I loved Six Crimson Cranes and was really excited to be approved to read an ARC of the sequel. This takes place immediately after the events of the first book as Shiori is taken to the undersea Dragon Kingdom where she has promised to bring the broken pearl. Her life is in peril as Dragons hate humans and she is unable to trust anyone, even Seyru as she is unsure where his loyalties really lie.
The world building is superb and we can really visualise the glory of the Dragon King’s realm as well as the darkness when Shiori is imprisoned. Disappointingly, the dragon part of the story is soon over and we never really meet the dragons again which is a shame. Shiori returns to her family and then has to deal with her magic and the demon Bandur. Again, she has enemies on all sides, from those in her father’s court who believe that she is a demon to the demons themselves who just want to be free.
I loved the closeness that develops between Shiori and her brothers as well as the developing romance between her and Takkan. The paper bird, Kiki, also remains one of my favourite characters. The story builds to a satisfying conclusion which brought a tear or two. However, for me, this sequel did not quite have the intensity of the first book. I think it was possibly because a lot of the book was spent travelling from one place to another at the expense of developing the characters which was such a strength of Six Crimson Cranes. Also Bandur is not such a satisfactory villain as Raikhama and you never feel that Shiori is afraid of him in the same way as she was in the previous book.
However, it is still an excellent read and I am very grateful to Net Galley and the publishers for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Princess Shiori is determined to stick to her promise to her stepmother, and to return the pearl to its rightful owner. However, fulfilling this promise is fraught with danger.
She visits the dragon realm, and it is clear that the pearl holds more sway over those who desire it than she realised. The opening of the story took a while to recall exactly who was who, and how they linked to the story. Shiori is tempted to take up the offer to remain in the dragon realm, but her determination to return to Takkan and to fulfil her promise means that her time there is short.
Upon her return we realise very quickly that the people of her homeland fear her magic. Shiori cannot understand why, but she soon sees that the demon has become stronger and that she will have to call on an assortment of people to help her. Assasination attempts, desperate plotting and a perilous journey to return the pearl keep us on our toes.
I liked that Shiori comes to learn more about her stepmother, and exactly who she was. Shiori comes to find acceptance of her skills and talents, and finds the courage to follow her convictions even though they challenge what she has always been taught.
While there was a lot to like here, I felt at times that there were a lot of characters introduced and discarded once they'd served their purpose. The initial focus on the dragon realm suggested an influence that felt lacking by the end, though it does not get wholly ignored. I understand that this ties Shiori and Takkan to the stories of their past, but the ending felt like something of a hedge-better. However, I couldn't rate it 3 stars as there were many sections - namely those with Kiki, and the story of her stepmother - that were deserving of a higher rating.
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this prior to publication.

*Full review can be found on Goodreads*

In this sequel to Six Crimson Cranes, Shiori goes to the dragon realm with Seryu to find the true owner of the pearl in her possession. However, things do not go as planned.

I must admit that I forgot quite some things from the last book and I definitely recommend doing a reread before starting this sequel. I loved the beginning of the story, where we travelled through the dragon realm, but it felt to me like a completely different story than the second part of the book. Certain aspects of the story felt like they came out of nowhere, but it is possible that I just forgot that they were mentioned in the last book.

The writing was once again beautiful in my opinion, I just love the way the words enlarge the magical atmosphere of the book. There were however a few mistakes in the ARC, so please do contact me if you want to know which ones stood out to me. Although I feel like this was again a very cute story, I also feel like it was missing some things. The beginning of the book felt like an entirely new story with new characters, who were then just written off and never appeared again. I don’t really like this, because many of the side-characters had a lot of potential that just wasn’t used at all. The ending was cute, but also a bit too convenient for me. All in all, this one wasn’t as good as the first book in my opinion, although I still really liked it. I definitely teared up in places, which I really liked. The romance between Shiori and Takkan was once again great, and I'm definitely going to miss them!

Loved it. It’s was exactly what I wanted after reading the first book. It gave me everything that six crimson cranes left in answered. I absolutely loved the character development in this one.

(REVIEW will be made available on my Instagram page and on Goodreads on the 1st of August I will add the link to the final posted review on the day of its publication.

This book has me on the fence. I really liked it, and I think it’s a fitting follow-up and end to the first. But also, I think it could have been shorter and added to the first to make a standalone.

