This is one of those books that I just fell in love with. I have nothing bad to say about it.

I listened to the audiobook of this. I’m not sure if the audiobook had something to do with how much I loved this book, but all I can say is Emily Woo Zeller is a fantastic narrator. Narration aside, I really loved Shiori and her story.

Shiori’s story was not a passive one. She really took charge of her own fate which I could not appreciate more. I loved the story so much for the decisions she made in the face of everything that had happened to her.

I’ve seen a lot of people say the story was predictable, but I really didn’t see the end coming. Well, maybe I did, but I could not say exactly what the motivation for each of the characters was. Even if I could have, this story was very character focused. When this is the case, I don’t feel like I need a super unique plot to follow. The characters are enough.

My favorite aspect of this book was the relationship’s Shiori had with different characters: her brothers, Kiki, Raikama, Seryu, and Takkan. Lim did such a beautiful job of making me care about each of these connections. I also think a spectacular love triangle is shaping up for the next book which I am surprisingly not mad about. Both Seryu and Takkan have my heart, and I cannot wait to see how this duology finishes up.

I haven’t been reading much YA Fantasy recently–many of the ones I’ve tried haven’t really spoken to me in any deep way. This one, though, made me rethink my distance from YA Fantasy.

Rating: ★★★★★

Find Six Crimson Cranes at a local bookseller here.