Descendant of the Crane by Joan He
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
**3.5-stars rounded up**
Descendant of the Crane was Book #20 in my long-running TBR-Haul Project. I hauled this one in April 2019, and for some reason, just never got around to picking it up.
Since her initial haul, she’s survived many, many unhauls. Mainly, because of the beautiful cover, but also because I was still intrigued by the synopsis.
Happily, I was drawn into this story very quickly. We meet Princess Hesina of Yan. At the start of the story, we discover that her beloved father has passed away suddenly.
His death leaves their kingdom without a ruler, although it is assumed that Hesina will be next to lead. She’s always been happy to shirk responsibilities related to the crown, but now it looks like she has no choice. She’s gotta step up.
The situation is more complicated than it would initially seem though, as Hesina believes that her father was actually murdered. The official story is that he died of natural causes, but she’s not buying it.
Thus, she secretly vows to expose her father’s killer and bring them to justice. The kingdom deserves the truth.
Together with a few trusted confidants, she sets out to do just that. In order to kick off her investigation, she seeks out the aid of a soothsayer, an illicit act, as magic has been banned in their kingdom for centuries.
Using the sooth’s information, Hesina locates a brillant prisoner, Akira, who may be the key to helping her score the outcome she craves.
With the future of the kingdom at stake, will Hesina be able to achieve the justice she seeks for her dead father, or will the risks out-weigh the rewards?
As mentioned above, I found this story very easy to get into. I loved meeting Hesina and finding out about her kingdom and what was happening there through her perspective.
The prisoner, Akira, she ends up connecting with due to the soothsayer’s input, was my other favorite character. He was shrouded in mystery and I had fun trying to figure him out.
This story revolves around a lot of politics and court intrigue. That type of story generally works for me and I did enjoy it here as well.
Hesina has siblings, a Mom, and some half-siblings that play big roles in the narrative. I constantly felt like Hesina had to be watching over her shoulders. It was very hard to tell who was friend and who was foe.
I always had this sinking feeling that someone was going to betray her. I felt like that aspect helped to keep me fully-engaged with everything that was going on.
Hesina goes on a real roller coaster ride in this. She ends up exposing some secrets that once let out, can never be undone. It changes everything and I felt for her that she had to even go on this journey in the first place.
It would have been easy for her to just accept her father’s death and take over, but she didn’t take the easy road. I respect her for that.
Overall, I felt like this was a well-told story, however, when I reached the end, I still had questions.
Honestly, I’m not even sure I understood the Epilogue. I wanted more. I wish there was a sequel. I feel like there’s still so much left to explore.
I think maybe Joan He had intended for there to be more, but it was never written. Maybe someday it will happen. If it does, I would definitely be interested in reading it.
Nevertheless, this was a strong read, with great characters and a beautifully-intriguing world. Another great example of why you should never neglect your backlist!