stunning conclusion to such a magical and beautiful story. I was desperate to read this after the cliffhanger from book 1. I dont think i quite loved this one as much as the first but i cant not love elizabeths lyrical writing <3. would defintley recommend

A slow start to the sequel, but it picked up the pacing and I found myself gripped by the storyline. I think this was the perfect sequel, with a relevant storyline that didn’t go old. I loved seeing more of Takkan and her relationship, and more of her brothers. Overall, a really good clean YA novel focusing on Chinese folklore that I would recommend to everyone!

Shiori is grieving, discovering her own magic and... On her way to the Kingdom of the Dragons.
From Ai'long to the birthplace of demons, Shiori's second adventure is fast paced and often dizzying.

The hotly anticipated sequel continues right where Six Crimson Cranes left us and takes the reader on a whirlwind adventure of dragons, demons and devotion. Shiori and her six brothers are willing to do whatever it takes to return the pearl and fulfil Raikama's final wish. But what will they sacrifice along the way?

I am forever grateful to Elizabeth Lim that the Takkan-Shiori-Seryu love triangle did not become a thing and that the romance between the betrothed couple only went from strength to strength. Takkan's dedication to Shiori is the constant in this rapidly changing plot line.

Of course Takkan is not the only love in Shiori's life. The emotion between Kiki and Shiori is gorgeous and both relationships had me crying like a baby towards the end. That paper bird really does pull on the heartstrings.

The final installment of Lim's latest duology really does pack a lot of adventure into a short space of time and that can be overwhelming. I did miss some face time with some characters outside of Takkan and Shiori but overall it was a good read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Elizabeth Lim for an advance copy of this gorgeous novel in exchange for an independent review.

There's nothing quite like the feeling of soul-crushing disappointment when the sequel to a favourite book ends up letting you down. Six Crimson Cranes was one of my favourite reads in 2021. I loved the characters, the story, the tropes, and the romance. It was that perfect storm of a book that made me remember why, in spite of how often I end up not liking YA fantasy, I keep trying it out anyway. I had very high expectations for the sequel, but unfortunately, this one completely missed the mark for me.

Maybe it's because SCC was leaning on an existing fairytale, whereas the sequel isn't. The plot feels all over the place. It's like there are three different stories all struggling for page time, and it never becomes a cohesive whole. I also never actually felt that the stakes were high, because, even though Shiori frequently lands herself in some kind of danger, she also frequently escapes without any consequences.

A lot of the drama of the story feels fabricated, to the point that characters appear to act outside of what is normal for them, just so the reader can have a few gasp-worthy moments. This is especially true for anything related to the romance--almost every moment of tension between Shiori and Takkan feels completely fake, and everything is also resolved very quickly. On the one hand, I'm happy that I got to skip entire parts of them pushing each other away for their own good because they actually communicated, but on the other hand, Takkan let Shiori get away with everything, to the point where it got unbelievable. The one saving grace is that we are spared a love triangle.

There's also a serious issue when it comes to consistency. Shiori starts SCC off as a reckless, selfish girl, who is then forced to sacrifice her voice and her hands for the sake of her brothers. You'd think this would have taught her to think things through a bit better, or be more considerate of others, or take a pause before blurting out the first thing that pops into her head, but nope. It's like the first book never happened, and she didn't go through anything.

The last things I'll mention are how flat all the characters felt aside from Shiori compared to book 1 (yes, even Takkan), and how random the magic system feels. I never got a handle on what exactly Shiori can do, because her abilities seem to evolve based on whatever is convenient to the plot at the time.

On a positive note, the ending actually managed to surprise me, but wasn't enough to redeem the overall experience.

I was very excited to read this as I loved the first book - 6 Crimson Cranes. However much like her Blood of Stars duology, book 2 suffers from second book syndrome. It lost a lot of the charm and tension of the first book.

I found myself feeling bored a lot of the time and pushing through just so I could finish it. Book 1 had this dark edge to it with high stakes and I just couldn’t feel that in this book. Shiori keeps throwing herself into one bad situation after another and dragging everyone else down with her. The whole thing with Serju was … 🤦🏾‍♀️. Takkan, Kiki and her brothers are just props to help get her out of trouble or let something slip to the bad guys. Even the bad guys are preposterous and improbable. At no point was I worried any open would die or that she wouldn’t be able to vanquish them.

The plot itself is very convoluted and the ending result also seems extra for no particular reason. The whole book felt like the equivalent of an over designed dress. It needed a very firm editing hand. Even now that I’ve just finished the book, I’m struggling to remember everything that happened.

