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A review by robin1010
Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
slow-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
4.0
This was a lovely book, very well written with gorgeous world building and interesting lore/magic systems. The protagonist was likeable and her victories felt hard won and worked for, and the romance for the most part was sweet. The plot started off very strong for the first two thirds, but kind of fell a bit flat towards the end. Regardless, I cannot wait to read the next book.
As I mentioned before, the world building was gorgeous and very well done. There were some occasions here and there where the author took a while to discuss it but it wasn't quite info-dump levels. Most of it was very naturally worked in, and I never felt lost lore wise. The magic system is more vague than not, but in this context it really works as its sort of presented to have its own autonomy in interpreting the wishes of the caster.
The characters were broadly fine. Shiori was a good lead, strong without being emotionless, and her genuine struggles and victories were hard won and satisfying. Raikama was a fantastic character, and the little bits of breadcrumbs left around the earlier chapters were very well done in hind sight. I also liked the emphasis on found family she gave the novel - realising the song she'd sung through the whole novel came from Raikama and not her birth mother was a beautiful bit. Takkan fell a bit more flat, in all honesty. He doesn't really have a personality beyond Shiori, and it really shows when Hagese isn't there to work as a character foil. Speaking of - the villains like him and Zairena were frankly borderline one-dimensional. I get that they had complex motivations, but the comically evil way they act towards the lead from the get go really stripped it of a lot of its depth. It also weirdly felt like it undermined the theme the book had going with Raikama's reveal.
The plot was definitely a bit more of a slow burn, but done in a way that really let the complications and limitations Shiori was facing settle in properly. It felt quite genuinely like an impossible situation for Shiori to get out of for a decent chunk of the start. The build up was also excellent, lots of little things along the way adding fuel to the fire and pressure that Shiori had to act and act soon, which kept the plot from stagnating for too long. My only gripe would be that the author spent a huge amount of time building the tensions for a frankly unsatisfying, quick solution with little to no consequences. Shiori's sudden ability to speak without harming her brothers was through no ability of her own and had no consequences, it really felt disappointing in comparison with the hard work we'd seen her put into the net. It also felt weirdly cheap to have Takkan have realised to some capacity the entire time that it was Shiori. A lot of their bonding had felt sweet and genuine because there was no sense of duty on his part here, he didn't have to love her, and it said something about his character that he was sympathising and getting feelings for someone ostracised by the rest of the castle. All this is undone with the reveal - their relationship feels flatter, and Takkan loses frankly vital personality. The scene where he discussed the letters with Shiori had felt absolutely beautiful at the time of reading it, but in hindsight was a weird attempt at a guilt trip.
The ending scene in the mountain is one that really sticks out to me, as it was wonderfully written and imaginative, and the image of following this red thread of fate through a mountain of demons was a powerful one.
Despite my complaining, did genuinely enjoy this one a lot, and its probably one of my favorite YA books of all time. Will definitely be reading the next one.
As I mentioned before, the world building was gorgeous and very well done. There were some occasions here and there where the author took a while to discuss it but it wasn't quite info-dump levels. Most of it was very naturally worked in, and I never felt lost lore wise. The magic system is more vague than not, but in this context it really works as its sort of presented to have its own autonomy in interpreting the wishes of the caster.
The characters were broadly fine. Shiori was a good lead, strong without being emotionless, and her genuine struggles and victories were hard won and satisfying.
The plot was definitely a bit more of a slow burn, but done in a way that really let the complications and limitations Shiori was facing settle in properly. It felt quite genuinely like an impossible situation for Shiori to get out of for a decent chunk of the start. The build up was also excellent, lots of little things along the way adding fuel to the fire and pressure that Shiori had to act and act soon, which kept the plot from stagnating for too long.
The ending scene in the mountain is one that really sticks out to me, as it was wonderfully written and imaginative, and the image of following this red thread of fate through a mountain of demons was a powerful one.
Despite my complaining, did genuinely enjoy this one a lot, and its probably one of my favorite YA books of all time. Will definitely be reading the next one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence