3.5

The Dragon's Promise is the sequel to Elizabeth Lim's Six Crimson Cranes and because of how much I liked that book as well as the author's first duology, I was thrilled to be a recipient of this arc. Despite my excitement though, I was a little wary — Unravel the Dusk wasn't the best follow up to Spin the Dawn. I couldn't help but worry that this sequel would be a repeat.

In the start, you are rushed headlong into action, picking up where we left off in Six Crimson Cranes. I have to admit, like what some other reviewers have said, the first thirty percent, although very good and had me on the edge of my seat, felt disjointed compared to the rest of the book. Some characters were introduced that I felt were underutilized and I thought they would play a bigger role, especially with the book's title, which I honestly didn't get. One character we didn't get to see much of, disappointingly. However, one character reintroduced was definitely a highlight for me and I liked his presence in the book. I think this book would have been better if the first thirty percent had a larger part. I thought the setting and characters were more interesting compared to the rest.

To be honest...Shiori was kind of annoying in this book. I know it's part of her personality but I wish she just used her head a few more times here. I still liked her and Takkan's relationship but I don't know, I wish sometimes Takkan didn't just smile and nod along to everything at his own expense.

Past thirty percent, things started getting a little muddled. Halfway, and not much has happened with the second plot, and honestly it felt a little chaotic. Some parts were interesting, some didn't make much sense for me. The climax dragged for me, and I don't know what to feel about the ending.

I agree with other reviewers too — Six Crimson Cranes was better off as a standalone. Based on my experience, it didn't make me love the characters more or make me feel anything new. It was still an entertaining and easy read though, hence the rating.

This was fun. The writing is very easy to get through and I really needed that amidst some of the more demanding books I was reading along with this one. It picks up right where the first one ended and I really like the new setting of the Dragon’s realm. Its beautifully written and as someone who struggles with picturing stuff in their head and is usually bored by descriptions of places, I actually enjoyed reading the descriptions in this one.

That being said, the plot and the characters weren’t that impressive to me. There was no growth in Shiori from book 1 to this one, and even from the beginning to the end of this book itself. The side characters were only there to drive the plot forward and I wasn’t particularly attached to anyone. I didn’t like the sort of but not really love triangle situation that was going on. I wish the author had either committed to it or left it alone entirely. The plot twists rely heavily on Shiori being naïve and making the same mistakes repeatedly and that got tiring to read about. I liked the first half but as the book went on I was just waiting to be done.

Overall, I’m not likely to remember this as anything more than a quick read to balance out my reading.

‘Six Crimson Cranes’ was one of my favourite books of 2021, so when I saw there was going to be a sequel, I couldn’t wait.
However, unfortunately the sequel disappointed me a bit. The story felt very slow-paced and almost like two separate stories that didn’t quite make sense together and made it feel very disjointed.
I do still love the authors beautiful writing and the characters it’s just it didn’t quite meet my expectations this time.

I love books about dragons and this one certainly did not disappoint. A headstrong princess’s promise to return a dragon’s pearl to it’s true owner leads her into many adventures. Will she succeed against all odds and at what cost? A wonderful imaginative tale I thoroughly recommend it.

This series accidentally ended up as one of my fave of all time. Lemme paint the picture: School gets a lil boring and I get A LOT trigger happy and I request this book. I hadn’t even read the first book…
But then I did read the first book and the only thing I could think about was reading this one. So I did!

This holds a special place in my heart. Not only did it feature waaay more of Seyru, the love interest who has my heart, but It was in the sea!! There is no better setting for a book. Jellyfish! Dragons! Court politics? I ain’t too sure about that last one, but hey it worked!

Like always, I’m so friggin proud of how our MC doesn’t die. OBVIOUSLY she isn’t as powerful as dragons. But she suddenly doesn’t gain ridiculous powers to achieve her goals! She is just awesome!! And smart! And yes she got help, but it never feels like plot armour or out of the blue randomness. Thigh at this point, this series is allowed to do whatever it wants and I would still go down swinging for it.

