June Hur hat mit A Crane Among Wolves eine fesselnde Geschichte geschaffen, die mich von Anfang an in ihren Bann gezogen hat.
Obwohl der Einstieg etwas herausfordernd war, entwickelte sich die Handlung schnell zu einem spannenden und intensiven Erlebnis, das mich regelrecht gefesselt hat.

Das Buch entführt den Leser in eine Welt, die sich anfühlt wie ein packendes K-Drama, und June Hur hat sich selbst übertroffen. Die Charaktere sind vielschichtig und tiefgründig ausgearbeitet, sodass man ihre Entwicklung und inneren Konflikte hautnah miterlebt. Besonders beeindruckend fand ich die langsame, sich entwickelnde Romanze, die mit jeder Seite an Intensität gewinnt und mich emotional mitgenommen hat. Die Erzählung ist tiefgründig und bewegend, aber auch gewalttätig und düster, was durch Momente von Romantik und Schönheit ausgeglichen wird. June Hur scheut sich nicht, eine dunkle Geschichte zu beleuchten, in der selbst die vermeintlich Guten ihre Schattenseiten haben. Doch trotz dieser düsteren Themen schafft sie es, durch ihre einzigartige Erzählweise eine Atmosphäre der Hoffnung und des Optimismus zu schaffen.

Das Buch ist ein absolutes Muss für Fans von historischen Romanen und K-Dramen, die auf der Suche nach einer tiefgründigen und mitreißenden Geschichte sind.

I had high expectations for this book as I had seen the author talk about the history behind it on social media, unfortunately I think that my expectations were a bit too high. I am in no way saying that this book is bad, because it’s not, it’s quite good, but to me it just wasn’t exceptional. The author notes that to serve the plot she shorten the timeline, but I think that it did the opposite. Because of the short timeline the story feels rushed, especially the romance. I wished we had been given more scenes inside the palace for example, or just even more scenes between the characters to see how much they actually cared for one another.
I did not understand why Iseul’s chapter were in first person but then the Prince’s were in third, i actually wished that they were both in first person so we could see more of the Prince’s inner thoughts and turmoil.
But overall, it was a very fine story which pretty much read itself and made me want to read more about the subject.

An amazing historical romance that will set you in 1500’s Korea, and have your heart beating a million beats per second with the high stakes and interactions between the main characters in the story.

June Hur’s masterful novel joins its sister, “The Red Palace”, on my list of favorite reads of the year.

Another hit from June Hur! If you're a fan of The Red Palace, you need to pickup A Crane Among Wolves. Full of court drama, political intrigue, a murder investigation and our protagonist desperate to save her sister amidst all this turmoil.

Iseul was a great protagonist who really grows throughout the novel, alongside her is a fantastic cast of side characters with well fleshed out stories. Wonsik was my absolute favourite.

The mystery was great and it was a real pageturner. Highly recommended!

Thanks to Netgalley & Headline for this arc!

Omg. I don't know what to say... It's heartbreaking, it's beautiful, it's just perfect.

June Hur really outdid herself, the writing and the pictures she paints with her words are incredible. It's very noticeable, how much research and work she put into the book and I honestly only have positive words for this book. I had to put it aside in between, because it was so emotional for me, I just wanted to hug the characters and keep them safe and warm. This is definitely the highlight of the year. There will be another book of hers coming out, I'm already excited for it.

Thank you for the review copy!

I had a lot of fun, and really loved both of the main characters. I will say that it does take some time for things to properly get going, and a LOT of characters get mentioned in passing so at times it's a bit tricky remembering who is who/where you have seen a specific name before, but any disruption to my enjoyment of the book as a result of that was fairly minimal.

I'm not sure how to feel about the ending. I am ultimately happy with how things tied up, but I do feel like there were some pacing issues and other issues due to lack of prior character development (I go into this in more detail in my Goodreads review, but removed it here due to spoilers).

I can't give this as high of a score as I may want to due to these things, but I'm sure there are other people that won't be bothered.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a unique historical fantasy romance! I also look forward to seeing what the author does next.

