A lively sequel that progresses the plot from the last book in an interesting, if not altogether unexpected, direction- something I would definitely have enjoyed as a teenager, with a refreshingly low-angst romance as a bonus. I especially enjoyed the first part of the story set in the dragon kingdom, though it did feel like Shiori was quite flippant in some of the confrontations with the dragon king which lowered the stakes a little bit.

Overall, a fun read with some lovely, vivid descriptions.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sharing the ARC in exchange of an honest review,

Let's start of with saying I absolutely loved the first book and the Spin the Dawn duology. The Dragons Promise is the perfect sequel and also ties off the two series beautifully. Highly recommend reading Spin the Dawn before this book in case you haven't already, it makes the story even better. This review is spoiler free for the Spin the Dawn duology and The Dragons Promise. There are spoilers for Six Crimson Cranes.

In this book we continue to follow Shiori and her brothers to fulfil the promise that Shiori made on her stepmothers deathbed. She continues to learn more about who her stepmother really was, and the true nature of dragons and demons. Throughout this journey she learns about what is most important in life and finds her companion to share a deep and true bond with. I simply loved all the characters in this book (especially Kiki!), and the last chapters had me in tears. No spoilers on whether they were happy tears or sad tears (or a mix of them).

Thank you Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

You are the light that makes my lantern shine. 💙

Firstly, I started this book invested more in the plot than the romance which is a rare occurrence for me. And while the plot was fine this time around it wasn't as good as I expected to be. Exploring Ai'long was my favorite part of the sequel.

The romantic scenes were some of the best scenes in the book. Their puppy love was adorable.

Character wise, Our Shiori seems to still be doing some reckless actions/choices, thus making me very frustrated. Takkan, my dear angel, is a saint for having that much patience. he wasn't as present and as active as I wanted him to be. Gen was a lovely addition. He was charismatic and a nice comic relief in the story. I would've loved to see more of our beloved brothers, alas I loved the bits we got of them.

Bandur, the villain, was disappointing and wasn't that interesting and didn't ignite any hatred in me like Raikama did. She was definitely the better villain.

Don't go into this with high expectations, so you won't get disappointed. Everything was good but not as great as the first book. It needs to be said that Six Crimson Cranes is the superior one in the duology.

Another amazing book from the phenomenal Elizabeth Lim. Every book I read by her is just amazing and this one did not disappoint. Kept me hooked til the very end and just look at the cover design how beautiful!

Another great book from Elizabeth Lim! Six Crimson Cranes was a phenomenal read that I consumed in one sitting last summer, and The Dragon's Promise was no different.
The pacing and plot were great for me, and I loved how emotive it made me feel throughout - I was fully immersed into the world.
The covers are in my opinion the most beautiful covers that have existed and I cannot wait to have them both next to each other on my bookshelf.

ARC received through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
4/5 stars

This is a book where the sequel is better than the first book!! I don’t even know where to start with this one. Those who have read Six Crimson Cranes will absolutely love this one!

The sequel starts where the first book ends and we’re reunited with all the characters we love so much. I said it in the first review, the characters are just so loveable and they stayed the same in the 2nd book also.

This book was a lot more heavy on the plot and I stayed engaged throughout the whole book. The pace was consistent and it seemed faster paced compared to the first. This is some great writing from Elizabeth Lim & I’ll be reading other books by the same author also! Whilst this is YA I didn’t feel too old to read this one which I appreciated more in comparison to Six Crimson Cranes.

I enjoyed this book and wholeheartedly recommend it too. I needed a book like this to remind me why I enjoy reading fantasy books so much!

I thank Netgalley for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I really wanted to love this book considering the first one was just wonderful and really stole my heart, but alas, my love affair with this series had to end sometime. Although it wasn't to my full satisfaction, I still enjoyed this book to a degree. It was nice revisiting the world that Shiori is a part of and spending more time with the characters but I felt for the most part that something was missing that really made the first book stand out, and I couldn't quite place my finger on why.

The first 30% feels like there's a lot just packed in all at once, after which things just felt as though it slowed to a crawl. At times though stuff was happening it also felt like there wasn't much going on at the same time. The characters felt a bit lackluster in comparison to previously, and though I do enjoy the relationships between them, I also felt like they were a little like an afterthought, and that we never really got to see a true bond between Shiori and her companions.

