I want to start off with a quick note. Lim is a wonderful writer, her prose is gorgeous and her ability to weave quiet scenes in fantasy is stunning.

Unfortunately, those things were few and far between in this sequel (I hope some line editing was done after the version I read, because the prose was just not up to the same standard). It really saddens me, because SCC was so unique - the fairytale elements felt timeless, the character growth was lovely and nuanced, and there was a gentleness to it that is so lacking in most YA fantasy.

I knew it was going to be hard to follow up because of this, and I truly think SCC would have been better as a stand-alone, as many others have said. I won’t get into the scattered quality of the plot and character regression (again, others have commented on those things).

My specific issue is this: it felt like an utter repeat of Unravel the Dusk, and not in a good way. Demons that come relatively out of nowhere and take over the plot, which felt so dissonant to the emotional and relational focus of the narrative, as well as the nuanced and charming magic. In both sequels, I felt as though these demons “possessed” the book and turned it into a warped version of itself. Their backstory, mythology, and context just isn’t developed well and it feels like a false way to create conflict and evil.

Then there is a return to the same demon land with the same landmarks and battle zone. Throwing in a character from the original duology in a way that felt forced. A part at the end (won’t go into spoiler) that uses the same deus ex machina as in Unravel the Dusk to neatly tie up bows.

This was frustrating in the former duology conclusion, but it felt more in line with Spin the Dawn, and I didn’t connect with that book to the same level. But for SCC, which I loved more and set up a different tone from the beginning, well it was just a huge disappointment.

The Dragon’s Promise by Elizabeth Lim is the thrilling conclusion to the Six Crimson Cranes duology. After Shiori makes Raikama’s dying wish to return the mysterious pearl, she must travel to the realm of the dragons to locate its rightful owner. Meanwhile, Bandur the demon yearns to be free from his mountain prison and superstitious villagers believe the only way to stop him is to sacrifice Shiori, who is the blood sake of Kiata.

Lim’s world building continues to shine in this book. We are taken to the realm of the dragons and to far away islands, learning more about Kiata along the way. She writes in such a magical and transportive way that the reader is completely immersed in the story and setting.

Her characters are also lovable and well developed. Takkan is one of my favorite all-time book boyfriends - my favorite of Takkan’s characteristics is that he tries his best to help Shiori and anticipate her needs and actions without ever becoming overbearing and controlling. I was also thrilled to see Kiki return, Shirori’s snarky paper crane sidekick. Shiori will stay with me for a long time - she is loyal, compassionate, brave, tenacious, and resourceful. The characters’ relationships were realistic and well-rounded. The love between Shiori and Takkan was so beautiful and sweet, and Shiori’s relationship with her father reminded me of my own. Fair warning: there is a love triangle for those who don’t particularly like this trope, but it’s a minuscule part of the plot.

While the pacing might’ve been slow at times, the magic bursting from this book kept me incredibly engrossed. I loved the magic and world building inspired by East Asian mythology and folklore. I’m looking forward to reading more of Elizabeth Lim’s novels in the future.

I loved the first book in this duology. So, I was excited to jump into this sequel. There was a lot to like in this one, as well, but it didn't all come together as well as I'd hoped it would. The characters were still my favorite part, and they were as entertaining and vibrant as ever. The family dynamic was fun to read, once again, and the romance between Shiori and Takkan was cute and endearing. There was a hint of a love triangle involving Seryu, but it didn't take up as much space in the story as I expected. In fact, after the first third of the book was done, he was pretty much absent from the story. That brings me to the thing that ultimately didn't work for me about this book. The story felt a bit disjointed and mashed together, almost like it was multiple story ideas that got pushed together. I enjoyed each story thread, though, for the most part. Visiting the different locales was a lot of fun, and there was plenty of fast-paced action and interesting mythological elements. In the last 20% of the book, it just became a bit too frenetic, and there were times the plot felt really forced. For example, there was a pivotal moment where one of the characters came up with a solution on the spot that didn't make much sense, and no explanation was given for how the character figured it out or why the solution worked. For most of the last 15% of the book, I also couldn't help feeling that it should have ended already, but I think that is because there were so many story threads it felt like the book could have had at least three or four different stopping points before finally reaching the end. All in all, this was still a really fun read, but it didn't quite reach the level of its predecessor because the plot wasn't nearly as tight. Therefore, I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.

