Hello Readers, welcome back to my blog.
I am back with another fairyloot subscription book review; this book is from this year’s July box. I participated in the readalong which took place from Monday 6th September – Friday 10th September. I also entered the July photo challenge for fairyloot, you can check out my photo on instagram, my handle is @book_latte_kech and you can check out other photos in the challenge under the tag #fairyphoto52 on instagram.
SUMMARY
Shiori’anma, the only princess of Kiata, has a secret. Forbidden magic runs in her vain. And on the morning of her betrothal ceremony, Shiori loses control. At first, her mistake seems like a stroke of luck, forestalling the wedding she never wanted, but it also catches the attention of Raikama, her stepmother.
A sorceress in her own right, Raikama banishes the young princess, turning her brothers into cranes, and warning Shiori that she must speak of it to no one: for with every word that escapes her lips, one of her brothers will die.
Penniless, voiceless, and alone, Shiori searches for her brothers, and uncovers a dark conspiracy to seize the throne. Only Shiori can set the kingdom to rights, but to do so she must place her trust in a paper bird, a merucrial dragon, and the very boy she fought so hard not to marry. And she must embrace the magic she’s been taught all her life to contain – no matter what it costs.
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Rating: 5/5 stars
Pages: 454
Category: Fantasy, YA, Romance
Trigger: None
Shiori is the only princess of Kiata with six older brothers. She loves food and being free. She is engaged to a lord on the Northern lands of Kiata, but on her engagement ceremony she chases her paper bird which she animated to the sacred lake to prevent a worse trouble of being identified by her magic. Magic is not allowed in Kiata and if she is discovered she will be sent out of the kingdom. While trying to retrieve her animated paper bird, she almost drowns in the sacred lake but is rescued by a dragon. The dragon teaches her more about her magic and inadvertently tells Shiori that her stepmother is also gifted with magic.
Shiori spies on her stepmother and one day follows her to the source of her magic. To keep Shiori silent, her stepmother turns Shiori’s six brothers into cranes and curses Shiori to silence. If she utters a word, a brother dies. Shiori is sent to a remote island in the north with her identity obscured and no money to fend for herself. She has to survive and rescue her brothers from their fate as cranes.
Shori is very impulsive and reckless, as well as inquisitive, she will ignore obvious dangers if it means getting answers to a mystery. Sometimes her curiosity pays off, while other times it lands her in more trouble. On her quest to break the curse on herself and her siblings, her curiousity saved her and brought her trouble in equal measures. She has to grow from an entitled palace princess to a hard worker with a tenacious will. She sees more of the world that she had been shielded from in the palace.
This story took me by surprise at the end. I didn’t expect to enjoy the story towards the end as I did and I can’t wait for the next instalment. The story was very easy to follow and the plot line was reasonable as well as the plot twists. I gave the story 5 out of 5 stars. It has been months since I had a five star read and finally there is one again. I love the folklore that was written into the plot of the story and how it was woven with the plot building and character development. Truly an inspiring story of growth and family union.
If you like this review and are interested in reading this book, you can purchase it using the links below:
Waterstones (UK) – https://tidd.ly/37Yzpww
Book depository (Free shipping worldwide) – https://tidd.ly/3iW3J1a
Audible (audio books) – https://tidd.ly/2VXsykZ
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