Descendant of the Crane: He Joan

Product Information

i understand their importance in creating a complex storyline, but their presence in a story shouldnt mean that the fantasy components of a fantasy novel take a back seat. While I am an absolute glutton for political intrigue fantasies, that in itself isn’t usually enough to leave me as emotionally raw and vulnerable as Descendant of the Crane did and that’s because this book, in a very natural manner such that you don’t even notice, transitions from a generic political/historical fantasy to a tale about morals versus duty. There were times when she wavered but when she made up her mind to do something, she did it formidably.

Reeling from the death of a beloved father, the teen regent Hessina is hell bent on finding the person or persons who may be responsible. It played out like a lot of other YA fantasy stories that I've been seeing lately—twists and turns, haphazard worldbuilding (some parts of this world were breathtakingly beautiful, and others popped out of nowhere 3/4 of the way through the book without context), and a heroine whose motivations, actions and words are going in three completely different directions.Due to previous historical events, the sooths were generally despised and shunned from society and there were terrible punishments for them and those who sympathised with them. Princess Hesina of Yan has always been eager to shirk the responsibilities of the crown, but when her beloved father is murdered, she's thrust into power, suddenly the queen of an unstable kingdom. Which then kills you because the reason you THOUGHT that plot twist was going to happen isn’t the reason at all. this story is overwhelmingly heavy in court politics and war, so much so that my interest began to fade after a while.

I think the novel could have been better curated, as it sometimes feels less like a story and more like a haphazard sequence of things happening. I know I talk about how much I love every female main character I’ve read about this entire year, but Hesina really hits it home for me.His inclusion in the story scarcely makes sense, and Akira quickly loses the thin, undefinable edge that made him interesting to begin with. The author had already proven she was very good at twists, but that one, for some reason, felt especially extra. Plus, I have an interview with some of the characters coming this Wednesday so keep an eye out for that! The book is told in 3rd limited perspective – we only get to see Hesina’s point of view of the story (except for the epilogue). Updating this on July 4, 2022, to a final, more comprehensive answer, as more people seem to be finding the book, which also means more people being left in distress over this question.