Ever since I've read The Dragon's Promise, and got a glimpse of Channari's backstory, I was dying for more tales about her. When Elizabeth Lim announced Her Radiant Curse, I was so happy, and even more when I was gifted the chance to read it early.
And it's everything I hoped for and more. From page one my heart was aching and breaking for Channari. The girl with the snake face and the oh so human heart. The monster that is an utterly good person and queen in her own rights. Driven by the love for her sister and by so many self-doubts, she always tries to do what is right and what protects those she loves.
The side characters are also amazing, not one of them I didn't love (or loved to hate).
Knowing what will happen later - with it being a prequel of sorts - takes away nothing of the story. On the contrary, it even adds to the overall narrative, and made me wanna reread Six Crimson Cranes.
I want more! There is still time and space for more stories of Channari right? Right??

5/5 stars

Thank you so much @netgalley and @hodderbooks for the eARC!

An other fantastic read!


"Her Radiant Curse" is a spin-off of the Six Crimsen Cranes series by Elizabeth Lim and tells the story of Channi.

With "Her Radiant Curse" the author has once again proven that she is a master at creating fantastic worlds. I slid into the story blind and was surprised with quite a Jungle Book vibe.

The story focuses a lot on Channi and her relationship with her sister Vanni. Although "A Radiant Curse" has some romantic moments, it is not a love story in the romantic sense, but one full of fantasy, curses, intrigue and family ties.

Channi is probably one of the bravest and strongest people I know. She is fierce, has a great protective instinct, and absolutely brave. O
I really like her.

Vanni is "the golden one" and is revered by the people of her village. Kings and princes travel in from distant lands to see her. She is not only a beauty on the outside, but also has a kind and radiant nature. However, I sometimes had my problems with her. She often shows herself ignorant and is very naive. But what bothered me most about her is that she never stands up for herself and Channi has to fight that battle for her.

Overall, I liked "Her Radiant Curse" and it gets 4 out of 5 stars from me.

ARC kindly provided in exchange for a review

i knew right from the start that i was going to love this book as i was obsessed with the crimson cranes duology. elizabeth lim truly has such a wonderful writing style that captivates you from the first sentence and will never leave you disappointed with what she writes.

i loved the story of vanna and channari so much. normally i am very apprehensive when it comes to prequels and spin offs but this book really stood out to me and missed the curse of the spin-off! this story is about love, not the romantic love, but the love between sisters. for a book that is so breathtakingly beautiful, it caused so much pain. there were moments where tears were streaming down by face as i was ugly crying. but i couldn’t be happier about that.

every book by lim gets better and better each time. her world building is fantastic, and even though you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover… these ones are always beautiful. there was not a dull moment in this book and i urge everyone to go and pick this up.

thank you so much to hodderscape and netgalley for allowing me to read this beautiful book prior to publication. i cannot wait to have this in my hands in august.

4.5☆

I was overjoyed when I received the arc, and I read it right away, relieved that it was better than TDP. Yes, even though HRC is no longer about Shiori but her stepmother Channi/Raikama, it had me hooked from the start. We learned more about Channi. You may have despised Channi before learning of her sacrifice to protect Shiori in SCC, but you will fall in love with her genuineness and love for her sister in HRC.

Lim's writing never ceases to amaze me with a fascinating plot and action-packed sequences that make it impossible to put down. What I like best is Channi and Vanna's sisterly bond.

There is a brief romance between Vanna and Oshli, and Channi’s first meeting with Shiori's father piqued my interest. Hokzuh, Angma, King Meguh, the serpent (whose name I forgot lol), and Channi’s father, who is crueller than Angma, all have an impact on the fast-paced plot. GREAT!

HRC retains a strong magical element, which reminds me of the white snake legend (idk if it's just me) I like the tiny details stated, such as Vanna's wooden bowl, but it reminds me of the dish used to curse Shiori; is it the same bowl? It's written from Channi's pov, therefore I know very little about Vanna. She could have fooled Channi. However, the ending made everything clear. Their sisters' love is beautiful, and it made me cry a lot. Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder for the arc! 💕

Her Radiant Curse

“A promise is not a kiss in the wind, to be thrown about without care. It is a piece of yourself that is given away and will not return until your pledge is fulfilled.”

Thank you Hodder for granting me this e-ARC. After reading SCC duology, i think this book is just right to explain Her Radiant story.