I liked that the pace picked up from the first book, and it was much easier to get into.
I think it kept the magical elements of the story, the universe, and the characters. Shiori and Kiki were delightful, Takkan (<3) was just as charming as always. Seeing the MC grow and mature was phenomenal. I think no matter which point of the story I was at, there was always some magical element, character, or environment that kept it all incredibly beautiful and poetic.

I was worried about the seemingly incoming love triangle, but it really isn’t one, and whatever you would call it, it’s really tied up in a nice way, and I’m happy that the second book didn’t end up being some weird conflicting romances, but instead ended up being an adventure full of thrills and magic. I enjoyed the new characters that we got to meet, I LOVED the romance, and I was really drawn in by the complex plot and the adventure and action side of it.

Two things bugged me, a little:
- The synopsis is not fully honest, because it gives the impression that most of the novel happens in the dragon kingdom which in reality is only about 20% of the book, which I didn’t dislike, but I feel like the main plot wasn’t really clear at first, and the story kept pausing to explain what happened and what would happen now.
- The pacing, while good, did this thing where you would have singular plot lines with a beginning, middle and end, and repeat, to a point where I didn’t understand how we had 10 pages of complete peace and quiet knowing that another plot point was coming? It just had several plot points and between them moments where the characters were back to normal for a bit, and it felt like a bit of an exhausting yo-yo. But I think that’s me, I have an issue with pacing if it’s too much back and forth.

I think this is why I would hesitate between 4 and 5 stars, because I also think that the tiny details that didn't work for me won't be a problem for a lot of people. At the end of the day, the reason why it's 5 stars is that this is a legit great book, and as the first book had something new and different about it, the Dragon's promise continued on that streak and made a proper, magical finish. I really kind of want more, it's hard to say goodbye to Shiori and Kiki.

Overall, this felt like a fitting second book. It kept me on the edge of my seat (my heart won’t fully recover I fear, you’ll be hearing from my cardiologist). I read the two books immediately one after the other, and honestly, it’s kept me in a magic haze for two weeks. It probably will for a long time.

I really wnjoyed the first book in this series! This secobd one though I didn't enjoy as much as I thought I would. I can feel a love triangle is in there and I hate those,in general it was too focused on the love aspect when I was looking for more character development. However, I am looking forward the next book yo see if it occurs!

I enjoyed reading this book, Lim's writing style is easy to follow and it paints the world the story is set in bright colours. I would recommend this book to teens and YA

Six Crimson Cranes is one of my favourite reads so farof 2022 and I was so excited when netgalley accepted my request to review the much anticipated sequel 'The Dragon's Promise'... loved it!!!
The Dragon's Promise was quite action packed, Shiori continues to navigate her life's purpose and fulfill promises. The settings were enticingly dreamy, so vividly detailed, particularly loved how the author nourishes us readers with the most delicious descriptions. I felt the characters were developed nicely, Shiori'rama is a lovely selfless and determined main character, and the linked bonds she has with those around her were nurturing. I adored Kiki she's a little soul warmer. Seryu is such a great character and a solace role in Shiori's journey. Her six brothers love and support fluttered my heart. But the two characters that surprised me the most was the endearing Takkan and Shiori's stepmother. I loved the dynamics and love Shiori had with these two characters. Takkan is pure as the driven snow, I'm a little In love with him. The stepmothers background story wonderfully weaves together an engaging plot and an ending perfectly fitting. I did prefer the first book for it enchanted me that little bit more but this 2nd book is absolutely worthy of the same full star rating as it tied together a imaginative story filled with myth and magic.

Thank you Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for letting me read this book. I am grateful and my thoughts are my own.

Elizabeth Lim is successful grabbed me with her story since her debut. I am appreciating her skill to elevates oldies fairytales retelling become fresh story and interesting to read by younger generations. The Dragon's Promise is second book from duology Six Crimson Crane and readers is expected to read the first book to understand all the aspects without get spoilers. This duology takes same universe with Spin the Dawn but earlier periods. I can saw some younger version of well known characters from the first duology.

