Book Review: Her Radiant Curse

If you’ve been following me for a while then you know I’m a fan of author Elizabeth Lim since meeting her years ago at her book launch for Spin the Dawn and then reading that duology and her Six Crimson Cranes duology. In Six Crimson Cranes, the fmc, Shiori, is cursed/enchanted by her stepmother, Raikama, to have a bowl on her head so no one can see who she is and her six brothers are transformed into cranes. It’s explained in the duology why her stepmother did what she did and as that all unfolds one can’t help but become interested in what her backstory is. Enter Her Radiant Curse.

Side Note: I liked the UK cover a lot more than the US version so I bought that one!

Shiori knows her stepmother as Raikama but her past was always mysterious. We do learn a bit about it in the Six Crimson Cranes duology, but in Her Radiant Curse we learn all about it. The novel follows Channari or Channi (Raikama’s real name) starting from when she was just a few years old. It begins the night her mother gave birth to her baby sister Vanna. After a difficult labor, her mother is not doing well. Channi’s father leaves a toddler aged Channi in the jungle and seems to be sacrificing her to the gods demons or some other power. A demon witch in the form of a tiger approaches Channi and is angry that her father left her behind and not the new baby who is supposed to be beyond beautiful. Channi is cursed to have a face like a snake and the only way her curse can be broken is if Vanna is brought to the demon witch. And if she is never brought to the witch? She will come for her on her 17th birthday.

The novel follows Channi as she lives this cursed life with the face of a monster and grows up trying to protect her sister by stalking through the jungles regularly looking for the tiger/demon witch to kill her. As her sister’s 17th birthday approaches, Channi does whatever she can to save her sister including teaming up with Hokzuh, a half dragon half demon prince.

I loved this book so much. I loved Channi, Hokzuh, Ukar (her snake best friend), and all the side characters. And even though I knew how things would end for Channi since this is a prequel, it still made me so emotional. The ending of this book actually had me crying. I don’t want to spoil anything, but it is very bittersweet as you can imagine if you’ve read the Six Crimson Cranes duology.

There is a tiny bit of romance in this, but it’s more about the love between two sisters and the sacrifices they make for each other.

This can be read as a standalone, but is much more of a meaningful read if you read it after Six Crimson Cranes. As a side note, the Spin the Dawn duology is set in the same world but takes places hundreds of years after SCC.

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