What a great sequel to six crimson cranes! I really loved that this book started up RIGHT where scc dropped off, even if that meant that I had to do some creative googling to figure out what the exact ending of SCC was (what can I say...it had been like six months!). I think Elizabeth Lim did an amazing job creating a cohesive duology, in a universe that could theoretically be visited again (a story about the dragon king? a story about Raikama growing up? so many options!)

While there were some aspects that I wish were expanded upon (namely it felt like the ending happened SO QUICKLY after a very long very slow build up, and the romance was uh...a little odd? imo), I honestly think this sequel did not disappoint.

I received this ARC in exchange for review!

I was extremely excited to read this book because I really enjoyed the first one. The first book was driven by the main character's relationships with her brothers, her parents, and her friend/love interest. While these dynamics are still present in this second novel, they really take a backseat to nonstop action, which unfortunately hurts the reader's emotional attachment to the characters.
The plot was a bit muddled in this second installment. At times, particularly during action sequences, I was confused about what was happening and often had to flip back a page or two to see if I had missed something.
While I enjoyed the book overall, I think the second book might have benefited from a tighter plot and additional character development.

review ♥
the dragon’s promise- elizabeth lim
★ ★ ★ ★

“Your heart is your home,” I murmured. “Until you understand that, you belong nowhere.”

•love triangle
•slowburn
•demon and dragon realms
•the chosen one (the bloodsake)
•familial love
•asian mythology retellings

The Dragon’s Promise picks up right where Six Crimson Cranes leaves off. After Raikama reveals her true identity, Shiori decides to follow her stepmother’s last wishes and return the broken pearl to the Wraith. Now Shiori and Seryu travel to the Dragon Realm in hopes of finding the pearl’s true owner. She has to follow many clues that lead her to find the demons and eventually continue her altercation with Bandur. With lots of betrayals, romance, and magical cranes, Shiori learns many lessons about her stepmother and helps unite an imperfect Kiata.

I was so excited to get back into this world and see Shiori again! I am floored by how beautiful this book is. I was especially excited about the romance and relationships between Shiori, Takkan, and Seryu. It was also really cool to understand Bandur’s origins before the blood of stars duology! Also… one of my favorite characters from Spin the Dawn comes back with one of his early names!! I loved Gen so much and am so happy to see him again! The ties between both duologies were so much fun to read about and I loved finding the connections.

I also enjoyed the background information on Raikama (Channari) and the relationship between Shiori and her father. The bond of family is one of my favorite things to read about, which is one of the reasons this duology means so much to me. However, the slow-burn romance was eating me up! I was so happy when Takkan and Shiori finally kissed!!!!

Although I have been team Takkan since the first book, I wished there was more of Seryu present in the book. However, the ending brought tears to my eyes. I am so sad this duology is over, but I loved the ending. It is bittersweet and realistic. Not all tales end with perfection, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t the happily ever after meant for those characters.

#books #bookstagram #booktok #bookish #booklover #bookworm #bookshelf #yabooks #bookrecommendations #bookreview #reader #reading #read #sixcrimsoncranes #thedragonspromise #spinthedawn #unravelthedusk #thebloodofstarsduology

here's a non-spoiler review of The Dragons Promise by Elizabeth Lim! I loved how atmospheric the world was. I always had a clear vision of what the setting was like and never felt like the characters were in a blank room. I also thoroughly enjoyed the exploration of family and friendship. Shiori and her brothers were so charming to me. The romance was top tier, it was sweet and never felt rushed. You could feel the chemistry. The only thing i wish was different was that it was a little long, but it never dragged on. I definitely recommend reading it when it comes out later this month!! 4/5 ⭐️

also thank you to Netgalley for sending me the arc!!

Thank you to Net Galley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing this complimentary book so that I might write a review of The Dragon’s Promise by Elizabeth Lim.

