I loved this female driven narrative but also, I was left disappointed in the overall lack of pacing. While I finished reading the book, I was left underwhelmed and wanting to fill in some gaps. It took me quite a while to get through the book because of the pacing and by the end it seemed to grind to a halt.
The best bits for me were the women and the world building which were both amazing and engaging.

There's a brilliant blending of genres in this novel- although predominantly a fantasy adventure, I very much enjoyed the added mystery of who murdered the King and why?

I do enjoy a youngster thrust into ruling a kingdom without preparation, struggling to be just and honourable whilst balancing a population in panic. Let's be honest it's a trope, nevertheless an enjoyable one.

Hesina finds herself in this exact position; When her father is murdered and her scornful, absent mother blesses the coronation, Hesina finds herself questioning 'the Tenets' created by the kingdoms founders. Sooths have long been feared and hated for evils of the past, but are they to blame or were their powers misused?

With only her adopted brother and sister to confide in, Hesina must battle against her own ministers to reveal the truth of her fathers death, avoid war and appease her suspicious kingdom without compromising her principles.

Joan He describes the setting and characters beautifully, the worldbuilding drew me in and the sibling bonds between Hesina, Caiyan and Lilian kept me captive.
Each chapter holds a phrase from two of the 'Eleven', elders who created the Tenets. I always enjoy fantasy novels that utilise quotes as an insight to fictional cultures rather than lengthy info dumps.

The Descendant Of The Crane has everything I want from a YA fantasy and more. Action, adventure, betrayal and secrets, stories within stories and all with a cast of characters you'll quickly grow to love. A five star read for sure.

Unable to properly process her father's death, Princess Hesina seeks advice from a Soothsayer who tells her a criminal with a rod will be the key to discovering the true cause of her father's death. This treasonous act of consulting the Sooth must be kept under wraps as Hesina is crowned queen and the trial of her father's murder begins. She soon discovers bigger problems than who killed her father, such as the unstable political nature of the country she now rules. On the verge of war, Hesina tries to pull together plans to uncover her father's murderer, keep her nation safe, and stop the discrimination of the Sooths.

To be completely straightforward, it's really hard to just give a short blurb of Descendant of the Crane. Joan He has weaved in so much complexity to this book, I am shook that it's supposed to be a standalone because I am craving more!

Descendant of the Crane did take a while to take off, so to speak. The beginning, while intriguing, was slow. There's a whole world He is building and the reader is thrown into the middle of it. I genuinely don't think a single standalone book, or even just 400 pages, is enough for this storyline. We begin the story with Hesina committing treason to speak with a soothsayer. She has conflicts with her adopted brother, brother, and mother. She is attempting to find her father's murderer. She has an impending war coming up while the teaching of The Eleven tells her to not go to war. She finds so many problems with her people. I mean, the list just goes on and on. This poor girl is literally thrown into being queen and has no real idea of all the problems she has to face. So ideally, I would've liked this to be a series or longer. Even a duology would be great.

One thing I will complain about in particular is character development. We get little snippets of development, mainly focused on Hesina because it's told from her point of view. Aside from Hesina's development, I would've appreciated more development from her brother, half-brother and adopted siblings. Even more character development from Akira, our criminal Hesina pulls from prison to be her representative in the murder trial of her father. There just isn't quite enough there in terms of development for me to particularly care if something goes wrong with side characters, which could be fixed if we go back to my previous suggestion of making the book longer or having a series.

If anything, the last few bombshells that are dropped at the end are what make Descendant of the Crane. I don't want to spoil it for anyone who wants to read this novel, but my mind was so blown away. There are so many cliffhangers and twists that I did not see coming that I am so desperate for a sequel which may never come. He has said "I don't think I can return to the story for a long, long time. It's been really hard to separate all that's gone down with it on the publishing side from the actual story, and it's been healthier for me to physically and mentally move on." So my hopes for a sequel are dashed.

To wrap this up, I'm pretty upset there won't be a sequel. I know I keep going on about it, but the amount left unsaid has shattered me. I wouldn't advise you read this if you're hoping for a story that ends with no cliffhangers. Personally, I'm okay with minor cliffhangers, but these are so large that's all I've been able to think about for a week. I will say I'm not so upset that I wouldn't read Joan He's work again. She has created such a wonderful world and magic system that I'm curious to see what else she has going for her other novels. But, for Descendant of the Crane I give it at 4 out of 5 stars. It's a bit slow to start, and the ending honestly bumped it up to a 5 star for me, but the fact that it's left unfinished is disappointing. I crave more character development, which I'd hope to see in future novels that likely won't happen. But I would recommend this book if you're okay with being left dangling.