Excellent mix of fantasy, romance and political intrigues. A fascinating historical background, well plotted characters, a story that kept me hooked.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I’ve been wanting to read June Hur’s books for years and I finally got a chance to! It’s so exciting to see her being published this side of the ocean at last! I was worried I might be disappointed because I was so excited for it, but I wasn’t at all! It was a really strong story with interesting and loveable characters and many twists and turns.

I think the characters were my favourite part. I loved the main character, Iseul’s, strength and determination. I loved the investigator who took her on as a mentee. He was my favourite character. I also loved the innkeeper, treating her guests and families and running a revolution out of the back door.

This story is about a very dark time in Korea’s history and it was interesting to read about it. It’s different reading about a revolution that actually happened even if it’s fictional and reading about a completely imagined revolution. I enjoyed the way it came together but at the same time, I was curious about the facts of the actual revolution.

This was truly a really great piece of historical fiction and I can’t wait to read more from June Hur.

Review:

✨An enemy of your enemy is your friend or ally. Maybe in this case, a lover too.
✨One word for this novel: Frank.
✨One example is when Daehyun basically said rape is rape. That’s it.
✨Another example is when the office said that those officials joined the coup because they are afraid that they will be the king’s next victim. It is not because they care about the people.
✨Iseul’s growth after deciding to save her sister shows how strong a sibling’s bond can be. Acknowledging past mistakes and improving oneself are signs of growth.
✨I don’t know how Daehyun is able to live in the palace with a tyrannical half-brother as a king and volatile court. The amount of acting, stealth, energy, and resolve he has to keep living and dethrone the king is commendable.
✨Wonsik ahjussi no 😭
✨For me, Yul is a girl’s girl. Queen.
✨Preparing a coup with murder mysteries at the same time. Really interesting because they intertwined actually.
✨I'm okay with the romance because these main characters still do their job to reach their goal at the same time. They are in the age for romance anyway, in my opinion.
✨I really appreciate the author’s note in the beginning and at the end of the book. The trigger warning is needed in my opinion in the beginning and I really like the info and details put in the book about that era.
✨The author also put references at the end of the book which is good for any reader that wants to read more about that era. For me, this shows how serious the author is in writing this as a historical fiction book.
✨Surprisingly, I dislike nothing in this book.
✨I think this is due to the quite fast-paced story and I like the author’s writing.
✨So, I am interested in checking the author's previous works.
✨Thank you to Headline and NetGalley for this ARC! This review is voluntarily written by me.
✨p/s: I am still confused with the title and why this book is labelled as sci-fi and fantasy on NetGalley. It should be historical fiction, right?

The most focal part of this story for me was the romance developing in the context of this fanatsy which was epic. I loved every aspect of the historical backdrop and the way characters progressed. The atmosphere completely amazed me and the story was exactly what I was expecting. The story itself was fascinating with the captivating political intrigue plots adding to the whole story overall.

"...we had paused on our temple visit to watch a crane surrounded by a pack of hungry wolves. I had waited for the pack to tear it apart and devour it, only to be startled by the crane's formidable strength. The truth reminded me of that crane; the truth was strong. It held the courage to strike out, no matter how ferocious the oppression."

I love watching a good sageuk, so this book drew me in to a certain extent. Set in ruthless King Yeonsan's reign in the Joseon Period, A Crane Among Wolves tells the story of Iseul who fights everything and everyone in her path in order save her sister who has been kidnapped by the King. Iseul meets Prince Daehyun along the way and a camaraderie ensues.

There was a lot going on in this book. As well as citizens living in fear of the tyrant king, June Hur also threw in a serial killer storyline.
Overall, an intriguing read, but I would have liked to have seen more oomph between Iseul and Daehyun.

When I started reading this book I was very interested in the fact that it is based on a king who actually ruled Joseon and who did the things that the author mentions in the book. Therefore, I went to look for information and the truth is that the author falls short showing how ruthless and evil this person, King Yeonsan, was.

I liked the story a lot, I felt that the author had the need to tell this story and she did it with a lot of respect but also being very harsh with a king of her own country, which I consider good because not all the people who have been in the country that one loves were good, you have to differentiate them and tell things as they are.

I liked the characters but I felt that the moments of romance or the bond that is formed between Iseul and Prince Daehyun were a little rushed or that they were there to entertain a little. Sometimes romance is not so necessary.

