July 3, 2023
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. Agent: Gina Maccoby, Gina Maccoby Literary.

August 1, 2023

Gr 7 Up-A spellbinding adventure that focuses on the bond between sisters and the strength it takes to be our true selves. Channi's father was supposed to sacrifice her new sister to the demon witch, but when the baby is born beautiful and radiating golden light, he drags Channi into the jungle instead. Channi survives her encounter, but at a cost-now she looks like a monster, her blood is poison, and the witch swears to come on her sister Vanna's 17th birthday to kill them both if Channi doesn't give her sister up to save herself. Channi won't sacrifice her sister and trains her whole life to fight the demon witch. On her 17th birthday, Vanna is more beautiful than ever, and their father hosts a selection for Vanna's suitors to bid on her. When Vanna's cruelest admirer wins, Channi duels the man's champion for her sister's freedom and finds herself suddenly the focus of his attention. Lim's latest novel broadens the horizons of her "Legends of Lor'yan," standing alone and highlighting traditional folklore and fairy-tale elements. Channi deals with the consequences of her actions as she grows out of her impulsiveness to grapple with the weight of prophecy and the sacrifices it entails. Readers familiar with the other books will recognize some side characters, but prior knowledge of the world is not required. Characters are coded a variety of Asian ethnicities. VERDICT Highly recommended for new and experienced fantasy readers. Hand to fans of Judy I. Lin's A Magic Steeped in Poison or Melissa Bashardoust's Girl, Serpent, Thorn.-Emmy Neal

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2023
A curse shapes two sisters' lives. Channi was 2 the day Vanna was born. Adah, their father, tried to sacrifice Channi to the witch Angma in return for saving her mother's life. When his effort was thwarted by a snake, "the king among his kind," Angma punished Channi, giving her a face covered in snake scales that her father makes her cover with a mask. Unless Channi delivers her sister to Angma by Vanna's 17th birthday in just three days' time, Angma will destroy them. Now 19, lonely Channi is shunned in their village but revered by the island's poisonous snakes and by Vanna, whose beauty, enhanced by the mysterious golden glow radiating from her heart, attracts widespread love, admiration, and gifts. Adah arranges an auction, inviting local royalty to bid for Vanna's hand. When wealthy old King Meguh matches the bid of Vanna's choice, young Crown Prince Rongyo, the dispute is to be settled through combat. Channi leaps into the fray to help her sister, fighting the dragon Meguh puts forward on his side--who she discovers has a connection to her past. Realizing that there is much she doesn't know, Channi faces even more threats. Fast-paced, frenetic action scenes deliver high body counts. The characterization is occasionally inconsistent, but Lim's vivid worldbuilding is a unifying, overarching strength, drawing from the landscapes, mythologies, and cultures of Southeast Asia. Action-fueled fantasy deepened by a compelling setting and well-constructed cosmology. (Fantasy. 12-18)

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Starred review from August 1, 2023
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Channi was small when her sister, Vanna, was born, but she still remembers the beguiling golden light that emanated from Vanna even at birth. She also remembers how, as her mother lay dying from childbirth, her father brought Channi into the forest as a sacrifice for Angma, the infamous Demon Witch. It was there that Channi's destiny was forged, as the king of serpents sacrificed his life for her in turn and gifted her with a poison so strong that Angma couldn't devour her. In exchange, the Demon Witch cursed her with a serpent's face and a bargain: if Channi brings Angma Vanna before Vanna's eighteenth birthday, Angma will lift the curse. Now that birthday approaches, and Channi, an outcast, loves no one more fiercely than her sister, except perhaps for the snakes who are her only friends. She trains to face Angma again, but the village prepares to auction Vanna off to whichever king will pay the most for her beauty, and both she and Channi are about to be caught up in a political and mythical battle that only one of them can survive. This stand-alone adventure from Lim's Lor'yan universe (Six Crimson Cranes, 2021) is artfully rendered, precisely paced, and piercingly true. Against the rich folkloric backdrop, Lim's complexly rendered characters come heartbreakingly alive. A fantasy to savor.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.