This advanced copy was provided by Hodder & Stoughton in exchanged for an honest review.
My gratitude to the publisher for this opportunity.

TW: death of a loved one, gore, decapitation, starvation, torture, self-harm, bullying, parental abuse and neglect, and grief.

Her Radiant Curse is not my first foray into Elizabeth Lim's world but it certainly won't be my last.

Elizabeth Lim is always capable of creating attention-grabbing stories that not only entertain, but pull at the reader's heartstrings. My favourite stories are the ones surrounding family and their dynamics, and in this new standalone we follow the tale of two sisters. One was cursed to wear a serpent's face and the other was blessed by the gods.

Channi will do anything to save her sister, Vanna, the beautiful Golden One. She has prepared her whole life to protect her for when the Demon Witch comes to call and steal her sister's light.

Will Channi save her sister or will she accept a deal with the demon?

This is an action-packed story breaming with adventures and mysterious characters. It's incredible how much the author has packed into this story, from adventures to new conflicts, and many surprises.

While an adventurous journey at its heart, Her Radiant Curse is the fairytale we could have never expected, a much needed addition to our fantastical bookshelves.

I firmly believe there is no wrong choice when choosing to read this new release or anything by Elizabeth Lim.

I think this might be Elizabeth Lim's best book so far. Especially the start was really strong. It pulled me in right away and gave me amazing fairytale vibes, but centering a girl who's seen as a monster. The book is set in the same world as the Six Crimson Cranes duology, and there's a lot that I loved about it. I did want a little more of a focus on characters instead of action in the middle, but that's personal preference, and I did get a lot more of that again towards the end. I also loved that this didn't have a central romance, which was so nice to see. I'm aromantic and while I love reading romance, I don't think romance shouldn't be centered in everything and not every book is served by a central romance.

2 STARS

I read this book before reading Six Crimson Cranes because I was not aware they are connected... My rating and this review are for now based on that fact, and they might change after reading the original duology. I would definitely recommend reading this AFTER reading the Six Crimson Cranes duology!

The world building felt very non existent in this book. I have no idea how this world functions or what the rules and politics are, and I will not even get started on the magic system and all the creatures/species living in this world. From the little snippets that we did get in this book, it seems like a wonderful and very developed world, but I believe all of that was explained in the original duology and not again here.

The plot was predictable (not in a bad way) up to the very last moment, where I did not expect the plot twist! However, the flow of the story seems somehow off to me. Some parts drag for no apparent reason, and then the parts that would be important to the character's development just speed through. It doesn't read smoothly. I have a love-hate relationship with the writing style. Some parts I felt were beautifully written, while others not so much. That is most likely just a me thing, and could be connected to my confusion about the world itself.

The characters lacked depth and development for my taste. I like to see my characters develop, not just be told it happened, and now they are different. I did not feel the sisterly love that this book was supposedly about. Everything that the sisters did was for each other (or so we are told), but up until the last moment and the portrayal of grief (which was amazing), I didn't see or feel it. It fell flat compared to my expectations.


CONCLUSION

This could be a great book for fans of the original duology and the world, but reading it first will leave you confused and a bit disappointed. I am not sure how this connects to the duology, and if it spoils anything.

This book should not be marketed as a standalone, or it should at least be defined as a prequel.

I might like this book more if I read it in what I believe is the right order. I don't really think I would recommend it regardless, but quite a lot of people did enjoy this book, so give it a chance and decide for yourself.




Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars actually

“Her Radiant Curse” is the prequel to the “Six Crimson Cranes” bilogy but it can be read as a standalone for it tells the story of the stepmother of Shiori, the protagonist of said bilogy when she was young. Also, unlike the first book of the bilogy and its sequel, this prequel is not based in a fairytale (that I know of) but it is consistent in the eastern Asian folklore and legends being interwoven with the main plot.