It is the first thing I have read by the author and I would love to be able to continue reading it because I really liked the way she tells us the story and the plot itself.

*It would be great to see a kdrama with this story!

Thanks Headline for the ARC I read on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Although it didn't totally capture me like the Red Palace did I still really enjoyed this book! I think the strongest part was the atmosphere - I felt soooo tense planning this coup and the day of was nerve-wracking. The main character grows a lot throughout the story, starting off rather unlikeable (very much teenage petulance). The time period was fascinating, the characters strong, the romance angsty. I think where the book didn't quite pull it off for me was the mystery - wasn't very involved in it and I think you could take it out with minimal changes to the story. It just always felt like an afterthought, making the book seem unfocused. June Hur is a great author though, taking on interesting challenges so I am sure to read any other book she writes!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC, all thoughts are my own.

Quite the interesting read I have to say! I know next to nothing when it comes to Korean history so it was fascinating to get to learn a little more about this specific period! The historical aspect of this book was well executed, both fun and full of knew knowledge. I thought the characters were quite interesting and I liked how Iseul grew throughout the story even if I always thought she was a little stupid, never figuring out things that seemed quite obvious in my eyes. I also didn't think the romance was necessary in any ways. 3.5 stars

A Crane Among Wolves was absolutely fantastic, as is now my expected standard for June Hur books. I sped through the pages, gripped by the feeling of the oncoming storm as death and despair reigned.

June Hur’s historical mysteries always hit such a sweet spot for me. Her books are underrated gems for me and I’m so glad she’s found a home for them in the UK now. They just have exquisite plotting and a political throughline that is fascinating and exposes the flaws of power. This fits perfectly with that categorisation with excellent characterisation, atmosphere and a seething thread of anger. This is inspired by a true story from Korean history and that makes it all the more devatsting. The scenes of cruelty and violence are sickening, reducing human life to a casual sport and the claiming of women’s bodies as posessions. Violence is everywhere and you get caught up in some murky waters of morality as vengeance and justice come into question. Hur packs the pages with some devastating twists and turns. The writing is sharp and unafraid to delve into the bloody mess of it all. It is dark, omnious and all-consuming.

At its heart, we follow Isuel and Daehyun. Isuel is a fantastic protagonist: loyal, passionate, kind and caring. Driven by wanting to save her sister, she gets caught up in a political web of upheavel and unrest. Daehyun has been forced into complicity and blamed for acts of bloodshed he did not commit. They come together to solve the trail of broken bodies and maybe topple a tyrant. I really enjoyed Hur’s commentary about power structures and how they are unlikely to change without a drastic rebalancing of the odds. In particular, patriarchal power is on full display here with women as objects and commodity. The sexist attitudes diminish them and ignore their suffering in the pursuit of ever more power. It is clear the sexual assault here is all about control and an abuse of power.

A Crane Among Wolves is a dark and intense read, shedding light on a horrific period of history.

Inspired by a true story from Korean history, “A Crane Among Wolves” is a YA historical fiction set in Joseon during 1506. A dramatic and captivating novel steeped in romance, payback, and sorrow.

Tyrant Yeonsan and his violent reign rule over the chaotic country, sowing death and despair among the citizens. Prince Daehyung, the king’s half-brother, will do his best to remain alive while trying to recruit as much help as possibile to overthrow the king.
On the other hand, Iseul is a young girl who has lost her parents at the king’s hand and who’s searching for her older sister, also stolen by Joseon’s ruler as his concubine.
They will combine their force and try to save their people, but most importantly, those they love.

The characters are the focal point of this novel. Iseul isn’t an easily lovable character: she’s a spoiled and stubborn girl who won’t trust anyone but her own mind, even if it means certain failure. I enjoyed reading about her personal growth throughout the book, but it only became apparent during the last part of the novel. I couldn’t quite appreciate her, her character clashed against mine and I preferred Daehyung’s povs a lot more.
Daehyung is a young prince whose past still haunts him. His grumpy attitude won’t keep him away from Iseul and their relationship will grow and turn from mere friendship to something deeper. He’s such a sweet and caring person, he deserved a lot more and I’m happy to have finally encountered a good and supportive YA male protagonist.

