Riri

Nowhere near as compelling as Six Crimson Cranes, which is a pity considering I loved that one to bits. Don't let the title fool you, this isn't a Seryu-centric or even a dragon-centric book. It does have dragons and their underwater palace, but they pretty much exit the plot at the 30% mark. Once Shiori is back on land, it's goodbye to the dragons (for the most part) and instead we are given a completely different story.

Different, but familiar if you've read The Blood of Stars duology.

Demon business. Again.

This book reminds me a lot of Unravel the Dusk. Not only in terms of plot and progression, but also in the way Shiori behaves. Specifically, how she lies to the people she loves and shuts them out from the fear of endangering them. Including Kiki, even though Kiki has always been caring and loyal towards her. They've always been together even in the bleakest of times, but now suddenly Kiki's concern is branded as "prying"? Really? In the first book, Shiori was spoiled but endearing. In this one, she's downright frustrating to follow. She's so argumentative and barely listens to others, so I liked her better when she couldn't speak.

The structure also gets repetitive. Shiori gets in danger. Shiori is saved. Brief respite. Shiori gets in danger. Repeat ad infinitum. It makes it even more draining when she makes dumb decisions without consulting anyone, causes trouble, and then the plot lulls for a bit. I think it could've been more interesting if the plot in Ai'long is fleshed out more, with all its dragon politics and society, instead of mixing it with the whole demon ordeal and Raikama's past sandwiched in-between. It feels like several stories rolled into one, each of them deserving a better resolution than what the book is giving.

Despite its flaws, however, I still enjoyed this book mostly thanks to the characters. Takkan may have a less significant role to play this time around, but he still deserves the world (and much better treatment) for his patience and devotion to Shiori. It's also nice to see Gen in his younger days, to know a part of his life that he briefly mentioned in Unravel the Dusk. But in the end, it is Kiki who will always have a special place in my heart. The last scenes with her are so emotional, for me the whole duology is worth reading for her alone. Kiki best girl. I want my own Kiki.

Anyway, this brings a nice ending to Shiori's tale. Not the best, but good enough. It leaves me curious about Raikama's story since the book only dips into it a little bit, so I'm going to pick up the prequel too.

This is a retelling of The Wild Swans, taking place in the same world as The Blood of Stars duology. Shiori and her brothers were mentioned as a legend in Unravel the Dusk, so this is where we get to see her actual story. While I found the previous duology just okay for the most part, Six Crimson Cranes grabbed me by the neck right from the start. The world-building, the characters, the pacing are just so good.

Shiori, the main character, is the very picture of a spoiled, troublemaker princess at the beginning, but the writing is clearly aware of what she is and she has significant character growth throughout the book. Shiori is brave and quick to adapt to new situations. Even though she grew up pampered, she knows how to carry herself in order to survive. That's how you show strength, because being a strong main character doesn't mean you have to be a spitfire who's rude to everyone regardless of your station. I really wish more people would understand this.

Shiori's stepmother, Raikama, is another well-written character. While for a large part of the story Shiori is under the idea that Raikama is an evil monster, every now and then the characters around her (and later on, even Shiori herself) would question if their perception of her is right. It creates some really nice build-up leading to the climax, where the events at the start of the book take on a different meaning entirely. Some of the twists were predictable, and some I didn't see coming.

“I would wish your strand knotted to mine, always.”

Due to things I've heard from other reviews, I was actually expecting to be lukewarm towards the romance at best… but it was really cute? The relationship starts from solid friendship. All Takkan wanted was to know Shiori better but she never gave him a chance, until her predicament leads to them becoming friends. I really liked how she admits that she's been treating him terribly for years, a stark contrast to how stubborn she is in the early chapters.

It seems like Seryu is also a love interest for Shiori? At first I liked their dynamics, but it kind of fizzled out over time since he's absent for the majority of the book. I hope we get to see more of him in the sequel though, since she's going to the dragon palace with him.