The Dragon's promise also offers several beautiful settings, each rich with details, high stakes trials and nonstop adventure. The storytelling style itself is amazing and fills with heartwarming quotes. All small plots contained several distraction that make this book feel so busy but actually not make big progress to main plot. I personally enjoyed the strong messages about family love and building trust between young couples. The romance scenes is cute and believable without improper scenes. I love saw how far Princess Shiori character growing in each challenges and trial, but I am feel the big battle of this book feel rushed. I still enjoy my reading time with this books and looking forward to read her next installment.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the arc! All thoughts are my own.

3.5 ⭐

First off, cover appreciation that is gorgeous 🥵😍👏🤌

First off, I think Six Crimson Cranes would have been great as a standalone. But, this didn't hurt. I could see how passionate the author is about this book through the writing, but for me, this one didn't get to it's predecessor's level.

The Dragon's Promise begins where SSC left off. Shiori is going to fulfill her promise to Raikama and give the pearl back to its rightful owner: The Wraith. But problem is she ALSO made a promise to Seryu to give the pearl to the dragon king.

The positives!!! 😍😍😍
- THE WRITING! Elizabeth Lim's writing is so great!!! It's descriptive but not TOO descriptive and it's so pretty and flows very nicely.
- SERYU!!! He's one of my favourite characters in the duology, so happy he got more page time in here. I felt bad that he did so much for Shiori only to get rejected 😭😭 but he's such a cinnamon roll i love him. THIS LINE MADE ME FAKE SOB THOUGH...

"Then I'll have to find you when you're reborn - before your strands have time to knot with his again."

- KIKI!! She is adorbs I love her.
- The plot was good, nice twists and turns.

The negatives 😞😞😞
- The biggest thing, it was just so SLOW! Honestly I was a bit bored. I think the author could have cut a hundred pages and made the whole thing more concise.
- Takkan and Shiori, I feel like Takkan has reason to love her and he does and he's totally romantic and all. But Shiori loves him just because?? It feels a bit wooden and stiff from her end. (I wouldn't have minded Shiryu 🥰)
- I feel like Shiori was almost dying every chapter. At the start it was like oohh cliffhanger!! But then it happened again... and again and it just felt boring.

All in all, good book! But it could have been a little shorter ❤️

4.5/5 stars.

Lim delivers a fantastic follow up to Six Crimson Cranes. Picking up right after SCC, it follows Shiori as she sets off on the mission bestowed on her by her late stepmother - to reunite the pearl with its owner. Through twists and turns, we are taken through Shiori's journey - through the dragon world, demon world, and much more.

I enjoyed the journey the novel took me through - there was so much packed in and not a slow or dull moment at all. I adored the action and the exploration of relationships. Shiori and Takkan both have my heart, and I was so satisfied with how their story and the novel overall wrapped up.

Firstly I am going to start by saying thank you to both Hodder Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of The Dragon's Promise by Elizabeth Lim for an honest review.

This book was one of my most highly anticipated reads of 2022 after receiving Six Crimson Cranes for Christmas and falling head over heels for the story and its Characters. Please be aware this review will contain spoilers so if you have not read this book do not read ahead.

Following on from Six Crimson Cranes we start with Shiori entering the underwater dragon city to meet with the Dragon King to honour Raikama's last wish that the pearl be reunited with its rightful owner, I felt this would be a major plot arc in the story and that we would get more of Seryu's character in this book - maybe even a bit of a love triangle. However while I am glad the author steered away from the love triangle aspect the arc of the plot within this world seems to end rather quickly and Seryu's character is not heard of again until the end of the book. We are also introduced to a few new characters like Gen for example who seem like they are going to become included deeply within the plot only to be dropped a few chapters later. This portion of the story felt almost disconnected as if it wasn't developed enough alongside the main plot arc or the pacing wasn't quite right.

The book then jumps back to the plot with the demons trying to escape the mountain led by the main plot villain Bandur. This part of the story I thoroughly enjoyed, I have just recently finished reading Spin the Dawn and enjoyed that this duology almost is the backstory to how Bandur became trapped on Lapzur island. This part of the story all felt connected and I was hooked on the plot line to see how this would play out.