The romance was what disappointed me the most. I expected to find a slow burn with a lot of angst, instead I read about a relationship that quickly evolved into something more romantic. Their story skipped the bickering and the drama I hoped to find and I didn’t feel invested in their love story. Their relationship felt too fast and unnatural to seem realistic, even though the author’s writing let me appreciate those moments, especially toward the end.

The historical context seems well-researched and it’s obvious how the author cared for this subject in particular. The author’s note explained what was true and where her inspiration came from. I wasn’t aware of this part of history regarding Korea and learning about all the atrocities and crimes committed by this rulers shocked me deeply.

Fast-paced and easy to read, the writing style made me devour this novel. Unfortunately, some chapters and events felt a bit too rushed, forcing me to reread some lines. Other relationships seemed too forced: the bond between Iseul and Wonsik wasn’t as deepened as it should have been and I couldn’t quite justify Iseul’s emotions.

“A Crane Among Wolves” by June Hur is a well-written historical novel with a compelling mystery and a lot of political intrigues that will keep you hooked until the very last page.

I’ve always enjoyed June Hur’s books, so I knew I would also like A Crane Among Wolves. The question was just how much. And obviously I did still enjoy it! I wouldn’t be opening this review in this way without having enjoyed it. But it would be fair to say it’s my least favourite of Hur’s four books.

I have three competing theories for why this is. The first is simply that I was just in the wrong mood for a YA mystery novel, even by an author I knew I’d like. As such, you can take this rating with a pinch of salt. The second, which has a similar outcome, is that it’s an effect of my liking YA less. That has, in the past, impacted even on authors I know I’m going to like, so this wouldn’t be unheard of.

The third, and the one that’s going to require a bit of discussion, is that the mystery was less prevalent in this book than the previous three, and that’s why I didn’t find myself as engaged. Which is pretty evident from the blurb actually. The main plotlines involved in this one are Iseul’s attempts to retrieve her sister from captivity by the king, and Daehyun’s plot against the king. This isn’t a mystery book in the same way her previous ones were.

But it does have a mystery in it and I think that, perhaps, this entire thing was just trying to juggle too many storylines. It did okay — you had to suspend your disbelief a fair bit as to why Iseul would be invited to help discover the murderer, sure, but I had to do that for all her others too. Heck, you have to do it almost every time you pick up a YA mystery. But the mystery was definitely given less weight than the coup and Iseul’s rescue attempt storylines.

I mean, the mystery is almost always the part I’m going to be most interested in so that probably contributed to the less enjoyment and, for the most part, that was only a minor problem — it was just the end where things became overly contrived on that front. Namely, the coup plot requires that the king leaves the palace and capital at a certain point so they can take over, except then another murder happens and he decides to stay. And this has no bearing whatsoever on the plot. Nothing changes, there’s no impact, despite them stressing that they need the king to be out of the way. It suddenly appears not to matter! The mystery throughout is always something that might derail the coup plans, but in the end it doesn’t in the slightest, even when it seems like it should directly impact what’s going on. I kept waiting for their plan to fail and some tension to be introduced but it never did.

I haven’t really said yet why this book still deserved a 3 star rating from me but it’s basically that it was still a fun enough read. You can tell, in every book, how much research June Hur has done, even if it’s not all on the page. She has some of the best worldbuilding in YA lit, for me. And I also really liked how much of a brat Iseul could be a lot of the time. She’s not perfect, she sort of hated her sister before the events of the book happened, and she’s headstrong. Yes, she was a little irritating at times, but in a good way. She was just stubbornly trying to right a wrong and she didn’t care whose toes she had to step on to do it.

So, while I can’t say I enjoyed this one quite as much as June Hur’s previous books, it was still a fun read and I will certainly still be coming to her for more in the future.

A Crane Among Wolves is a book I enjoyed quite a lot and yet I find myself at a loss on what to say in review of it.

My favourite part of this book was definitely the murder-mystery aspect and watching Iseul become a budding detective to solve the mystery in order to earn the King's favour to ultimately be able to save her sister from his abuse. I loved the mentor aspect with Wonsik and without spoiling too much, I wish we got to have more of them! I loved how he became both a mentor and father figure to her.

