The Emperor's daughter.
Forbidden magic.
A shape-shifting dragon.
A curse.
Six brothers enchanted as cranes.
And a small paper bird.
I love a good fairy tale retelling, and Elizabeth Lim's own magical version of Grimm's The Six Swans is a fun one. It centers around Princess Shiori, the emperor's youngest child and only daughter. She's betrothed to Lord Bushian's son, Takkan, although it's a marriage she's not excited about. She has another secret: she can do magic. She brought a small paper bird that she calls Kiki to life. But if anyone finds out, she'll be exiled. Because magic in the kingdom of Kiata is forbidden.
This story also has the requisite evil stepmother. Raikama is a sorceress in her own right, beautiful and powerful. And cruel. When Shiori discovers her secret, Raikama transforms her six brothers into cranes, curses Shiori to silence, then disguises her and hides her away on a far Northern Island. Shiori can't tell anyone who she is, and she doesn't know how to break her stepmother's enchantment and free her brothers. But she's not about to give up.
Besides her paper bird, Shiori has the help of a mercurial dragon named Seryu who can transform himself into a human boy. He has a penchant for rice cakes and might be the only one who can help Shiori learn to control her magic in order to break her stepmother's curse...if he ever shows up!
I'm glad Melody @ Melody's Reading Corner suggested we read this book for our next buddy read. It's an enchanting YA fantasy and I enjoyed it. Shiori and her little paper bird, Kiki, are spunky and captivating characters; I liked both them and all six of Shiori's brothers, though the brothers aren't in most of the book. I also ended up really liking Takkan; he befriends Shiori when he doesn't know who she really is, and offers her protection and help. I wish the dragon, Seryu, had been in it more, but this magical adventure is really Shiori's story. I look forward to reading the sequel, The Dragon's Promise, which comes out this August. Maybe Seryu will be in that one more.
Happy Reading!
P.S. Be sure to check out Melody's review and her questions for me about this fun read:
Melody's questions:
1. What do you think are the strengths and weaknesses of Shiori?
I think Shiori's weaknesses at the beginning of the novel were her impulsiveness, stubbornness and how argumentative she could be. Also, she was kind of judgmental when it came to Takkan, even though she'd never really met him. But she grew up over the course of the novel, and learned to be more thoughtful and less self-absorbed. I loved how determined she was...her stubbornness came to be a strength for her when she was trying to break the curse. And I loved how she cared about the other people around her, and how she never gave up. I also loved that she made such good fish soup.
2. What are the things (and/or characters) that you liked most about this story?
Besides Shiori, I liked Kiki, the little paper crane she brought to life, and Takkan the most. I loved Kiki's interactions with Shiori, and her unwavering support throughout the whole book. And Takkan had so many good qualities it was easy to like him; plus, he made up stories for his little sister and for Shiori. I really liked that about him.
Great review, Lark! I'm so glad I read this together with you! And Shiori and Kiki are such fun characters to read, aren't they? I loved their exchanges a lot. And Takkan grew on me the more I read about him. :)
ReplyDeleteTakkan was one of my favorite characters by the end of the book. I really do hope he's in the next one! Thanks for suggesting this one, Melody. :D
DeleteHow wonderful that you got to buddy read this one, that's always a lot of fun. I love your reviews, just thought I should tell you that. You don't go on and on for so long that in the end I don't need to read the book because I know everything that happens. And you make this sound really good!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the compliment, Cath! Although, to be honest, I don't think I could write a long review of a book if my life depended on it. I just don't enjoy summarizing every little thing that happens in a book. So I don't. ;D
DeleteThat cover is gorgeous! I honestly would not have picked a fairytale retelling from it, more an urban fantasy — so the blurb was a pleasant surprise!
ReplyDeleteThe fact that it is a fairy tale retelling is what made me want to read it! And I liked the way Lim made it her own.
DeleteI love a good fairy retelling so this one is on my TBR. Glad to hear you enjoyed it so much. :)
ReplyDeleteI hope you get a chance to read this one. I thought it was a fun and unique version of this fairy tale. :)
DeleteThis does sound fun and I love the sound of a shape shifting dragon too! Hopefully he will be in the next one. :)
ReplyDeleteThe way this book ends it looks like Shiori will spend a lot more time with the dragons in the next book, which will be fun.
DeleteBuddy reads are always fun because of the different perspectives you get, I think. Sounds like this one was especially fun.
ReplyDeleteI like them because Melody always suggests titles that I might not have read otherwise, which is also fun. :)
DeleteI've been curious about this one, so I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's a fun read. I hope the sequel is as good! :)
DeleteI haven't heard of this one before now but it sounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteIt's a fun little fantasy. :)
DeleteI've heard a lot of good about this book. I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I'll have to check this one out.
ReplyDeleteI did enjoy it. It's a fun YA read. :)
DeleteThis has been on my TBR for a while. I love fairy Tale retellings, but The Six Swans retellings usually fall short with me, but I've heard so many good things about this one. I need to get to it soon.
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot more to this story than just Shiori and her brothers, so you might like this retelling more than some of the others. :)
DeleteSounds like an original fantasy story premise. Glad to hear the buddy read was a win!
ReplyDeleteIt's always fun reading a book with Melody, even when the book ends up not being that good.
Delete