4.5 stars

I don't typically like prequels, but I found the separation from the main story enabled this one to "work" for me. This book operates more as a stand-alone set within the same universe, with a few easter eggs for keen-eyed readers. As someone who loved Six Crimson Cranes, I was eager to read more from Elizabeth Lim, and I absolutely loved this book. Lim's writing is fascinating, beautiful, and complex, and her ability to give depth to characters is unique and rare. I highly enjoyed this book, and will definitely look for more Elizabeth Lim in the future!

I enjoyed this one, but not as much as I enjoyed some of her others. However, this is a prequel to Six Crimson Cranes, which I haven't read yet. I didn't know that when I got offered the book; if I had I wouldn't have accepted it. I'm eating it 3 stars, with the caveat that once I eventually read Cranes I'll come back to this one and update this review.

I wondered if this prequel would work since they rarely do for me. This one, however, completely surprised me. I think having separation from the Six Crimson Cranes duology helped. Lim creates a beautiful, fascinating and complex character in Channi. I also loved the exploration of the various relationships, especially Channi's with her long dead but deeply beloved mother. This prequel also strands well on its own with beautiful little Easter eggs for the reader.

Elizabeth returns to the world of Six Crimson Cranes with the long-awaited backstory of Channi. Her Radient Curse is a powerful and well-rounded addition to Lim's bibliography, and possibly my new favourite. The story is very well structured with characters I found myself easily relating to. Their internal conflicts were very complex, with their external conflicts being just as bad if not worst. The world-building continues to be excellent, and Lim continues to be one of the best modern fairytale creators.

After finishing the Six Crimson Cranes duology, I was extremely excited to get to this book and see Channi’s story from her own perspective. While it’s a core part of the duology, it’s still different to be there and see it happen, and get inside Channi’s head throughout it.

Even though I knew her story wasn’t a happy one, I still wasn’t fully prepared. The books I’ve read from Lim so far have been fairly happy and positive, despite usually having quite high stakes, so it was interesting to see a darker and sadder story in her style. I honestly think her writing lent really well to this sort of story-telling, one that carries the magic of myth and legend but with darker undertones and no promise of a happy ending. She was also able to write Channi in a way that remained consistent with the older version we see of her in other books while still adding a lot of depth to her character, and it showed to me that Lim has a deep understanding of this character.

I also love seeing characters that are a bit more morally gray, ones who have to fight harder to be good and are willing to accept that they may not always get to make the best choices. Channi is a character who has been dealt a bad hand in so many ways, with her only support system also being the largest source of her pain in a way. Throughout the book, we see her world start to open up a bit more, even if so many people try to keep her hidden and down. I loved seeing her strength throughout this book, even through all the trials and suffering she continues to be put through.

Overall, I think the characters were definitely the strongest point of this book for me, which is saying a lot because I also really liked the world-building and Lim’s immersive writing style. She was just able to make them all feel so real, and I loved seeing them interact with each other (even if not always on friendly terms). It made later scenes in the book hit even harder, since we had such a strong understanding of the characters and what these choices meant for them.

This book has certainly fully put me back onto Lim’s books and removed any lingering doubts, and I can’t wait to see what comes next!

Review will go live on my blog on February 27th!

I really enjoyed HER RADIANT CURSE, the prequel to the SIX CRIMSON CRANES duology. In CURSE, Channi is willing to sacrifice everything, including her freedom, to protect her beautiful sister. As an eldest sister, I relate deeply to the Angelica-like “I would choose her happiness over mine every time” energy. I also loved the Helen of Troy elements and found the writing to be engaging and fast-paced.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children’s Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. I read the book via an audiobook from my library.

This book was beautifully written. Any time I see a book by Elizabeth Lim I know I am in for a treat and this book did not disappoint. The characters are always so real and the images this author inspires with her words will stay with you long after you have put the book down

This is the first book I have read by the author and I found it quite interesting. I enjoy mythology from different cultures and like how the author played up those aspects in her story. The sisters loyalty and connection to each other and the drive from that connection made this a lovely story to read. Thank you to netgalley for a proof to read.

I have not read Six Crimson Cranes so I can't say anything about how it ties into that. I really enjoyed the relationship between the two sisters and how their love for and desire to protect each other drove the plot of the book. All the characters are well written and I particularly enjoyed seeing how they all viewed the prophecy and how that shaped their relationships with each other and how the curse brought them together. The setting was well done and beautiful. I loved the way the mythology was used in the story, the magical aspects were so captivating. All around this was a great book and made me even more excited to read Six Crimson Cranes. I have read a couple of Lim's other books and all around think shes a wonderful author and I look forward to reading more of her books.

What I did read of this, I enjoyed. I will pick it up properly eventually, as being pregnant made it difficult to read anything. I highly recommend Elizabeth Lim’s books. They are so good.

Plain and simple: Elizabeth Lin can do no wrong. Loved this book! Her stories are so emotional and deep and lush.

I think me and Elizabeth just don't mesh well. I have tried several of her books and I always end up feeling meh about them and never finish the series. This is a case of just not for me but may work for others so I will still recommend.

I enjoyed reading this one. But I didn't love it as much as I did previous books by this author. But I'm still going to pick up books by this author in the future.

Elizabeth Lim is a writer that can do no wrong for me. One of my favorite duologies is actually in this same universe, The Blood of the Stars.

To know if this book is for you, do you like these things: (?)