So lush and beautiful. Very entertaining and I liced the world building!!! I highly recommend this one.

This was an interesting book!

I enjoyed the overall themes, and became enveloped in the story and in the life of our main character. I did find that it got pretty hard to follow at points, though. There was a lot going on all at once, and a lot of characters to keep track of. I think if I picked this up a second time and gave it my full focus it might get a higher rating as I come to understand more and dont have to struggle so much to keep up.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange of a review. All opinions my own.

I am easily convinced, I see that cover and it has my attention to go on reading the synopsis. This was a breath of fresh air in terms of setting and background in YA novels.

The background for me was one of the strongest points, as is heavily influenced by Chinese culture, and from my point of view, makes this one stand out from the masses of “middle ages inspired fantasy with political plot and treason”. Many readers may fear a slow developing plot and history, due to the Chinese influence, but to me it felt dynamic, compelling and it got my attention even if I had some issues with the plot.

This book is much more focused on the political and palace life, so to speak, than in the magic system. One of the downsides is that, as a magic system lover myself, I wanted to see much more from this whole system. Not only from the magic point of view but the history and theology surrounding the world. I felt it was a part of the book that could have given so much more to the story, but I am under the impression that this book is more character focused. There is always that complicated balance between world building and story, and telling and showing.

Probably the pace was the characteristic that I struggled the most with while reading. It felt strangely intermittent: journeys took place in a couple of pages and an evening could develop through four chapters. Please note, I am talking without the book in front of me so this is not exact. This lead to feelings of rushed and dragged scenes at some times.

I absolutely enjoyed the characters of the book. Although there is a couple that are not developed enough and i felt them relying too much on tropes, I overall enjoyed the protagonist, Hesina’s character. She is not one of those who become queen and instantly knows how to do everything and she succeeds at each and every try. There is a lot of room for morally grey characters, as the lines between right and wrong start to blur, and it takes on the reader to involve themselves and develop their own judgement on them. Each for different reasons. Although briefly, we can see their intentions and reasoning, and understand their actions just by the context and I find that absolutely delicious.


Finally, although I can’t see any dates, this is going to be a series with companion novels and I will be here for the rest of the books

Determined to find her father’s killer, Princess Hesina of Yan does the unthinkable. She seeks out the help of a soothsayer, treason under her own country’s law. Using the information provided by the sooth, Hesina frees a convicted criminal and names him her defender. The future of Yan now lies in Hesina’s action to make her stake and defend it well. As Hesina’s journey for justice grows darker, finding the truth maybe be complicated when everything she knows may well be all lies.

My first thoughts when I finished this book was indescribable. I cannot get over how blown away I was with this book. This is a new forever favourite. We are barely a month into 2021, and I feel like I should already be making my Favourite Reads of 2021, with this book at the very top of the list: the story, the characters, the world, like damn. The way the author writes had me on my toes for quite a decent amount of the journey. The sheer twists and drama in this book had me incoherent and for once actually shocked. Joan He really said, I’m going to write a book that will put any book you will ever read to shame.

Hesina is soon to be named Queen of Yan, but the nagging feeling that her father’s death was not natural haunts her. Knowing her actions could get her killed, her attempts to bring her father to justice will also shine a light on her country’s own past. Centuries before, the relic emperors were overthrown by a group of outlaws called the Eleven. The emperors of the past used soothsayers for their biddings, but when the Eleven defeated them, their people were immediately expunged, now in hiding across the country. The Eleven gathered their philosophies into the Tenets which have continued to be followed centuries later. And for Hesina, any hope for a better world means bringing down everything before her.

The story was just one big sucker-punch after the other. Only when you think you know what was going on, another twist, another secret comes crashing in, throwing Hesina off her trajectory. The court dramas, both law and royal, was fantastical. Everything was just unique and brilliant. I loved how determined Hesina is from the very start, and that headstrong attitude does not give up, even when the story takes a much dark turn. She is Yan’s queen, and she will defend it so. Even when she’s given the easy way out, she pushes through in pursuit of knowledge and truth.

