thank you to netgalley to providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review!

a good conclusion to the duology! i love shiori in this book just as much (if not more) as i did in book one. the romance between takkan and shiori is also really well written and i loved seeing both of them develop together and individually. elizabeth lim's writing lends itself beautifully to the story, as i really do feel like i'm in a fairytale. i will say that i liked book 1 more because it felt more cohesive and like a single story. the underwater dragon kingdom plot felt detached from the plot as a whole and it made me forget what the whole story was supposed to be about. the book wrapped up a bit too quickly for my liking- there was a lot of buildup for a final showdown that ultimately didn't quite live up to my expectations. i also wish we would have gotten to know more about the side characters (especially seryu and shiori's brothers) just because they seemed a bit one-dimensional in book one and this would have been a great opportunity to give them a more major role in the plot. though a sequel to six crimson cranes wasn't necessary, this was a fast-paced, fantastical read that really did feel like a fairytale.

This sequel is fast-paced, and has the same great writing as Six Crimson Cranes. I loved the mythology and the fantasy elements, but the story fell a bit short for me.

The characters felt a bit one dimensional and the plot was very disconnected. The first 25% of the book is completely unrelated to the rest of the book. And the last few chapters were another jump that felt forced and randomly added on. It almost felt like this book was supposed to be separate novellas, but they were all merged together in a bit of an awkward way.

Also, I don't want to give spoilers, so I'll just say that I feel misled by the title.

But you do get some answers and some closure from the first book, so that was good. And I did love the ending,

I am so grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me the opportunity to read and review The Dragon’s Promise ahead of its late August release. This is one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it felt so good to re-immerse myself in its world introduced in Six Crimson Cranes.

Elizabeth Lim is an exceptional writer, and I so look forward to her future works.

I enjoyed The Dragon’s Promise overall— and felt mostly satisfied with the conclusion of this special duology.

The romance was the heart of the story for me— what kept me going was Shiori’s love story. I was bracing myself for anything when it come to the romance— I genuinely would have been game for it all— but I am so very pleased with the direction Lim took. Personally, the chosen path for the romance deepens the significance of the entire duology. It layers the story with so much meaning, it left me breathless and anxious at times— will this love persevere? Will they make it? I desperately hoped so every step of the way. Lim made me so very deeply for this romance.

I so loved how Lim continued to develop the relationship between Shiori and her stepmother. While her deceased stepmother was of course not physically there, her presence was always felt. Their bond always mattered— to the very end. That, to me, was very beautiful. There’s the romantic love story between Shiori and her love interest— and then there’s the beautiful familial love story between mother and daughter— and how fiercely protective and intuitive a mother’s love can be.

However, while there was much heart, I’m not sure convinced of the soul of the book as a whole. Ironically, it felt the soul was dispersing thread by thread— there was a disjointedness that I felt never was made truly whole.

The first 30% of the book felt like another story compared to the rest. I expected to be part of that setting of the book for far longer and it felt like whiplash to be introduced to it all only to be quickly taken out. Too much happened in little time to truly process it.

There was also an absence of magic in terms of storytelling felt throughout, as if the book forgot its identity during certain moments. I never felt my soul pair the book as it did the first— but I emphasize that my heart was still all in.

I love Shiori. Her brothers. Takkan. Kiki. Seryu. All of them. The characters led the way for me and I gladly followed.

There may have been some hiccups— and an ending I’m not sure how to feel about yet— but this duology’s journey is one I’m happy to have taken. I embrace all the mixed emotions wholeheartedly because this is beautiful storytelling led by characters I have come to love for so deeply. I’ll miss them all very dearly.

I want to start this review by saying that Six Crimson Cranes was, and remains, one of my favorite reads of 2022. Because of how much I loved SCC, this was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and I was so incredibly excited for The Dragon's Promise.

Unfortunately, it did not end up living up to the expectations I set. I really struggled to get into the book and often felt like it was a chore to pick up. All the character development that we saw in book 1 sort of, fell to the side. I didn't feel like Shiori grew much more in this book. Seryu went from being a funny, enjoyable character to being grumpy and making hating Takkan his #1 personality trait.

Overall, this sequel felt a little bit like the author was forced to write a follow up and personally, I think I would have preferred for SCC to be a standalone.

All that said, I will absolutely recommend that you give this a shot and form their own decisions because you may really love it.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc.

I was hoping to liked this more than the first, but I did not, unfortunately. The covers are beyond gorgeous. I loved Seryu. If this story focused more on him and his world, I think I would have been obsessed. Shiori annoyed me to no end. She is so childish and wouldn’t even trust Seryu. It’s common sense that he would know more about his own world. You’d think she’d take his advice to heart. All she would go on about was Kiki and the pearl. I was sad when she got back to land since Seryu wasn’t in the story anymore. I don’t think she got better as the story went on. She was still very immature. This book also reminded me of the authors other duology. With the whole *spoilers* amulet thing, trapping one on an island, ghosts, etc. It was kind of like the same idea, reused, and just tweaked a little. Honestly, this may be closer to 2 stars for me.