-A fast paced story that is set in a very fresh fantasy landscape based in Asia and islands surrounding the area?
-Are you okay with bittersweet endings, not everything needs to be so so happy, tied with a gorgeous bow?
-Do you like when a female character is dead set on ending her lifelong enemy? Like she has a one track mind for revenge?

I love this. Everytime I read something by Elizabeth Lim in the the Legends of Lor'yan, I find my soul getting a bit lighter and much happier. Next stop: finally reading Six Crimson Cranes and Dragon's Promise, now that I have the context of a key character.

I highly recommend delving into this world, and I think this stand alone is a great place to start.

✨Book Review + Favorite Quotes: Her Radiant Curse ✨

We are introduced to the story of Channari, and how she, as an infant, was to be sacrificed by the gods in order to save her mothers life. Only this does not happen and a curse is cast, so on the eve of her sisters 17th birthday, “one sister must fall for the other to rise”. While her sister Vanna is beautiful, she will have a monstrous face unless she brings her sister back to the goddess. Channari will do everything in her power to protect her sister, even if that means sacrificing herself.

As always, Lim has a way to weave Chinese mythology and folklore into the story , and her world building unravels seamlessly without feeling like it’s too much to understand at once. I enjoyed this prequel origin story as the character we got to know in Six crimson Cranes. It feels like I got to understand her more and why how she came to be the cold hearted character we meet when we start the Six Crimson Cranes duology.

Here are my favorite quotes from the story:

✨ I was not born a monster. People forget that. The crueler ones sneer and tell me I'm demon spawn. They think words will hurt me, but they are closer to the truth than they know.

♥️My face, which has trapped me somewhere between beast and woman.

✨I am as monstruous as she is beautiful. Our power is equal in that way.

♥️For so many years, I've been focused on saving her life. I forgot how many times, in little ways, she's saved mine.

✨A promise is not a kiss in the wind, to be thrown about without care. It is a piece of yourself that is given away and will not return until your pledge is fulfilled.

♥️ The threads of past and present are already irrevocably stitched and cannot be undone. But the threads of tomorrow may yet weave a different path.

Thank you to @tbrbeyondtours & @elimpix  for a chance to read the arc, and participate in this tour. To view the full schedule please check my link in my profile.

#HerRadiantCurse #TBRBeyondTours #ElizabethLim

Thank you so much, Random House Children's, Knopf Books for Young Readers and NetGalley, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

Channi is forever changed when her father offers her in sacrifice to the Demon King and now she's cursed with a serpent face. The only person who doesn't see her as a monster is her beautiful sister, Vanna. Now Vanna has to marry to enrich the coffers of the village leaders in a contest and with her cunning and intelligence, Channi is the only one who can protect her from her suitors' violence. But the bethrotal contest goes wrong and Channi has to fight to protect her sister and save themselves from a evil unleashed in the world, that could destroy their bond forever.

Her radiant curse is a brilliant fantasy novel, mixing elements from classic tales like Beauty and the beast, Asian folklore, The selection and more in a thrilling story about two sisters and their deep loving bond.
Elizabeth Lim is absolutely fantastic in writing an complex, rich and lush worldbuilding, with an enchanting atmosphere and wonderfully brilliant characters, who shine at every turn. Channi and Vanna have a beautiful bond and I loved how it was one of the main theme in the whole book, besides the complexity of beauty and its dark aspects.
The story is whimsical and intriguing and I loved it so much.

Vanna and Channi are sisters, but they couldn't be more different - while Vanna is blessed with a strange glowing beauty, Channi has been cursed with the face of a snake and poisonous blood. As Vanna's seventeenth birthday approaches, Channi grows desperate to prevent her promised death at the hands of the demon witch Angma.

I did not realize until about halfway through this book that it is a prequel to Lim's Six Crimson Cranes duology, an East Asian-influenced retelling of the Six Swans that's been on my TBR for a while now. However, this book stands alone well and I didn't lose out by not having read those first.

This is a straightforward YA fantasy adventure, with a sympathetic heroine who grapples with issues of identity and belonging. I liked the relationship between Channi and Vanna, which is complex and loving, as well as Channi's friendship with the snake Ukar and her relationship with Hokzuh. The world-building is lush and sweeping, and the climax was tense and emotional.

I guess the only thing I didn't enjoy was that some plot elements were left untied. Some certainly must lead into the duology, but others seem to be just dismissed as incidental, such as what will happen to Meguh's throne after the events of the story. Channi's final choices also felt a little unsatisfying after the journey she goes on, probably because it felt like she chose that path because it was necessary to link the ending up with the starting point of the duology.

This was an incredibly well-written prequel. I loved getting more of Channi's history and how she came to be in Kyata. I loved hearing about her sister as they were growing up. This was full of action and emotion and depth. Absolutely recommend!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my complimentary e-arc of this book. All opinions here are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House children for the E-arc!
I am a big fan of Elizabeth Lim's works and am always excited when I see another book coming out! Following two sisters, one who has fought and trained their entire life to break her curse. Her father makes a demon deal, and she is cursed with a serpent face and the ability to talk to snakes. The premise of this is fantastic! Lim has always created intricate and unique storylines to follow. This is so many of the elements that I love about her writing and so many new fantasy elements that i just couldn't put it down.

The book was wonderfully written and a breath of fresh air. The story was unique and fun. I have not read her other books but I now want to.