Channari was only four when her mother gave birth to the most beautiful sister she could have given her. Baby Vanna was born with a special light in her heart that shines and mesmerizes everyone who lays eyes upon her. But Channi’s mama’s labor had complications and with her life hanging on a thread, her husband Adah, decides to sacrifice one of his daughters to the demon-tiger Angma to save mama’s life. Instead of the beautiful Vanna, Adah takes Channi to the forest, but the tiger wanted the radiant baby, so to punish the father he turns Channi into a half human half snake girl, that is the curse that won’t break until either Channi or the tiger are dead. It was all for nothing, before dying, mama makes her full moon girl, Channi, promise that she will protect Vanna always.

Of course everyone despises and bullies Channi, who is only supported and protected by the snake realm. She becomes a lonely hunter, chasing tigers for Angma has threatened to kill Vanna when she turns 16. Who is the one who is really cursed? What is the light that shines from Vanna’s heart?

This is a story of love and betrayal, hate and loyalty. Snakes, tigers, dragons, sister love and abandonment. It is a story of growth and finding our own path, our own adventures in life. Despite its brilliant fairytail-esque writing I did not enjoy this book as much as Shiori’s journey. Its value lies in a much needed backstory for Raikama or Channi, the witch who could talk to snakes. Although she is redeemed in the second book “The Dragon’s Promise” in which Elizabeth Lim gives us a glimpse of Raikama’s past, we needed the full story to truly understand why she behaves the way she does in “Six Crimson Cranes” and why does she keep her distance from Shiori.

In the end I did have fun with this book no matter what. Perhaps the reason why I felt it less compelling than the other books is that “Six Crimson Cranes” did an amazing job at making me feel whatever Shiori felt, especially her desperation and her frustration. I couldn’t quite feel the same with Channi.

Her Radiant Curse follows Channi, a girl who was cursed with a serpent’s face at a young age when her father attempted to sacrifice her to save the rest of their family, whose quest to save her sister from the same demon witch that cursed her leads her into a new and dangerous land where she must fight for both her own life and her sister’s before they both run out of time.

Every single Elizabeth Lim book that I’ve read has been a masterpiece, and this one is absolutely no exception. The writing is stunningly lyrical and the world-building so intricate and realistic that, despite reading this book in a lot of short bursts, reading just a few paragraphs at a time had me completely engrossed.

I had no idea going into this book that Her Radiant Curse would be a prequel story to Six Crimson Cranes, but it was really interesting to see the overlaps and delve further into that world through the eyes of a brand new and incredibly easy-to-root-for protagonist. I loved the romance elements between Channi and Hoksuh, but I found Channi’s dedication to her sister to be even more compelling, and adored the underlying messages about inner beauty, familial love and loyalty that persisted throughout the story.

This book is beautiful, and I’m sure will be adored by both fans of fantasy standalones and people who want to delve deeper into the existing world from Six Crimson Cranes. The lyrical writing, intricate world-building and fairytale quality of the story made this book completely unputdownable, and I’m desperately awaiting whatever Elizabeth Lim writes next.

This book broke my heart. The blurb bit "this thrilling yet heart-wrenching fantasy" is not an understatement. My heart is wrenched. I have to say, I haven't read Lim's Six Crimson Cranes series yet so I wasn't aware that there were bits of Channi and Vanna's story sprinkled about in it. I also have to say, I absolutely have to pick up those books immediately having finished this.

Starting with Channi, who ends up cursed through absolutely no fault of her own and some of the worst parenting I have seen. She is fierce, she is a fighter, she also loves incredibly deeply. I just wanted good things for her somewhere along the way.

Enter Hokzuh. Admittedly their meeting is...tense. Especially given he's captive to a ruthless king who quite literally collects whatever he thinks he should own. But anyway, (and again not knowing Channi pops up in Six Crimson Cranes), we know early on Channi and Hokzuh are meant to meet. Other than the warning about a thrilling and heart-wrenching story, we don't know how things are going to end up where they do.

It was largely these two that really got me. Neither are in their situation through any fault of their own and do their best to keep from being victims. I was really cheering for them.

