I really liked the characters and their relationships and interactions (the family and friends dynamics are amazing), they still felt like plot devices somethimes. The mysteries around them felt a little too forced sometimes. But I wouldn't have minded, if they werent revealed the way they were. Which is also connected to the ending of the book. The last 40 pages were a wild ride, I tell you, and then the ending was basically a slap in the face.

You know how sometimes when you read a book and think it's the perfect standalone but then the author decides to stretch the plot really thin at the end just to make it a trilogy? This felt like the opposite, like me finishing an essay in university. "Oh, I reached the minimum page count for the assignment? Okay, let's wrap this up really quickly. Ah, I haven't explained the backstory of this character. Let's just write it down on half a page to get it over with."

So yeah, the ending felt really sudden and rushed. But it was also kind of cool the way it was handled? I'm conflicted. But I love the questions that arise at the end so much. What is actually good and what is bad? What makes a hero and what makes a villain? Is it better to stick to your ideals or do ends justify the means? I like that it's up to the reader to decide at the end.

I did some research after finishing the book btw. And I found some confusing information. There are people that say, this is a standalone. Then there are some who claim this is a standalone but there are options for companion novels. But then I also found an article that mentions a planned sequel? I mean, there are still some unanswered questions, some open mysteries. And the characters and the world are way too good to give them up completely. So if there is a sequel or a companion, I will definitely read it. I just hope these don't ruin the impact this book made had on me.

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azrah786's review against another edition

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4.25

[This full review can also be found on my BLOG]

**I was provided with an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

Descendant of the Crane is an enthralling debut novel full of vivid world-building and a mystifying plot. It’s a Chinese inspired fantasy full of complex familial relationships, court politics and a hell of a lot of twists. I’m honestly still struggling to put my thoughts into words.

The story follows Princess Hesina, who has grown up cherishing certain secrets of the palace that her father, the emperor shared with her.
Following her father’s death – or as Hesina believes, murder - she steps up to inherit her role as ruler as a means to find justice. However, this entails being thrown into a world of more secrets than she initially asked for. A world full of corruption and power hungry individuals. A world controlled through the words of the Tenets – an ancient text asserting the philosophies of the revolutionaries (the Eleven) who centuries back marshalled a new era for the kingdom. A world governed by a primordial prejudice against “soothsayers” – people who are able to wield magic, any association with whom is regarded as an act of treason.

In this world full of deception Hesina has to stand her ground and fight for what she wants. By her side are her siblings –Caiyan, Lilian, Sanjing, and Rou, a mysterious convict who goes by the name Akira and the lessons she learnt from her father.

He’s narrative does well in voicing the determination and naivety of the young queen from the start. Hesina’s overall character development - from a carefree, inexperienced adolescent to a persevering monarch set out to do what is right for all of her people - was GREAT! However, I did feel that some of Hesina’s decisions and indifference towards certain characters were unrealistic.

What is power? Hesina had thought it was wielding the knife, or getting someone to wield it for her. Now she realised it was neither of those things. Power was yielding. It was taking the bloodstained knife out of a thousand frenzied hands and making it hers alone.

Towards the beginning I felt that the events occurring in the plot were progressing quite rapidly, but as the rich history and politics of the world were fed into the story it set a good pace. The case of the emperor’s death took centre stage hence the book felt more like a mystery with an air of historical fiction rather than a fantasy.

The fantasy elements to me felt slightly overshadowed by the happenings of the imperial court and the strong themes of trust and doubt, truth and lies. Nonetheless, this is not to say that the fantasy elements were lacking in any way. The soothsayers and their magic was really interesting! I just hope that if we are to get a sequel that we get to see more about them. It would also be interesting if we were able to learn more about the surrounding territories of Ning, Ci and Kendi’a. Other than a few scenes taking place at the borderlands and the mention of political agreements and commerce, the narrative doesn’t really focus anywhere other than the kingdom of Yan.

Knowledge is truth, Little Bird. Those who refuse to learn live in a world of falsity.

My favourite parts of the story were probably the flashbacks Hesina had of her father. Family was another very prominent theme within this book and the character relationships overall, in particular the sibling relationships, were really well written. The main thing I had a problem with understanding was the relationship between Hesina and Akira…
Akira intrigued me from the beginning with how he easily slipped into the role he was given but the confidence Hesina gave him didn’t entirely make sense to me. Also the romance?? It was never intense and had the impression of being slow burn but as I was reading I just felt that there was something missing in order for it all to work.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed Descendant of the Crane. It is a clever tale that you won’t be able to put down and will keep you guessing until the end! And let me tell you now that end was really something!
Final Rating - 4.25/5 Stars

----

I need to gather my thoughts to rate this but wOwsers
RTC

Content Warnings

caidyn's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I finally revisited this and found it very good. Really, the political intrigue was well done and I had to remind myself this was YA a few times. I'm glad I decided to give this another try because I remember wanting to enjoy it so much. Just seems like the wrong time for the book.

Original review

I received this ARC from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 37%

Let me just get this off my chest first:

I WANTED TO LOVE THIS!!!

It sounded so amazing, like it’d be a YA version of The Poppy War. Like, it sounded like it was going to be fucking epic and that I’d love it and immediately have an author that I would follow for the rest of my life.

But, that was what it could have been. That’s not the reality.

Immediately, I stepped into this world and knew one thing: Hesina, our MC, is the new queen after her father’s death. And she believes that he was murdered.

That’s it. That’s all I knew.

From there, it goes into her wanting to discover who did it. But, that’s not all that’s going on with the book. There’s very little characterization that I caught. No character jumped off the page for me, not even Hesina. It was all very bland, despite the intrigue going on. I could barely differentiate characters, which became a huge problem since there were a lot of characters being thrown my way.

Also, there’s more given in the description about the world than on the page. Such as, these things, sooths, were suddenly in the story. And my reaction was “who the hell are these things??” I thought they were legit creatures or something out of Game of Thrones. But, no. They’re people with magic. I didn’t find that out from reading 37% of the book. I found that out by reading the description while writing this review.

In the end, I was getting frustrated because I had no idea what was going on, who any of the characters were, and why things were important. So, I had to stop reading it. One day, once it’s published, I might come back and try it again. I’m very excited to see these ownvoices fantasies coming out. I’m all for it and I definitely will read more of the Asian books that are coming out this year.

But, I couldn’t do this one.

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emerynmader's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is an absolute masterpiece. Although I found it a bit hard to fully immerse myself into the world and story, I was stuck incredibly deep in the end. No matter how much I though I knew what would happen, I kept being surprised and taken aback. Character driven, Joan He has crafted a wonderful debut that everyone interested in Fantasy should give a try.

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