In this shimmering Chinese-inspired fantasy, author Joan He introduces a determined and vulnerable young heroine struggling to do right in a world brimming with deception.

She was a compelling and well-written heroine, and I applaud Joan He for doing such a great job in her debut. He taught her how to defend against the corruption and excesses of the old kings, before revolutionaries purged them and their seers and established the dynasty anew. The main arc is complete – we know who killed the king and found out more about the truth behind the Tenets.The not-quite-Imperial-China is beautifully done, and not the usual list of jade and flying monkey cliches. There are many novels that boast daring comparisons, but DESCENDANT OF THE CRANE truly lives up to its claim of being a Chinese Game of Thrones, complete with court intrigue, complex relationships, and teetering grasps of power.

The book starts with Hesina determined to get justice for her father, whom she was believed to be poisoned. With complex world-building and character development, readers tired of cookie-cutter stories will find some surprise twists here. I didn’t hear a lot about it and it’s such a shame people don’t talk about Descendant when it deserves all the hype in the world. Now, our lovely main character, Hesina, is starting her journey by visiting one of these sooths in high secrecy. i know this is a stand-alone and that most of the questions are answered but, with that epilogue, i really hope a sequel is a possibility down the line!Such a succession of shattering revelations that sent a wave through my room so strong that I felt its ripple and was rocked on its mooring. I felt a bit lost at times when the girl who was effectively Empress seemed to be free to wander at will without any guards/pages/entourage ghosting her every turn, but it worked out well.

The entire first 57% of this book before the first plot twist happens was slow and utterly boring, and it was a chore to get through. Reading this after THE GIRL KING turned out to be a really weird experience because they are both very similar stories. Sin embargo, cuando descubre que su padre fue envenenado, Hesina decide convocar al equipo de investigaciones y denunciar su muerte como un asesinato. There is a little romance in there, but it is not over the top and it plays perfectly in the whole story.

This has one of the best "trial" scenes I've seen in a book, like Joan He was the John Grisham of YA fantasy authors. Other characters such as Caiyan, Lilian, Sanjing and Akira (heart eyes) were also amazingly written. The romance between Hesina and the criminal Akira is about as obvious as a vacuum at a broomstick convention. Plus, I have an interview with some of the characters coming this Wednesday so keep an eye out for that! The way the story questioned this really made me think about what I would do in Hesina’s position, and I loved how the story sucked you in this way.

At a young age, she received classical instruction in oil painting before discovering that storytelling was her favorite form of expression.

Descendant of the Crane also features a compelling cast of characters with complex relationships that leave you unsure of how you feel about the events of the narrative. Y sí, la verdad es que la premisa, vista así, suena genial, pero la ejecución de Joan He como autora es horrible. By then, the fear of Soothsayers—the relic emperor’s henchmen—and their magic had knitted itself into the bones of Yan and seeped through generations, and so the Eleven expunged everyone with Sooth magic in their blood from existence. But the truth of it had already sunk into the center of Hesina and broken open, flooding her with a new certainty: her father has been murdered and the need to seek justice for him sang bright in her. I also loved Hesina, our morally grey main character, who (despite starting out very innocent) gets a lot of development without any special snowflake tropes.