This fantastic sequel in the duology by Elizabeth Lim brings an end to the great tale of Princess Shiori and her quest to save her world from demons and dragons. Aided by her love Takkan, companion Kiki, and six older brothers, Shiori goes through an arduous journey in order to fulfill a promise she made to her stepmother. In reading this book, I fell in love with the world building and the dynamics between Shiori and all of the side characters. I fell in love with the love story of Shiori and Takkan, and my heart wept for their struggles and mended itself back together with their ending.

I did find the overall pacing of the novel a bit inconsistent which made the flow slightly off, but nonetheless I enjoyed this novel. This is my first series by Elizabeth Lim and I'm keen to explore more! I recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good YA fantasy novel that employs a strong female Asian lead!

Thank you to NetGalley and author Elizabeth Lim for the ARC of The Dragon's Promise!

In another strong novel, "The Dragon's Promise" continues with Shiori's story as she races to save her kingdom and family. Rich with mythology, culture and family ties, Lim creates another beautiful world that features all manner of magical creatures. Throughout the novel, Shiori battles with the evil demon as she strives to return the broken pearl to its rightful owner--her stepmother's dying wish.

While I was excited to finish this story, I did find that too much was packed into a short book. I think this serious would have been better suited to a trilogy. Comparatively with Lim's first novel, "The Dragon's Promise" had a very rich folklore and world but not enough time to explore the vast empire. Therefore, some of the major plot-points, such as Seryu, feel cut short and underdeveloped.

However, I still would highly recommend this duology to fans of fantasy and young adult novels.

A sensational fantasy adventure that is unforgettable.

Dragon’s promise is a beautiful sequel to an amazing duology. Filled with magic, dragons, demons, gods, and the comical familiar - this book is movie magic.

Elizabeth Lim solidifies in my mind as one of the best authors that I have ever read. Spinning a tale that puts you at the edge of your mind turning the page to find out what happens next. I absolutely loved this novel and want everything related to this duology.

I am extremely happy of how it ended. Shiori is a legend! I loved that in Blood of Star Duology Gen makes a reference of Shiori and foreshadowing this I just knew he would appear in this story! So fun to revisit a great character and others such as the villianous Wolf and how he became the guardian of Lapzur.

Someone needs to pick up these movie rights for an animation STAT!

I think Elizabeth Lim's strength is definitely the first book in her series. As much as I loved Six Crimson Cranes, this fell a bit short for me. The ending more than made up for the rather clunky middle though.

Shiori is still an amazing heroine-- she more than fulfills her promise in the first book, and Takkan is a great foil to her! All in all, I enjoyed the sequel and conclusion to this duology. Will definitely be getting a copy for our collection.

Although I really enjoyed Six Crimson Cranes, this sequel unfortunately fell flat and just felt unnecessary. I had similar feelings about Lim’s previous duology, and I wish she would just write a standalone so I didn’t have to worry about meandering plot. This one felt repetitive and disconnected; I was never really invested in the storyline and I quickly became tired of characters I loved in the first book. Disappointed this didn’t turn out to be better!

𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬: The Dragon’s Promise by Elizabeth Lim

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ 4.5/5

𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙧𝙚: Fantasy duology (book 2)
𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙩: eARC

𝙁𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙌𝙪𝙤𝙩𝙚:
“All legends have a spark of truth,” was all I could manage. “Sometimes more than a spark. Don’t forget who you are along the way to becoming one. A legend, that is.”

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

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙:
Strong and confident MC, Shiori
So many sweet Takkan moments!
New and interesting side characters introduced
Emotional ending to a great duology
Inspired by East Asian folklore
Yummy food descriptions!

𝙁𝙪𝙡𝙡 𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬:
This is a wonderful conclusion to the duology that started with Shiori’s journey in Six Crimson Canes, and I was so happy to see all the resolutions for my favorite characters. There are some new side characters introduced who I thought were so refreshing (Qinnia), sarcastic (Gen), and mysterious (Nahma). I also LOVED all the perfectly sweet moments with Takkan in this one… there are so many scenes I kept rereading because Takkan is just the BEST. He perfectly balances out the headstrong and sometimes reckless Shiori and I am so here for it 👏🏻

Weirdly enough, my least favorite part of The Dragon’s Promise was the part of the book that was spent in the dragon court. I wanted to see more development of Seryu and Shiori’s relationship with each other, and thought some of the dragon scenes felt a little rushed. It was a lot of new characters and new information that felt like it could have been drawn out and explained with a little more depth. It’s a necessary part of Shiori’s journey, but I just felt a little disconnected from it compared to the rest of her story.

