Her Radiant Curse
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the critically acclaimed author of SIX CRIMSON CRANES comes a fantasy 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 offers her in sacrifice to the Demon Witch, she is 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 loves and trusts.
Now at seventeen, Vanna is to be married off in a vulgar 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 grisly battle royale, a quest over land and sea, a 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, Helen of Troy, and Asian folklore, 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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Two sisters strive to save each other from a persistent evil in this thrilling fantasy adventure by Lim (the Six Crimson Cranes duology). Channi's Adah intended to sacrifice her newborn sister Vanna to Angma, the Demon Witch, in return for a blessing to spare his wife from death. Adah—enraptured by Vanna's beauty and the enigmatic light radiating from within her—instead offers three-year-old Channi. When she's saved by the serpent king, Angma curses Channi to resemble a snake, promising to undo it so long as Channi delivers her sister to Angma before Vanna's 17th birthday, otherwise Angma will hunt them both. Now 19, Channi is ostracized in her hometown for her reptilian face by all except her almost 17-year-old sibling. During Vanna's betrothal selection, in which suitors compete for her hand, her prospective match with kind Crown Prince Rongyo is derailed by brutal King Meguh. Channi battles and defeats King Meguh in Prince Rongyo's stead and, impressed by her face and abilities, King Meguh kidnaps Channi. As Angma begins her pursuit, Channi must rely on unlikely allies to reunite with Vanna. Occasionally dense but lush storytelling evokes East Asian folklore mixed with Helen of Troy vibes, culminating in an intriguing tale about one sisterhood that endures against all odds. Ages 12–up.
