Her Radiant Curse by Elizabeth Lim

Her Radiant Curse by Elizabeth Lim

Her Radiant Curse by Elizabeth Lim is a lush, heartbreaking Young Adult fantasy that blends East Asian folklore with elements of Beauty and the Beast and Helen of Troy. It serves as an official prequel to her bestselling Six Crimson Cranes duology, revealing the tragic backstory of Channi, the woman who would eventually become the formidable stepmother, Raikama.

The story revolves around two vastly different sisters who are bound by contrasting curses. When they were infants, their desperate father tried to sacrifice Channi to the tiger Demon Witch, Angma, to save his dying wife. The sacrifice failed when the Serpent King intervened, biting Channi and turning her blood toxic. Angma, furious, cursed Channi with a scaled, monstrous serpent's face.