Descendant of the Crane: He Joan

Product Information

It's thought-provoking, well-written, rich in details of era-appropriate attire and consistent worldbuilding. this story is overwhelmingly heavy in court politics and war, so much so that my interest began to fade after a while.

The way the story questioned this really made me think about what I would do in Hesina’s position, and I loved how the story sucked you in this way. The plot twists are truly dizzying at times, and everyone, from villain to ally, has an intriguing backstory. I had not managed to organize my puzzlement into a question before the plot begun eddying around in a speedy, gasp-out-loud, page-flipping style—each new certainty leading not to the next steppingstone but into a quagmire. What I absolutely adored about the plot was the way the different portions of it transitioned into one another, and I never once questioned why something was happening. I think the novel could have been better curated, as it sometimes feels less like a story and more like a haphazard sequence of things happening.Other characters such as Caiyan, Lilian, Sanjing and Akira (heart eyes) were also amazingly written. She simply states that the rain starts to fall, and the context of that scene fills in the dark or grave atmosphere for us.

In fact, he had a lot of reasons to turn out to be the Broody YA Love Interest guy, but he doesn’t and I loved him. Now, I'm lucky enough to say that my current pub, at the time of writing this, will be re-releasing DOTC as a paperback come September 27, 2022. This serves as one of the conflicts for Hesina, who has to somehow figure out how to change a population’s opinion that has been socialized within her kingdom for over 300 years.Maybe a bit dramatic at times, but if drama and scheming aren't what you're here for, this might not be the book for you since that's what it focuses on more than fast-paced action. If you liked my first book, Seraphina - particularly the politics, palace intrigue, and mystery - then I'd encourage you to give this one a try. She reacts to situations exactly how I’d imagine I would if i were a 17 year old princess who lost the parent I was the closest to and inherited a kingdom built on hatred.

Como lectora, sólo aprendí que la sangre de quienes blandían magia prohibida se encendía en llamas cuando salía a la superficie. This has one of the best "trial" scenes I've seen in a book, like Joan He was the John Grisham of YA fantasy authors. Akira is a really interesting character, and for a long while the romance stays under wraps, but of course has that inevitable feeling to it. There are so many different things happening in this story—war, salt/water trades with a kingdom that is trying to go to war with them for some reason, evil ministers, sooths and oppression and magic, a where'd that come from? The imperial doctors say the king died a natural death, but Hesina has reason to believe he was murdered.

In this shimmering Chinese-inspired fantasy, author Joan He introduces a determined and vulnerable young heroine struggling to do right in a world brimming with deception. However, while book 1 did very respectably when it released in 2019, it did not quite explode by publishing industry standards. But she also uses her words and tone to create an atmospheric effect when her main goal isn’t to describe the scene. Fantasy books following the inner-workings of the royal court and with society's ruling members as their central characters are my favourite to read about. Descendant of the Crane was a story about human people in an inhuman world—it was a story about a kingdom which carried the wounds of centuries past, its hurts unhealed and cutting deep, its bitterness and hate festering together like rot.

Perhaps it was a painting and each word a brushstroke, a vibrant dab of colour across the paper; or perhaps it was a tapestry, the words woven into a mosaic of mesmerising patterns—I'd like to continue waxing poetic, but what point would there be in that? I love reading a unique plot, and brewing up twists and turns in my own, but what I love most is designing each beat of the story to maximize character PAIN (and occasionally happiness :) ). The soothsayer cannot tell her the culprit, but she can point her in the direction of someone who will help her find out.Part of her story arc is learning how sometimes, unfortunately, it is necessary to lie or do "bad" for the greater good. On top of that, almost 10 years have passed since I first conceived DOTC and its companion book universe. Her internal thoughts are rational; when she was more impulsive or emotional, she knew that and she accepted that about her. It was frustrating for me because I initially thought that this was going to be a four-star read, but then it got too tedious and my enjoyment of it lessened over time.