After thoroughly enjoying Six Crimson Cranes, I was excited to continue on and finish out Shiori’s story in The Dragon’s Promise.

This is the second duology that I’ve read by Elizabeth Lim and a pattern is beginning to emerge.

I initially discovered Lim when I heard about Spin the Dawn. It is such a creative idea, and I love a good competition, so I immediately fell in love with it. When an Unravel the Dusk ARC became available, I scooped it up right away.

While I still enjoyed the second book, it didn’t shine as much as the first book.
I could say the same for The Dragon’s Promise, so let’s get on with my review.

The Dragon’s Promise Review
The Dragon’s Promise picks up right where Six Crimson Cranes leaves off. It’s a bit jarring after a year between books. There’s no recap or refresher. And I don’t recall any explanations in the text reminding readers of important characters.

In fact, for the first three chapters, I was convinced Takkan was the bad guy in the last book and couldn’t figure out what was going on every time he was mentioned.

Takkan is Shiori’s betrothed for any who have forgotten.

I’m sure this won’t matter one hill of beans to someone binging the series, but in the normal flow of things, it confused me.

This might have contributed to my attitude the rest of the book, but I simply struggled to get into the story for the first 40% of the way through.

The beginning was slow, somewhat seemingly pointless, and—especially considering the events that happened in the latter half of the book—completely unnecessary.

That might be a bit of an exaggeration. She did acquire something that proved useful later on.
My point is, The Dragon’s Promise starts off rough around the edges and becomes just okay by the end.

The Characters
The story starts off with Shiori and Seryu going to the realm of the dragons. After that initial sequence mentioned above, we don’t see Seryu the whole rest of the book.

After Shiori’s return to Kiata, there are some heartwarming moments with her father and brothers, but enemies are still afoot and the ever present danger of the mountain full of demons lead by Bandur.

Since bringing up Bandur, it’s time to share my second gripe with The Dragon’s Promise, and that’s a recycled storyline.

Does Bandur sound familiar? He should, because he’s the demon enemy in Spin the Dawn. And the isle that Maia goes to with all the ghosts and demons? It’s called Lapzur if you’ve forgotten.

Yeah, that isle is in The Dragon’s Promise, too.

Now, I knew that Spin the Dawn and Six Crimson Cranes were in the same world. What I didn’t expect was that the two duologies would use the same plot points.

Shiori spends the whole of The Dragon’s Promise getting to Lapzur to bring about the climax of the book. And if that sounds familiar it’s because it is.

I was less than impressed reading the same book twice, but having different characters with different motivations doing basically the same thing.

The Plot
Let’s move on to the plot since we’re talking about it.

At first, I could have sworn the plot was to defeat the dragons, or convince them to do something important for her, or something.

I mean the first 40% of the book is spent in the land of the dragons, with Shiori narrowly avoiding death at their hands countless times over.

Then there’s a sudden shift to the plot being about Bandur and his demon army, which comes out of nowhere halfwhere through the book (remember, I forgot Six Crimson Cranes and what she was trying to do at the end).

Shiori is the bloodsake. For centuries, a bloodsake is born, the priestesses kill the bloodsake to prevent the demons from escaping the mountain and killing them all. If Shiori’s blood were to be given to the mountain, the whole thing would fall apart and the demons would be free.
So the priestesses usually burn the bloodsake. As soon as a bloodsake is killed, another is born. In this case, the current bloodsake is Shiori. So there’s those enemies.

But Bandur wants her to free the demons, and he’s ruthless in taken over the bodies of her loved ones to convince her to do it.

She needs to stop Bandur, avoid being killed by crazy priestesses, all while dealing with court politics from wolves in sheep’s clothing in her own court.

Final Thoughts on The Dragon’s Promise
That last sentence there is a really decent premise, and (admittedly) the story from that point forward is pretty great (excusing the recycled plot points concerning Lapzur).