Anyway, this has been such a delight to read. Shiori is an endearing lead who's really easy to root for, and by the end of the book I realized that I actually care for these characters. I want them to succeed in their quests and live happily for the rest of their days. Especially Kiki. Best girl.

This is a retelling of the Mid-Autumn Legend, the tale of Chang'e and Houyi.

At first glance, this book seems like everything I would love. The writing is beautiful and lyrical. The world is impeccably lush, it feels somewhat nostalgic to a Chinese person like me, the culture showing through every little thing mentioned subtly. The sceneries, places, clothing, accessories, and food are vividly described, providing very pleasant imageries to the mind. Most importantly, the cover is stunning and the reason why I picked this up to begin with.

Little did I know it'd be the only reason to go on.

The plot starts off with a bang. Right from the first chapter, Xingyin is forced to leave the tranquility of her home and lands in the middle of enemy territory… and that's where it lags endlessly. There isn't a clear direction beyond that point on how Xingyin would find her way home, except a very vague "I need to get better so I can return". What happens instead is Xingyin spends years becoming Prince Liwei's study partner, joins the army because she gets her heart broken, and it's only at the last 30% that she returns to the path of saving her mother.

If that was the only problem, it would've been so much easier to like this book. Sadly, it has a lot of other issues that makes it impossible. First off, Xingyin is a complete Mary Sue. Extremely prideful, brash, and arrogant with a single braincell about to flicker out. Most of the time her arrogance is baseless because she's just running her mouth without the skills to back it up, but she's such a Mary Sue she ends up impressing everyone anyway. Her personal growth is always either skipped or nonexistent. She's just so good at everything, impressing everyone and accomplishing impossible feats easily. She can fight completely fine even when gravely injured or poisoned. Gives off massive unlike-other-girls special snowflake vibes.

Next, the girl-on-girl hate is pretty strong. A lot of female characters hate Xingyin on sight, and she's not exactly nice to them either. Can we leave this kind of thing back in the 2010s PLEASE. It doesn't make the main character look any better.

The romance is terrible. There are time skips that leaves out crucial relationship development, both for Liwei and Wenzhi. Years pass by just like that, and they instantly jump from being good friends to love declarations. No build-up, no chemistry, nothing. It's a lot of telling instead of showing. Despite the beautiful writing, it really feels like beauty with barely any substance. It remains flat throughout and delivers no emotion during crucial scenes and even during the climax.

Memories of our time together flashed before my mind: our years of friendship, our few stolen days of love.

WHERE? You mean the years that got conveniently skipped?

After the Eastern Sea, Wenzhi and I went from one campaign to the next, at times not returning to the Celestial Kingdom for months at a stretch. We fought terrifying monsters, ravenous beasts, and—most recently—the fearsome spirits that plagued the eastern border, close to the forests of the Phoenix Kingdom.

Great. Even more time skip and telling instead of showing.

Xingyin is later tasked to retrieve pearls from the legendary Four Dragons, and being a Mary Sue, she accomplishes this seemingly daunting task in the span of ONE chapter. Two if you count the journey and not the actual battle. Maybe if the book gave more space for the battles instead of the romance and endless descriptions of clothes, this would've been a more engaging read.

Alas, not even delicious romantic angst and endless pining could save this story for me. At first I considered torturing myself further by reading the sequel for the pretty cover, but by the time I reached the end of this book, the willpower and masochism to do so had left me completely. Should just spend the time on better books.

I really wanted to love this so I'm sad. 😭😭😭

I feel like opinions on this book will greatly differ depending on what you're looking for. If you like political intrigue, riveting tales of overthrowing tyrants and plotting rebellions, and a stronger touch of romance blossoming in perilous situation, then you'll love this. If you're more into mystery, however, it might not satisfy you entirely because the book tries to cover so many things that the mystery ends up taking the backseat until the very end.

