The Six Crimson Cranes

Shiori is the only daughter of the Emperor's children. Shiori has magic, which is forbidden in her empire. Shiori is saved by a dragon called Seryu when she falls into the lake. Her magic is improved under Seryu's guidance. Raikama, her stepmother, is revealed as a sorceress. She finds out her stepmother is a demon who has stolen a dragon pearl. She then gets caught, but gets away. When trying to warn her brothers, she and her brothers are cursed by her stepmother. Her brothers are turned into cranes, and she is cursed to have a wooden bowl stuck on her head. When she speaks, one of her brothers will die. To steal the dragon pearl, she has to say her stepmother's true name. Eventually, Shiori's curse is broken after she calls out her betrothed's name. The story ends with Shiori going into the sea to return the pearl, as her stepmother's last wish.

I found this book interesting, but some parts of it were quite confusing. For example, I was slightly confused about how Shiori could breathe underwater. Also, did the pearl originally belong to Raikama's sister? If it did, why are they returning it to the dragons? The book has numerous plot holes.I'm not sure if this was intentional, but at the beginning of the story, I really hated how Shiori acted. If this was intentional, I'm really impressed that I could get annoyed at a character in the book. The plot was extremely creative, and I really liked the plot twist at the end of the book, where Raikama turned out actually to be on Shiori's side and protecting her. I'm also really happy about Shiori's character development. Overall, despite its flaws, I enjoyed reading the book.