Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the ARC.

This story was so beautiful! I really enjoyed it and cannot wait for a sequel. I liked the main character and the love interest along with a few of the side characters. I was so excited to pick up the book when I had time and was trying my hardest to make more time to finish it. When I had to stop reading, it was really hard to stop. Books don't do that often for me so I was presently surprised when I got into this one. Elizabeth Lim has a magical way of gripping her readers into the story.

4/5 stars

This read a bit like a middle grades novel at the beginning, but it was almost as if the book transitioned into a young(er) adult novel as the main character grew as well. Six Crimson Cranes well paced with an intriguing plot that definitely had some twists I didn't see coming. I always love a good spin on a retelling and this was for some one of those books!

Elizabeth Lim has such a lush and beautiful writing style. Some of her books have things in them that are not for me but I am drawn into her writing every time.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an advanced ecopy!

I would rate this newest novel from Elizabeth Lim at 4 stars! I loved the cover art and it definitely catches the eye, however the plot is the real winner here. I loved Shiori’s relationships with her brothers and the interweaving of Asian folklore and fairytales in this story. The chapters were brought vividly to life by Ms Lim and made it hard to put this story down! I would rank this novel just as good as her other novels and vibrant in its own way. Well done!

I really love this author’s writing so much. This was a wonderfully told story with a really creative plot and magic. I really loved the dragon! This story was so magical and Shiori was a great character to follow along with. Her character grew so much through the book. I loooooved her bethrothed sooo much. He and his sister were the best. This was a Beautifully crafted book.

I only recently discovered Elizabeth Lim's books, and I'm so glad I did! I love her world building and how she weaves fairy tales and folklore into her stories. This was a wonderful read and I thoroughly enjoyed Shiori's story.

I've read books by this author before and although I was excited about it, sometimes the world building tends to be a little drab. This was the same case for this book; however, the characters were lush and enjoyable and the storyline had twists and turns that I didn't see coming, which is always nice! Shiori is a great main character and most of the time I liked her, but she had her moments that I didn't love either. Raikama was exceptional and did not see myself liking this character as much as I did, very interesting for sure. There is some romance mixed into this fantasy/action book, but it's low key and Takkan is enjoyable, just a little passive. Overall a decent read with a cliffhanger. The hard part is that even though it ended the way it did, I'm not anxiously awaiting the next book. And that's why it's more of a 3 star book for me. A decent read with possibly great moments.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

This book slaps! Halfway through reading it I texted my friends that they would like to read it when it came out. By the time I was done I had preordered it for myself so I could have a copy to loan out.

I’m a sucker for a fairytale retelling - and I’ve had a tenderness for the story of the Six Swans for a long time. I think “Daughter of the Forest” might be the first fairytale adaptation I read, in fact. But Juliet Marillier can step aside because Lim has done a masterful job in this retelling. There is a tendency to make the stories more feminist - to make the women in fairytales stronger and more independent than in the original. I love that. What there isn’t, though, is a tendency to make the stories kinder.

This book is incredibly kind.


*I was provided a free review copy of this by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

I love Elizabeth Lim and all her books, and this one was no exception. What a stunning premise, characters, and a well crafted and executed plot. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with in the future!

This is a perfect fantasy book.

After not linking Spin the Dawn much, I was hesitant going into this, but I think Lim's writing has improved immensely and the world and characters feel so fleshed out and realized. The plot is super original, and I felt myself literally gasping at the twists.

If you are looking for a good fantasy to read this summer, pick this up!

This had been one of my most anticipated reads of 2021, so I'm super disappointed that I didn't love it. I'd really enjoyed Spin the Dawn by the same author, so I had high hopes for this one. Six Crimson Cranes had a ton of potential, but it failed to capitalize on it.

My main problem with this was the plot. It didn't feel super coherent or fluid. It almost felt like the first half and second half were entirely separate books. This was disappointing because I really loved the first half, it was slow, but it was super enjoyable. I think the second half just tried to do too much.