And ohmigosh the ending! It was PERFECT and I will take no objections at this time. Or any other time…

What a beautiful sequel to Six Crimson Cranes. I quickly fell back in love with Lim’s magical world. I did feel the story was a wee bit slow in the middle but I still absolutely loved it.
I loved watching Shiori develop into a strong individual, the family dynamics and the continuation of the slow burning romance!

Absolutely loved this!

Okay, I have a lot of thoughts and I am trying to collect them all into a coherent whole.

I read Six Crimson Cranes (the first book in this duology) in February and then was unable to pick anything else up because I was in a book hangover. Lim's writing is so wonderful and really conjures up the ambience of myth and fairytale, I was practically on drunk on it. The story itself kept me hooked and I really cared about all the characters.

Usually, when the first book is so good, the second or subsequent books are rarely able to live up to expectations. So I was careful to keep my expectations for The Dragon's Promise moderate. But I was still disappointed.

There was scope for a great and exciting plot when Shiori travels to the Dragons' realm with Seryu and I don't know why that wasn't sufficiently explored. This chunk of the story became pointless in the greater scheme of things and I didn't like that at all. Seryu is such an exciting character and I feel he wasn't utilised to his max potential. And the fact that he disappears not even halfway through the plot really didn't help. I was really looking forward to seeing more of him in this book because we he get much on him in the first one. No actually, I thought he was going to be really important in this book ( the "dragon's promise" and all, you know) so I was really put off when that didn't happen.

Then again, this time around the stakes weren't as high somehow and I didn't really care what was happening for the most part. And I realised that the major plot points were all already dealt with in the first book so there wasn't much left to be done in this one. Like the romance, for example. Takkan and Shiori's relationship was already at a very good place, and nothing changes in this book. I really would have liked Takkan to have more personality. His stillness , maturity and patience steadily turned into blandness. Like how is a person never insecure, how is never saying anything but the right thing in every situation? At some point, he felt more like an ideal than a person and I stopped caring.

Shiori was at atleast the same. She was consistently growing and becoming a better version of herself so that was great. Again, the plot felt really dragged on and I would've really liked for it to end sooner. It also became a little repetitive with all the 'need to save someone, do something rash, almost get killed and then not die' thing going on. All in all, I didn't like it as much as I wanted to but I'll definitely look forward to the author's future work. :)

i think characters like shiori and takkan can only remain charming for one book - the more i got of them, the more they started to wear me out (although i admit their romance is cute). there were a couple of new characters introduced who had a lot of potential but sadly they turned out to be pointless and played no significant role in the plot.

honestly, the dragon's promise feels a bit of an unnecessary book to me - six crimson cranes would've worked perfectly well as a standalone.

despite it all, i'm being generous with my rating because this is still a fast-paced, compulsively readable book with a nice writing style and if you really really love the characters, i think you'll like it (most of the early reviews are positive so i might be in the minority).

Overall a good book.

Thanks, Netgalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.
O was so excited to see my profile approved for an Arc that I read this in one go.
Magnificent work. You get totally lost in the beautiful world that the author creates. This book takes the world building of Shiori's world, basically the land of Dragons, to a whole new level. It was magical experience. I really wanted for Shiori and Seryu to be an end game ever since book one, but O still appreciate the very special friendship that they formed through all trials that both of them had to endure. Both books really deserve some sort of media visualization - graphic novel, movie or anything. It is real magical experience for the mind and it should be for the eyes as well! Can't wait to read more amazing novels form the author!

Finished reading 2 - 17 March

Less than 5-word critique; exciting and magical.

"The Dragon's Promise" is like a movie sequel that is just as good as the original. I myself enjoyed this more than its predecessor for reasons I don't want to spoil. On an extra note, this duology would be perfect to see as a film or TV series,

After the events of "Six Crimson Cranes", Princess Shiori must undergo some challenges that will test her on everything she knows and loves, including going to the kingdom of dragons and facing off demons once again.