A Queen is not without her court, and I am in awe of her brilliant the rest of the characters were. Especially the dynamics between Hesina and her other siblings. She has her brother, Sanjing, their relationship tense due to her close companionship with her adopted siblings, Caiyan and Lillian. There is also her half-brother, Rou, who she has kept distant from because it reminds her of her parents’ distance. Akira is our convict turned ally who has more secrets than Hesina could count. No one knows what to expect, but I expected more from him. I loved his character and presence, but it felt a little out of place within the general story, mostly because he’s hidden from us for so long. The way they all interact and come together in the story was so captivating.

If you take anything from this review, let it be putting this one on your TBR because it genuinely is worth the time. As of writing, there are no plans for the author to continue the story but what we have here is more than enough. Hesina’s journey for justice is hauntingly beautiful. The book pushes through its rocky start, and He’s creativity knows no limit as the story continues. Descendant of the Crane does not give up, and you’ll enjoy every moment of it.

DNF @ 155 pages.

This book was beautifully written and I will definitely be looking out for more of Joan He's work. However this was a bit slower paced and more political intrigue focused - not a criticism of the book itself, but it didn't work for me personally. Have still recommended to my friends who prefer this type of book!

DNF @ 50%

I really tried to get on with this book and commit to finishing it but I honestly just found myself so bored with it and just skimming pages. My main problem with this book is that I just did not like the main character of Hesina; she seems to have too character tropes - wants to find her father's murderer (but gets constantly sidetracked) and constantly fails to learn. I found myself so annoyed with her character and the way in which she just never learnt from her actions. Yes she didn't expect to become queen so quickly but it was clearly always her destiny but she just seems so unprepared. The plot could have been enough to keep me intrigued but it just felt so slow paced and honestly nothing seemed to be really happening with either plot, so I just accepted the fact that I wasn't enjoying it.

But thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read the eARC.

i had my eyes on this book for a long time, i was really intrigued by the cover and the story did not disappoint. sometimes, it felt like watching an historical tv show, i loved the details of the world, especially the life in the palace and all the obstacles our MC Hesina had to face.

Unfortunately I no longer wish to review this book as the first few chapters did not reel me in. Thank you for the opportunity.

Loved everything from the Chinese-inspired fantasy world, the intricate detailing through a beautiful writing, the shocking revelations and twists, and a plot that keeps you so very invested to the emotional themes of anxiety and character-focused development.

This debut novel had so much potential, but failed to deliver. I didn't care much for the characters and the writing, that other people rave about, was sub-par for me.

A reluctant ruler must face up to her responsibilities in order to discover who has murdered her beloved father, joining up with a charismatic con man in the process.

Set against a Chinese inspired fantasy world, one of the best aspects of Descendant of the Crane is the setting mixed with the political intrigue. Our heroine Hesina is not cut out to be the heir of an unstable kingdom. She's a bit too soft, a bit too humane to deal with the grey morality needed to make something of herself. Or at least that's what her mother thinks. She views her father through rose tinted lenses, as this ruler who managed to control a kingdom through wisdom and benevolence alone. However the more she digs into his murky past in order to uncover his murderers the more Hesina realises that he might not be the man she knew at all. I enjoyed seeing Hesina grow into her role, learning from her mistakes and making difficult decisions. I also loved her relationships with her adopted brother and sisters, as well as the devilish Akira. He adds some welcomed tension and intrigue to what otherwise could have been a rather bogged down drama.

I will say that the pacing for this is a little slow. With so much political drama, there's little in the way of action and it takes a lot of time to get any kind of pay off. At times I did struggle to return to this world, as it requires a bit of effort to power through the quieter moments. However, I did enjoy the fact that such a politically driven fantasy novel was told from a YA perspective. Too often, YA fantasy relies too heavily on flashy magic and romance to sustain a rather weak plot. This was refreshingly different.

Great setting with slow build political plot that is not going to be for everyone. If you enjoy strong characters and drama with YA characters, I think you'll enjoy this.

Descendant of the Crane is an amazing book and I can't believe that a sequel does not yet exist!

The way that the book pulls you into its story line is very admirable. It gives you crumbs of the mystery and holds them over your head while you jump and jump to get just a taste. I was really taken with the way the story began and the fact that it continues to pull the rug from under your feet every time you think you are on solid ground.

