Shiori, a young princess, has been betrothed to a boy she has never met, and she also has kept a secret, she has forbidden magic. And when her flying paper crane, Kiki, that she enchanted as a kid flies into the lake on the day of her engagement, she dives in to save it and almost drowns. However, a dragon arrives, just in time, to save her by putting part of a dragon pearl, a very powerful magical object and the dragon’s heart, in her heart. Soon enough, she teams up with the dragon to learn magic. But, her stepmother, Raikama, catches on to her magic and contains Shiori’s magic in a walnut bowl as well as enchanting her to not be recognized and turns her six brothers into cranes. But there is a twist: if Shiori utters a word, one of her brother’s will die. Shiori is then banished to another end of the kingdom where she becomes poor for the first time in her life and works to live. She wants to be reunited with her brothers, and so she runs away to the forest to stay with them. But one day, she is captured and taken to live as a prisoner in a lord’s house. There she creates an enemy of a ward and falls in love with her previously betrothed. So, to reunite with her brothers and protect the world from demons, Shiori works with her ex-fiancé, her brothers, Kiki, and more along the way. But when she discovers another secret about herself, everything changes.
I was never bored when reading this book. Shiori’s change from a spoiled, privileged young princess to a poor, hardworking peasant helped the character grow and allowed readers like me to empathize with her. The love she has for her brothers is unparalleled and makes the novel even more compelling. Although the book had multiple twists, it kept my attention and was very interesting to read. This is a good read for young adult readers who enjoy fantasy novels set in another universe.
Overall, I liked reading the book and found it very interesting to read. I rate this a three point five out of five.