If the first half of the book had been condensed to 2-3 chapters at most, and Lim had worked a little harder to conceal the reused plot points, I might have enjoyed this book as much as I did Unravel the Dusk. Because even though I said it didn’t shine like Spin the Dawn did, I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

I cannot say the same for The Dragon’s Promise. So much so, that I’ll have to think twice about beginning another Elizabeth Lim duology. The first book sucks me in, and the second book disappoints.

A series ending should be so explosive it leaves me wanting more and sends me into a book slump so hard that nothing else but another book in the same series will snap me out of it.

Instead, The Dragon’s Promise left me with no desire to ever see Shiori again. She (and her cohort) was just that forgettable.

I give The Dragon’s Promise a 3 out of 5 stars.

I wanted more. I had really high expectation, but this book didn’t enchant me like the first did. It had its beautiful elements that I loved, but it was really slow. I felt like that made sense with book one, but the action portion was so small and the result was not what I wanted from this story.

I will say I loved pretty much each and every character in this story and think they are so wonderful.

Will I read the first book again? Yes. Will I try this one again at some point? Maybe. Do I think you should read this duo? I think so. Was the writing phenomenal? One hundred percent yes.

What's it about (in a nutshell):
The Dragon's Promise by Elizabeth Lim concludes the fantastic duology that began last year with Six Crimson Cranes.

Initial Expectations (before beginning the book):
The first book ends with the main character, Shiori, headed to the dragon world under the sea. I expect to visit the dragon's world and complete Shiori's task in this book. I'm looking forward to a Dragon world rich in color and magic (I hope). Also, I'm hoping for a fast-paced and compelling conclusion to this story.

Actual Reading Experience:
I loved the writing style most of all. It is beautiful and descriptive with a flow that wraps the reader in its magical web and pulls you into the story. I can't get enough of Elizabeth Lim's storytelling style, which is absolutely exquisite.

I absolutely loved getting to go to a dragon world. I love dragons and find exploring their world endlessly fascinating. I loved the uniqueness of it and would have loved to have an even more in-depth exploration of it and the everyday lives of dragons.

The romance between Shiori and Takkan begins in book 1 and continues in this story. It's such a sweet and boundless love that took my breath away. Takkan is the epitome of what you would expect from a prince charming type character, even when Shiori is at her most exasperating. He is a very swoon-worthy romantic lead.

Characters:
Shiori is the main character, and she grew immensely from the start of Six Crimson Cranes to the end of The Dragon's Promise. She started out shallow and spoiled and became a mature young woman who realizes there is much more to life than vanities. She's loved, lost, and experienced a lifetimes-worth of struggle and tragedy by the time the story closes, so I would have expected her to grow as she does.

The support characters take a back seat in this second book, which surprised me as they are all so unique and developed lovingly. A few new ones are added, and I was surprised to find they also exited before the end of the story. I expected everyone to play a part in the conclusion. However, even though the closing didn't go as expected, I still found it satisfactory.

Narration & Pacing:
The narration is in the third person and focuses on Shiori. I found the pacing fast for most of the story though some small parts did slow and drag. Plenty of action from start to finish worked to keep the story flowing and tensions high from start to finish.

Setting:
The book is set in a few different places. It starts in the dragon's underwater world, which is somewhat Atalantisesque. I expected to see more of that world than I did, and I also expected it to be richer in color and build. However, I still found it enchanting and mesmerizing. We also return to Shiori's home and venture to a demon island. The demon island is a bit fire and brimstone, i.e., predictable, but that was okay with me. Overall, the world-building is exquisitely detailed and a visual and imaginative wonder.

What It Reminds Me Of:
Six Crimson Cranes and The Dragon's Promise have fairy tale vibes through and through.

To Read or Not to Read:
If you read Six Crimson Cranes, you will want to read this conclusion to the story. Though it's a bit darker and a bit less detailed, it still is a compelling conclusion to the story, and I wouldn't have missed it for anything.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

“Fate watches you closely, Shiori’anma, as it did her. It never favored her. Do not assume that it favors you.”