I found the protagonist, Hesina, to be this complicated and intelligent girl who is desperately trying to hold on to something as it crumbles in her hands, and it definitely made her much more interesting to read and decipher. She displays immaculate strength and vulnerability throughout the book, which makes her a very good protagonist to me because she has so many layers even by the end of the book she has many more of those left

I think, one of my favourite part about the book was how it handles relationship dynamics. The way that the relationship of Hesina with her mother, her brother, her adoptive siblings and her father are explored in a web where each of them affect each other was really fun to read. Which is what makes her interactions with her love interest interesting as well, although I do believe that I would have liked to see more of those to find their relationship to be more believable. Another thing I liked in these dynamics was how the Hesina's culture (which is inspired Chinese culture) is woven into her relationships, and not just the customs of her world. You could see that culture reflected in the way all of these characters interacted with, addressed and expressed themselves in front of each other.

The worldbuilding of this book is amazing. It draws from different aspects of Chinese culture and customs which definitely makes the world richer, but even with the way that certain elements of the world are presented and the reasoning that is given behind them makes the book really exciting because you can see that a lot of effort has been put into making this world, no part of which has been left unimagined and all of it is intrinsically connected to each other. The book really dazzled me with the importance it placed on culture, customs, clothing as well as the magic system and the way that this world's societies function. None of it was a straightforward statement of 'this is just how things are in this world', instead it gave us the reasoning and the explanation behind each of those things, which is what made me utterly fall in love with this book.

The way this book mixes elements of mystery, fantasy, political intrigue and betrayal is so thrilling that it is a sight to behold. It continuously layers all of these elements onto each other, never leaving one behind and just keeps the writer tightly wound up into its cocoon. I would admit that the pace definitely picks up halfway through book but I think that is because of the way that fantasy books have to spend a considerable amount of time setting up the world. I never had a problem with pacing in this because I was really invested in it and just couldn't wait to see what happened next.

What made me irrevocably fall in love with this book was the way it constantly surprised the reader (and Hesina) with revelations that I definitely did not see coming. I really loved how the premise of the book is based on a society that hates and shuns magic user, but it's not written from the point of view of a magic user; and yet gives us all the emotion and experiences that come with that from the eyes of sometimes naive but highly intelligent protagonist.

In conclusion, this book is amazing. Please read it, hype it up because I NEED A SEQUEL! I cannot live with the ending of this book hanging over my head, it's too much. Also, I love Hesina and need to see more of her! Especially with how the book ended, it will make for the most exciting sequel ever and my soul is hungry for it.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me a copy of this eArc.

I really loved the premise of this book, and it was a good mystery and the plot reveals were crazy! The king is immortal? What? One of the Eleven? What?!!

But other than that..... there was next to no world building. We were in Hesina’s head the entire time and so I felt I learnt very little! And very little time went past at all! To the point where nothing was happening! We were just reading her insufferable thoughts! And, the romance with Akira was going to be the obvious choice, but it was not natural nor needed.

The way the book finished frustrated me. Caiyan? Like are you serious? And having his own epilogue so that the author could explain exactly what she was thinking? None of it made sense! Yes Hesina was going to have a very tough time as Queen, but to completely take her out of the situation, blame everything on her, instead of watching her work through her kingdoms problems and helping the very long healing process they needed? I call this lazy. The author couldn’t figure out how to make it work, so she didn’t.

It took me months to read this book because it was just not flowing at all well and the storyline did not make sense. If there is a sequel, I will not be reading it.

This was a weirdly late approved ARC on NetGalley – I don’t know if this is the paperback release, or UK release, but I thought it had been released ages ago. I was so pleased to get approved for it though – just look at that cover!

This story features such a rich setting – you get to appreciate the history of the country, as well as its relations to its people and neighbouring nations, and the struggles that come with such a history. There are snippets of the knowledge that the entire government and way of life is based on, which if done well really builds that legacy in a way which I appreciate. I really liked the sibling and family interactions, which is sometimes lacking in these stories. Not only does Hesina have to deal with a younger brother, but also an absent mother, and two adopted siblings – who might just be my favourites. Akira was actually very palatable for me – I expected the typical stoic male protagonist we usually see, but he was refreshingly different.

I got such The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco vibes, with the political machinations along with magic, as well as the family and friend group that slowly collects around Hesina. The writing was rich, but not too flowery and it was very difficult to put down – I may have taken a while to finish and review but that was all me. The story feels very fast-paced despite there being few moments of high action.

As the story wove on I was waiting for the other shoe to drop, so to speak. That twist was more than surprising enough, though I wish the end would have been left more unresolved. The epilogue explains too much for me, I would much rather have been wondering until certain motivations and revelations were able to be addressed in the sequel, until I realised that this is a standalone! The end does read like it would have a sequel... Ah, I want more in this world! The author has said there may be companion novels, with different protagonists, so maybe I'll be able to!