Disappointing conclusion to the series for me. 2.75/5 stars.

While this book does have Lims signature style and prose, I found myself finishing it for the sake of it rather than for the enjoyment of the story. It felt lost at times and I feel shioris story could definitely of been a standalone

The cover is incredibly beautiful. I immediately fell in love with it. It is a beautiful feast for the eyes and draws all eyes in the bookstore.
The writing style is as fantastic as it was in the first volume. I was immediately drawn into the story again and couldn't put the book down. It is totally exciting and thrilling from the first page. The characters are individual and exceptional. I like their nature and personality. The author manages to create a world full of images. I can recommend this book to everyone. Read it!

The Dragons Promise is the sequel to Six Crimson Cranes and was just as magical as the first! In this one, Shiori spends time underwater with the dragons, trying to find the true owner of her stepmother's pearl. There's also more curses, demons and higher stakes!

The writing style, characters and worldbuilding were all as amazing as in the first book! Shiori is such a well developed protagonist and although she shined in the first book, her growth through this one was incredible. I loved her romance with Takken and her friendship with Seryu but my favourite relationship was Shiori and Kiki. There were so many emotional moments as well as courageous ones that made the story so beautiful.

The plot was action packed however I did feel the second half was dragged out a little. But overall it flowed well and led up to one of the most emotional endings I've read. This is a stunning duology that I highly recommend.

🐉 Should've stoped after the first book....

✨Genre: #Fantasy #YA #AsianFantasy #retelling

📚: 2/2

I really loved the first book #SuxCrimsonCranes . However I was super disappointed with this one.

Author has set up fairly high expectations ending the first book with a travel to another place/realm... In this book we are only getting 25% of that place and then the main character gets thrown from one place to another.

Main a of the story is to deliver pearl to its rightful owner, guess for how long we actually get to read about the owner? 1-2 chatpers...

There are interesting parts of this story, but they were not enough for me. I felt that there was a lot of repetitiveness. Authors seemed to run out of the ideas, because the legend of thousand cranes was brought back again.

We were introduced to new characters, but then we just have to forget about them.

A lot of water and events that in the bigger scale didn't mean anything.

Just my thoughts on the book... By the way it was also one of my most anticipated reads of the day.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 /4.5 stars
Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

The Dragon’s Promise is the second book in the Six Crimson Cranes duology. After obtaining the Dragon’s Pearl, Shiori has to bring it back to its owner, which isn’t without its dangers.

“A promise it not a kiss in the wind, to be thrown about without care.”

We learn a lot more about the world by traveling to Ai’long, the Kingdom of the Dragons! It was super interesting and amazing to read about this whole new part of the world and learning more about the dragons themselves. It was almost a shame we returned to the world of the living so quickly. I would’ve liked to stay longer in Ai’long hahaha. it was also a pity that the cast of characters changed quite a bit from before and after Ai’long. I really enjoyed reading the dynamics between Shiori and Seyru.

The plot was very fun to read. The book, just like the first, was more focused on the plot than on the relationships. Still, the relationships were an important foundation for the story to be built on. I liked the storyline a lot!
The characters are quite similar as they were at the end of Six Crimson Cranes. Shiori had become quite mature and she stayed that way during this book. She was determined to keep her promise and started to think for the best of her country. I also liked how Gen was added to the story. He was a fun addition to the cast we already met and knew. The villain was once again depicted quite beautifully and I loved the easter eggs and the connection to The Blood of Stars duology!

The relationships didn’t change much compared to Six Crimson Cranes. The familiar bond between Shiori and her brothers is still very beautiful to read, their sibling bond keeps warming my heart. I also liked how Shiori and Takkan evolved together. I was also really happy how a love triangle didn’t come about in this book! Their relationship was just really sweet and a bit like puppy love haha.

I liked how this book concluded and how the story ended. Both books are quite similar in my opinion, so if you’ve enjoyed the first, you’ll definitely enjoy this book as well!

Overall, it was a delightful duology to read with a satisfying ending to the story. It is a book that is an easy read and fun as well!

The Dragon's Promise is kind of a collection of different stories. First, there is a story about the world of dragons and a princess who is ready to become a dragon's companion in order to save her family, the world and fulfill her promise to her stepmother. In the second story, the princess travels with her brothers, who have turned into cranes again, to a distant lonely island to fulfill a promise, but on the way there they also stop at the place where the story of her stepmother began. So here are two stories together. The fourth story is about demons and magic and paper birds brought to life by magic, and about giving magic back to people who themselves once imprisoned magic in the mountains with the demons. The fifth and shortest story is about the moon goddess and her guest who lives half the year on the moon and half the year on land.