This is book two of the Six Crimson Cranes series. I am obsessed!! I already have the uk edition (I prefer that cover) in my shopping cart on book depository. It is just as good as Six Crimson Cranes. We get more Seryu at the beginning but he still plays a minor role overall in the book. I may be biased because I low key shipped Shiori and Seryu. I do love Takkan but Seryu was my pick. There was some kind of shady behavior with Seryu in the dragon realm so I understand why that relationship didn’t work out.

This book made me cry but it does have a happy ending (of sorts). Kiki is the best sidekick still and one of my favorite characters. Shiori’s brothers play more of a role in this book. We also get cameos of new demons and more character development of previously more minor characters. I love that there is a question of who the actual villain(s) is (are). This book along with book one did an amazing job of retelling and bringing to life this fairytale from my childhood. I’m living for it and I can’t wait to reread both books often.

This is a wonderful sequel to a strong first book! I loved getting to see the characters continue to develop. I also loved all of politics that we get to explore in this book. It is a must read!

I would read the phonebook if it was written by Elizabeth Lim. An excellent conclusion to Shiori's story.

this was a pretty underwhelming novel in my opinion. i didn't feel the need for love triangle and a lot of this story felt repetitive and boring. the characters were much less developed and lacked in many areas. the plot was very scattered at times and the book itself felt very uneeded.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Children for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately I was a bit disappointed by The Dragon’s Promise, moreso due to the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed the first book. This was largely due to certain plot directions and creative choices to focus on certain characters (and the absence of others). I was not as engrossed throughout the story like I was in the first book. Despite the intriguing reveal of the villain at the end of the first book (especially having read Spin the Dawn), this pandered out in its sequel and I found him to be an uninteresting villain.

Even though I was not connected to the plot in this book, I still love the characters of this duology (especially Seryu) very much.

I really enjoyed this sequel to one of my favorite reads from 2021. It made me very happy that we got to see more of Seryu, although I would have liked more of him and the dragon world. But I am getting a bit ahead of myself. This sequel has all of the heart, romance and action that the first book does, and I loved the mythology and the stories that the author related here. But there was a little bit of a lack of cohesiveness in the plot which made it slow in parts and even a bit confusing at times.

Shiori shows so much growth in her character in this book. She really gains in confidence while maintaining her witty banter with her family and with Kiki. I loved some of the scenes that she remembers about her family that kept her going when things seemed bleak. Her relationship with Takkan also grows ever stronger in this book, and I loved that they had each others backs no matter what.

Seryu still remains one of my favorite characters and I just loved him in this book. He gives up quite a lot for Shiori, which I never felt like she appreciates fully. But their dynamic and friendship is strained during their time in the dragon kingdom. I wish there had been a better ending to their story.

I really enjoyed some of the new characters that we met. Elang is a half dragon, half human that just captivated me with his sorrow at not belonging in either world. Gen is a young sorcerer that is trapped in the Ai’long and Shiori helps to escape. I really hope that these two get a spin off book, as they both have very interesting stories and personalities that I would love to see developed.

I think my main issue was with the slight incohesiveness of the story as a whole. There was a lot going on, with many plot lines, which were on one level connected, but many of them could have been dropped and would not have been missed in the overall scheme of things. This plot issue did drag things down at times, especially in the middle. The ending also seemed a bit rushed and it was a bittersweet one as well. The ending does fit very well with the world and the mythology that the author had crafted but it might have been nice to see a happier one.

I really enjoyed this second in this marvelous duology. The author does a fantastic job of world building and her writing will often leave you breathless. Even with the few issues with the plot, this is still a great story that I think many will enjoy.

We start off immediately where book one ends and it’s nonstop magic and threats and adventure! Shiori truly grows into a stronger person with all she faces in this book and she’s better for it! Really enjoyed the plot progression and the lore of this world!

★★★/5

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

Thank you NetGalley for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I wanted to love this book so badly. Sighs.

The Dragon’s Promise is the sequel to Six Crimson Cranes, and the last book in this duology. Six Crimson Cranes is a fun, majestic tale about a princess, her brothers, and magic. It’s a very beautiful story that brings color to the boring cliches of YA fantasy. Unfortunately, for all the good of the first book, the sequel did not live up to it.

