Descendant of the Crane: He Joan

Product Information

eARCs are available to request on NetGalley and Edelweiss! Pleaseeee forgive any typos/awkward phrasing/wonky sentences in the ARC!!! Love you all <3 A beautifully written book with powerful characters and a rollercoaster ride of plot twists that's nearly impossible to put down. Lilian danced out of Caiyan’s reach. “I could still tell all your high-minded court friends that the illustrious Yan Caiyan reads erotic novellas in his spare time. Who’s the latest favorite? Wang Hutian?” Moreover, Joan He's debut is a beautiful story. Lush, symbolic, and profound, resulting in a clever tale of breathless twists, sharp turns, and a stunning conclusion that will leave you scrambling for more. DESCENDANT OF THE CRANE is a novel to watch.

Throughout my time reading this book, I've debated on how I would accurately describe my reaction to it. I have determined that Descendant of the Crane is fairly average for the most part, yet it has the potential to be something amazing. I was initially drawn to this story by the premise of a fantasy novel set in an Asian-influenced world with a strong female character and plenty of intrigue. To my disappointment, I never felt like this book delivered on this in a satisfying way. Descendant of the Crane was written as a standalone story, though it does seem like there’s more to come, and Joan He has said that she’s considered a companion book or two to go with it. I really hope that more books come out that carry this story on, as I’m desperate for more answers, to see more mystery uncovered, and to find out what happens to these characters. If there is no more, and it’s just this one book, then it’s a hell of a book, and there being no followup won’t detract from my enjoyment at all. I also thought the relationships in the novel were well crafted. There wasn't a heavy emphasis on romance (which I thought was good) but there was a lot about family. Hesina had a brother called Sanjing and although they loved each other they weren't very good at showing it and had a strained relationship. On the other hand, she was very close to Caiyan and Lilian, who were her adopted siblings. I thought the way these relationships were contrasted was very well done. Also, there was Akira, the convict that Hesina asked to help her in the trial. He generally remained shrouded in mystery but we do get to learn small things about him here and there in the novel. I'm interested to see what his role will be in the next book.

New in Series

Whereas DOTC and TOWMTF build off of YA tropes that I grew up reading about (royalty and siblings in dystopia, respectively), I took a leap with STZ and grounded it in a less mainstream, though no less significant, part of my childhood. STZ draws from the energy of epics such as 水滸, 康熙王朝, and, of course, the Three Kingdoms books themselves--which, I should note, not even my mom has read :') And so I've always known that this book won't quite resonate with everyone. There will be references that won't strike a chord, and others removed, reimagined or transposed in such a way that diehard fans of the original might go ??? (e.g. there is no Cao Zhi in STZ, so my lady Zhuge Liang gets to be the one who composes a poem in 7 steps!). The thing is, I like to nurture what I’ve written over time—tending to the words like a gardener tending to the garden. Always trimming, always refining. oh, thank the literary gods that the beauty of this story matches the gorgeousness of its cover. there is no greater relief, im telling ya.

Hesina is a force. She basically has the entire weight of the world on her shoulders and is trying desperately to just stay afloat while everything is coming crashing down around her. She’s got so many hard decisions to make (like, where does she draw the line in committing treason?) and it feels very real to the reader (aka why I cried so much. College is a hard decision, hmmm). The premise and promise was so high, but I felt like the execution wasn't polished as neatly as it could have been. Hesina knew better than to try. They proceeded in silence, the low-lying shops on either side giving way to taller, pillared structures. The song of zithers and pipa lutes replaced drunken improvisations. This book has been on my reading list for SO. LONG. I’m so glad I finally had the chance to read it.The writing style that everyone keeps raving about is nothing impressive. I felt like we were spending times describing a table and the love interest's weird hair instead of focusing on more important things which explained why I was so confused during most of the story. This narrow focus also makes it difficult to get a feel for what motivates the other characters. Another key figure is Akira, a convict in Hesina’s prison who is foretold will help her with her investigation. It’s never entirely clear why he chooses to help her. Even when Hesina asks him directly, his answers give the impression that he himself doesn’t know. While this is perhaps an understandable reaction, it adds to the general fogginess of the story.