Descendant of the Crane

by Joan He

𝘼 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜.

𝘼 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙥𝙤𝙥𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚.

𝘼 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙠𝙚𝙧.

𝙎𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡

𝙤𝙧 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙥𝙤𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙮, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚.

SYNOPSIS

Thrust under the sudden weight of the crown after the mysterious murder of her father, Princess Hesina struggles to stabilize her rule over the kingdom erupting into chaos, while conducting an investigation to find the king’s killer.

In desperation, Hesina calls forth the assistance of a soothsayer—a treasonous action in the land where magic has been banned for centuries—for whom death by a thousand cuts was considered a kindness, even to those who utilize their service.

As Hesina delves deeper & deeper into the heart of the century-old kingdom, further enlisting the help of a secretive convict with a keen eye for investigation, she must make terms with the fact that sometimes, the quest for truth may come at a higher price than one could ever afford.

REVIEW

This was my first Chinese-inspired fantasy & I could just start ugly-sobbing right now for how much I appreciated Joan He’s magical approach to weaving the historical & cultural Chinese elements into the entire story, bringing to life such a tale that I’d never have thought possible to read about in English!

The magic system & world-building of this book was HAUNTING. And I LOVED Hesina for her relentless determination in the search for truth, she was such a fierce & courageous character. And while the ending destroyed my sanity, I loved how astounding it was, blurring the thin line between a villain & hero/heroine. The EPILOGUE just took my breath away.

So if you’re looking for a refreshingly original Chinese-fantasy, with an intriguing magic system, a determined heroine you’d most definitely fall in love with, and a jaw-dropping cacophony of plot twists, THIS is THE adventure for you ♡