i just love this world. i love elizabeth's lim whimsical adventurous writing and the way she weaves these characters into their respective roles so seamlessly. i've enjoyed this duology immensely and hope to read more from elizabeth lim.

— thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the free digital ARC.

My favourite Elizabeth Lim book yet!

Her Radiant Curse follows the backstory of the evil stepmother from Six Crimson Cranes, Raikama, back when she was still called Channari. The story follows her as she tries to break a curse put upon her by a demon and tries to save her sister. We know how this story ends, so there’s an extra challenge to keep the reader hooked regardless. Lim definitely manages to do this. Channari is such a loveable main character you can’t help but root for, even though you know her story probably won’t end happily. The side characters could’ve been more fleshed out, I would have especially like to have seen more of Hokzuh and Vanna, but this doesn’t really matter because the book spends most of its time just with Channari alone, and she’s entertaining enough to carry the book. I appreciate that she’s badass, but also an actual person, unlike many YA protagonists.

I wasn’t sure about a prequel to Six Crimson Cranes, which already was kind of a prequel to the Blood of Stars, but this book pleasantly surprised me. My worries mostly were about the story, I liked Raikama a lot in Six Crimson Cranes, but her backstory was already an important element of that book, what more could be told in this one? I shouldn’t have worried, because it turns out that Elizabeth Lim is just really good at prequels. She now has two duologies and one standalone book all set in the same world, but they all feel so distinct. Lim only seems to be growing as a writer, so I’m very curious to see whats she writes next.

A fantastic prequel to Six Crimson Cranes duology, with an adventurous ride of a girl named Channari to save her sister, but at the cost of being cursed by a face of a serpent instead. This book is full of thrilling adventures, mythical creatures, and beautiful world-building. This backstory makes me understand Channari even more after reading Six Crimson Cranes series. Not only that, this book also highlights the unbroken bond and loyalty between two sisters. When I read this I feel like I am watching a fantasy movie on screen. It doesn't feel like reading and I enjoyed it tremendously. The sacrifices, the bravery, the betrayals, everything is perfect! The plot was well-done and executed perfectly, gripping and left me wanting more and kore of this story. Overall, Her Radiant Curse is a must-read prequel if you love Six Crimson Cranes.

*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Wow! I have no words.This book had no right to make me cry like that. Few times actually. By the end I could barely see the text from my vision going blurry. This was the most beautiful story I have read in a while.I loved SCC but I adored this.I am so glad we got a story on Channi .I even went back to refresh my memory how it all ended and it made me cry even more. I was a wreck. Beautiful! 10/10 recommend. I am so looking forward to more work by this author.

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for sending me an E-arc of one of my most anticipated releases of this year.

I absolutely adored the Six Crimson Cranes series and was dying to know more about Raikama, and this book delivered and then some!

In this prequel (that you can also read as a one shot), we meet Raikama, or should I say Channari as a child and follow her story, who she was and how she became Raikama.
Once again we fall for the wonderful build-up world of Elizabeth Lim, The magic and mythological influences are all around us, making us travel through the Asian mystical world like always.

I especially liked the different dynamics and relationships present in the book, as the amazing characters development.

I could not recommend this book enough,you will for sure spend an amazing time!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.
I have to say that I really enjoyed reading this book. It was a pure delight. The book's main focus is on sisterly bonds and trying to survive as an outcast in a hostile environment. I really liked the connection between Vanna and Channi. And even though I knew how the story will end it didn't make it less sad. It was great to see the whole story through Channi's eyes and learn more about her childhood and her as a character. I really recommend this story to anyone.

— 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 —

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: Her Radiant Curse
𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: Prequel to Six Crimson Cranes Duology
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫(𝐬): Elizabeth Lim
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Fairytale/Fantasy
𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭: eARC
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝: 29th August 2023
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝: 16th July 2023
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 4.5/5

“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.”

A gorgeous and emotional tale that depicts a sisterly bond like no other. One considered goddess-descended in her beauty and manner, one considered a frightful monster to be kept away from the village. I loved that Elizabeth Lim chose the monster’s perspective of this story.

This is a prequel to the Six Crimson Cranes series, which I have not read yet, so I cannot acknowledge any references made to that story yet but I do look forward to reading the duology with the added context the prequel lends. Saying that, I believe this works as a standalone, perhaps the ending would be more impactful if I’d know the implications but I genuinely loved it nonetheless.

