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@shoggoth-on-the-roof

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hoenarygame

‘dєαth íѕ tєrríвlє fσr αnчσnє. чσung σr σld, gσσd σr єvíl, ít’ѕ αll thє ѕαmє. dєαth íѕ ímpαrtíαl. thєrє íѕ nσ єѕpєcíαllч tєrríвlє dєαth. thαt’ѕ whч dєαth íѕ ѕσ fєαrѕσmє. чσur dєєdѕ, чσur αgє, чσur pєrѕσnαlítч, чσur wєαlth, чσur вєαutч: thєч αrє αll mєαnínglєѕѕ ín thє fαcє σf dєαth.’

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rosefrith

Honest Review: Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim

Thank you Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for the ARC.

UK cover art by: Afterblossom

Afterblossom
afterblossom

In a retelling of the 'The Six Swans' fairytale, Shiori lives in the fictional kingdom of Kiata. With six older brothers, she's the kind of princess you might have seen before, chomping at the bit, resenting her heavy, rich clothes and arranged marriages, and wanting to romp around with her brothers instead. After her step-mother turns her brothers into cranes and Shiori is rendered unable to speak, she must use all her powers and talents to break the curse and save her kingdom.

It's wonderful to have more asian fantasy in YA. And while retellings of old fairytales isn't new to the genre, I think it endures because it's a great way to reach new or reluctant readers: offering something a little familiar to help them into the story. The Six Swans fairytale may not be as familiar as Beauty and the Beast or Cinderella, probably because it wasn't turned into a Disney Movie, but I have actually read another adaptation of this fairytale in the last year: Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier. That one played the story a little more straight with an Irish twist and was much darker in places. Crimson Swans is lighter with more subversions, spunky little sidekicks and a heroine who, facing indignity after indignity, never loses her sharp edge. The best thing about the story is the step-mother who is revealed to have far more layers and nuance than initially assumed.

I'll admit I found the ending quite chaotic. A foreshadowed villain suddenly appears, the characters are dragged to new locations, and the explanation for the curse is hand-waved as error. The way is also left wide open for a sequel. I'm not sure what the next story holds for these characters, but perhaps it will be based on a different fairytale?

Not a bad story, and certainly one I think fans of YA and fairytales will love. I would happily promote this to our students.

★★★✩✩ - Very good.

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cassberrie

Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim is out today! It’s a delightful little tale set in fantasy East Asia, complete with sassy dragons, snaky witches, and secrets identities, and I do recommend, esp if you’re also a fan of Spin the Dawn bc it ties in very nicely 💙💙

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ebi-hime

Sharing some screenshots from my WIP BxG VN, Embraced By Autumn. Going to spend the next week proofreading this very long script (it’s about 220,000 words). Maybe I’ll be able to get halfway through it by Saturday… Uh, hopefully >_<

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ebi-hime

My Dear Prince has been released on Steam and itch.io for $9.99! It’s a cute yuri VN set on a small Japanese island filled with rabbits, and it details the developing relationship between an aspiring manga artist, Momoka, and an energetic tomboy, Aoi. My Dear Prince features cute maid outfits, an obnoxious ojou-sama, and lots of fluffy slice of life scenes. It might be a nice story to read if you want something light and cheerful. I hope you enjoy it, if you choose to pick it up!  ★

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stormvvitch

descendant of the crane by joan he

“What is truth? Scholars seek it. Poets write it. Good kings pay gold to hear it. But in trying times, truth is the first thing we 
b e t r a y.”