Iseul was definitely my favourite character out of a cast of great characters. I thought her character arc was great, and I really like how we got to see her confront her privilege and come to terms with her past behaviour. She was a brilliant character who was well written, and I loved her.

I think the plot was well done, however I did find myself getting confused towards the ending with who was who and who was related to who and who did what. I got the basic gist of it, but the whole stuff that happened in the past and the woman in the garden and the neighbour and the mother in law completely lost me. It didn't impact my enjoyment of the story too much, but I did find it frustrating having to re-read parts to make sure I caught it all and in the end I just gave up (note: I have been in a bit of a weird reading slump where words on a page just seem to stare at me, so this probably didn't help. If I read it at another point I might have found it easier to get on with. So I think this could be a me thing not a book thing).

I liked the worldbuilding and the setting, and I appreciate all the research and thought Hur put in to bringing this period of history and giving it life in this novel. I enjoyed reading her authors notes on her intentions and why this was important to her, and I think she very successfully achieved what she set out to do.

I have mixed feelings about this being a standalone - on the one hand I wish this was a duology so we got to see more of certain relationships before they ended, got to explore backstories in more depth, and got to have the plot thickened out a bit more. However, I do think this worked very well as a standalone and I can see why Hur made that decision.

Finally, I liked the romance between Iseul and Daehyun. I won't spoil it but the angst and the tension between them both was brilliant and it had me on the edge of my seat several times.

This is based on the true story of King Yeonsan and all the horrific crimes he committed against women, his family, his people and his land so it’s certainly not a happy read but as we follow Iseul on her mission to free her sister, there are some warm moments along the way. Alone and facing a huge and dangerous challenge, Iseul finds friends in a small village where the people aren’t all as they seem. There’s a murderer on the loose and a tyrant king preying on his people, and nowhere’s safe. Especially for the bold and protective Iseul. It’s difficult to know who to trust, which means Iseul must sneak about to try and unravel the mystery that could win her a favour from the king. Along the way, secrets from her past are revealed and Iseul crosses the wrong people but her bravery knows no bounds and she’s determined on her mission, even if it means risking her own life.

Throw in some impossible romance between two previous enemies, an honourable teacher figure, and a charming inn keeper and you’ve got all you need for a fascinating recreation of Korean history.

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.

A Crane Among Wolves is a gritty historical thriller based on true events.

Iseul was devastated to see her sister taken as a king’s courtesan, one among hundreds of women taken like that.
The king’s temper is well known to all. Those trying to save the women were brutally punished, but Iseul was determined to get her sister back; she believed it was her fault for her sister's abduction, so she went to the capital to retrieve her.

We get a glimpse through Iseul's monologues of how they were orphaned when their parents were killed by the king during the purge. They were from a well-respected family, but with their parents' death, they had to hide themselves. Iseul was the spoiled younger sister. Her older sister doted on her and did all her chores, but Iseul never joined or helped her. Only after her sister’s abduction did Iseul feel bad for behaving rudely to her sister.

Saving her sister wasn’t easy, though. Anyone who escapes from the king will be chased and persecuted. So Iseul was scheming to keep her sister alive. Simultaneously to these events was the illegitimate Prince Daehyun planning to overthrow the king. Collecting loyal elites and rebels to this cause was tricky and dangerous. But he and the public were tired of seeing innocent people punished and killed by the king. The plot thickens when a nameless killer hunts the monarch's loyalists one by one, disrupting Daehyun’s plans.
He and Iseul cross paths at the inn where she stayed/worked. Even though their goals were aligned differently, they worked as a team to move the heavens together and catch the killer.

This book was mildly dark. We are warned by the author about it in her note. Everyone but the king and his loyalists were plotting to kill him, but killing the monarch would have harsher consequences. They had to come out of this unscathed, which was not likely in that timeframe. Reading about a tyrant who kills, assaults, and r@pes his subjects was jarring. So, the book captured the tension growing between the king’s court and the public sensibly throughout the novel.

Anyone looking for a historical thriller with mild romance can go for A Crane Among Wolves.

Thanks to Headline and NetGalley for the free review copy of the book!