Firstly... I want to point out the obvious, look at that STUNNING cover, hands down beautiful, and I'm very pleased to say that the cover is just as good as the story!

The culture, the writing, the overall plot.

I just wanted more magic.

can't wait to read more from Joan He!

Descendant of the Crane is one of those book everyone and their mother was hyped for. I mean, "Chinese Game of Thrones" is very far up the coolness scale. Luckily for this book, I also never quite understood the hype around GoT/A Song of Ice and Fire, so I didn't go in with massively high standards that are impossible to reach.
Still, even from my non-hyped standpoint, aside of there being a throne, I don't get a lot of GoT/ASoIaF vibes. Anyway, let's start with me talking about this book instead of another one I read and didn't even like.

After her father's sudden death, Asina suddenly finds herself on the throne to the kingdom of Yan. But she suspects that her father didn't just die on his own, but that someone poisoned him. With bringing this suspicion to court, she starts noticing just how much intrigue and corruption the elite of Yan contains. What a surprise, I know.
To be completely honest, while this was enjoyable to read, it also was very average.
I mean, sure, I love the setting and all, but Hesina probably couldn't be more average as a YA heroine. She makes stupid mistakes (which are forgivable, she's like 16, sixteen year olds don't do particularly smart things), seemingly falls for the same trap like three times and falls in love with some random ass dude for no reason.
While that's all believable, as I said, sixteen, not enjoyable to read when you can see the treason coming from five miles away.
Other than that, I can't really say much about this book. It feels like a chinese, better written version of Ahdieh's Flame in the Mist, which I also wasn't a fan of.

@Netgalley and the publisher: Thanks for the ARC!

Characters
I found the characters well developed and fleshed out in Descendant of the Crane. They were easily distinguishable from one another and had clear defining traits. I particularly liked Hesina as a protagonist. I loved seeing her strength as well as her vulnerability. In the beginning of the book she was so unprepared for her role as queen. It’s refreshing to see her voice her insecurities and lean on others for support. I wish we had found out more about Akira. By the end of the book he was still very mysterious and because of that his connection with Hesina felt a bit flimsy. I’m hoping that will be expanded upon in future books. Overall, I loved the characters and felt truly connected to their story.

8/10

Atmosphere
This book really lacked in atmosphere. There was very little description of the surrounding area, the landscape and the fantasy world the characters live in. A more detailed map would have helped flesh out the landscapes of the different regions in this book and I would have loved to know more about Yan’s neighbouring countries. I expected to get to know Yan and it’s people more on the journey to Kendi’a, but the journey itself was cut short to make more time for other important plot points. The Kendi’an landscape and its people were also not described fully and all I can remember from that section of the book is a lot of sand and fighting.

6/10

Writing Style
Joan He has a wonderful way with words. She’s a very skilled writer, there’s no denying it. She described the clothing in rich detail and the dialogue flows effortlessly off the page. I would definitely recommend listening to this book on audio. The narrator does such a great job with the pronunciation of the characters’ names and other terms used throughout the book.

9/10

Plot
In my opinion, the plot was excellently crafted and I was so immersed in Yan’s politics and court procedures. I loved how each chapter started with quotes from the Tenets. It really brought the story together perfectly. The pacing was a bit slow in the beginning but really picks up speed in the last few chapters, keeping you on the edge of your seat.

8/10

Intrigue
From the beginning I had a bad feeling about someone. I was never sure where the story would go next and what this person’s next move would be. The last few chapters were unexpected and thrilling. It paid off in the best way. I do think the epilogue was unnecessary since it tries to over-explain the ending. I’m hoping that there’s a second book coming out soon because that cliffhanger is way too much to deal with.

9/10

Logic
The story was immaculately constructed and by the end most of the loose ends pertaining to the murder mystery were tied off (except for the glaring cliffhanger). I thought the trial proceedings were cleverly executed and I enjoyed reading all about Yan’s legal system. Joan He explored Yan’s politics in great detail and it was very interesting.

8/10

Enjoyment
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It took some time to really sink my teeth into it but once I got going, I couldn’t stop reading. I’m really hoping a sequel is in the works. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves asian inspired fantasy books with murder, intrigue and a little bit of forbidden love.

8/10

AVERAGE CAWPILE RATING – 8/10