A Crane Among Wolves

This book was so beautifully written and told such an amazing story. Moments left me heartbroken and crying for characters I loved. A tale of revaluation without the chosen one, just people sick of a tyrant, and a beautiful love story between two flawed but changing characters. Iseul’s character growth was subtle, born of the grief of her life, and by the end was amazing the difference.

this book has many good and interesting things working with it but other aspects just don’t hit the mark for me. i don’t think anything about this book is bad in the slightest, it just has very clear strengths.good :the setting, it’s historical context, and the cultural aspects are woven into the narrative very well and make the world feel lived in. it’s rich and colorful and makes you feel like you’re living in the joseon era.june hur does a good job at making the court intrigue and the murder mystery (for the most part) fun and engaging. i was hooked for almost all of daehyun’s chapters and watching the murder mystery unfold was fun and dramatic.a good amount of the characters are very well written and made for a very impactful story on their own. their backstories and motivations were rich without taking up too much focus off the overall plot. there is a lot of interconnection between the cast which helped things feel more character driven. i almost stopped reading after a certain character had an……… accident.meh :iseul’s characterization was hit and miss for me, it felt like the author had her wear too many hats to suit the plot. sometimes she’s a proud and spoiled fallen noble lady, other times she’s a headstrong and stubborn woman with an impulsive streak, other times she’s a sweet maiden in love, an investigator in training, a warrior girl boss, a snarky and sarcastic cynic, etc. the most compelling part of her character was her drive and her determination to save her sister, and some of the most touching scenes were when the two sisters were interacting. besides her motivation to save her sister, i found iseul the least interesting character in the cast, which isn’t really what you want for your protagonist.the girlies might come for me for this but imo the romance plot line was the weakest one in the story. there was a lot of set up for finding iseul’s sister and the murder mystery plot in the beginning that the romance didn’t have time to convince me to ship iseul and prince daehyun. i didn’t get a chance to feel their chemistry and attraction, it just felt like i was being told that these two were attracted to each other rather than feeling it and seeing it develop. it also felt like they jumped from being allies and working together to having romantic attraction for one another very suddenly, and those scenes really detract from the mood and atmosphere of the story. like, in the middle of a scene of mystery and political intrigue and daehyun is just thinking of iseul and comparing her to a peony?the third act was also a slog to get through. i forced myself to read through the last 150 pages or so because i didn’t want to dnf, and it did pick up again in some parts and floundered in others. the political intrigue was good and interesting and engaging, including the choices that the characters made. the reveal for nameless flower felt like it came out of nowhere, like june hur tried to red herring us without enough foreshadowing for the actual killer. i was surprised with the direction the romance arc seemed to be going in, and it became more interesting, but then june hur took one of the most interesting bits of the story and reversed it so readers got their happily ever after.

This is the 3rd book I’ve read by June Hur. This one is a wonderful road into josean when the mad king was alive and terrorizing the country. You fall in love with the characters. There is anazing mystery plot intertwined with a slow burn romance and historical setting. All of my favorites. Must read.

I was pleasantly surprised by this saga of a girl's search for her sister set against the backdrop of 16th century Korea during the Jungjong Rebellion.The story starts at the end of King Yeonsans later violent rule. Within the first few chapters we are introduced to an array of diverse and unique characters. Our story follows Iseul, a girl trying to rescue her sister. Along the way she meets a prince, Daehyun, our other main character who wishes to put an end to the king's violence. They form an uneasy partnership and Iseul becomes embroiled in a rebellion while meeting a cast of interesting characters with varying personalities and motives for helping our young heroes.Over the course of the story we see Iseul and Wonsik team up together to discover the person behind the murders of government officials. Iseul also forms an alliance with Daehyun as they work together to attempt a government coup. During this time we see Iseul and Daehyun grow and mature while finding mutual respect and appreciation for one another.This story was deep, moving, violent, dark, dramatic and at times romantic and beautiful. This book confronts a very dark history in which even the good guys aren't quite as noble as they appear. What would be a bleak and depressing story by anyone else is somehow hopeful and optimistic by June Hur.

Not my favorite book. Didn't really hold my attention but I was curious about how it ended. None of the characters really resonated with me.