I thought I would hate Vanna. Everyone fawns over her, kings are literally lining up to be picked by her. She's actually a very gentle character and we learn a lot more about her struggle and 'radiant curse' . She really grew on me and I was cheering for her as things went on.

Even the villain of the story, the Demon Witch, has a sad story that, while you know the horrors she's capable of, you just feel bad for. I think all of this really highlights how incredibly excellent Lim is as a writer. She can make a deplorable villain and still you end up softening ever so slightly for them. Except Channi and Vanna's father. He was just awful. He has his 'Coming to Gadda' moment but still, just awful. Terrible parenting.

Ukar is a shining character along all of this. He provides back up, friendship, a bit of humour and all of it really helps Channi's character shine.

For some reason, it's not quite 5 stars for me but this book is unquestionably another bit of art from Lim. I hope her readers are properly excited for this because it really is another excellent work from her. I don't even really mind it totally broke my heart, if anything emotionally devastating is a sign of a book that will stick with you...right?

I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Everything I’ve read by Elizabeth Lim so far has been anything between good and phenomenal. Her Radiant Curse falls into the last category once again.

From the start, Her Radiant Curse is captivating. The writing is immersive, and you immediately get pulled back into the world already established in Six Crimson Cranes, albeit in a different part of the world. Lim’s writing is simple, yet it manages to captivate her audience, in a way that few books do.

All of the characters are well thought out. Even those characters that, at the start of the book, seem as perfect as can be, are deepened out throughout the novel, and have their own flaws and struggles that are portrayed through the eyes of Channari. It was nice to see the way she realised that other characters had their individual struggles as well, and that it wasn’t just her who struggled in life, even though the other characters’ life may seem perfect at first.

The main selling point for this book to me was the focus on Channi. I already loved her as a character in the Six Crimson Cranes duology, so seeing her character fleshed out even more and seeing her origin story made me very happy. Seeing how a character came to be remains fascinating if executed well, and the author managed to do so for sure.

Lastly, I loved the small references to the Six Crimson Cranes duology, especially at the end. Seeing Shiori and all her brothers mentioned just made me very happy.

Although readers of The Dragon’s Promise already know how this story will end, Elizabeth Lim manages to write a compelling story that makes you want to continue reading until the very end.

It is such a shame that I didn't love this book! I adore Elizabeth Lim and her previous duology six crimson cranes, but I struggled to get into this one. I can't pin prick any faults in the book, just for some reason it really didn't work for me! Perhaps due to the pacing and the first 100 ish pages being incredibly slow for me, I feel like giving it another go in the future to truly find out if I just happened to be in the middle of the slump whilst reading which influenced my enjoyment or if it was an actual issue with the story that didn't work for me.

🐍Her Radiant Curse🐍 by Elizabeth Lim - Review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Oh. My. God.

So right off the bat I knew this would be good. I have read the Six Crimson Cranes and Blood of Stars duologies from Elizabeth Lim and adored them both. The chance to get to know the Anti-Hero of Six Crimson Cranes - Shiori’s mysterious stepmother- was one I simply couldn’t pass up.

Lim’s writing style feels slightly more mature in this book, while still keeping that gorgeous, rich, whimsy style that makes you feel like you’re watching a fairytale unfold.
Channari is everything I love about Lim’s heroines - rash, flawed but deeply loyal to those she loves and willing to risk it all to keep them safe.

I won’t spoil the ending but I do want to point out that it had me sobbing. It was so bittersweet and truly broke my heart, especially as I know Channari’s ultimate fate. The bond between these sisters is truly precious and neither deserved the hand they had been dealt, which made me really feel their pain and their joy with them.

A gorgeous book, truly. A must read if you enjoyed Six Crimson Cranes. Thank you so much to Hodder and Stoughton and Netgally for this E-arc to review!

Thank you to the author Elizabeth Lim, to the publisher Hodder & Stoughton and to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book early in exchange for this honest review.