The ending especially felt anticlimactic for me.. perhaps because it felt as though it should have been building up to something more. At times I felt a little bored and wanted the pacing to pick up slightly or something more interesting to happen, but now looking back I'm struggling to even remember the majority of the middle of the book itself.

I will still be inclined to pick up another book in future but this author as I did rather enjoy the first one, and I'm still optimistic that I'll like more of the writing, however this book in particular only gets a 2.5/3 stars from me.

Six Crimson Cranes was one of my top reads last year. I love a fairytale retelling, and Elizabeth had kept the feel and tone of fairytales while crafting something very new. I was really looking forward to reading this second volume.

The problem - and you can probably say it along with me if you'd read many of my reviews - there's no recap. Cranes had a lot of revelations and status quo changes right at the end, and while I remembered the major one, a lot of the smaller ones had vanished in the year since I read Cranes, so I was quite lost for a long time. Everytime I thought I had a grip on the story, someone would mention a person or situation I had no idea about.

That aside, I enjoyed the story. Elizabeth clearly has a wonderful imagination, as while Cranes was based on The Raven Brothers and other fairy tales, this one seems much more original. There was some repetition in the middle - Shiori got stuck in a loop of 'sneak out of the palace to do A Thing, return to discover her situation has worsened, apologise to her father/Takken/her brothers, learn some new information, sneak out of the palace to do A Thing'...the beginning and ending of the book are definitely much faster paced than the middle, but I'm glad I hung in there with it.

If you're planning to read the book, I advise a reread of the first one - at least the last few chapters. I enjoyed reading this, but I would have liked it much better if I'd had any idea what was going on! I look forward to seeing what else Elizabeth Lim writes, and I really look forward to reading it.

Thank you netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review. I absolutely loved the first book, so I was really exited for this sequel, and it did not disappoint! I loved how they developed the characters, along with the plot leading up to that ending. I was so excited to find out I received the arc, and immediately read it in less than a day, it was that good. Taking all of this into consideration, I’m going to give this book 5/5 stars because I don’t see any areas for improvement.

After alot of thought, I'm rounding my rating up to 4.
The Dragon's Promise is not a perfect book by any means and doesn't quite hit you in the way that Six Crimson Cranes does but it still pulled my heartstrings taut.

To start with the positives,

1. The duology builds one of lushest world's I've seen in YA and it does this without infodumps.

2. The strong focus on familial relationships and Shiori's desire to right by her stepmother, even when its not easy, is heartbreaking.

3. Elizabeth Lim's prose is very accessible but also very quotable, and its her strong writing that carried the book through its rougher seas.

Now on to the rougher areas,

1. It felt like the book crammed in too many plot lines and made them too convoluted. Shiori's travels take her to and fro from Kiata and it gets repetitive after awhile. Some editing could have chopped off some of the scenes and the book wouldn't have changed.

2. Takkan! The love interest I rooted for in book 1 becomes obsolete here. He is just so vanilla, there is literally no reason to why he is with her except for the fact that he is the LI. I feel that the book could have been alot stronger if it had focused on Shiori and her family's grief over losing her stepmother and how it changes their relationships. Shiori's connection with her stepmother is my favorite part of the book and I wanted it to be fleshed out well.

3. The ending! That was a pretty weak ending to the series and leaves me with so many questions on how it happened.

But even with all its flaws, the Six Crimson Cranes duology, which is kind of a prequel to her stunning Blood of Stars Duology, establishes Elizabeth Lim as the foremost fairyteller of our generation.
Recommended

Disclaimer- I received an e arc of this novel from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

"Six Crimson Cranes", the first book of this fantasy duology, was one of my favourite fantasy reads of 2021. I just absolutely adored the world, the mythology, the characters, the romance, the sheer creativity and fairytale-esque wonder of it all. I was, thus, incredibly excited to read the second book and big finale of the duology, "The Dragon's Promise". A little apprehensive too, maybe, because I actually think Cranes could have perfectly worked as a standalone with just some minor adjustments, but hey, more of Shiori's adventures? I'm not gonna complain.
Let's just say, I probably should have lowered my expectations just a little. "The Dragon's Promise" is a good book - but it's also a very disappointing one.

