June Hur

A Crane Among Wolves

Suzie

We mortals exist for but a season, and yet we love as though we are bound by eternity.

The ones I loved most dragged me through the darkest of hours. Yet in the next life, I would still love them again.

To save her sister, a teen girl becomes entangled in a political conspiracy with an enigmatic prince in this fiery new YA from the bestselling author of The Red Palace.

Fascinating plot and characters but the story felt disjointed at times. For a book that relied so heavily on the plot points and political intrigue it kinda lost you as a reader. 

Monserrat Navarro 

Chapter 42 you foul, FOUL (ifykyk). It start with kind of hard read for me by how I felt somehow it like dragging so long, but the pace finally progressed and everything start to heat up in the middle of the book that make me can't put it down. 

The history part of this book is actually incredible, although it's kind of unfortunate there's something that didn't get elaborate further to my liking, like the Crow role that seems only relevant in the end and how the nameless flower takes turn into something that slightly below my expectation, not that I completely see it coming but it just feels underwhelming. But I like how's everything's turns out at the end, so it' still an enjoyable read. 

And anyway, I know there's something between Yul and Suyeon, I just can't prove it yet. /hj

Chapter 42 you foul, FOUL (ifykyk). It start with kind of hard read for me by how I felt somehow it like dragging so long, but the pace finally progressed and everything start to heat up in the middle of the book that make me can't put it down. 

The history part of this book is actually incredible, although it's kind of unfortunate there's something that didn't get elaborate further to my liking, like the Crow role that seems only relevant in the end and how the nameless flower takes turn into something that slightly below my expectation, not that I completely see it coming but it just feels underwhelming. But I like how's everything's turns out at the end, so it' still an enjoyable read. 

And anyway, I know there's something between Yul and Suyeon, I just can't prove it yet. /hj

a functional little historical fiction novel. not the most compelling, but fun enough to dip into for a brief time (lacpl, libby, 4.5 hrs) 

rin 🐇

kacau ini bagus banget since aku suka historical fiction. ini rajanya sama kaya yang di drama bon apetit your majesty. pengemasan ceritanya sat set, ga susah dipahami juga meskipun ini sejarahnya korea alias negara lain. tapi jujur flnya menurutku terlalu childish untuk bertahan hidup di universe itu, atau mungkin karena umurnya juga masih belasan kali ya? tapi overall bagus banget. ada sindiran buat pemerintahan jaman sekarang juga sih. 

Rayu

this book was a bit slower than i usually like, but i really enjoyed it. i've always loved siblings that are willing to do anything for each other. and i'm VERY happy that daehyun ended up alive. i was not prepared for another person to die before they ended up together (looking at you, a song to drown rivers). 

while i typically don't delve into historical fiction, i really liked getting to know some of south korea's brutal history. i will definitely be checking her other books out now!

kaii

this book was a bit slower than i usually like, but i really enjoyed it. i've always loved siblings that are willing to do anything for each other. and i'm VERY happy that daehyun ended up alive. i was not prepared for another person to die before they ended up together (looking at you, a song to drown rivers). 

while i typically don't delve into historical fiction, i really liked getting to know some of south korea's brutal history. i will definitely be checking her other books out now!

I felt a bit sceptical when I read author's claims that this book is like a korean sageuk. But she didn't lie, it has everything that an avid sageuk fan loves. It's dark, thirlling with a solid romance and characters.

Ibragimova Renata

this little crime-solving, coup-organizing family has my heart and then some 🤧

eden ☮

I think this would be a good starting book for people unfamiliar yet with June Hur's work. It is fully immersed into the history of Korea and it has a well rounded fast-paced plot. But for me, it was too similar to Hur's "The Forest of Stolen Girls" in some aspects. And where it offered some new elements (like Daehyun), it did not quite manage to capture my attention. The romantic plotline also felt too rushed.

I mostly feel bad for rating it low because I enjoyed Hur's previous work and I still find her prose very competent. It was just that this failed to impress me as much I had hoped it would.

I think this would be a good starting book for people unfamiliar yet with June Hur's work. It is fully immersed into the history of Korea and it has a well rounded fast-paced plot. But for me, it was too similar to Hur's "The Forest of Stolen Girls" in some aspects. And where it offered some new elements (like Daehyun), it did not quite manage to capture my attention. The romantic plotline also felt too rushed.

I mostly feel bad for rating it low because I enjoyed Hur's previous work and I still find her prose very competent. It was just that this failed to impress me as much I had hoped it would.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Wow those last few chapters were a rollercoaster of emotions lowkey giving  kdrama forreal

This korean historical fiction set during Joseon-era is about iseul in search for her sister who was taken by the king. This story is told with an treacherous political backdrop of a dictatorial king along with a little mystery and romance involved. The author was able to combine all these components together to create such a dynamic historical fiction story with accurate historical events that shockingly happened.

the author depicts the horror that is the rule of the dictatorship where i felt the intense energy as a reader. the author revealed that all of the brutal acts done by the king all happened in history as well as some of the characters were also actual historical figures. she also mentioned that she didn’t censor/blur any horrific atrocities of the king to truly capture the hellhole of this era. learning about this part of korean history was not just shocking but also eye opening. with the author’s message in mind “confront disturbing historical events are crucial. it is imperative to confront history because it repeats itself when ignored.” - stories like this are important to read about and to bear witness to

in a desolate environment ruled by a heinous king, there’s bit of romance which i absolutely loved!

