This action-packed, evocative fantasy is replete with intriguing magic and East Asian folklore.
Nineteen-year-old Channi was only two years old when Angma the Demon Witch cursed her face to have a snake's green-brown scales and thin slit-like mouth. Angma says she'll lift the curse if Channi brings her sister, Vanna--"graced by the gods" with beauty and a heart that radiates gold light--to her before Vanna's 17th birthday; otherwise she will come for them both. Three days before Angma's deadline, Channi's father holds a "selection ceremony" to determine whom Vanna will marry. The final choice is decided by a "contest of warriors," pitting an inexperienced crown prince against an old king's champion--a creature that is half dragon, half man. Channi volunteers to fight the champion to defend Vanna's freedom. Channi defeats the champion but catches the eye of the old king, who takes her prisoner. Now separated from Vanna, Channi will have to rely on unlikely allies to help her find her sister before Angma does.
Her Radiant Curse, a prequel to Elizabeth Lim's Six Crimson Cranes duology, is a high-stakes fantasy with a fully realized world, heart-pounding action, and a hint of forbidden romance. There is cruelty and violence but also sisterhood and love layered into a story bountiful with legends, curses, and prophecies. Lim smartly explores the dark side of beauty, particularly society's inclination to use it as a commodity and measurement of self-worth, while highlighting the importance of self-acceptance. Lim's tantalizing world and empathetic characters come together in this captivating yet heartbreaking story about sisterly love and facing adversity. --Lana Barnes, freelance reviewer and proofreader