All these stories are related to Princess Shiori and the Dragon Pearl. Each of these stories has some kind of wisdom or lesson, and together it's a fantastic story about magic and people's fears of the unknown, even though that unknown can help make their lives easier. I would have liked so much that there would have been an afterword by the author at the end of the book, which would have introduced the legends and myths that were used in the creation of this book, but even without it, it was a very exciting story.

I feel like I might have picked this up at the wrong time, or maybe it’s just that I didn’t want a sequel for this book. I enjoyed Six Crimson Cranes a lot, but I found myself speeding through this book, wanting to finish it more than I wanted to enjoy it. The writing isn't bad and neither is the plot, this book was just the wrong place, wrong time for me.

“You are the light that makes my lantern shine.”

I have been absolutely DYING to read this book, I pre ordered it the second it online. So, I was over the moon when I was fortunate enough to be given an ARC copy! So thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read it a bit earlier in exchange for a review.

The Dragons Promise picks up right for where we left Shiori in Six Crimson Cranes, as she finds herself diving into the depths of the sea, exploring the dragon realm Ai'long while she strives to complete her quest.

I will admit I was worried that this book would just be a big giant love triangle and not much else, and if you are anything like me, I HATE love triangles. Thankfully that wasn’t the case! Although there is a romance woven throughout the book, much like it was in Six Crimson Cranes, what is really at the forefront, is family and the love that Shiori has for everyone, her brothers, her stepmother, and her friends.

Shiori continues to make very questionable choices throughout, but she was fun to read about and I was really routing for her the entire time. My main criticism of the book was that a lot of characters I loved really didn’t get much page time which was quite disappointing and overall, the ending felt quite rushed. Though, did I cry like a baby at the end? You betchya!

Overall, a lovely ending to a very fun duology. I may have just hyped it up a little too much for myself, so it fell a bit flat for me. I still very much enjoyed reading, it’s perhaps just not as strong a book as the first but regardless of this I would easily give it 3.5 stars.

This book picks up where Six Crimson Cranes ended, with Shiori on her way to give the pearl to the dragon king. A bit like the mountain scenes towards the end of the first book I found a large chunk at the beginning of this book difficult to follow as Shiori was constantly captured and released in the Dragon Kingdom before finally making her way home.

Once Shiori returns to the palace and is reunited with her family I started to enjoy it a bit more. The growing relationship between her and Takkan is super cute and I loved Kiki just as much as I did in the first book. Unfortunately though her brothers’ personalities didn’t shine through in this book and there wasn’t the banter between them that we saw in Six Crimson Cranes.

Overall there were parts I enjoyed but I felt the magic of the first book was lost in this sequel and getting through it was a struggle to the point where I thought about giving up multiple times. Anything with Dragon’s in the title should not be this disappointing.

3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ rounded down

Thank you so much to Hodder&Stoughton and NetGalley for an e-arc of this book.

I did like this book, and would recommend however it just didn’t have the same magic for me that the first book did.

I think the characters weren’t are fleshed out for me as much, also almost half the book was in Ai’long with no real movement forward in the plot, so that things I felt should have had more time didn’t.

Shirori also wasn’t as compelling as a MC, I felt like things happened to her rather than her having as much agency.

I did really love the whole idea of the duology though, and would recommend it.

*Thankyou to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

I really enjoyed reading the first book of this series, so I was excited to get into this one!

The Dragon's Promise picks up right after the cliffhanger Six Crimson Cranes. The first 30% of the book was interesting and engaging, however, the other part of the story didn't hit the mark for me.

Whilst this sequel did encompass and continue the adventure, character development and world building from the first book, I found the actions of the main character disappointing, considering the growth she underwent in the first book.

Overall, this book was great to read, with some lulls and inconsistencies, but it was great to have the story reach its conclusion.

I know one thing for sure, this book (and series) was made to break my heart. I hope Elizabeth Lim is happy, because the Six Crimson Cranes series wrecked me.

Both books were so emotional that I kept wanting to cry. This one maybe even more so? I can't tell right now, I STILL WANT TO CRY.

Everything I loved about the first book is present in this one too. Incredible world building, amazing characters, a good storyline and writing style. The only thing slightly different is the lack of Seryu.

