【 HER RADIANT CURSE 】

book #0 in the Six Crimson Cranes series

Genre: Fantasy
Audience: Young Adult
Author: Elizabeth Lim
Published: August 2023
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Pages: 384 (paperback)

I enjoyed this every bit as much as the main duology – and it makes me want to go back and read them knowing what we learn in this book.

This feels like so much more than a prequel and feels more like a book 1 for the whole series. I highly recommend reading it if you enjoyed the Six Crimson Cranes duology – this had the same pacing, vibe and great kinds of characters to get behind.

There was a lot going on in this story and it was surprisingly expansive. It was also really fun trying to guess where things might link up and what details would be particularly key/related to the other two. I think it’s been really well done to stand alone but also to complement the existing books – without either being depending on having read any of the others.

Channi was a great character and it was so interesting following her story and her torment as she is pulled between her own wants and needs, and those of the people she cares about – not to mention the interference of magic overall.

Fabulous read – I can’t wait to read more of Lim’s other books!

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Title: Her Radiant Curse
Author: Elizabeth Lim
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One sister must fall for the other to rise.

Channi was not born a monster. But when her own father offered her in sacrifice to the tiger witch, she was forever changed. Cursed with a serpent’s face, Channi is the exact opposite of her beautiful sister Vanna—the only person in the village who looks at Channi and doesn’t see a monster. The only person she trusts.

Now seventeen, Vanna is to be auctioned off in a vulgar betrothal contest that will enrich the coffers of the village leaders. Only Channi, who’s had to rely on her strength and cunning all these years, can defend her sister against the cruelest of the suitors. But in doing so, she becomes the target of his wrath—launching a series of vicious gladiatorial fights, a quest over land and sea, romance between sworn enemies, and a choice that will strain Channi’s heart to its breaking point.

Weaving together elements of The Selection and Ember in the Ashes with classic tales like Beauty and the Beast and Helen of Troy, Elizabeth Lim is at the absolute top of her game in this thrilling yet heart-wrenching fantasy that explores the dark side of beauty and the deepest bonds of sisterhood.