The world is as beautiful and wondrous and lush as before and I especially enjoyed our time in the dragon's kingdom. Lim once again shows how beautifully she can paint a picture with her words, making these different settings come to life beyond the pages. I loved reconnecting with Shiori, who I still adore with all my heart, and Kiki is still my baby. I enjoyed the whole demon conflict in theory, too.

My main criticism is that this whole book is just absolutely stressful to read. It's so incredibly HECTIC. there are so many things happening in such a short time, giving the reader absolutely no time to just breathe for a moment and enjoy the characters. We don't really spend much time with the dragons and don't get to know their kingdom at all (which is a shaaaaaame, I needed so much more!), leading to superficial descriptions and a certain emotional detachment when it comes to this whole fantasy race and Seryu as a character.
About every chapter ended with a small cliffhanger (and then Shiori fainted. And then Shiori was catapulted out of the room. And then Shiori only saw black. You know the gist...), which just added to this overall feeling of restlessness, of being rushed from one plot point to the next. Shiori also gets imprisoned and freed and imprisoned again a ridiculous amount of times. This didn't help. I feel like a lot of this novel was kind of rushed.

The romance of Takkan and Shiori was way more focused this time around, which I generally enjoyed. I did have the feeling that Takkan only existed to be the love interest though, as he really doesn't have much else to do than confess his everlasting love and run to save Shiori. The brothers were there, but really didn't have much to do beyond helping Shiori out. The antagonists remain boring and lack depth and actual complex motivation for what they do, which was my one complaint about the first book as well. The demon plot, including the ending, could have been absolutely great - but because of the way the story unfolds and the generall rushed-ness of it all that ending feels weirdly tacked on. For it to really work, the focus and theme of the book should have been a different one. As in: There is absolutely no logical reason for the reader to suddenly sympathise with the demons and their plight when nothing before that point suggests they're anything but evil monsters. It was just really not well done.

In general, "The Dragon's Promise" lacks the wonder and charme of the first book and trades it in for action sequence after action sequence after action sequence, with no clear underlying theme and way too much stuff going on. I wished we would have spent more time with the dragons, fleshing out that whole storyline instead of dropping it for a lackluster demon antagonist and then dropping THAT for yet another storyline, this time about cultists and the overarching demon problem.

I sadly cannot give this more than 3 stars, though for me it's more of a 2.5. I still love the protagonist and the world, but especially compared to the first book of the duology, this second installment is overall disappointing.

Elizabeth Lim's work is truly the peak of ya fantasy, these stories are so wonderful written, reading her books always feels like the greatest adventure

The Dragons Promise starts of exactly where book 1 ends, & the reader is expertly woven back into the story! I can tell you this friends, there is no sign of second book syndrome with this one haha 😂

This was such a perfect end to the dulogy and I truly can not wait to read everything this lovely author will be writing in the future!

There really is truly something to be said for the epic characters and world building she's created!

This book was a rollercoaster of emotions. I was first a little bit disappointed by the first 30% of the book; I thought I would absolutely love the dragon kingdom part, but it turns out that it was the part I liked the least. I felt like I didn’t find the relationship between Shiori and Seryu as I had loved it in the first book, and I was a little tired to see that she kept thinking everyone was betraying her. That part felt a little slow and redundant.
However, from 30% on, I once again fell in love with the sweet romance with Takkan and the comforting banter between Shiori and her brothers. I adore these characters and was fully invested in them finding their happiness.
There might have been too many twists and turns for my taste, and I sometimes felt they were a little too much and redundant, but at least my frustration kept me on the edge of my seat because the rhythm was relentless.
The biggest strength of this story was how the enchanting mythology was mixed with characters with purpose and heart. I was moved to tears several times and each goodbye tore a little bit at my own heart. Even though the ending had a bittersweet tinge to it, I found it to be very satisfying and fitting with the rest of the story. I will miss these characters for a while.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest and fair review.

I fricking ADORE this book: it didn't let me down and I was so sure of it! Thank you again to the publisher for sharing it with me, I feel so honored!

