Synopsis: Princess Hesina of Yan has always been eager to shirk the responsibilities of the crown, but when her beloved father is murdered, she’s thrust into power, suddenly the queen of an unstable kingdom. Determined to find her father’s killer, Hesina does something desperate: she engages the aid of a soothsayer—a treasonous act, punishable by death... because in Yan, magic was outlawed centuries ago.
Using the information illicitly provided by the sooth, and uncertain if she can trust even her family, Hesina turns to Akira—a brilliant investigator who’s also a convicted criminal with secrets of his own. With the future of her kingdom at stake, can Hesina find justice for her father? Or will the cost be too high?
In this shimmering Chinese-inspired fantasy, debut author Joan He introduces a determined and vulnerable young heroine struggling to do right in a world brimming with deception.
Review: Descendant of the Crane sounded like it would be a fascinating read. It's a mystery novel that is surrounded in a Chinese-fantasy narrative. I liked Hesina a lot. She wasn't afraid to get dirty in order to find out what happened to her dad. Unfortunately, none of the other characters stood out to me. It was interesting seeing how complex the family dynamics were between Hesina, her blood brother (Sanjing), and her "adopted" brother (Caiyan). None of the other characters made me feel invested and that was disappointing.
The overall story was really cool. I appreciate video games like the Ace Attorney series or the DanganRonpa series, where there is a murder and you, the player, has to collect clues and undergo a trial to find the killer. Descendant of the Crane definitely had that feel as well. I'll be honest, I wasn't as entertained by the trial element compared to the video games I listed, but that might just be because of the way it's presented. Reading about a trial is different from just reading about it. I liked the fantasy element, but I didn't think the world was explored as much as it could have been. I will also say that I read this during finals week and I was busy with general life stuff, so I wasn't able to sit down and just plow through this book. I didn't find myself hooked into the story to begin with, but I don't think the space between reading really helped either. Still, knowing how it ends, I'm excited to re-read this in the future and see if my opinion changes at all and I'll definitely check out other books Joan writes.
3 howls
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