However again following on from this we then head back to Kiata after successfully trapping Bandur on Lapzur island where the book almost felt like it was at a natural end point but with what looked to be 100 pages left I could see we had more storyline to go but I couldn't see how with the main villain already defeated? Enter again the high priestesses who have been against Shiori since her return as she is the bloodsake predicted to free the demons from the mountain rift. This brings another curse upon Shiori either allow Kiata to burn to the ground from demon fire or sacrifice herself to the flames. This again felt a bit disjointed from the plot we had just been following with Bandur and the demons and I understand it was linked to the ending however it just felt abit randomly thrown in and not quite as cohesive as the plot of Six Crimson Cranes.

This being said the ending battle following this curse with Shiori, her brothers and Takkan and the Priestesses army had me gripped and I felt incredibly emotionally invested in the characters endings. I will not spoil how the story ends but it was definitely bittersweet in the best kind of way not a completely happy ending but one that leaves Shiori becoming a legendary tale in her own right with a spark of joy left.

Despite some of the story feeling disjointed there were many elements of the book I enjoyed including revisiting the characters I loved so much from the first book Shiori and her brothers, Kiki and Takkan and it was wonderful to get more backstory on Raikama, her past and how she had come to be in Kiata with the Dragon's pearl. The writing as always with Elizabeth Lim was endearing, magical and eloquent. The descriptions of the different world's and islands visited was compelling and left you feeling as if you were there with the characters while reading.

I just wish the plot with the demons and the plot with Seryu could have been a bit more interwoven with less of a sharp change in storyline. As well as this that we could have had more development of the characters like Gen or Seryu but I appreciate that maybe the length of the book and the story we had to cover could prevent much of this development.

Overall I am incredibly grateful for receiving this advance arc and the title and if you are a fan of the first book or any of Elizabeth Lim's writing this story is definitely worth adding to the TBR. Despite the few criticisms I have made of the story I still feel the plot points I enjoyed, the characters and the writing deserve this book 4 out of 5 stars. Not quite as good as Six Crimson Cranes but then sequels are never as good as the originals.

Thanks to Elizabeth Lim, Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for an advanced copy of The Dragon's Promise in exchange for my honest review.

The conclusion to Six Crimson Cranes, I really enjoyed this book. I was slightly disppointed that we didn't get more about the romance between Takkan and Shiori, but otherwise I did really enjoy the writing style and the pace of the book.

This was one of my most highly anticipated reads for 2022 and in many ways, it didn't disappoint!

The adventure, magic and romance that made Six Crimson Cranes so good were absolutely here in The Dragon's Promise. The expansion of the magic system and exploration of folklore was so beautifully intertwined with themes of grief, love (familial and romantic) and ultimately discovering oneself and one's place in the world.\

The writing is, for the most part, fast-paced and sharp. The book is funny, heartwrenching and romantic all at once in such a wonderful way.

If I had to pinpoint why this wasn't 5 stars read, it would be because there is a certain arc that drags on for slightly too long and becomes quite draggy to follow. This arc introduces new and old characters but doesn't retain the excitement of the first book and the rest of this book This might not be an issue as most readers are already invested in the story and plot, but it was a slog to get through that arc <spoiler>. (The Ai'long arc with the dragons is what I am referring to if you are curious). </spoiler>

I also feel certain characters were not tied up fully and properly and left as loose ends. This is probably an artistic decision, and I am sure many will be satisfied with how they are rounded off, but I personally wanted a bit more about them!

Ultimately, a great duology with a perfect ending...I already miss the characters so much!

This second book concludes Elizabeth Lim's duology very well.
It's a story that picks up where we left off -cliffhanger hello- and I was dying to know what happens next.
The romance is present but it is placed in the background, I really appreciated that since we focus much more on the environment and the world-building.
I can't wait to read her next novel which I'm sure will be as beautiful and poetic as her previous ones.

I thank net galley and the publisher for sending me this ARC. I loved this reading.

I received an ARC of the book from the publisher, via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

An extraordinary feat of creativity filled with beautiful worlds though I do feel like Lim had taken on more than she could have handled with this follow up to the absolutely terrific Six Crimson Cranes. For starts, she brings us to the Dragon Palace as promised but the story moves on to so many different otherworldly locations that halfway through the novel, I began to question the point of going underwater and meeting all of those characters at all. The title of the story feels much like an after thought cause what exactly is the dragon's promise? Seryu doesn't even appear after the first half of the novel! Was there another promise by another dragon? I wished she had framed this story more squarely within a particular fairy tale, an Asian one perhaps *coughs*The Cowherd and Weaver Girl*coughs*. I appreciate all the lore and world building but as a novel, it feels like the story is doing too much but also achieving nothing at the same time.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC of The Dragons Promise.