Lim does it again with her brilliant and beautiful writing.
Excellent characters and character development.
World-building is more expansive than ever and never lets you feel confused. It is a soaring experience.

Recommended to those who enjoy;
*"Mulan", "Dragonheart", and "Raya and the Last Dragon" vibes
*Strong-willed female protagonist who will protect what she cares about
*Complex humans and creatures
*Action-packed sequences that makes you feel you're watching a fantasy action movie
*Dragons
*Magic
*Family bonds
*Sweet romance with a lot of witty and adorable banter

Thank you so much NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this copy. I really loved and enjoyed the story.

P.S. The cover artwork is awesome and beautiful. A lot of praise to the artists as well.

A big thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this eArc!

An amazing sequel to an exquisite series! So rich with mythology and culture, a world filled with fantastical creatures and amazing characters. I highly recommend this series!!

Can’t wait for my physical copies to arrive when this book releases!!

I was so excited to get approved for this book!!
Six Crimson Cranes was easily one of my favourite books from last year, and I have had The Dragon's Promise preordered for quite a while. But I couldn't resist a sneak peek!

While for me, this book didn't quite live up to the standard of the first book, I did still really enjoy being immersed in the world that Lim has built.
I think the reason I was slightly disappointed was that I didn't want this book to follow a love triangle. Because I had a feeling it would be executed...as it was. Shiori and Seryu never really had enough of a romantic connection for me to be invested in the love triangle. It seemed a bit forced as there was never anything visibly unwavering about Shiori's devotion to Takkan I guess?
Overall I think if SCC had originally been made 100 pages longer, the finale of this story could have been incorporated into the first instalment and there would have been no need for it being a duology.

Again, this was just my own personal opinion - I did still immensely enjoy reading this as I do love the characters, but wasn't as captivated as I was with Six Crimson Cranes. But I feel so lucky to have read this in advance and can't wait to have a physical copy!

why are all my most anticipated 2022 releases so disappointing 😭

Please, let there be no love triangle

If you’ve read my review for Six Crimson Cranes you know just how much I loved that book. While I was concerned that the sequel would include a wholly unnecessary love triangle angle, I wasn’t at all preoccupied with the possibility of not liking it. And of course, 2022 being my underwhelming reading year, it turns out that *plot twist* I low-key disliked almost everything about this book. With a few modifications, Six Crimson Cranes could have easily been a stand-alone novel, and I actually think it would have resulted in an even stronger book. Alas, as this is a duology, we get The Dragon's Promise, a lukewarm finale that came across as boring and repetitive. Characters I previously enjoyed reading came across as very one-dimensional, the villain was far less compelling than the (apparent) one from Six Crimson Cranes, and the meandering plot failed to grab my attention. One too many chapters end with Shiori falling and or possibly facing some other type of danger (being attacked etc.). While the story doesn’t include an actual love triangle it teases one, something that I almost found more annoying than having to put up with a proper love triangle.
If you, like me, loved Six Crimson Cranes I’d still recommend you check out this sequel as you might find it a more captivating read than I did.

If you don’t mind reading minor spoilers here is my more in-depth(ish) review:

The Dragon's Promise picks up right after the cliffhanger Six Crimson Cranes. Shiori and Seryu have gone to the kingdom of dragons so Shiori can give the dragon’s pearl to the king of dragons, Seryu’s grandfather. But, Shiori doesn’t really plan on handing him the pearl as she promised her stepmother on her deathbed that she would return the pearl to its true owner. How she planned on escaping the consequences of not doing what she said she would is a mystery to me. Of course, the king is not pleased with her refusal to hand the pearl over to him and this results in a lot of back-and-forths where Shiori repeatedly believes that her newfound allies may or may not have betrayed her. Shiori is imprisoned, freed, imprisoned, freed, and so on. She comes across a character that will quite clearly play a role later on in the story but I didn’t find him as amusing as the narrative tried to make him into. Seryu’s character becomes rather unlikable and his bond to Shiori didn’t feel particularly believable. He confesses to having feelings for her (or something to that effect) but Shiori loves Takkan so she turns him down. She does now and again seem to entertain the possibility of being with Seryu but not in any serious capacity. For plot reasons, the two are of course forced into an engagement. It would have been far more refreshing to have their relationship as strictly platonic as I am tired of these YA novels where we have these two hot guys falling in love with the spunky clumsy heroine who has only very superficial and off-page friendships (here there is a weak attempt at giving her a positive relationship with a girl her age but funnily enough this friendship is mostly relegated off-page because of plot reasons).
After what felt like forever Shiori returns home and reunites with her beloved and her own family. Her brothers, who felt like such a crucial element from 1, are given very few lines and the remainder of the book sees Shiori and Takkan travel from place to place in an attempt to defeat the Bad Guy and are later on aided by a witty side character we met earlier in the book. I didn’t feel the stakes, the Bad Guy was very cartoonish, and the plot was just repetitive. In no time Shiori’s act-now-think-never attitude started to irritate me and while the story seems intent on portraying her as extremely special or whatever I didn’t feel that she was a particularly memorable or unique character. I missed the atmosphere of the first book as here that spellbinding magic is lost to samey action sequences.
Additionally, the dialogue was distractingly anachronistic. I don’t understand why the author randomly dropped archaic words into the characters’ dialogues as they merely stood out and consequently took me out of the story.
This was a deeply disappointing sequel. Not only did it make me fall out of love with the characters and setting of its predecessor but it was just a painfully ‘meh’ read. The content struck me as boorishly vanilla and Disneyesque (not in a good way as, so far as i remember, there were no lgbtq+ characters…).
I wish I could have loved it but as things stand the only reason why I gave The Dragon's Promise a 3-star rating is out of my love for Six Crimson Cranes.

A beautifully written sequel. I really enjoyed the new characters we met in the dragons kingdom and the romance between Shiori and Takkan was lovely. Its not normally the type of romance I enjoy but the characters were so well written you couldn't deny they were meant to be together.
I was disappointed we said goodbye to Seryu so soon, I'd love to read more about him in the future.
The story was easy to read like the first one and doesn't get bogged down with unnecessary information.
Definitely worth checking out!

I recently read Six Crimson Cranes and fell in love with the story, so of course I was thrilled to be giving the chance to review the second book in this series The Dragon's Promise. The story follows on from the events of the first book with Princess Shiori once again fighting against danger on all fronts in order to seek answers and fulfill a final promise, whilst trying to protect her family and people that fear her magic will become their ultimate undoing.
I can honestly say that I loved the Dragon's promise even more than the first book as we get to see the struggle Shiori has between protecting her family and exploring her magic and what it can awaken with not only herself but also within the country.
Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton Publishers as well as Netgalley for allowing me to review this book.
All thoughts and opinions all completely my own.

This was the PERFECT conclusion to a perfect duology. I was crying by the end because I was so emotionally invested in all the characters, and I wasn’t ready to part with the world just yet. But all good things must eventually come to an end, and boy was this book GOOD.

One thing I disliked in Lim’s previous book Spin the Dawn was that the story wasn’t particularly linear; it changed the endgoal of the book in the middle of the story which made everything feel a bit disjointed. Lim fixed this in Six Crimson Cranes, and I’m so happy she kept up with it in The Dragon’s Promise. You always knew what the characters were fighting for and what their goals were, even if the way to achieve those goals could change. It made the end feel extremely rewarding and it truly felt like you had been on an extraordinary adventure with the characters. This also made the book feel like a fairy tale or a legend, and together with the magical world Lim had created made the experience of reading this book an absolute pleasure. Lim shows you firsthand that even if you’re older you can still experience the magic of fairytales!!