This story tells of two sisters and their very different experiences of life seen through the eyes of Channari, the eldest sister. Channi is cursed to live with a serpent's face after she is sacrificed to the Demon Witch in order to save her mother. She then spends the next few years hiding away deep within the jungle with the other snakes, her only friends except for her sister, Vanna. Vanna on the other hand was literally born with a golden light emanating from her and is seen as the most beautiful female for miles around.

I need more of Channi's friendship with Ukar and I absolutely 100% need so much more of her relationship with Hokzuh please and thank you.

I absolutely loved this book. I sped through it and I definitely wouldn't have been able to put it down for love nor money. I knew about halfway through that this would be a 5 star book for me and the ending not only proved me right but has now left me wanting to read more.

This was my first book by Elizabeth Lim and I would definitely recommend it. Although, some are saying that this is a prequel or a spin-off to some of Lim's other books, I read this as a stand-alone just fine, so don't let that put you off giving this a try.

Full review on my Goodreads at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5618062554

The origin story of Channari and her sister Vanna that we heard bits of in the Six Crimson Cranes series.

I would absolutely recommend that you read the Six Crimson Cranes duology first and this book will make perfect sense.

'One sister must fall for the other to rise.'

Where Vanna is beautiful inside and out, Channi has been cursed by a witch (because of her father!) but if there is one thing that Channi loves more than anything in the world, it's Vanna. But the demon witch, Angma, comes back to collect!

This book made me feel so much but I did find it dragged in places. I also want a snake bestie!

The power of sisterly love and devotion was beautiful and...... dragons.....and we all know how that ends!

Despite knowing how it ends, I enjoyed and suffered a lot with the story 🥺

In Six Crimson Cranes we have very little information about Channi because she’s not the main character, but it makes it clear that she was someone with secrets and had her own story. In this book she tells us about her sad life and the love she had for her sister.

Channi's childhood was hard and was marked by a curse because of her father, however, she never gave up and instead, she used everything in her power to become a strong and capable person. Throughout the book she tells us her story, how she spent her childhood training and preparing to save her sister from any danger, how hard she tried to keep her alive and how, despite the outcome, in the end she got one of the things she longed most: the love of a family.

I enjoyed this prequel too much and how it also resolves all the loose threads left in the previous bilogy. The author manages to continue to impress with her pen and with the worldbuilding of this wonderful world full of magic and magical creatures.

PS.: I loved Hokzuh and Ukar and obviously Channi🤩.
PS2: Hokzuh didn't deserve that ending, but I can understand why it happened 🥺

Quality Rating: Three Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Three Stars

Ultimately, this book was alright but not amazing. I enjoyed the changing landscapes, the rising stakes, and the vivid sense of time and mythos alongside the contemporary worldbuilding. However, overall, it held back on its characters, unable to let them flourish as they seemed to want to, which dampened the overall feel of the story.

I could feel towards the end that things didn't seem to be resolving themselves, which of course is because Her Radiant Curse is a prequel to the Six Crimson Cranes duology. I love those books dearly, and I have to say that this is the most involved, engaging and satisfying prequel I've read in a long time - so much so that I forgot it was a prequel for most of it. But, it's still a prequel and at the mercy of meeting certain plot points and having limits to its character's arcs.

Impressively done within its own confines, Her Radiant Curse unfortunately falls into the pitfalls of many prequels, though it's a fun journey to get there.

Her Radiant Curse is the prequel to Six Crimson Cranes Duology. I adore Six Crimson Cranes and when I saw she wrote about Channi, I was so excited. In this book, we learned Channi's backstory, how she cursed, and what happened to her sister. I loved this book so much. Channi and Vanna had a really strong sibling bond. Elizabeth Lim's writing was so magical. She wrote an amazing story. It was heartbreaking. I cried in the end. I think this book is a solid standalone but I highly recommend reading Six Crimson Cranws duology before this book. Also, I loved to learn about Ukar more. Maybe she write another story in this universe too. Thanks to the publisher and the Netgalley for the arc.

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for this advanced copy.

