Six Crimson Cranes: The magical and spellbinding fantasy fairytale retelling

...or re-imagination, rather.It may not be a masterpiece of storytelling, but I enjoyed it very much.An easy, compelling read.

I really have to say that at the end I lost count on how many fairytales made an appearance one way or the other here. And although I admire how artfully the author wrought them into something new, it is overwhelming and puts just too many themes into one story. But I was also glued to the pages for the last third of the book or so, there is a romance that was the most touching I read in a long time and there were ingenious twists that changed the story profoundly and in very unexpected ways.Shiori, daughter of the emperor of Kiata, is the promised wife of some northern lord. Which she despises. But the betrothal isn’t her worst problem any more when she first disovers that she has forbidden magic, then that her stepmother has magic as well and is cursing Shiori and her brothers to hide that fact.Now Shiori is far from home, she isn’t allowed to utter a sound lest her brothers, now cranes during the day and men at night, die and yet she has to find a way to break the curse. If you know the brothers Grimm fairytale of the seven ravens, you recognize that part of the story. Shiori has to suffer many hardships and while she endures, she realizes what kind of a shallow person she obviously has been. Her character changes for the better during her ordeal. I won’t spoil what else happens in Shiori’s quest, but I think it gets better and a lot more interesting with time. The first part is a bit lengthy, but the second part is a rush and I liked it a lot. I was very surprised by an emotional scene at the end that even had me blink away tears.The story is wrapped up, but not over, Shiori has another quest to fulfill in the next installment.