My favorite thing about this book (if you don’t count Lim’s wonderful prose and the beautiful world she has created) was Shiori and Takkan. I can’t remember the last time I squealed over a couple in a book, but the number of times I put my Ipad to my chest was almost embarrassing. Takkan and Shiori were SO SWEET together. SO SWEET. The way they cared for each other, thought of each other and how they acted around each other. Takkan’s gentle and patient personality together with Shiori’s chaotic and passionate one made them into such a cute couple, and I loved seeing them together. They were also so good at communicating which… thank you Lim. For not creating any romance drama because of communication issues. The level of communication skills and respect these two had for each other was absolutely amazing to see and I could not wish for anything else. There’s even one point in the book when Shiori doesn’t want to tell Takkan something, YET SHE STILL DOES and I just loved her for that. I love Lim for doing that. I JUST LOVE WHEN COUPLES ARE GOOD AT COMMUNICATING.

Another thing I loved was how much this book focused on maternal love from a stepmother which defies so many stereotypes. We got to know more about Raikama and her background, and there were several times throughout the book I almost teared up because of how misunderstood Raikama actually was.

The ending was also amazing. I am so happy with the ending. It wrapped everything up so well and it truly truly made this book feel like a fairytale. It was bittersweet in a way, but at the same time, I would not be happy with any other ending.

In conclusion, I’m sad this series is over, but I’m so happy I got to experience it.

Looking forward to seeing what else Lim will write in the future!!!

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the e-arc for an honest opinion.
I absolutely loved six crimson cranes, so I was so excited when I got accepted to have the E-ARC of Thr Dragon's Promise, book 2 of the series.
I loved it. I found it was fast pacing and easy to follow. I liked the way it was written and how the characters gelled together.

**Thank you NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for a copy of this ARC. These are my honest thoughts.**

The Dragon's Promise picks up where things left off in Six Crimson Cranes, though I can't say it's the same reading experience as the first book. This novel reminds me a lot of Spin The Dawn by this author, where it has distinctive parts to the storyline. Whilst The Dragon's Promise doesn't signify these moments like in the book I mentioned, you can easily break it up into different chunks. And whilst that worked in Spin The Dawn, I found the storyline to be a little too disjointed in The Dragon's Promise for it to move fluidly and have good pacing as its predecessor did.

The time spent in the dragon underwater kingdom felt so left-field for me, as did the rushed love declaration down there. I found myself a little exasperated by the waste of such a good friendship between Seryu and Shiori, even if his affections were noted in the first book. Whilst I'm grateful the love triangle didn't last for long, I found it unnecessary. I also thought this of the first 30% of this novel. Nothing was truly solved or set up enough through the time underwater, aside from the introduction of a new character - which thankfully was welcomed by me.

The return of a loved favourite from The Blood of Stars series made perfect sense, given the demon Bandur was also present in this novel. The use of Gen brightened it for me when it felt a little bleak or jumping over the place. Again, he was only in it for some time until it moved into the next plot change/destination, but at least Gen's presence allowed for more setup and understanding of what was to come further into the novel.

I continued to enjoy the connection between the brothers and Shiori, and their endless protection and willingness to risk all for each other. It warmed my heart that despite time apart, their bonds were stronger than ever. I didn't much enjoy the emperor and his placement in this novel. I had hoped for more, but it was a little hasty at times as if he was thrown in as an afterthought.

One of my favourite things about this sequel was the continuing learning about Raikama for Shiori and how important her promise was to fulfil for her stepmother after her death. I appreciated Lim's approach with this part of the storyline, allowing Shiori to learn more about the woman who had loved her with all her heart. It was incredibly well done, with the balance of heartache and warmth exceeding all expectations that I had for Raikama's part in this world.

The buildup of the romance between Shiori and Takkan was also beautifully done, especially as it weaved into the task of risking everything to remove Bandur from Kiata. Watching them work together, even when it was difficult to allow the other to be at risk only made their love story more formidable. And after waiting as long as I had for their first kiss - it was worth it all. Lim has a wonderful way of making the beauty of love just that - beautiful to read and imagine.