What i like about this author is that her writing is so easy to read! And suddenly you realize you have finished it. Actually, i’m a big fan of sisterhood trope. Here, Channi has a big love for her sister Vanna. She’ll do anything to protect her baby sister. But their relationship feels a bit flat. Not until the end of the story i feel touched by their sisterhood. I love Channi’s relationship with Ukar! One of my fave characters is Ukar.
I think for those who loves SCC duology, you have to read this book to know better about Raikama!

ALL THE STARS!!!!!

this was SOOO good. I had intended to read it slowly, but once i started it, i couldn’t stop reading — it was that good!!! 👏🏼
honestly, i expected nothing less from Elizabeth Lim. Her books are always the best.

the plot was very engaging and interesting. action-packed. there wasn’t a single dull moment.
friendship-based and sibling-relationship-based stories are my favourites. i love love this trope, and this book has both of them. that too, in the most heartwarming of ways!!
the relationship Channi and Vannah shared 🥺❤️ favourite part of the book.

and the characters have my heart 🥺 Channari, Vannah, Ukar, Hokzuh — all of them won my heart!!!! i really liked Raikama's character in Six Crimson Cranes and reading her tale was a delight.

thanks so much to the publisher and netgalley for the free copy.

ps. i don’t know if we are supposed to mention this, but i will mention it any way that i noticed editing mistakes in the arc.

A new Elizabeth Lim novel? You can bet that I hit that request button the moment I saw it.
I don’t trust spin offs. They rarely reach the original. But I only expect the best from Lim and this spin off from Six Crimson Cranes was truly wonderful. It follows the story of the sisters Vanna and Channari, one blessed, the other cursed.

From the very first page I was entranced with the story. It’s a wonderful one, a story about love. It’s not a romance, even though there are romantic aspects in it, but a story of sisterly love and it was heartbreaking and like a warm hug at the same time.
The story of Channi and Vanna is both beautiful and tragic. Readers of Six Crimson Cranes will already know the bones of it, but to read it as a whole novel was amazing and heartbreaking at once. There is magic and dragons, betrayal and trust, islands and jungles and snakes and tigers.

I loved all the characters. Channi is fierce and wild, a serpent queen. But she’s also protective and a loving sister, as well as an insecure girl, knowing that she’ll never be accepted by the world. Vanna is so sweet, both blessed and cursed at the same time and also loves her sister fiercely.
There are other characters as well, awesome ones, lovely ones, tragic and terrible ones. Even the evil characters were amazing and I kind of loved them as well.

Lim’s writing is beautiful as always. I love the incorporation of Asian mythology and the descriptions are so wonderful and lovely. It feels like an Asian fairytale, all magical and glowing. Her writing style is the thing I love probably the most of her books.

Another thing I want to point out is how amazingly Lim incorporates food into the story. I’m a complete sucker for novels with lots of tasty food and just like her other books, this one made me so hungry. Pandan and coconut cakes, mangosteens and rambutans, shrimp noodles and ginger rice. I wish more fantasy books would go for something fancier than bread with cheese and maybe some roasted meat.

The ending was both lovely and utterly heartbreaking and almost made me cry.
This is a truly wonderful story for anyone who’s interested in the story of Channari and Vanna, but I definitely recommend to read Six Crimson Cranes first, as there are spoilers for the duology in this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Hodder&Stoughton for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

From book to book, Elizabeth Lim continues to outdo herself more and more.

Her Radiant Curse tells the story of Channi, a young girl who has become a monster because of her father, who offers her as a sacrifice to the Demonic Witch.
Her face resembles that of a snake, and the only person who, despite everything, can still see the beauty in her is her sister Vanna.
And she is also the only person she trusts.
And she is the only person Channi cares about and is willing to do anything to protect her, even antagonize an entire village and the cruelest of Vanna's suitors.

Lim is one of the few authors who can seamlessly mix in outside elements and create a unique story.
In this case there are elements reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast, Helen of Troy, and, of course, could not miss, a bit of Asian culture.
The book flows that a marvel, worldbuilding is well described and in some cases I feel like I am there with Channi and Vanna.
The whole novel is dynamic, as are the protagonists, who are really well delineated.
Since this is a fantasy, of course there is also the villain within the story, but I noticed that despite the battles and subterfuge, the theme of family prevails a bit more and I appreciated that.

P.S. However, let me say that the covers also play its part, and I would buy any edition of Elizabeth Lim sitting down.