As far as the mystery goes, it was quite predictable and would've been even easier to solve if the book spends more time on it instead of steering the plot into several different directions at once. It starts off pretty strong by mentioning the series of murders, up to the point where a certain royal guard falls victim to it. The scene where Prince Daehyun finds the body is top tier thriller experience, and I was hoping the book would maintain the bone-chilling, harrowing tone… but it doesn't. Instead, it turns to highlight the rebellion instead, and admittedly I lost focus many times because of it. It's good in the sense that it offers the suffocating air of corruption and oppression, but the fact that the investigation is so blatantly pushed aside to make room for this bothered me quite a bit.

“Because rape is about power; it is never about desire or love.”

The romance is also notably more present than June Hur's previous works. Not saying that I didn't enjoy it though, because I did. Both Iseul and Daehyun have massive character growth throughout the book. Iseul starts off as pretty insufferable while Daehyun is used to being emotionally numb. While I do feel like they could've used more build-up to bond beyond having butterflies due to close proximity, they push each other to be better. There are plenty of important messages subtly woven in, and it feels good to see it as a contrast to how King Yeonsan and his officials treat women like dirt.

“Why is it so irrationally difficult for men to simply leave women alone?!”

Overall, it was a pretty engrossing read. It's always fun to see the author's notes too, to see which parts are facts are which ones are fiction. The writing is beautiful and atmospheric, it'll definitely draw you into 1506 Joseon with the tragedies and nightmares it has to offer. Plus points for the sisterhood and especially the beauty that is chapter 42. 🫠

Wow, I nearly read the whole book in one sitting.

This is everything I could ever wish for in a historical murder mystery. Set in 1758 Joseon, The Red Palace is atmospheric and suspenseful, packed with a good dose of action and intrigue. The stakes are high, because as it says on the cover: to enter the palace means to walk a path stained in blood. Both the main character, Hyeon, and her love interest, Eojin, are smart, calm, and focused through the entire book, ensuring that the plot always moves smoothly. It also weaves in the story of Crown Prince Sado, and while he's not exactly the main focus of the story, the delicate balance between facts and fiction makes it a highly engaging page-turner.

I know I tend to be picky with romance, but there's absolutely nothing to complain about here. Hyeon and Eojin have a relationship based on trust and mutual respect, and it just feels so natural. It's so subtle and gentle, which is nice because it never takes the focus away from the main plot. The ending is perfection as well, as it not only solves the mystery, but also all the family issues and inner turmoil that Hyeon struggled with. Many of her issues resonate with me on a personal level, and I'm sure a lot of Asian kids would be able to relate too.

“We are women, and nothing short of death stops us from doing precisely what we wish to do. That is what the laws and restrictions binding our lives breed: determination and cunning.”

These are the words of Lady Hyegyeong, the wife of Crown Prince Sado, and she's absolutely right.

Wow, I nearly read the whole book in one sitting.

This is everything I could ever wish for in a historical muder mystery. Set in 1758 Joseon, The Red Palace is atmospheric and suspenseful, packed with a good dose of action and intrigue. The stakes are high, because as it says on the cover: to enter the palace means to walk a path stained in blood. Both the main character, Hyeon, and her love interest, Eojin, are smart, calm, and focused through the entire book, ensuring that the plot always moves smoothly. It also weaves in the story of Crown Prince Sado, and while he's not exactly the main focus of the story, the delicate balance between facts and fiction makes it a highly engaging page-turner.

I know I tend to be picky with romance, but there's absolutely nothing to complain about here. Hyeon and Eojin have a relationship based on trust and mutual respect, and it just feels so natural. It's so subtle and gentle, which is nice because it never takes the focus away from the main plot. The ending is perfection as well, as it not only solves the mystery, but also all the family issues and inner turmoil that Hyeon struggled with. Many of her issues resonate with me on a personal level, and I'm sure a lot of Asian kids would be able to relate too.

“We are women, and nothing short of death stops us from doing precisely what we wish to do. That is what the laws and restrictions binding our lives breed: determination and cunning.”

These are the words of Lady Hyegyeong, the wife of Crown Prince Sado, and she's absolutely right.