It was such a fun book. However just like her previous work, Elizabet Lim didn't have any solid magic system. All magics in her books and her world she created didn't have any single solid connection. It was sad because all her fantasy books shared the same world.

This is my very first Elizabeth Lim novel, and I've been eager to read some of her books for a long time. This book surprised me due to the fact that it wasn't exactly what I expected it to be about, but I nevertheless enjoyed it. I wasn't too interested in this one at first, but it soon took off and I became completely immersed in the story's arc. This was a wonderful Young Adult fantasy that I believe would appeal to people of any age group. It's an amazing narrative about the dark side of magic and beauty. I've been devouring a lot of fantasy books lately that have a strong focus on Asian mythology, and this one was no exception. It's an entertaining tale about two sisters' relationship and the distinly different paths they took in their lives. Channi, with her cursed face and ability to communicate with snakes, and Vanna, with her beauty and shinning light. This contains a well-thought-out story containing some beautiful world-building. I believe this is a prelude to Elizabith's Six Crimson Cranes Duet, and there were a few references to it throughout the course of the novel.

"I would rather face a thousand tigers than the monster that is my reflection."

I received an advance review copy from NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

4.5/5 stars rounded down.

My relationship with Lim's books has been confusing, to say the least. I absolutely adored Six Crimson Cranes but despised her Blood of Stars duology. It's because of my experience with Lim's first two books that I have yet to read SCC's sequel. But then I snagged this book's ARC and didn't know how to define my expectations when I started reading.

I'm glad to say this was a really good one.

I really adore Channi's strength and devotion to her sister, the lengths and feats she would go through in order to protect her sister. I love that's ultimately what's at the core of this book: Sisterhood. Yes, there is a brief romance, but it's really the relationship between Channi and Vanna that shines inside this book's heart.

The side characters got a lot of attention, too. I particularly loved Ukar, a snake and Channi's most loyal, and sarcastic, companion. Even the villain, the witch who cursed Channi, is explored in depth and is made to be sympathetic; luckily she isn't redeemed and is allowed to be bad until the very end.

The writing is very gorgeous, with lush descriptions and great dialogue between characters. The only gripe I had was that it stretched out a bit too long at some points, making the plot drag a bit, but it didn't deter my enjoyment too much, otherwise.

Overall, this is a great book. I think this would need to be read after SCC, otherwise some major plot points will fly over your head.

I love Elizabeth Lim's books. As a fantasy reader, the prose is always beautiful to read and the characters relatable and heartbreaking. As a teacher with a form of Year 8 (12-13yo) students, the books fit perfectly in that space where there is nothing that even the pickiest parent might find inappropriate if I recommended the book to their child, but the plots and characters are complex enough not to feel childish to students who want to be treated like grown ups.

That being said, I did find the start of this story a little slow. I plodded through the first third and then raced through the rest. Channi and Vanna's story is heartbreaking (I knew it was going to be from meeting Channi in the Six Crimson Cranes duology) and everything I hoped, I just wish the action of the story had started a bit sooner.

4 stars overall

I gave this 3.5 stars.

This is a prequeal to the Six Crimson Crane duology, focussing on one of my favourite characters, and in general I am always down for a villain origin story.

Some of my issues with the orignal duology still stand here, namely occasional clumsy exposition and too much repetition, but I preferred this overall. This is mainly because Channi was more interesting to follow and it felt like she had a stronger sense of character.

The story is fast paced and the world feels evocative, but I do think Elizabeth Lim tries to fit too much plot into one story. The ending felt slightly rushed, and I just wished we spent more time with the emotions of the characters rather than rushing through plot beats.

Overall, pick this up if you liked Six Crimson Cranes, because I think it is better done, but its not revolutionary.

4*

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc of this book.

I loved Six Crimson Cranes, so I was very excited to receive another book set in this world. I love the way that Elizabeth Lim paints the bonds between siblings in such a magical, fairytale way.

I enjoyed the dark edges of this story, the way that Lim handles isolation and the way that she wove heartbreak into the ending so perfectly. Another beautifully crafted story.