This book starts where the first book left off: Shiori has to go to the realm of dragons in Ai'long because she promised to bring the Wraith's pearl to the Dragon King, Seryu's grandfather (mind you, to bring and not to give). As soon as she arrives and refuses to give the pearl as she wants to give it back to the rightful owner in order to keep honor of her last promise to Raikama, she gets imprisoned and she meets a young enchanter named Gen (small hint: we have already know him from EL's The Blood of Stars duology). Once freed, she has to overcome many obstacles until she gets back to Kiata, her homeland, where her new enemies are Kiatan people as they are scared of magic and believe Shiori'anma is an evil sorceress. Through her hardships in order to reach the Wraith and save her world, she is with Takkan and her six brother and she also has the opportunity to get to Raikama better and to finally learn part of her past.

I really loved this book, even though I found some "difficulties": e.g., the beginning was pretty slow-paced and Seryu sometimes felt a bit out of character, but maybe it was just me. Moreover, I felt like we didn't get to see (and hear) much from Shiori's brothers and I actually wanted them to partecipate even more. Lastly, I really expected something more and I felt a bit saddened here and there, but no big deal.
I am going to miss all the characters so very much, especially Hasho, Seryu, Takkan, Benkai and Andahai (ILY).
I also really like Lim's writing style and her "fairy tale like" stories, even though in this particolar book I felt like it wasn't really there. She writes so beautifully I could read anything she writes. Furthermore, she always makes me cry: I cried so much at the ending as it was a bit bittersweet and my heart wasn't really ready fo it.

"Be it bright or dark, you are the light that makes my lantern shine."

My rating: 4/4.5!

Ps: I really hope we get from the author a book/duology on my baby Seryu, I NEED it <3

This book commences right as the first book finishes which really helps pull you straight back into the story. I loved the beautiful writing style that really captivates you with its magical descriptions and fast pace. It was a really easy read that I found hard to put down and wrapped the duology up nicely. At times, the plot seemed somewhat basic compared to the first book, but was still very enjoyable.

The Dragon’s Promise picks up soon where Six Crimson Cranes ended, and we follow Shiori and Serhyu as they travel to the underwater Dragon Kingdom.

Shiori is set on restoring the broken pearl to its true owner, and all the while she must prevent the demon Bandur from escaping his prison.

I loved the scenery in this book. Everything was described beautifully, and I enjoyed how we discovered even more of the world. Elizabeth Lim also didn’t disappoint regarding food descriptions; prepare to become hungry while reading this book!

I enjoyed the plot a little less than the one in the first book. The beginning was very fast-paced, but it felt a little too cramped and rushed. After this, the plot felt more smooth and reminiscent of the ease of Six Crimson Cranes. I did like their challenges and the emotional moments, but I think I was a little less gripped as Bandur was a rather lacklustre villain after Raikama.

All in all, The Dragon Promise does stick the landing for the duology and I definitely recommend it for fans of the first instalment.

A lovely conclusion to the duology! I wasn't quite as engaged as I was when reading Six Crimson Cranes, but overall it is still a greta read

Many thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for providing me with this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. This opinion is my own.

Let's say that was an interesting choice to end a duology to say the least.

I adored Six Crimson Cranes and since I finished that book, I have been waiting endlessly to have this one in my hands, but now that I have finished it, I can't help but be bitterly disappointed. This book follows the events at the end of Book 1 (iykyk) and Shiori has to visit the dragons' realm, Ai'long in order to save her country. She is accompanied by Seryu, her friend, but also a prince of the realm.
The first part of the story I really enjoyed. I love seeing Shiori, Kiki, and Seryu navigating the complicated politics and the unexpected problems in Ai'long. The action was thrilling, and I was very excited to see how the rest of the book would play out (spoilers alert: I was disappointed).
To sum up, this part of the book was a solid 4-stars but the rest was barely a 2-stars, and I want to explain why.
First of all, the characterization in this book has gone completely off-railed. Reading about Shiori, whom I loved and loved in Six Crimson Cranes, just annoyed me to no end in this book. You might think that with all she had experienced in Book 1 and in this book, she would have acted differently (or at least, more thoroughly, because, despite everything, she is still a 17-years-old princess). But TDP feels like reading about Shiori acting recklessly all over again with no repercussions, which brings me to my next point.
Everything in this book is so damn convenient it feels like an old-time Disney movie. This universe has HUGE stakes, but somehow everything is resolved so smoothly despite poor planning and very, very reckless actors. And the ending oh my god. I was so angry at the end because it was so convenient it seems impossible (right intervention at the right time)
Moreover, this book has SO MUCH potential with the new plotlines, but everything is wrapped up so quickly that we barely have the time to thoroughly enjoy the fresh elements. For example, we meet a new character who appeared like three times, and then they are gone, while if explored thoroughly, they could have been such a good character and a key element to the intrigue. Additionally, there is also this new plotline concerning a cult, and I really think that it would have been a wonderful addition to the story if it were developed sooner.

