Reviews with content warning for Blood - Six Crimson Cranes

Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim

87 reviews

thenovelmaura's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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? Yes

4.0

I expected this to be a five star rating until I was about two-thirds of the way through, so rest assured it is very good! I was quickly swept into the setting and lore of Kiata, an East Asian-inspired land where dragons roam the seas but magic like Shiori's has been banned. Shiori was such a compelling (and witty!) character and I loved how much self reflection and growth she had throughout the story. However much she changed, she remained dedicated to her brothers and her father; her strength in navigating her curse was awe-inspiring to say the least. Sometimes when I stopped reading I would realize that I'd had my mouth sealed shut to keep myself from making any sounds! Her hero's journey was deftly-plotted as she crossed paths with her brothers, her betrothed, her dragon friend, and her mysterious enemies.

Unfortunately, the ending felt rushed (and I can't believe I'm saying this about a 450+ page book) and there were multiple villain monologue/exposition dumps just to fill in all of the gaps. This was disappointing because I felt Shiori had done a lot to piece together bits of the puzzle up until this point, and all that effort felt wasted when she was just told the answers to her questions. (I don't want to spoil any of the other details that didn't quite make sense, but there were a few.) I was still flying through the pages but I wasn't enjoying myself as much as I was throughout the rest of the story. Still, the hype is real with this fantasy retelling of The Wild Swans, and I'm very glad I read it!

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blackferrum's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing 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? Yes

4.0

Pertama mau ngucapin banyak terima kasih ke Rakata atas program ORASI selama bulan Desember ini. Waktu pilih buku mana yang mau dibaca, aku langsung kasih suara buat buku ini karena “kupikir” bukunya stand alone. Yep, emang kurang riset banget ini anaknya padahal di X seliweran buku ini direkomendasikan, tapi kenapa bisa kelepasan kalau ada buku keduanya. WHY?! Sekarang aku harus sabar nunggu buku keduanya diterjemahin.

Waktu pertama rilis, di bagian blub buku ditulis kalau Shiori dan keenam kakaknya kena kutukan. Dia nggak bisa ngomong, tepatnya nggak boleh karena kalau ada suara yang keluar, kakak-kakaknya bisa mati. Long story short, habis dikutuk, Shiori kepisah dari keenam kakaknya. Dia nggak tahu harus cari kakaknya mulai dari mana dan harus gimana. Yah, dia selama ini hidup di istana, apa-apa sudah tersedia, tapi begitu ada di dunia luar, dia bingung harus bersikap seperti apa dan harus ngapain agar dapat uang biar bisa makan. Akhirnya, dia nyolong dan berakhir jadi budak pemilik penginapan. Dari situ kehidupan Shiori jadi berbeda, dia berusaha keluar dari penginapan dan mencari kakak-kakaknya. Oh, iya, kakak-kakaknya ini dikutuk jadi bangau.

Aku suka dengan cara penulis masukin deskripsi tempat atau world building-nya tanpa bikin pembaca kebosanan. Malah nggak dijelasin menurutku. Gatal kepengin bolak-balik cek peta yang ada di awal buku, tapi nggak bisa (aplikasinya kurang gercep buat ini hehe). Dianggapnya kayak pembaca udah pasti hafal lah sama latar tempatnya. Nama-nama tempatnya juga nggak familiar (ya iyalah, kan fiksi, May -_-), mungkin pakai bahasa Cina (?) idk, karena begitu baca ini rasanya kayak lagi nonton drama Korea yang Joseon era gitu, ada beberapa yang hampir sama; kebiasaan, makanan, dll.

Karakterisasi Shiori konsisten sampai akhir. Dia keras kepala banget, tapi dalam artian baik dan itu yang bikin dia nggak takut buat menantang bahaya. Yah, beberapa bagian kupikir agak nekat sih, dia, tapi seandainya dia langsung menyerah atau takut lah minimal, kayaknya alurnya nggak akan jalan wkwkwk.