I thought that this would be loosely based on the Asian folklore legend of The White Snake, but it only borrows some elements (such as the snake-girl and the enemy being able to occupy mortal form) to turn this into a rich and fast-paced story.

In fact, whilst The White Snake is a story based on love and devotion between husband and wife, the romantic component in Her Radiant Curse is a flutter of a butterfly’s wings compared to the prowling tiger of the fierce and protective bond between the two sisters, Channi and Vanna, in the story.

I really enjoyed the exploration of ‘pretty privilege’ in the story. I believe this is where the Beauty and The Beast component comes into play as this story depicts how the village saw Vanna and Channi as ‘good and evil’ simply based on their aesthetic. It does show the other side of the coin though, hence the title ‘Her Radiant Curse’ and how the pretty privilege can transcend into the pretty problem based on the eye of the beholder.

Her Radiant Curse is a stunning story that struck me as fairytale-esque. The pretty writing, the magical elements, prophecies and curses, dragons and demons, witches and kings. It is definitely a fairytale with darkness, depth and with feeling that will be enjoyed by many.

—Kayleigh🤍

Thank you, Netgalley, for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Truth be told, I requested this book without ever having read the Six Crimson Cranes duology and I also had no idea that this book was set in the same world, let alone was a prequel to it!

In this book, we follow Channi, who lost her mother when she gave birth to her sister, Vanna. In hopes of trying to save their mother, their father then decides to sacrifice one of his children to a Witch. He leaves Channi in the jungle alone, offering her in exchange for his wife to be restored back to health. However, before any of that could take place, Channi gets poisoned by a snake and becomes useless to the Witch - and for that, she curses her to become a monster. The only way the curse would be broken would be by her bringing offering her sister Vanna to the Witch before she turned seventeen or there would be consequences for both sisters.

Channi gets the ability to talk to snakes by the poison running in her blood and so she gets raised by them. Vanna is the only human who is capable of loving Channi, especially since she scares everyone because of the scales on her face. Channi feels like she cannot lose the only person who was ever really capable of loving her and so she vows to never let the Witch hurt them. Does she have what it takes to be successful?

Her Radiant Curse is a magnificent tale inspired by Asian mythology, sprinkled with whimsical storytelling and a thrilling action-packed plot who will keep you entertained for the whole duration of the book.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this arc!

4.25 ☆'s.

This is my first Elizabeth Lim book, and definitely will not be my last. Elizabeth Lims writing is so lyrical and easy to read, and the way she crafted the story of Channi was absolutely beautiful. I got emotional over reading what Channi had to go through because my god did that girl go through a lot of things.

This book is the prequel to Six Crimson Cranes, the author's most popular duology, and though I haven't read that, I didn't find myself feeling like I was missing something.

Channi's story is so heart-wrenching, and the love that she shares with her sister, Vanna, along with all the other relationships she had in this book, had me sobbing. I loved the connection she and Hokzuh shared, and I was truly heartbroken by how it ended. I absolutely loved the snake, Ukar, who's Channi's best friend. He was so funny.

The ending of this absolutely broke me. I found myself sobbing about how everything ended. Sibling relationships in books always leave a big impact on me, and this one has a piece of my heart.

"Butterflies celebrate all love, Channi, because every love is precious. And mine for you, above all. That love is forever." 😭😭

Overall, I absolutely loved having my heart broken bit by bit as I followed Channi's journey. Highly recommend this!!

This was a fantastically written epic fantasy that kept me hooked from the first page to the last. I was slightly disappointed with the ending, and having not read Six Crimson Cranes meant it went over my head slightly, but the rest of the story was so engaging and thrilling it definitely deserves 4 stars!

Thank you netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review. I absolutely loved every aspect of this book, from the characters to how the plot developed. Because of this, I would recommend this book to absolutely anyone, and cannot wait to read the other works from this author. 5/5 stars!

Having read Elizabeth lims other books I was excited to read this one too. I didn't realise it was a prequel to six crimson cranes which i loved. I really enjoyed this book and the authors writing is as always engaging, interesting and easy to read. She always creates books you want to keep reading and not put down.