Other than that, I really liked the characters! Shiori was bold without feeling dumb, which I always appreciate. I also really enjoyed her relationship with Takkan. It was sweet, and I loved how it grew slowly throughout the story. I was wary of how Raikama would be developed, but I loved what Lim did with her character. I can't say too much without spoilers, but I enjoyed how she was different from the stepmother archetype we see in most fairytales.

I also really liked Seyru! As soon as he was introduced, I wanted more of him. I mean, he was a shape-changing dragon, what else could I ask for?! I was kind of disappointed that he didn't play a larger part in the story, but considering where this one left off, he may be more prominent in the next one.

The common thread running through this review is me wanting more. All of the elements for a great book were here, they just weren't expanded upon. I'll definitely be watching out for the next book in the series, especially if it has a cover like this one! .

Thanks to Elizabeth Lim and Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

This book was amazing, from the very first page I become completely engrossed. I want a best friend called KIKI, I loved Shiori and her brothers. And of course I loved Takkan!! I loved the magic in this and want to know more, Im not sure if this is going to be a series or standalone but I need more. Honestly this world is beautiful and I loved the romance. I want to see more of that and more dragons of course.

Ultimately I think this book just wasn't for me. I think this probably because my tastes have changed over time, and I'll keep that in mind when I request YA Fantasy in the future. I was really excited for this one because it was based on a fairy tale I really enjoyed, and it even started out really strong. But as I was getting into it I just didn't feel very engaged. These are always the hardest reviews to write because it's not objectively bad and it's hard to put my finger on what just didn't make it click. This book is going to find its reader!

After a few duds and DNF's to start April, this was something I really enjoyed. A beautiful retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's Wild Swans, Elizabeth Lim puts her own spin on the fairytale, combining different Asian folktales and inspiration. She adds a new twist to the story as well, which is much appreciated. There's plenty of adventure and magic, and a sweet love story at its heart. Fans of her earlier Spin the Dawn series will not be disappointed, and I'm eager to read the sequel.

4.5

Lim gets better with every story she thinks up. I had a lot of fun with Spin the Dawn when it came out, but this one is even better. This book has such an ease to it it's like listening to someone you love tell you a story. There's never a point of boredom or complete fear, it's an adventure and a balm all in one.

As a retelling this book does gorgeously. You can read an enjoy this story with zero context of the story being pulled from, and you can read this with knowledge of the source without feeling like it's simply being regurgitated. Lim does a wonderful job keeping it fresh and original without spinning out into something unrecognizable, and she also manages to keep the fairy tale like feeling.

I have to say, I love Shiori so much. I did kind of fear that she was going to feel too much like Maia Tamarin at first, but she's a completely different character, magic strong sibling relationships aside. She's a headstrong, somewhat reckless, effervescent character from the start, without ever being overly surface level. As her naivety dissipates, thanks to her the journey her curse sets her on, and she hardens with the disappearance of her privileged life, her shallowness and narrow point of view falls away, but she remains the same person in the most important ways, making her arc just such a nice thing to watch.

I do really love the sibling bonds here too. With so many brothers it's kind of hard to tell them all apart, and they don't equal time on the page, but we still learn about them as individuals and see all the qualities of each that Shiori admires in the brothers. It's rare to see a good sibling dynamic in books, unfortunately, so Shiori's complete love and loyalty to her brothers', and the simple reciprocity of that, makes me really happy.

And I can't talk about love and good relationships without hitting on the romance at play. Because I love it! It's such a nice break from insta love stories to get a slow, mistaken identity, getting to know you romance. And, I won't spoil the end, but the way the identity part of that was dealt with is both incredibly cute and surprisingly unproblematic. Takkan is a darling human being, drinks respect women juice, and deserves every nice thing in the world.

