April 2022 First in a Series BOTM - Six Crimson Cranes, by Elizabeth Lim

[Alaina]

Shiori, 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.

Raikama has dark magic of her own, and she 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, on her journey, uncovers a conspiracy to overtake the throne—a conspiracy more twisted and deceitful, more cunning and complex, than even Raikama's betrayal. Only Shiori can set the kingdom to rights, but to do so she must place her trust in 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.

**This BOTM thread will be open until May 5th @ Midnight (in your time zone)**

[Ellen-Arwen]

Okay, I've just started the audio of this and only a few chapters in but I'm loving it so far :D Who else is reading it?

(I'm not going to be able to spell any character names lol)

[Ellen-Arwen]

So, I stopped listening and have now started again, since it seems like I'm not actually going to have a buddy! Ah well. I've been keeping notes as I go through - my internet has been dodgy, so I've been saving them.

Chap 1-10 (view spoiler)[
I want a dragon boy! He's so cool! I feel he's going to be very important throughout the story, but I also feel like he's only going to drop in from time to time which is disappointing. Raikama is awful. Gah. Dunno what her affinity with snakes means yet but it can't be good...
I love the fact that I can recognise her writing from Spin the Dawn - that was an unexpected gem for me last year. (hide spoiler)]

Chap 11-14 (view spoiler)[
I am SO fricking stupid. This is what comes of not reading blurbs (I always find that blurbs give away more than I want to know). It's a retelling! I need to remind myself of the original fairytale but I love the fact that it's been retold in such a different culture. LOVE IT!

Sad and beautiful when they turned into cranes. I'm glad she's got Kiki back; Kiki reminds me of a Disney sidekick a bit, like Mushu in Mulan lol. And she is bowl head ROFL (Why do I find this so funny?!?). It's kind of weird, but I guess it's part of the curse to make sure that people don't recognise her (hide spoiler)]

Chap 15- 20 (view spoiler)[
She found her brothers! But, my god, Raikama is a bitch so many times over. She has to say her true name which means one of them will die... I will go back and look at the original fairytale at some point, but probably after to see what I think then. Surely it's going to end up okay?? But this is a whole series, so it's definitely not gonna be a simple HEA (hide spoiler)]

Chap 20-23 (view spoiler)[
I'd be kind of fed up with people assuming I was a demon worshipper by now! Her magic soup! Hehe. I preferred it when she was with her brothers. The starstroke is horrible (it's nettles in the original, right?) Poor Shiori.
It's nice that Takkan is the not rude one - I didn't spot that one coming (although there were enough clues).

I am enjoying it but it feels like it's dragging a bit at this point? There's still a fair bit to go... (hide spoiler)]

[Ellen-Arwen]

Chap 23 -29 (view spoiler)[

I really want to enjoy this but it is draaaaaaaaging. Like I don't really want to pick it up (very unusual!)

The bit about the letters was really sad though :( (hide spoiler)]

[Ellen-Arwen]

Chapter 35 (view spoiler)[
Okay, so it's finally moving on. Although I'm kinda confused tbh about how Zirena (sp? - I'm on audio) and Raikama are involved and why Raikama had to block Shiori's magic. I don't know. I got so bogged down for ages that I might be kind of missing stuff. (hide spoiler)]

[Ellen-Arwen]

Chapter 40 (end) (view spoiler)[

I rushed the ending (partly because I'm tired and want to go to bed lol) and partly because I'd basically got tired of this :(

Buuuuuut - the ending was interesting, and unexpected, and generally good! I have the second book from NetGalley and was feeling pretty negative about it, but a kingdom under the sea sounds fun!

I guess I lost track of the magic because the pacing was so off that I found my interest lagging. Thinking back, I found that with the Spin the Dawn duology as well actually...

Might have been better as a physical book (I could go back and check things) and definitely would have been better with a buddy *sobs* lol. Hope I'll have more luck with buddy reads next month! (hide spoiler)]