Nggak banyak tahu soal elemen fantasi, sih, tapi buku ini cukup menyenangkan. Setidaknya nggak bikin senewen karena kebanyakan deskripsi nggak perlu, alih-alih cukup ditunjukkan dengan dialog antarkarakter atau pakai cara lain yang nggak bikin pembaca bosan. Oh ya, terjemahannya luwes, cuma memang beberapa kata ada yang jarang digunakan (bukannya nggak pernah, ya), jadi terkesan masih asing dan baru.

Nggak sabar baca buku keduanya!!!

Content Warnings

claudan's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious 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? N/A

4.0

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fragrant_stars's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

My god I am starstruck by this book. I cannot wait to devour the sequel!! I loved the characters, and my heart genuinely ached for the main character as she went through her struggles. The Wild Swans was one of my very favourite fairytales as a child and as a Chinese person seeing this beloved myth retold as a East Asian fantasy was so thrilling to me that I procrastinated for maybe a whole year. I was so nervous because I desperately wanted to love this book, but if I could go back now I'd be shrieking at my past self to dive right in post haste.

One of the things I loved best was how much agency was given to Shiori as a character. The blurb on the back of the book suggested to me that she would be getting a lot more help from Seryu, but as I read the book

that didn't seem to be the case. Yes, he helped Shiori in some key moments, but most of the time Shiori got on using her wits. I also thought, based on something Seryu had said in an earlier chapter, that Shiori being forced to not use her words would eventually figure out to use wordless magic, and maybe that would be what saved the day- but no, not even that.

Mostly wits. I found that brilliant.

My only regret is that the Raikama, the main antagonist / twist villain / antihero of the story, died before all the loose ends could be satisfactorily tied together. Then again, I guess that's just life for ya. Death doesn't really tie things neatly, so I guess that makes sense. Even before she was revealed to be more than she seemed I could already sort of tell- which, trust me, it was a good thing and it felt soooo rewarding when my guesses turned out right!! Made me feel like I'd have loved to see a few more scenes with her before she left the story.

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small_shrimp's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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wpapnik's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring medium-paced

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

4.75

I absolutely adored this book! I had read the Hans Christian Anderson in Middle School, and Lim does an amazing job of fusing the fairytale with Asian mythology to create a unique story. I found it so refreshing to read a book with a focus on familial love,

although I still loved the moments between Shiori and Takkan

The only reason I deducted 0.25 stars is because there were points where I felt the writing was rushed and I had wished Lim would have added an additional line or two to help better build the scene.
This book was a total page-turner for me, and if you have ever considered dipping your toe into the High Fantasy genre, this duology would be an excellent start!

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brandie_abbie19's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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

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bujo_bellel's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

II think that was a well written book, with the world building and all the character development. I did really enjoy this book, it was a fun read. I really liked learning about Shiori's stepmother, why she was the person she is and also I love the paper airplane, Kiki. Literally SO cute and sassy I love Kiki and Kiki is SO funny! It was really interesting seeing how Shiori's brothers get turned into cranes by her stepmother, Raikama. I really liked Shiori's relationship with Takkan, I think they are so cute together! Tho I'm really interested in Seryu and wanted to see more of him in this book :( He's so funny and I'm really hoping we'll see him in the next one! The curse that Shiori had was frustrating because it was hard for her to communicate and also she can't make noises either so when she's in pain she has to try really hard not to speak since one of her brothers will die if she does so. The magic system is really interesting and I liked seeing how it worked. I LOVE Megari, she's so sweet! The ending gave me a different perspective on a character which Shiori kinda thought about but never acted on it... I think this book is a good introduction to the world and I am really interested in reading the next books.

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neko_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

4.75 stars.

DAMN this book surprised me. i am taken aback by how much I loved this book and everything from the characters to the plot to the world building to the magic system.

did I mention I love the magic system? it has DRAGONS in it, how could it not be amazing?

also takkan. fbshkakfha we got so much takkan being the kindest person on the planet and yet I NEED SO MUCH MORE

yeah so this was amazing. and I need the next book.

Content Warnings

calicat42's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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