The good. I absolutely loved Seryu. He was such a fun character, and watching him grow to care for Shiori, sacrificing things that meant so much to him as a dragon for ehr, was really sweet! I desperately didn’t want their friendship to become anything more, but I do wish he got a more satisfying conclusion. I felt like a lot of characters in this book were shoved aside to make room for some backstory about the stepmother, which wasn’t really fair to them. Still, Seryu is definitely my favorite character.

I really liked Takkan and Shiori’s relationship! It was well developed in the first book, and they really grew together in the sequel. They were very sweet and I was glad to see that they didn’t go through the fantasy-necessary breakup for no reason halfway through just to get back together later–definitely dodged a bullet there!

Shiori’s character is so fun to read. I loved how strong and witty she was while also being extremely caring and retaining actual hobbies like her love of cooking. She was a very empathetic character whilst also being pretty badass. Absolutely loved her. And Kiki!!

The bad…

The story dragged on so much. Way too much. I wasn’t caught up on the story anymore, and I honestly thought of dropping it so many times. There was no more plot left and still all the important stuff planted in book one were only resolved in the last twenty pages. I skimmed the last few chapters. I really, really wanted to love this book as much as I loved SCC, but it really failed in all the aspects SCC succeeded in.

That being said, I do think the first book is worth reading, and it has become a personal favorite for me!

Thank you thank you so much to NetGalley, Random House Children's, and Elizabeth Lim for my advance copy in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

"The Dragon's Promise" immediately takes place after the events of "Six Crimson Cranes". I LOVED "Six Crimson Cranes" and this was one of my most anticipated releases this year. I really enjoyed this one (I've been having some good luck with duologies lately!). I felt like Shiori's growth from book 1 to book 2 was wonderful to see; she starts off this rebellious and privileged teen to a young woman fighting for her loved ones, her people, and her country, all at the expense of herself. I appreciated that in spite of all of that, there were moments of immaturity and selfishness that really grounded Shiori as more than just a "super special main character". I appreciated how Lim really fleshed her out. That said, I do wish that we got to understand Takkan a bit more (as in book 1, he really reminded me of Mamoru/Prince Endymion from the Sailor Moon series) and to be honest while I would have liked more of him fleshed out into a person rather than an idea of a person, I feel like Shiori and Kiki had more than enough character and presence to balance him out. Also to draw back to the Sailor Moon comparison, I guess I appreciate how thin his character is since it gave more attention to Shiori.

One favorite thing I loved in book 2 was how often Shiori thought about her relationship to her father, her stepmother (which every single time, I was BAWLING), her brothers, and her Takkan. These moments are some of my favorites here because it really shows us who and what Shiori is fighting for rather than just telling us. Plus, it was just so heartwarming. I enjoyed getting to hear more about Chinnari and Shiori's father too. It all came together to really bolster up what was happening in-book.

All in all, I really enjoyed this! I'll definitely be buying this to join book 1 on my bookshelf. Lim did such a wonderful and beautiful job with her writing and storytelling. If you loved "Six Crimson Cranes", you need to pick this one up. It neatly ties up loose ends and does it well.

I really liked this conclusion for the Six Crimson Cranes du0logy! I've read all of Elizabeth Lim's works since Spin the Dawn and after finishing The Dragon's Promise, I can easily see the growth in the writing style and storytelling across all of her books!

I had several theories and wishes of what I suspected/wanted to happen in Book 2, but most of them didn't end up happening lol. I still liked the direction that this book took, though. Shiori's growth as a character from Book 1 to Book 2 was really well done. She shows so much strength and confidence, and I really admired her in this sequel! I also loved seeing her relationship with Kiki, her brothers, Raikama, her father, etc. be strengthened in this novel. Many of the scenes when she reflects on her relationships with her close family and friends made me emotional.

Overall, I do wish some of the side and background characters were more developed, especially Takkan. Compared to Edan (from Spin the Dawn) and Seryu's personalities, Takkan felt a little underwhelming as a character. Nevertheless, the magic and Elizabeth Lim's prose drew me into this world and novel once again, and I think that any fan of Six Crimson Cranes, will love The Dragon's Promise!