Elizabeth Lim grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she was raised on a hearty diet of fairy tales, myths, and songs. Before becoming an author, Elizabeth was a professional film and video game composer, and she still tends to come up with her best book ideas when writing near a piano. An alumna of Harvard College and the Juilliard School, she now lives in New York City with her husband and two daughters. She is the author of the critically acclaimed Blood of Stars duology, as well as a contributor to the New York Times bestselling A Twisted Tale series. You can find her online at elizabethlim.com.
Shiori'anma, the only princess of Kiata, has a secret. Forbidden magic runs through her veins. Normally, she conceals it well, but on the morning of her betrothal ceremony, Shiori loses control. At first, her mistake seems like a stroke of luck, forestalling the wedding she never wanted. But it also catches the attention of Raikama, her stepmother. A sorceress in her own right, Raikama banishes the young princess, turning her brothers into cranes. She warns 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, and the very boy she fought so hard not to marry. And she must embrace the magic she's been taught all her life to forswear—no matter what the cost.
The story of siblinghood is really what compelled me through the novel. I loved how Lim focused on Shiori's relationships with her brothers, and how they're all different people. While the novel doesn't spend a lot of time with Shiori and her brothers, it's clear that they're her biggest motivation to figure out how to break the curse. It's so powerful how she doesn't speak for a large majority of the novel in order to protect them, and how they feel so present throughout the book even though they aren't physically there. I was compelled by the story of siblinghood, because I desperately wanted to know how they would break the curse, and how they would reunite.
Shiori doesn't spend a lot of the novel with her brothers, but she does spend a lot of it with her sidekick Kiki, who stole the show for me. I actually just got really invested in Miraculous Ladybug and Kiki reminded me a lot of Tiki (the similarities in their names notwithstanding!). I love how Kiki's reason balanced some of Shiori's stubbornness and recklessness. Shiori also spends time with Takkan, and their romance was beautifully developed. Since Shiori is voiceless and faceless (basically), it felt very gratifying to read a romance that wasn't contingent on the female character's attractiveness. Rather, Takkan saw her for who she was and who she was becoming. It made for a perfect slow burn that balanced out the other more high-stakes elements of the novel.
I think the only thing that really tripped me up sometimes is how every time there was a huge revelation, such as people's loyalties or identities being revealed, Lim didn't spend a lot of time unpacking it. It would be very quick, and sometimes I felt like I misunderstood what exactly was being revealed and how that impacted Shiori's journey. I don't want to spend too much time on this because I don't want to spoil anything, and it honestly didn't impact too much of my understanding of what was going on. At the end of the day, I enjoyed how fast-paced the novel itself was, and if immediate understanding of the revelations was sacrificed for a bit of a delayed understanding, then I definitely would take that trade-off.
Shiori's story concludes in the sequel, The Dragon's Promise. Until then, you can find more of Elizabeth online at elizabethlim.com.
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
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