Iseul (17) has lived a sheltered, privileged life as a yangban aristocrat until the king executes her parents. She is forced to flee with her older sister (Suyeon) to the village where their grandmother lives. Here, she continues to act as if she lives still her previous life while her sister starts to do what is expected of them: to work. Until Suyeon becomes the king's latest victim and gets kidnapped by him. Here, the actual story starts as Iseul leaves her village to save her sister, and becomes entangled in the web of politics. She also meets Daehyun, the king's younger half-brother, who despises his brother and always walks the fine line between surviving and becoming his brother's next victim. Reluctantly, both join forces to beat their common enemy: the king. To successfully save her sister, and overthrow the king, Iseul has also to solve an ongoing murder mystery.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

A Crane Among Wolves is set in South Korea (Joseon, 1506) under the rule of King Yeonsan. It is a historical fiction, so the majority of figures existed and there was someone close enough that functioned as inspiration for the author. Due to this, it is a rather dark YA novel.

As for the plot: the idea for the plot was very alluring but it isn't well executed in my opinion. Everything is very conveniently solved and the murder mystery, which is a side aspect that the book's summary doesn't even mention, didn't leave me guessing. It was obvious who the "Nameless Flower" murderer was from the beginning as the author dealt with the hints rather heavy-handed. Aside from the murders, a lot of plot points were delayed until ~30% into the story, so the first part is extremely boring and I was questioning why I was reading this. Afterwards, the pacing became so fast that it felt rushed as there was no build-up to most points. Iseul rushes from scene to scene, which creates a very unconnected feeling.

The book is a dual POV story that alternates between Iseul (1st person) and Daehyun (3rd person), which became rather annoying. In addition, the author tells the reader everything. For example, it is regularly mentioned that Iseul has a fatherly relationship with Wosnik (a side character) but never shows anything of it. It is a similar issue for Iseul and Daehyun with their romance: everything is told but never shown, which left me very uncaring about all the characters and the romance.

Iseul is a brat. Her character development is minimal although I have to admit that she was an even worse brat in the first chapters. She is a spoilt, petulant and immature teenager who never listens to anyone, instead, she always rushes into situations where she gets into trouble. Towards the end, she became more tolerable but only barely. Daehyun is underdeveloped and one-dimensional. There's no depth to him besides being a self-sacrificial lamb who knows that he will likely die (either by his brother's hand or by someone else). I have no idea why these two fell for each other to the point that they promised each other to find them in the next lifetime. All side characters are equally underdeveloped and partly fulfil some stereotypical rules. E.g., the king is a tyrant but he is always portrayed as someone close to insanity. He felt like the villain in a comic/superhero movie. 

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 

TWs & CWs: rape (mentioned), sexual abuse, misogyny, kidnapping women and girls, sex trafficking, incest (mentioned), general violence, murder, animal cruelty, animal death, suicide (mentioned), infanticide (mentioned), psychological trauma, panic attacks, grief.

Trope(s): enemies to reluctant allies to lovers, forced proximity, slow burn, found family

Genre: YA Historical Fiction + Romance

Heat/Spice: 0