Sadly, as I've mentioned, the fact that this book is all over the place with the happenings did decrease my love for this world, and the ending, whilst sweet, felt a little disappointing to me. I wished somehow that the flow and building of the world that happened in Six Crimson Cranes continued over into this book. It is still a wonderful read, and I'm so fortunate to have received this arc and look forward to purchasing my own copy when it's released later this year.

<i>I received this ARC thanks to the Publisher and NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.</i>

Six Crimson Cranes was one of the loveliest novels I've read last year, so to have an opportunity to dive into the sequel so early was an honour for me. And what can I say? I'm writing this review through tears that block my view, so I'm not sorry for any missspellings lol.

I usually take a different approach to these reviews, but I guess I don't want to spoil the fun to anyone as I assume you're already a fan of the series if you reach for this sequel so I don't have to tell you why it's worth it. I know you know :*

In the beginnig I have to tell you one thing -- <b> PLEASE</b> reread <i>Unravel the dusk</i> before getting yourself involved with Dragon's Promise, I remembered Elizabeth mentioning Spin the dawn character involved, and I guess if you've read second book your wild guess would be Edan's presence, but considering this book comes out in 6 months even if you're the bestest reader with bestest memory, you'd fail just like me to remember few things. And they're crucial to make you fall in love with this story ten times more. (Really, I was mad where's my boii and in the middle of the book simple realization made me hit my head hard several times reconsidering my life choices and priorities. So I guess you'd also need a reread and a bunch of <b>notes with who's who, what location is which and aliases of well known characters</b>. I guess you'll thank me in a few months).

I love how the author intertwined both stories, even thou I think recalculating durations of few events, making some shorter, some longer, wouldn't hurt, after all once again I feel as my life's been complete by finishing another duology set in <i>Blood of Stars</i> universe. Now all I need is a reread of all four, to simply devour everything once again. Let me just go grab several more tissue boxes and I'm ready. Really, if you thought you have no tears left after unravel the dusk, start drinking water now as you might be dead of dehydration by the end of Six crimson cranes two-pack.

Hear me out, I'm not satisfied with the ending, it might feel mild as of what could happen, but I still find it cruel. But why, you either have to wait and find it out yourself, or if you're lucky or broken enough to have read <i>Warrior witch by Danielle L Jensen</i> you might be already prepared for this kind of emotional damage.

I was conflicted in what to rate this book first, as it didn't feel as fast paced as the first one, but after I made that realisation of how stupid I am, and how much I've missed out already I devoured it in one sit and now all is left for me is to sit in the corner waiting for another masterpiece by Elizabeth Lim. So if you haven't already guessed correctly, it's a solid 5 star read and you won't change my mind, If you don't agree with me, please do yourself a favor and google who Gen was. <b>Either your welcome, or please don't slap me on my face for my stupidity and bad memory, I've already done it enough myself</b>.

To Sensei Elizabeth if she's somehow reading this -- can we please get at least one flowery-sugary-happy engding, with no emotional damage to the reader? Thank You, I love you but I'd be forever grateful for one, as I don't know how much of your stories my heart will take before I'll be gone from an attack.

<img src="http://www.simbasible.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/1-7.gif" width="400" height="auto" alt="description"/>

I really loved Six Crimson Cranes so I was incredibly excited to get the chance to read and review this sequel. I absolutely fell in love with Shiori in book one, and it was wonderful to carry on with her story.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, but I do feel it had some minor issues compared to Six Crimson Cranes. The main thing is that first third of the book feels a tiny bit disjointed from the rest. I loved all the parts in the dragon realm, and the demon storyline, I'm just greedy and would have loved more time spent in both, and more world-building, especially on the plot points that linked the two.

Shiori continued to have my heart in this book, my reckless, bold, brave, ever-hungry angel, and Kiki continued to be an absolute scene stealer. The plot is fast-paced and frantic, which lead to me being unable to put the book down, so worried about my favourites making it through to the end that I had to keep reading just one more chapter until the end. I love a book that feels like falling into another world and this very much gave me that sensation.

It was overall a satisfying and beautiful conclusion to the story and I loved reading it.