Finally, the pacing is great. As I said, there's never a boring place where you feel you're treading water, or where the plot simply gets recycled. There is new movement all the way through to the end, and it never stops being compelling. Lim does an excellent job keeping this story moving without feeling like there's any filler.
I didn't realize this wasn't a stand alone, and was taken by surprise by the end, but it was one of those rare times where a lack of a full ending isn't unsatisfying or led by a cliff hanger, but instead really exciting because more story! This ending is both well done so that you get a genuine ending to the majority of what was hanging in the balance, as well as a promising lead in to another interesting leg of the story. Second books are notoriously slow, but I actually think this one's, if the writing here is any indication, will be an outlier.

The only thing that left me feeling concerned or letdown was the dragon's role in this story. I expected a bit more, and I'm kind of worried about a potential love triangle in the works, honestly. But that's still left to be seen! And, really, the dragon was one of many, many cool things at work, so I can't complain too much about that.

I loved reading this story! This was one of the most enjoyable reading experiences I've had this year, and I'm already looking forward to the sequel.

I loved Lim's take on the Wild Swans. It had everything I loved in fairy tale retellings - recognizable bits of the original but told in a way that is creative and original. I also loved the little mentions to other Hans Christian Anderson fairy tales, like Thumbelina and Little Mermaid. I appreciated all the fairy tale references, but someone not familiar with the Wild Swans can still appreciate the story without that background knowledge. This book is perfect for readers of her previous Blood of Stars duology.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book for review.

Wow! I really loved this book, if you're a fan of Studio Ghibli, or just fairy tales in general, you need to pick this book up! There is so much to love here, I wasn't aware this was going to be a series (duology maybe?) when I started it, so I thought it was going to be a one-shot and started to grow concerned as we hurtled toward the end of the book with some dangling sub-plots unfinished. I'm glad, though, I love Shiori so much, she's such a fun heroine to follow and even though she cannot speak through most of the book, Elizabeth Lim does a really good job of making her readers feel like they're not missing anything with most of the one-sided dialogue.

So, if you love Spirited Away, and Howl's Moving Castle, with a pinch of Kiki's Delivery Service, this book is 1000% for you! Definitely check it out, you won't be sorry. And the quick pacing makes this a pretty sweet weekend book.

3.5 stars

My apologies in advance for the relatively short review.

Six Crimson Cranes was an enjoyable read! I really liked the incorporation of Chinese and Japanese culture and legends. The middle part of the book was a little slow, and I found myself skimming over some of the paragraphs, but the conclusion made up for it. I also enjoyed the characters of Shiori and Takkan. Oh, and Kiki, my adorable and supportive paper crane.

Overall, Six Crimson Cranes was intriguing, and I finished it within a few hours. However, it's not a book that I would recommend to everybody.

** This review will be posted on both Goodreads and Instagram on June 22, 2021.

This was amazing. I read spin the dawn / unravel the dusk right before this, which I recommend. The writing was brilliant, I loved the plot and the characters and everything! I can’t wait for book two and book one isn’t even out yet *sobs*

You can pre order personalized US copies from Books of Wonder or signed UK copies from goldsboro (there are more options for both but those are the two I got haha)

Thank you NetGalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review. I need to go eat ice cream and cry now that I have no more books by this author to read 😭

Elizabeth Lim has returned with another book weaving cultural tales into a fantasy. This story was beautiful and intriguing. The character growth Shiori experiences was fantastically done. While she holds to her moral groundings, she still actively becomes a better person. And sometimes, poison is medicine. The romance in this story is truly a semi-unrequited slow burn for the majority of it. This is one of my preferred forms of romance in books, and I loved the way it played out altogether. The ending of this book had me on the edge of my seat. I wanted nothing more than a happy ending for Shiori, her brothers, and Takkan. I really loved the way it was set up for the second book. This was a fantastic story, weaving lore, romance, and life lessons all together in the end.

Full review will be published on July 5th, 2021.