Descendant of the Crane by Joan He

*Spoiler free*

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. Determined to find her father’s killer, Hesina does something desperate: she engages the aid of a soothsayer—a treasonous act, punishable by death… because in Yan, magic was outlawed centuries ago. Using the information illicitly provided by the sooth, and uncertain if she can trust even her family, Hesina turns to Akira—a brilliant and alluring investigator who’s also a convicted criminal with secrets of his own. With the future of her kingdom at stake, can Hesina find justice for her father? Or will the cost be too high?

I have been excited for this one since the deal announcement last year. And I am so, so thrilled I was able to read and review it early! This book is pitched as a Chinese-inspired Game of Thrones and since GoT was a disappointment for me, I’m always looking for stories to do it better. And boy oh boy did this book deliver. I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to form coherent thoughts, so just be prepared for a little bit of a hot mess haha.

I have a hard time finding the words to describe my love for this story. It is truly something incredible and it deserves every ounce of praise that it can get and more. I’m excited to hype it up to epic proportions.

I guess I’ll start at the plot. THE PLOT. It was so well done that I probably couldn’t even give you spoilers if I wanted to. It’s so twisty and complicated, yet when everything comes together, it makes sense. I was able to understand what was happening and why since character motivation was spot on and development of everything was so thought out. Honestly, my mind is still blown from the twists this story took. I think a part of me will always be screaming.

The characters were always extremely well done. Hesina was extremely flawed and the pressure of ruling a kingdom definitely weighed on her. It felt realistic and I don’t think I’ve ever seen that in a book about kingdoms and court intrigue since the plot never really allows for that.

All the other characters were shining stars as well. Some of them suck and I have immeasurable amounts of love for others. And my opinions of all of them changed from the beginning of the book. It’s incredible how much development was packed in here on top of the plot and worldbuilding. WOW IT WAS AMAZING.

Who do I need to fight for more books. Is it Albert Whiteman & Co? Cause I will lead a march on their offices. I truly believe this book is going to rock the world. I don’t know why everybody isn’t screaming at the top of their lungs about it. This world has so much potential to grow and expand. @ publisher YOU WOULD BE MAKING A HUGE MISTAKE IF YOU DID NOT BUY MORE BOOKS. And after everyone reads THE FREAKING EPILOGUE they will understand haha.

Woo, I actually got though a bit of using actual words! Haha, that’s better than I thought I was going to do. And in all seriousness, this book is something amazing, incredible, and all the other positive words. It will break your heart and leave you gasping for another book. I’m so, so excited for it to come out and for everybody is read and love it with me. AHHH ITS JUST SO GOOD.

Descendant of the Crane comes out April 2nd! You can add it on Goodreads and pre-order (yes, yes pre-ordering is an amazing idea!!!!) a copy in the meantime!

Thank you for reading!