Descendent of the Crane
Descendant of the Crane
by Joan He
4 out of 5Synopsis
Princess Hesina of Yan has always been eager to shirk the responsibilities of the crown, dreaming of an unremarkable life. But when her beloved father is found dead, she’s thrust into power, suddenly the queen of a surprisingly unstable kingdom. What’s more, Hesina believes that her father was murdered—and that the killer is someone close to her.
Hesina’s court is packed full of dissemblers and deceivers eager to use the king’s death for political gain, each as plausibly guilty as the next. Her advisers would like her to blame the neighboring kingdom of Kendi’a, whose ruler has been mustering for war. Determined to find her father’s actual killer, Hesina does something desperate: she enlists the aid of a soothsayer—a treasonous act, punishable by
death, since magic was outlawed centuries ago.
Using the information provided by the sooth, and uncertain if she can trust her family, Hesina turns to Akira—a brilliant investigator who’s also a convicted criminal with secrets of his own. With the future of Yan at stake, can Hesina find justice for her father? Or will the cost be too high?
Review
After her is father poisoned, Hesina will stop at nothing to uncover the truth. But as she claims her throne as the new queen, and has to deal with the nation being on the verge of war, as well as her own duplicitous court.
I received a free copy from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
This book is beautifully written, and follows Hesina, who has lost the father she loves dearly. She is determined to bring his murderer to justice, and will even stoop so low as to visit a sooth (reviled magic-user), who sets her on the path to truth.
Have I mentioned this book is beautiful? It starts very simply with a girl, who grieve for her murdered father, and is supported by her adopted brother and sister. It slowly builds layers, with Hesina's strained relationship with her only blood relatives - her mother and brother Sanjing. How she has to fight for her right to the crown, even though she is the obvious heir.
And more graceful layers still, as the royal court is brought into focus, along with all the expectations and traditions that way young Hesina down.
Alongside her unlikely new ally, Akira, Hesina starts to see her kingdom through unfiltered eyes. She sees the unrest, the ongoing prejudice and hatred towards sooths, and the enemies snapping at her heels.
I loved how things unravelled, going in a completely different direction than I expected, as her kingdom's history still played a heavy hand, in this new queen's future.
There were a few minor blips, I found some of the sacrifices made on Hesina's behalf to be overly-dramatic and detracted from the unforgiving storyline that had been carefully established. Hesina's reaction to said sacrifices was realistic, but her numbness and inaction at a vital time felt suddenly against her character, and I lost a lot of respect for her.
Altogether, this was an intriguing and elegantly-written story, and I will definitely be continuing with the sequel.
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