This book was absolutely stunning, and I'm so glad I got to read I got to read it early. Lim's whimsical style of writing and inclusion of Asian mythology/folklore made the read delightful.

Lim's construction of the romantic interests will leave the readers please, and people need not worry about Shiori's choice as I felt she could not have justified her match better.

The final chapter and epilogue is where my highlighter came in most, with Lim's writing poetically and resonating the plot of her other duology, The Blood of the Stars.

Rated 4.5/5

#TheDragonsPromise #NetGalley

I absolutely loved and devoured Six Crimson Cranes so I was really excited to read the sequel. Unfortunately for me, it did not live up to the expectation.

This book picks up where we left off in Sox Crimson Cranres with Shiori entering the kingdom of the dragons with Seryu.

What can I say about this book except I was bored through half of it. From the set up from the first book and where we start in the second book it’s sets up a love triangle, which intern goes nowhere. Not to mention that I’m so excited to be in the kingdom of dragons and we’re only there for a short period of time before Shiori’anma leaves to in fact return the Dragons pearl to its rightful owner… WITHOUT SERYU! I get sad loosing such an important character and my favourite character so soon. It just felt like we were jumping from one plot point to another to eventually get to the end and it was not interesting getting there.

I don’t think this is a bad book whatsoever. I just felt like it was a lot of filler to get to the ending and the filler was not interesting. I think Six Crimson Cranes could’ve been a longer standalone.

I was really excited I got an e-arc for The Dragon’s Promise, as I loved Six Crimson Cranes! However, I have to say this sequel fell a little flat for me, and I kinda wished Six Crimson Cranes had been expanded a little to be a standalone.

We start off exactly at the cliffhanger, where Shiori will travel to the underwater world of the dragons, and wow, that was absolutely amazing! I loved all the twists and turns and Seryu was epic, he kept me on my toes! It was really intriguing and I wished we would stay there for longer, but at 30% the plot changes entirely, and Seryu and the dragons vanish from the story. For me, it felt too abrupt and a little bit weird. There was a second turn which caused the same feeling, like this story is made out of three separate short stories. We do get back to Takkan and the brothers, which is always a good thing, as I loved the brothers, I do wish they’d gotten more dialogue and action though, because sibling relations are the best. And we find out more about the queen, which was lovely. And even though the middle was a little slow, I was entirely taken in by the beautiful writing style and epic world building. Honestly, I really would have loved this book if I weren’t thinking half of the time “ok we’re apparently doing this new side plot now” and “please Shiori just think it through for once”. Because while I loved Shiori’s character in book 1, in this book her impulsivity was a bit too much at times, but I do still really like her character. It’s a delicate balance. However this evens out a lot around Takkan as they are a perfect balance for each other, even if they don’t know it yet. Their relationship was very realistic and very sweet.

This story is a bit a mix of a fairy tale and YA fantasy novel, with clever characters and twists, and beautiful writing which makes up for when the plot is a bit chaotic. I did like it though and I give it 3.5 stars. I would recommend it to readers who have read book 1, as this still is amazing and the ending is perfection, even though I think duology this would’ve worked better as a standalone.

I received an e-arc from the publisher through Netgalley, but it hasn’t influenced my opinions.

Thank you Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for the ArC of The Dragon’s Promise by Elizabeth Lim in exchange for my honest and unbiased review

I adored Six Crimson Cranes and was so pleased to be able to read this arc and continue with Shuori’s journey. I would describe this as a tale with 3 acts, not all of which are fast paced, but do all contribute to the sum of a sequel and conclusion to Shuori’s story and the duology.

I have seen reviews that critique the choice to produce this as a duology rather than a trilogy and others that complain about the pace and repetition. Personally I’m glad it was kept as a duology and it was actually refreshing to have more than one key to a plot, albeit all running toward the same objective.

There is a lot to live about the story, in particular the characters, the romance between Shuori’s and Takkan, and I’ll be honest this is the first book to make me cry in a very long time.

If you loved Six Crimson Cranes, then this will bring you the conclusion to the story your heart needs. “Your heart is your home. Until you understand that, you belong nowhere."