3.5 ⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder&Stoughton for access to this eARC

- first let me clarify that this is linked in some ways to the Six Crimson Cranes duology. It could be considered a prequel however, you don’t have to have read those books and I believe this can be read as a standalone.

Elizabeth Lim has a truly beautiful writing style and this book is no exception. The world building is gorgeous without being an info dump. There is great character progression and a nice range of diverse characters and personalities

So why only 3.5 stars?
Well… I got bored around 50% of the way through. The story just wasn’t grabbing me… I didn’t really feel any kind of emotion towards the main character and I just wasn’t invested in her at all. By the time I was at 75% I just sat and read the rest as fast as I could just so it was over.

This is my no means a bad book and I do think most will thoroughly enjoy it.

I must say I loved the addition of the main characters best friend being a snake and they could communicate with one another! He was my favourite character.

The ending did leave me ugly crying and it was a twist I wasn’t expecting. Overall, definitely not a bad book, just not one I’d read again. Seriously though, if you haven’t already, go and pick up one of Elizabeth Lims other books. They really are enchanting and beautiful

This was just as magical as the original duology, with a fierce main character, full of action, humour, and emotion.

The love shared between the two sisters was beyond beautiful, and made me cry a lot.

Vanna's entire story was incredibly emotional, and I loved remembering little things from Six Crimson Cranes and all the links between the two - some subtle, some more obvious.

Although this is a prequel and set in the same world as Six Crimson Cranes, it can definitely be read as a standalone! I don't think it's necessary to read the original duology first, but I'd recommend it anyway because it's fantastic.

As someone who really enjoyed the author's 'Six Crimson Cranes' duology, to which this book serves as a prequel, I was really excited to dive back into this whimsical, beautiful world and learn more about one of its most interesting characters.
And I really loved it! "Her Radiant Curse" is gorgeously written, I'd say the writing, as in the craft, is better and more polished even than in Lim's duology. Channi is an amazing protagonist and her relationship with her sister is so heartfelt, so complex, so epic that it made the entire book for me. It is, in the end, a love story, and while the love between these sisters is a complicated one at time, they would always die for each other.
Not that the rest of the characters isn't great - I even enjoyed the love interest, which says a lot because I find myself being mostly annoyed by ya love interests nowadays. The romance is subtle, never at the forefront, but it's beautiful and definitely different from what I'm used to in ya fantasy, especially its conclusion. I loved that both of them consider each other monsters and actually look like ones too, Channi the snake, Hokzuh the dragon. There was, finally, not the typical stark focus on perfect beauty. The characters were allowed to not look like models straight off the runway and I loved them even more for it.
The plot is fast-paced, but never feels hectic (which was my main criticism of the duology, so I'm very happy this one has improved so much in terms of pacing) and allows for all these quiet, important moments of self-reflection and relationship building. There's also just that little bit of moral ambiguity both in the story and the characters that I really enjoyed - though, admittedly, the villainous father was a bit one-note, but I didn't care about him anyway.
5 stars, would recommend reading the duology before this one but honestly, I think it works on its own, too.

I have to admit I'm a little hesitant reviewing this book. Prior to me starting this book I found an in-depth series on tiktok from a Chinese creator who explains the harmful representation of the different Asian cultures and mythology, because they are presented very Pan-American to make it more enjoyable for Westerners (aka it's being presented as if the different Asian cultures and mythologies are one and the same, when this is not true). The tiktok creator made it clear that it's probably not Lim's intent, but it's impact over intent.

However as someone from the Netherlands and not educated enough on Asian mythology and cultures, I can only judge the book itself. Which is why, even though I am a little reluctant, I've decided to review it.

The writing is excellent. Lim knows how to write and how to drag the reader in. And it's nice - for once - to read a book about sisters and their love for each other.

Lim knows how to keep her reader captivated throughout the entire book and she's excellent at ripping out your heart and tearing it into tiny little pieces. Mine have not been clued back together yet.

I have not read her previous books, but I also didn't feel like I missed anything in this story because of it. So in my opinion this can definitely be read as a standalone.

Book Review 📚
Her Radiant Curse by Elizabeth Lim - 4.5/5 ⭐

I haven't enjoyed a fantasy book like this since I read Fourth Wing. Wow. Lim has such an interesting outlook on how she plays her characters, it's fantastic. I've had Six Crimson Cranes and The Dragon's Promise sitting in my TBR for too long, but when I saw Her Radiant Curse was a prequel I thought I'd read it first. I was not let down.