I want to mark this as a spoiler although it isn't really one, to be honest, I don't really get the title and the cover. Seryu appeared for like 30% of the book and then he just left Shiori alone on the mainland. Is it because of that ending?

To sum up my thoughts The Dragon's Promise was a very disappointing read for me considering how much I loved Six Crimson Cranes. I only give this 3/5 because I love Takkan (he deserves the world) and Seryu (the one the only the bitch). Otherwise, this is an underwhelming conclusion to a duology with a lot of potential but was unfortunately torn up by bad choices from the author.

4.5 stars
When I read Six Crimson Cranes last year, I absolutely adored it. It was a book that had everything I wanted, from stunning descriptions, great world-building, well-developed characters and of course, an adorable romance (with an almost love triangle). So, when I got my ARC of The Dragon’s Promise, I had high expectations from the book. For the most part, it definitely met them.

Stepping back into this world after such a long time felt wonderful. Returning to just Kiata was nice, but the fact that we got to see other locations in the story was amazing. Lim’s beautiful prose takes us on a journey across many places as we follow Shiori along her perilous path to return the dragon’s pearl to its rightful owner. Like in SCC, I adored Shiori this time as well. Seeing her determination and her strength, it was hard not to fall in love with her all over again. I love how she is caring and kind and how she doesn’t lose sight of her goal. I also enjoyed seeing her interact with the other characters, especially Kiki. The little paper bird and Shiori make for perfect companions and the best of friends.

I also loved Seryu in this book. TDP made me fall in love with him more than I did in the first book. I was fully charmed by him. The Dragon Prince is a strong character on his own and sometimes, you can’t tell what he will do. While I loved him and Shiori together, I don’t really ship them and I think they’d be such good friends. But Takkan…god, Takkan. I love him. This book contains all the reasons why I think he and Shiori make such a perfect pairing. I loved their romance and I loved everything about them in general.

In terms of the plot, I felt it was a little bit average in comparison to SCC. Book one felt more action-packed and the stakes felt quite high and the pacing was also really well-done. Here, I felt as though the stakes stayed somewhat minimal in comparison, at least for the first couple of chapters of the book, only to spike up later. On a personal level, I felt as though it made the pacing a bit jarring but the second half just elevated the book for me. And the ending? The ending was just perfect. It made my heart race. Made me emotional. Made me feel so much for all the characters.

The Dragon’s Promise is a stunning, spell-bounding conclusion to Shiori’s story. I am going to miss this world a lot.

Having survived as an outcast, saved her brothers from their feathery fate, and learnt the truth about her step-mother, Shiori now has a new challenge: return Raikama’s dragon pearl to its rightful owner. With Seryu willing to take her to the dragon realm, it seems simple enough. But nothing about the dragon realm is simple and returning the pearl may be only the beginning. Her magic is no longer a secret and many in the kingdom blame her for the restless demons in the mountain. Fortunately she has Takkan to help her, not to mention six very grateful brothers.

This book was even better than the last, in part because all the world building had already been done. Instead of easing us in to the plot, this time we were thrown straight into the dragon realm and all the mystical mysteries and politics that come with it.

Shiori was alone or unknown for much of the first book, which didn’t leave much room for exploring her relationship with other characters. So it was nice to see that her relationship with Takkan has had a chance to progress and it is surprisingly empowering to see how confident Shiori is about her love now. Her relationship with her father also adds an endearing touch to the narrative. He had quite an air of patriarchal power in the first book, whereas in this one his strength is shown more through his love of his children and his openness to accept them for who they are. Another shift from the first book is seeing Shiori’s brothers treat her as a leader rather than someone who needs to be protected. This shift is reflected in the increased opportunities that Shiori has in making her own decisions and using her own power. Something that, once again, is empowering to see.

In my last review, I commented that the previous book had more of a rushed ending than I would have liked and, whilst things did move quickly, this book made much more of a point to wrap things up neatly and lead us to a satisfying ending.