Descendant of the Crane

This book came onto my radar simply because so many of my fellow bloggers loved this so much and were just so excited to talk about it. And then my two dear friends Charvi and Nandini buddy read this too (please include me next time you read something together) and they couldn't stop gushing. That settled it and I had to pick it up next and despite it taking me three days to finish (I was in a bad mood ppl), it was such a fascinating book and I'm still reeling from that ending.

I enjoyed the world building here a lot. I really like it when we get a little bit of history about the world throughout the story and the author does a great job of it here. We get to know a lot about the kingdom of Yan and how it came to be. While there are three more neighboring kingdoms and there is ongoing conflict with one of them, we don't know much about them and I have a feeling that will be remedied in the sequel. We also get some details about the soothsayers and their magic, but because they are the oppressed class, we only get bits and pieces of how the magic actually works and more about their lives and the hardships they face.

The plot is definitely the best part of this book. The author thrusts us smack dab in the middle of the story after the King's death and it's just twists upon twists after that. There are not a lot of action packed scenes but this book is full of court politics and intrigue at its best. You never ever know who to trust, what anyone's motives are and I felt totally baffled when revelations happened. I've heard a lot about this book being called Chinese inspired Game of Thrones and it definitely has that feel to it. The pacing is actually quite slow throughout, with some very unexpected situations thrown in between, but I never got bored and felt very interested all through the story. The book also has a couple of intense and absolutely wonderful trial scenes and I thought the author did such a brilliant job in them. I also loved the usage of Chinese language words throughout the book and I always enjoy it when POC authors do this. And that ending —— wow did those two chapters stun me. Within the last few pages, everything that I thought I knew was upended and I was left flabbergasted. I never saw that coming and the direction the story seems to be going next is so unexpected, it's just excellent plotting.

There are so many interesting characters here and it was such fun figuring them out. We get Hesina's POV, so she is the only one who's motivations we are sure of. She unexpectedly becomes the Queen after her father's death and she thinks she is prepared because of his teachings and his trust in her. However, as she sets on the path for truth and justice, so many of the truths that she thought she knew are shattered and she feels overwhelmed. She constantly has to battle her longing for her father with the revelations about his identity, she has to be the queen for the people who are seething with hatred for an entire community and hell bent on mob justice, and she has to learn who to trust every step of the way. What I loved most about her is the way she questions the oppression of the sooths that has been going on for three centuries and her desire to bring about an end to it, though she doesn't know how. She is strong in her own way, compassionate and thoughtful, but definitely needs some more caution before trusting people - that's her good quality but also her downfall.

There are a host of other characters but they are not as developed as Hesina. Caiyan and Lilian are her adopted siblings - her constant companions and support systems, with whom she feels the most safe and wants to protect them. While Caiyan is stoic and reserved and very smart about political situations that Hesina never thinks through completely, Lilian on the other hand is feisty, bringing a little cheer to gloomy situations and always there whenever Hesina needs her. I loved their dynamic a lot. Hesina's relationship with her brother Sanjing is slightly more antagonistic, owing to years of non communication and jealousy and just hurting each other with words. Akira is the mysterious stranger who is her representative at trial and while there is a developing romantic dynamic between the two, I would have loved to see them together more. There are also other players in the court and outside and it was very fascinating to know the intent behind each of their actions and betrayals. None of the characters are evil just for the sake of it and while it doesn't erase their wrongdoings, it's always interesting to know why they are committing those acts.

Finally, I just want to say that this is a wonderful debut novel with an interesting world and fascinating characters and all the twists and turns that you never asked for. It's slow paced and more of a political fantasy story than an action packed one, but it still packs a punch and will leave you wanting to know immediately what happens next. It's not going to be an easy wait.

Well, this was amazing! So many twists, such a great world, and a protagonist who is constantly put through the worst possible situations and has to make the hardest decisions. And then that ending! And the epilogue! Aaaaaah!
I need a sequel right now!!!

I don't know what to say. This book got me confused and not in a good way.

It had a lot of good points - intricate writing, more or less good plot and even one surprising twist (the second one was not that surprising).

However, the ending crossed it all out. Considering that the book is supposed to be a stand-alone, it was so disappointing. The book ended with nothing. Literally nothing.

In the answers to questions, the author said that there may or may not be companion novels. I prefer one decent finale in the book that I've read to the one in possible companions.

Really enjoyed it! Took me some time to get into the story though.

Loved the setting, loved the magic, low-key hated that it wasn't explored further.
The protagonist was just alright, not great, and this reads like there will be a sequel, but apparently there won't??
Uuuuuh idk man, 3/5 stars I guess.

I like the world building and characters. I had a very difficult time following the plot

I really liked the political intrigue and the magic in this one. Unfortunately, I didn't love the characters.

Well, that was beautifully done. All the people dissing the world-building and slow pace are clearly not familiar with Chinese dramas and novels, because this one is more like those than your regular YA book. I agree that the majority of the book has a really slow pace for the buildup, but the multiple plot twists make up for all of that. Plus, you can't have good political drama and backstabbing if the story moves too fast. There would be no tension, and all the little things wouldn't help hammer that final nail in the coffin as much.

As far as the protagonist is concerned, Hesina is exactly what Akira said: the kind of queen who'd get assassinated in broad daylight. What makes her different, however, is that she owns up to her mistakes and never does obviously stupid things that YA protagonists seem to love doing. She gets into tricky situations not because she's dumb, but simply because there are better players who are steps ahead of her. She's also willing to learn, and she never lets her budding romance control her action. Is she a good queen? Yes. She's just too nice for the court and its political games. For now.

What annoys me about this book is that how it's marketed as a standalone, because it's obviously not. In fact, the story ends with a cliffhanger that screams there will be a sequel. I don't understand how this could be labelled as a standalone while the story isn't even finished yet, not to mention all the things dropped by the epilogue. I know the author said Hesina's arc is 80% complete, but as a reader I need the remaining 20% because why would you read an incomplete story?

In any case, this is a great book with morally grey characters, layers of manipulation and deception, and a lot of political drama. Please read and support this book so we can get the companion books and the rest of the the overarching plot. :')

okay so this book is a political fantasy. I didn't know that going in or else I would've never picked up the book. Now I could go on and on about how the story was just one surprise after another with barely any breathing room, or frankly any explanation, but this book has already caused a reading slump so I'll just sum the plot up:

-Something unexpected happens

-Hesina: I'm confused

-Someone random casually infodumps about how it was done and calculated

-Hesina: I should've seen this coming!

That's it.
That is the whole book.

I have to say, the twists the book took were very surprising and could've been done well if things were different. But as for world building and characters...I don't think I'll remember anyone's name by the end of today. Which is another point: what the hell is a sooth? I get that they can do magic and shit, but their magic is never explained and the descriptions are not descriptive at all. In fact, they're extremely vague and this description problem can be applied to literally any fight scenes. In fact, I would just skim the fight scenes and move on because what happened would be explained better in conversation afterwards anyway.

-sigh-I'm tired so tl;dr a political fantasy with so many plot twists I got vertigo and am now just confused