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A Crane Among Wolves by June Hur
Genre : YA Historical Fiction
June Hur, bestselling author of The Red Palace, crafts a devastating and pulse-pounding tale that will feel all-too-relevant in today’s world, based on a true story from Korean history.
Hope is dangerous. Love is deadly.
1506, Joseon. The people suffer under the cruel reign of the tyrant King Yeonsan, powerless to stop him from commandeering their land for his recreational use, banning and burning books, and kidnapping and horrifically abusing women and girls as his personal playthings.
Seventeen-year-old Iseul has lived a sheltered, privileged life despite the kingdom’s turmoil. When her older sister, Suyeon, becomes the king’s latest prey, Iseul leaves the relative safety of her village, traveling through forbidden territory to reach the capital in hopes of stealing her sister back. But she soon discovers the king’s power is absolute, and to challenge his rule is to court certain death.
Prince Daehyun has lived his whole life in the terrifying shadow of his despicable half-brother, the king. Forced to watch King Yeonsan flaunt his predation through executions and rampant abuse of the common folk, Daehyun aches to find a way to dethrone his half-brother once and for all. When staging a coup, failure is fatal, and he’ll need help to pull it off—but there’s no way to know who he can trust.
When Iseul's and Daehyun's fates collide, their contempt for each other is transcended only by their mutual hate for the king. Armed with Iseul’s family connections and Daehyun’s royal access, they reluctantly join forces to launch the riskiest gamble the kingdom has ever
Save her sister. Free the people. Destroy a tyrant.
I've been enjoying a lot of historical fiction+mysteries lately so this one was another great addition!
Set in 1500s Joseon under the tyrannical rule of King Yeonsan who had destroyed countless lives with his violent purges and seizing of women, we follow Iseul's story who is determined to rescue her sister after she's taken away by the king. Iseul had lived a privileged life as a yangban aristocrat before her parents were executed and even after that her sister Suyeon had been taking care of her. But everything changes when she runs out after an argument with her sister and Suyeon is taken away while searching for her. Wracked with guilt, Iseul is hellbent on rescuing her sister and making things right. While traveling to the capital she comes across another victim of the serial killer called Nameless Flower - who has been killing the king's officials and sees a chance to capture him in order to get her sister's freedom as a reward.
And at the same time, her paths cross with Prince Daehyun, the king's illegitimate half-brother, who has been forced to resort to unspeakable things to survive under the king's thumb. He's tired of this and wishes that the king could be dethroned. When he comes across the chance to plan a coup to overthrow the king along with the other officials - he takes it and now Iseul has been inadvertently roped into these plans too.
I loved Iseul's character growth and how she went from a spoiled young lady to a courageous protagonist who's ready to do anything to help her sister and many others! The murder mystery was very interesting too and had me turning the pages. The romance between Iseul and Daehyun was pretty sweet too and I enjoyed getting both of their povs here while getting to know their characters! I think this book was quite realistic without getting too dark and I think I'd love to see this turned into a kdrama someday!
You can also find this review on my bookstagram here
*I was provided with an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
You can also find my reviews of the author's other books here
June Hur is an Edgar Award-winning author of bestselling YA historical
novels, including The Silence of Bones, The Forest of Stolen Girls, and
The Red Palace. Her books are often described as "Historical K-dramas in
book form." Born in Incheon, South Korea, June spent her formative years
in the US and Canada, with a brief return to Korea during high school.
She pursued a double-major in History and Literature at the University
of Toronto and also worked for the Toronto Public Library from 2011 to
2019.
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