Our female lead is supposed to be this horrific creature but I loved her. She was so broken and fragile and yet done anything for her sister. Ukar is the kind of friend you want, funny but annoying. And then the OTHER character, I wanted to hate him at first but he genuinely seemed like he wanted to help Channi. It was such a blend of mixed characters and they all work well together. Ukar, obviously, had doubts about the OTHER character but as Channis friend, I'll allow that.

The story just jumped straight in from the first few pages and didn't let up throughout the book. I was engrossed and enjoyed every single bit of it. It's so different to usual fantasy books, but it such a good way. It's a breath of fresh air. Lim really captured my attention and I couldn't put this book down. I really love the whole thing. I spend majority of my time heartbroken for Channi and everything she was going through and at the same time I felt like she was going to destroy the world to protect her sister. Channi deserves so much love and happiness.

I cannot recommend this book enough. It's beautifully written, it's amazingly crafted and it really does capture your heart and soul. I'm now off to read Six Crimson Cranes 🙏🏻

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for allowing me to read this ARC - this is an HONEST review from my own personal opinion.

“That’s what sisters are for. My joys are your joys and your miseries are my miseries.”

Did it take me until the very last chapter to click that this was actually the prequel to the Six Crimson Cranes duology? ...no comment. (honestly, I really need to read synopsis better)

Even with that, I think this book can be read entirely on it's own without any context of the following duology - which I think is always a bonus!

The book itself follows Channari, or Channi, who lives a cursed life. After the birth of her younger sister Vanna, in order to save her mother from the complications of childbirth, Channi's father choses to sacrifice her to Angma the Demon Witch. However, before Angma can take her she is bitten by the Serpent King, poisoning her blood so Angma cannot consume her...instead, she curses Channi to never look at her own face without feeling pain, becoming a monster to all.

In order to break this curse, Channi must give her sister to Angma before her sister's 17th birthday, if she doesn't, Angma will come for them both and what follows is a journey of family, sisterly love and friendship.

I love Elizabeth Lims stories, they are steeped in Asian folklore and myth and have such fantastical worlds and characters. Her Radiant Curse is no different, it was a fun, emotional and enjoyable journey which I could not put down. It is a YA book so I did expect it to reflect this, which it does at times, but it didn't hinder my enjoyment at all.

My one criticism (but really, I think is actually a positive ) the book is marketed as a romance and it is not at all, at a push, it's romance lite. The story really focusses on the love shared between the two sisters and the lengths they would go to for one and other - honestly, SO here for that and it would have outshone any romance anyways.

Overall, a very fun, easy read, which I would highly recommend especially if you were a fan already of the duology.

Thanks so much NetGalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for review! Her Radiant Curse is out on 29 Aug 2023

I've been reading Her Radiant Curse by Elizabeth Lim and finally finished it on Friday. It's not gone down as my favourite Lim novel I'm afraid, I just didn't gel with the characters as much as I usually do.

Her Radiant Curse is a standalone (as far as I know?) prequel to Six Crimson Cranes and tells the origin story of Channi who becomes Her Radiance.

While the narrative was easy and moved fast, I felt like the plot was quite simplistic and often just a little rushed through like I had no time to even try to get on board with the dragon who I had pegged as a favourite character. I wanted to love him but there just wasn't enough padding there for me to do so. Some elements were just dropped in and then forgotten about which limited my emotional investment.

As a big Elizabeth Lim fan, I'll read anything she puts out but this one I think needed a bit more to it, I really wanted to love it. Pretty cover though!

I absolutely adored the six crimson cranes duology, and was so impressed with the quality of storytelling in her radiant curse. Whilst the connections between both books were subtle enough to read as a stand alone, I really enjoyed stumbling across something that nodded to six crimson cranes, especially character wise.

This book had the perfect balance of action, and adventure, but also had such a strong sense of hope, and love throughout the book that it was difficult to put the book down. I adored the way the characters were written, and really felt the urgency that Channi felt. The character development was really worked on and emphasised in this book, whereas I felt it lost focus a little in the duology.

I thought the expansion of the kingdom, and the small glimpses of things that weren't mentioned in the duology was a great feature and really expanded the story, adding more whimsical magic and depth to the world that Elizabeth Lim had created.