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

There were definitely parts of this book that I loved, but I felt like it was a little overcomplicated and the main plot got lost at times.

This book was alright. I didn't love but I also didn't hate it. I felt like the characters were a bit lacking. I really wish I would have loved it.

This was a pretty decent debut. The main character was interesting as well as the story and the world. However, it just failed to keep my attention. I lacked the motivation to pick up this book and felt as if it were a chore.

The main character was quite... simple, I feel. Like your typical character you find across a lot of YA books. Given the immense political intrigue this book was trying to go for, it could have been grittier and darker, than what it was doing.

Gorgeous gorgeous cover. Amazing mythology based YA novel. I’ve been trying to transition some of my manga readers to this emerging genre and I’ve had a bit of success!

I loved this book! It had incredible world building with a compelling courtroom drama element and while it does work as a standalone I want a sequel! Joan He is such a talented writer!

I will not be giving feedback on this book as I couldn’t really get into it but I think others may enjoy it.

DNF
I personally did not enjoy this book and decided to not finish it. While I could see that the book was well-written and, for the right person, a good book, I personally had trouble staying interested in the story. Additionally, I've been gravitating less to fantasy so it's not surprising I wasn't engaging with the story. It's definitely not a bad book but there's a lot of fantasy elements/characters to keep track of and I had some issues with the slow pacing. I'd recommend this book if you love fantasy and world building!

I could not finish this book - I tried multiple times but could not get into it. I see a lot of positive reviews, but I just don't think this book was for me.

This book gave me so much whiplash--especially at the end! Part magical fantasy, part courtroom drama and part murder investigation, there's a lot of plot in this one.

I loved this so much! It was such a richly textured tale and fantastically told. I hope we continue to see more by Joan He!

First off, I know the drama of publishing this book, and boy, am I glad I am late for this review.

Second, I enjoy this historical fantasy book. It was very political heavy, and I NEED more books in this world because I have so many questions about that ending and how things will go and change.
The plot twist in the middle was so unexpected! I was like, "UM WHAT?!" and then that ENDING BETRAYAL????!!!
Let's say that even though it was dense and info heavy in places, the pacing and flow worked beautifully, and the explanation of those betrayals paid off so well.

Also, folks watch Kdramas or Cdramas set in history or fantasy history because I love them, and I was able to picture scenes PERFECTLY in my head as I read the book, and it is magical!

An exciting and twisty mystery that will leave you hanging on the edge of your set until the very end.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this. It was a little too slow paced for me but I would definitely be willing to try this author's future works.

Unfortunately, once I picked this book up, I wasn’t able to get into the story. However, I do hope to give it another shot in the future.

This probably has one of the most beautiful covers I have ever seen! It is absolutely stunning and the title as well is very eye catching and perhaps the two main reasons why I requested the book.

I will not be reviewing this book. It wasn't my cup of tea and I didn't make it more than 10% into the book.

Where’s the sequel because Descendant of the Crane sure as fuck deserves one. As a stand-alone, Joan He’s debut feels like a partially formed world with incomplete characters and loose plot holes that aren’t solved by the end. Honestly, if I didn’t know this is a planned series but not official, I would be extremely disappointed.

But if I’m looking at it as a first in a series, Descendant of the Crane is a strong start; I loved all the twists being thrown and the world Joan He builds, added on top of family secrets and court politics. My only issue is the romance, which didn’t feel necessary to the story.

P.S. Lilian is the Best.

I thoroughly enjoyed this Chinese-inspired political fantasy and have never read a book so quickly. The plot twists sped me along on a magical journey through a rich, vivid world steeped in Chinese folklore, and the mystery intrigue and drama kept me hooked and reading way into the night.

I really hope there's a sequel in the future.

DNF page 79.

I found everything felt rushed, surface level, and I just didn't feel invested in the plot at all. This book is meant to be filled with political intrigue but I found Hesina to lack subtlety (she just walked around telling everyone her plan that could end with her death, like dude, come on).

I ended up skimming through the book to see if anything grabbed my attention, but I think this one is just not for me. It might be a 'not for me for now,' but I don't plan on revisiting this one.