Her Radiant Curse – ARC Book Review

From the New York Times bestselling author of SIX CRIMSON CRANES comes a tale of two sisters—one as beautiful as the other is monstrous— who must fight to save each other when a betrothal contest gone wrong unleashes an evil that could sever their bond forever.

One sister must fall for the other to rise.

Channi was not born a monster. But when her own father offered her in sacrifice to the tiger witch, she was forever changed. Cursed with a serpent’s face, Channi is the exact opposite of her beautiful sister Vanna—the only person in the village who looks at Channi and doesn’t see a monster. The only person she trusts.

Now seventeen, Vanna is to be auctioned off in a vulgar betrothal contest that will enrich the coffers of the village leaders. Only Channi, who’s had to rely on her strength and cunning all these years, can defend her sister against the cruelest of the suitors. But in doing so, she becomes the target of his wrath—launching a series of vicious gladiatorial fights, a quest over land and sea, romance between sworn enemies, and a choice that will strain Channi’s heart to its breaking point.

Weaving together elements of The Selection and Ember in the Ashes with classic tales like Beauty and the Beast and Helen of Troy, Elizabeth Lim is at the absolute top of her game in this thrilling yet heart-wrenching fantasy that explores the dark side of beauty and the deepest bonds of sisterhood.

Usually, I am not really a fan of fantasy novels but Her Radiant Curse is an unputdownable and heartbreaking fantasy novel I have read, and a fantasy novel that I actually enjoyed reading it without having any second thoughts.

I haven’t read this author’s previous books Six Crimson Cranes but Her Radiant Curse is apparently the prequel of Six Crimson Cranes. The story starts with Channi, who was offered as a sacrifice by her father to a tiger witch. Channi was then cursed with a serpent face as a result of the curse. The tiger witch however promised that Channi will get her face back after sixteen years if Channi brings Vanni, Channi’s younger sister in return to exchange the curse. Now flash forward, Vanni has grown into a beautiful woman and she and Channi are very close together. When Vanni is auctioned off to find a potential suitor, Channi is then become a wrath of one of the suitors and Channi must learn to survive through her ability to fight and cunningness. Meanwhile, Channi wanted to fight and defeat the tiger witch so nothing will happen to her sister Vanni.

To me this book was an emotional and heartbreaking read. I was rooting for Channi and I really liked the sisterly bond that was shared between Channi and Vanni. Channi’s way of protecting her sister against the enemies, despite the fact that she got cursed with a serpent face. Channi in my opinion was brave and courageous. Reading this book, helped me feel like I was in this fantasy world with Channi and Vanni and the author actually did a good job making the reader feel that way. This was fast-paced which is a good thing and I was immensely hooked into the story. The ending was sad but overall, I actually enjoyed reading this book and this became one of my favorite fantasy novels I have read. As a matter of fact, I cannot wait to read more books form this author! Worth five stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Hodder for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.