Even though, the romance was more subplot, I still adore iseul and daehyun my pookie bears!! slowburn dislike to friends to lovers - the first time they met was very knife-to-neck tension heavy. However, a friendship develops between the two when their alliance take down the king forms. the heavy tension turned into wholesome affection for each other. The way they that solely understand each other’s traumas as well as loneliness GOT ME. they found security in each other in a hostile environment - found love in a hopeless place fr

even tho we don’t see much of iseul and her sister’s relationship, iseul’s love for her sister is evident in her constant perseverance to search and save her sister. iseul’s character development was also evident throughout this book. from spoiled daughter to resilient sister

even though we don’t see much of issuel’s sister suyeon,, her journal entries were impactful where she voices her feelings of the burden of being the eldest daughter.

overall, i wasn't expecting this book to be so impactful and grateful to have the opportunity to experience this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Wow those last few chapters were a rollercoaster of emotions lowkey giving  kdrama forreal

This korean historical fiction set during Joseon-era is about iseul in search for her sister who was taken by the king. This story is told with an treacherous political backdrop of a dictatorial king along with a little mystery and romance involved. The author was able to combine all these components together to create such a dynamic historical fiction story with accurate historical events that shockingly happened.

the author depicts the horror that is the rule of the dictatorship where i felt the intense energy as a reader. the author revealed that all of the brutal acts done by the king all happened in history as well as some of the characters were also actual historical figures. she also mentioned that she didn’t censor/blur any horrific atrocities of the king to truly capture the hellhole of this era. learning about this part of korean history was not just shocking but also eye opening. with the author’s message in mind “confront disturbing historical events are crucial. it is imperative to confront history because it repeats itself when ignored.” - stories like this are important to read about and to bear witness to

in a desolate environment ruled by a heinous king, there’s bit of romance which i absolutely loved!

Even though, the romance was more subplot, I still adore iseul and daehyun my pookie bears!! slowburn dislike to friends to lovers - the first time they met was very knife-to-neck tension heavy. However, a friendship develops between the two when their alliance take down the king forms. the heavy tension turned into wholesome affection for each other. The way they that solely understand each other’s traumas as well as loneliness GOT ME. they found security in each other in a hostile environment - found love in a hopeless place fr

even tho we don’t see much of iseul and her sister’s relationship, iseul’s love for her sister is evident in her constant perseverance to search and save her sister. iseul’s character development was also evident throughout this book. from spoiled daughter to resilient sister

even though we don’t see much of issuel’s sister suyeon,, her journal entries were impactful where she voices her feelings of the burden of being the eldest daughter.

overall, i wasn't expecting this book to be so impactful and grateful to have the opportunity to experience this story.

sani

thank you to the author for the arc in exchange for an honest review

in a crane among wolves, Iseul is willing to go through to any extent to save her sister from the tyrant King Yeonsan, even ready to join forces with Prince Daehyun. just like always, June Hur served the historical fiction too well! the mystery of the killer, the subtle romance? 

DaehyunIseul have all of my heart. i cannot wait for you to read it when it comes out in 2024!

Ellie M.

Thanks to June Hur and Feiwel & Friends for sending me an ARC through Netgalley! This does not affect my thoughts about the book in any way. Out on May 14, 2024! 

This was a remarkably heart-shattering high-stakes tale of mystery and treacherous court politics with a longing-filled slowburn romance. Iseul and Daehyun reminded me a lot of The Red Palace trope wise, but this was unexpectedly a tale of violence and tragedy and is a historically accurate story that serves as a reminder of Korea’s darkest periods. 

A Crane Among Wolves transports a reader back into the beauty of the ancient Joseon Dynasty of Korea while narrating an equally dark murder mystery behind the scenes with bits of romance on the side and lots of little twists. Not only does June give us a new romantic pair to be emotionally invested in (with a handsome and clever prince by the way), but this story also concentrates on the bravery and strength of women, especially that of the main character, and openly challenged misogyny and sexual abuse. The characters were day I say, all strategically placed like game pieces on a board, with their own peculiarities and flaws to complement each other that fueled this story to the end. I would, with no hesitation, always recommend this!

aleksandra

2/5

The girl searching for her sister clashes with the prince who wants to find a way to dethrone his tyrant half-brother? The two joining forces to launch the riskiest gamble the kingdom has ever seen? And all this from both of their points of view? Not to mention the gorgeous cover? As soon as I saw this book, I knew I had to read it, but unfortunately, as it turned out, it didn't work for me. Even though I really wanted to, I couldn’t get into this story. Probably because I couldn’t connect with the characters. If I'm reading a book and instead of being immersed in the story, I'm counting down the pages until the end of the chapter, I know that's not the best sign. I'm embarrassed to admit it, because I hate doing it, but unfortunately I skipped a lot of descriptions and boring dialogues to get to the end.

I hope it will be a "it's me, not the book" situation, because the book itself wasn't bad. I think some people will definitely love it because the writing was quite alright, the characters were likable, and the ending was satisfying. I think the author has a lot of potential, so if her future title looks promising for me, I will definitely give her a second chance.


*Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review!*

A Crane Among Wolves

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