Résumé :
A sorceress in her own right, Raikama banishes the young princess, turning her brothers into cranes, and warning Shiori that she must speak of it to no one: for with every word that escapes her lips, one of her brothers will die.
Penniless, voiceless, and alone, Shiori searches for her brothers and uncovers a dark conspiracy to seize the throne. Only Shiori can set the kingdom to rights, but to do so she must place her trust in a paper bird, a mercurial dragon, as well as the very boy she fought so hard not to marry. And she must embrace the magic she's been taught all her life to contain - no matter what it costs her.
Mon Avis :
All it took for me to want to read this book was one TikTok.
It took ages to arrive even though I pre-ordered it, but the long wait was so worth it !!
The story is awesome! I had completely forgotten what it was like to read a decent fantasy novel. This is for sure, one of the best books I've read this year! It's a YA fantasy retelling of to tales mixed together : "The Six Swans" fairytale written by the Grimm brothers and the Japanese story of "Hachikazi".
The novel is set in an East-Asian-inspired world, it felt new and refreshing.
It has everything I love in a book :
- fairytale vibes
- arranged marriage (yes, you've read this correctly...)
- beautiful storytelling
- amazing character development
This book's plot is both intriguing and well-written. This novel was so fast-paced that I was unable to put it down. Every page piqued my interest, and as the story progressed, I found myself absolutely immersed in it. With its adventures, dragons and curses, and magic, it truly felt like a Disney movie in written form. There is no time to be bored!
The extraordinary and magical world that Elizabeth Lim created was my favorite aspect of the novel. I loved the way the author describes the landscapes. The overall "aesthetic" of the story and its world is chef's kiss!👏
We can really see that Lim put a lot of effort on writing her characters. Each of them are so well written !
Kikki is the star of that book !!! I now want a cute little paper crane as a pet !
The step-mother, Raikama, is such a good "antagonist". I love the fact that we got to learn her back story. I appreciate it when author do that, it gives more depth to the character. It help the reader to understand why this person is supposidly "bad".
The brothers were good characters but sadly we do not see them much. The strong bond that they share with their sisters it the core of the story. They quarrelled and argued, yet their love for each other became stronger as a result of their difficulties.
Shiori was a fantastic protagonist. It was so uplifting to read about a strong, well-writen female character. To be honest, I found it difficult to relate to her at first; I thought that she was a bit too self-centered and naive. Thankfully, Shiori's complexity and power increase as the story goes on; her character growth felt authentic and natural. She evolved alongside the tale, and her growth was well-paced throughout the novel. She didn't change in the course of a single chapter.
But there are two things that confuse me.
1. What was Shiori's mode of communication after the curse? How come everyone appears to know what she's thinking and what she wants? SHE CAN'T SAY ANYTHING!! Yes, I know she has a little writing pad on which she writes things, but not all the time!
2. Explain how she washed her hair. I mean, the chick literally has a wooden bowl attached to her head, so... She must have been a little smelly...
Takkan is one of the gentlest, kindest, and softest love interests I've ever met in a YA fantasy. We need more male characters like him.
The little romance that happened throughout the story was very cute, I liked that it wasn't the main focus of the story. Shiori and Takkan's slow-burn romance always was perfect but I wanted a bit more from them...there's not even a cute kiss scene ! :(
The only character I didn't really like is Seryu. I have a bad feeling about him. He doesn't seems to be very honest. A love triangle between him, Shiori and Takkan was kind of hinted and I hate that with a passion !!!! I understand that the princess met Seryu first but, he wasn't present throughout the majority of the book.
I guess we will see in the next book, "The Dragon's Promise", as it's going to focus more on him and Shiori.
The ending was really unexpected and I loved it but I have to say that it made me cry quite a bit...
It was a really really good read, I didn't want the book to stop, and I can't wait to read the next one!
Seulement disponible en anglais !
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