Her Radiant Curse by Elizabeth Lim

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From the New York Times bestselling author of SIX CRIMSON CRANES comes a tale of two sisters—one as beautiful as the other is monstrous—who must fight to save each other when a betrothal contest gone wrong unleashes an evil that could sever their bond forever.

One sister must fall for the other to rise.

Channi was not born a monster. But when her own father offers her in sacrifice to the Demon Witch, she is forever changed. Cursed with a serpent’s face, Channi is the exact opposite of her beautiful sister, Vanna—the only person in the village who looks at Channi and doesn’t see a monster. The only person she loves and trusts.

Now seventeen, Vanna is to be married off in a vulgar contest that will enrich the coffers of the village leaders. Only Channi, who’s had to rely on her strength and cunning all these years, can defend her sister against the cruelest of the suitors. But in doing so, she becomes the target of his wrath—launching a grisly battle royale, a quest over land and sea, a romance between sworn enemies, and a choice that will strain Channi’s heart to its breaking point.

Weaving together elements of The Selection and Ember in the Ashes with classic tales like Beauty and the Beast, Helen of Troy, and Asian folklore, Elizabeth Lim is at the absolute top of her game in this thrilling yet heart-wrenching fantasy that explores the dark side of beauty and the deepest bonds of sisterhood.

Trigger & Content Warnings: death, blood, physical abuse, self-harm, choking, animal abuse/cruelty, child sacrifice, snakes

Her Radiant Curse is the latest novel set in the world Elizabeth Lim created and taking place roughly a decade before the events in Six Crimson Cranes. While it’s a stand-alone novel, it’s also a prequel as it tells the back story of who I found one of the most intriguing and complex side characters in the duology. I was absolutely excited to find she was going to get her own novel because despite her minor role, she’s nuanced and complex.

Having read nearly all of Lim’s works, I’m definitely familiar with her lyrical writing and prose; it’s no surprise that overall, I enjoyed reading Channi’s story and was quickly wrapped back in. We’re taken to other parts of Lor’yan we haven’t come across so far that further develops the world: Sundau, Shenlani, and Tai’yanan to name a few were all interesting to read about.

But if I took all of my reviews for the books in the Lor’yan world, took some sentences, change names around and added additional relevant context, I don’t think anyone would really notice the difference all that much. The formula for Her Radiant Curse at its core follows the same as the others: competition or curse (or both, in this instance), a journey, a super awesome animal sidekick that seems to shine more than the main character at times, and a dash of romance.

There’s nothing wrong with following a formula; I did enjoy this, after all. However, I think I was reading this one for a bit of sentimental value and finding all the Easter Eggs in connection to the Six Crimson Cranes duology. (I absolutely love Easter Eggs in books because it’s like a game while reading and that brings the gamer in me joy.) When looking much deeper and thinking about it from a more stand-alone perspective, the novel ended up falling a little short for me, and I felt a little disconnected sometimes.

We know early on Channi and her sister Vanna have a strong relationship, though if you’ve read Six Crimson Cranes you’ll know this is a fundamental part to Channi’s story. Vanna’s the only one who looks past Channi’s exterior and doesn’t see a demon like everyone else does. Aside from her snake companions, she’s also the only one Channi loves and trusts, and she’ll do anything for her little sister (and vice versa).

We get to see bits of this relationship throughout the book, but I wished Lim focused on this more, as it’s also a core part of her character. Vanna seems to have less page time than the antagonist and even their father seems to have more characterization. It’s almost like their relationship is there for the sake of the plot and Vanna is really just a very shiny, golden trinket until near the end. And honestly, by the time we got to that point, it felt a bit anticlimactic as heart-wrenching as it was. With that being said, though, I think Lim examines the power of beauty really well throughout Her Radiant Curse, which I won’t get into because of spoilers.

While this one can be read alone and has a good setup for those who haven’t read the duology yet, I definitely suggest reading both Six Crimson Cranes and The Dragon’s Promise before reading this one. You’ll know exactly how the story will play out, but I feel it adds much more depth to Channi’s story than read alone. Overall, it was good to read another novel from the same universe, and I’m excited to see what Lim’s next novel will be like.

About Elizabeth Lim

Elizabeth Lim grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she was raised on a hearty diet of fairy tales, myths, and songs. Before becoming an author, Elizabeth was a professional film and video game composer, and she still tends to come up with her best book ideas when writing near a piano. An alumna of Harvard College and the Juilliard School, she now lives in New York City with her husband and two daughters.

Elizabeth’s internationally bestselling novels include Spin the Dawn, Unravel the Dusk, and Six Crimson Cranes. She is also a contributor to Disney’s ”A Twisted Tale” series.

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Sophia

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Sophia started blogging in February 2012 for the hell of it and is surprisingly still around. She has a GIF for nearly everything, probably listens to too much K-Pop and is generally in an existential crisis of sorts (she's trying her best). More of her bookish reviews and K-Pop Roundups can be found at The Arts STL.

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