A review by alex346
Descendant of the Crane, by Joan He
4.0
3.5/5 overall, rounding up because 3 stars feels like a crime.
This was a very strange reading experience. Until around 50-75% of the way through, I maintained that whilst the individual components of this story were well-crafted, I felt a lack of connection to the characters and the book as a whole. Whilst still enjoyable, it wasn’t anything special.
Enter Joan He, Queen of Plot Twists.
That ending threw me for a complete loop. I did not see certain reveals happening at all, but I am truly grateful for the epilogue for providing some insight. I entirely understand why Joan He does not feel she could write the companion novels as intended, but the ending of this made me crave them.
This still does not touch The One’s We’re Meant to Find, which I consider a step up from this book and is a personal favourite, but I’m very hopeful for Strike the Zither and I will be tuning in.
This was a very strange reading experience. Until around 50-75% of the way through, I maintained that whilst the individual components of this story were well-crafted, I felt a lack of connection to the characters and the book as a whole. Whilst still enjoyable, it wasn’t anything special.
Enter Joan He, Queen of Plot Twists.
That ending threw me for a complete loop. I did not see certain reveals happening at all, but I am truly grateful for the epilogue for providing some insight. I entirely understand why Joan He does not feel she could write the companion novels as intended, but the ending of this made me crave them.
This still does not touch The One’s We’re Meant to Find, which I consider a step up from this book and is a personal favourite, but I’m very hopeful for Strike the Zither and I will be tuning in.