Based on the title, cover and about a third of the book, it seemed it was finally Seryu's time to shine (I said in my review for the first book that I hoped he would, since Takkan got his chance before) and it kinda was, but only for that third.

Other dragons do appear while in the underwater kingdom, and then even after, but I really missed Seryu in that after. And it kinda felt like Shiori forgot about him while she was off on another adventure, and we don't see him again till the end.

So my heart broke pretty early on, and stayed that way till now. AND SO IT WILL STAY, UNTIL WE GET A SPINOFF. Not that it was announced or anything, I'm just putting that thought into the universe, hoping it'll come true because this world and its characters are way too good to be contained to only two books.

ALSO, I will never emotionally recover from those Kiki scenes near the end. My poor heart was ripped out and stomped on. That was so cruel. I love all characters equally, but Kiki might just be my ultimate favourite.

I'm BEGGING you to read this series, you won't regret it.

*Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review*

I received an electronic advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you to Elizabeth Lim and Hodder & Stoughton for allowing me to read the Dragons Promise before it’s release.

As a sequel to Six Crimson Cranes I was eager to read The Dragons Promise, and I was certainly expecting a lot from the book. Unfortunately, like many sequels this book didn’t quite live up to the brilliance of its predecessor. Six Crimson Cranes could easily have been a stand-alone book, and while I enjoyed returning to the characters, a large portion failed to hit its mark.

Characters that I enjoyed within the first book grew frustrating ( a particular male dragon) and while I appreciated the difficulties Shiori faced throughout the story and I enjoyed several elements relating to the demons, this book was lacking the charm that the first book had.

While the romance wasn’t over the top, I felt it worked within the concept of the book and I enjoyed seeing more of her relationships with her family. Her brother Hasho was a standout character again and I was eager to read more about him.

I've read a lot of fairytale retellings in my life. I think I read about one a week on average and sometimes I read even more of them. As a fairytale retelling the first book felt a little slow, since the elements of the fairytale were far apart and waiting for them distracted me from enjoying everything in between. I was therefore really curious about this second book, that clearly would stand more on its own. I'm therefore very happy Hodder and Stoughton granted me an arc via Netgalley.

Where the first book felt a little slow for me, this book felt a little fast and overpacked. There's so much happening, there are so many plot-lines and at times it feels like the characters have absolutely no idea what they are doing. We start with the dragons, then we have to deal with the demons and then there's also the people and priests to take care of. It ensures it's impossible to get bored while reading this book, but it also made the book a little chaotic.

However, I really loved how the last few missing elements of the fairytale were incorporated in this book in the most surprising and strangely enough natural way. Although this book is more about mythology, and a very interesting one, than about the story of the Wild Swans/Six Swans, it was nice to see that the author didn't forget that book 1 was a fairytale retelling and that we hadn't entirely reached the end of it yet.

Since the characters are constantly running around and go from solving one problem to the next, there is not too much time for them to really stand still and have emotional moments. However, Lim makes sure we never forget that those characters love each other, each in their own way. With small moments, small gestures and a few really great sentences she manages to show that love despite the chaos and the constant action.

Even if the first book wasn't entirely your thing, it might be worth it to check if this second book is a better fit. You might be positively surprised!

What is more dangerous when it breathes out than when it breathes in?

Book review: The Dragon's Promise by Elizabeth Lim 4/5 ✨️

This is the conclusion to the Six Crimson Cranes duology and it was everything I needed! I have been obsessed with Asian fantsy this past year bit this series is now one of my all fime favorites. I mean we go to the land (sea) of the dragons!!😭🙌

In this series we follow Shiori, princess of Kiata who has a secret forbidden magic. In the first book she tries to save her kingdom and curse on her brother cranes, while befriending a dragon called Seryu.
In the second book we follow her on her journey to the dragon kingdom Ai'long to fulfill her promise to return the dragon pearl to its rightful owner. Of course this involves a lot of dragon politics.. "Dragons are bound to promises, not the truth"..

The begining of the book felt like a Disney movie, it was incredibly enjoying and heart warming.💗 I also have to say that while I do not care for romance the puppy love our main character has is adorable.

The reason this isnt a five stars is that the main conflict in the second half felt a bit dragged on. Also, I dont care for demons in mountains I only really care for dragons🙈
I mean the evil stepmother in the first book was more scary and a better villain than Bandur the demon imo.

Thank you so much to Hodder and Netgalley for the e-arc. I cannot wait to see what Elizabeth comes out with next!🤩