But I will say, I read part of this book while traveling and found myself awkwardly tearing up in public towards the end 😂 I just love our little group of Shiori, Takkan, Kiki, and the brothers and thought the ending was absolutely *chefs kiss* Now I want to go reread the Spin the Dawn duology!

I was so excited for THE DRAGON'S PROMISE. SIX CRIMSON CRANES was one of my favorites of 2021, making its sequel one of my most anticipated reads of 2022.

The first 30-40% of the book was a little disappointing to me. I felt the pacing was off and it almost seemed like the author didn't have a clear vision for what she wanted to happen in the dragon realm. It was very back and forth - Shiori is captured by the Dragon King, then freed, then captured again, then freed, then finds an ally, then is seemingly betrayed. It just felt... I don't know the correct word for it - scattered? Busy? The Ai'long portion was my least favorite of the book. The Dragon kingdom felt a bit too cheesy, too; the constant focus on the sea creatures felt much more juvenile than the rest of the book.

The binding/marriage aspect to Seryu felt forced, too. In the end I'm not sure how I feel about Seryu... It sort of feels like he gets forgotten. Seryu is one of my favorite characters and I can't help but feel like he got placed on the back-burner, like the author didn't know how to wrap up his story and his connection with Shiori. At times a love triangle was hinted at but nothing actually ever came to fruition. I kind of expected him to pop up in the climax, yet he didn't. We get one glimpse of him at the end, and we hear that he has been made the heir, but beyond that, his story feels unresolved. Using Seryu and the Dragon Kingdom as a vehicle for finding out about the Wraith ultimately felt thin.

I will say making introducing Gen and making the connection to Lim's other series was a home-run, though. Gen was a great character and I wish we could've been with him more.

The last 40% of the book is excellent however, and it was exactly what I was wanting out of the book. I loved that the brothers were turned into cranes again, harkening back to the first book. Shiori's sacrifice felt appropriate, too; I would've been upset had she died, but I also would have felt like it was a cop-out had she lived. The compromise she makes with the Moon Goddess and God of Death felt like a fair balance. Kiki becoming a real bird was AMAZING.

Also, this is such a minor point, but: there needs to be uniformity in format when Kiki/Bandur is speaking. Sometimes the text is italicized, sometimes it's in quotes. This makes it a little confusing as to who is actually speaking. I'm sure this will be fixed in copyedits, but still.

The Dragon's Promise was an attempt to weave the story between Six Crimson Cranes and The Blood of Stars duology (if you haven't known, they're set in the same universe but the events were separated by hundreds of years). I can see that this is an ambitious book and Mrs. Lim tried to outdo herself, but it didn't hit quite the expectation for me.

But first, let's talk about things that I loved/enjoyed from this book.
The setting was mesmerizing, no surprise, it's still as magical as SCC. The atmosphere was truly enchanting. I loved the characters: Shiori and her brothers, Kiki, Takkan, Seryu, Gen, and I cared about every single of them. I enjoyed their dynamics soooo much. The banters, the deep talks, even the filler dialogues. The combination of good characters and dynamics allows me to feel the emotions easily. So I'm gonna tell you this: this book made me weep, it made me giggle, it made me frown, and of course it made me swoon.

Now the things that could have been better.
The plot was all over the place. The pacing was inconsistent, sometimes it felt too rushed and cramped. Some scene were too messy due to lack of narration so it was hard to imagine. The story happened in several places and the journey in each of the location was hard and dangerous. I think it would be better if the story splitted into 2 or maybe 3 books, so Shiori and the gang could take some rest and the story in each location could be more focused.

I felt like this book needs a collection of backstories because so. many. things. left unexplained. Finishing the book didn't make me relieved because the story is over, but it left me with a lot of questions. And because of those unexplained things, almost every solution to particular problem seemed random and forced.

Overall I was enjoyed this book, it's very annotate-able and react-able. I missed the characters already and I'll be keep hoping to get more SCC & TDP crumbs in Mrs. Lim's future books.

I haven’t read a fantasy book in a long time with asian representation and I absolutely loved this one so much! the sequel is a chef’s kiss and I am greatful that i was able to read this!!!

It’s very rare that I enjoy a sequel more than the first book! The Dragon’s Promise was great and I thank NetGalley for the ARC. The store picks up where the previous book left off, full of adventure and life threatening situations. The story was fast paced and the plot was great, if you enjoyed the first book you’ll definitely enjoy this one!

I loved this, took me forever to read for some reason, but I loved it like I loved the first book. Picks up where we left off. What’s not to love: underwater dragon realm, Shiori going into things head on with reckless abandon, a quest continued, magic, fight for power/control, love, lore, demons..etc. I enjoyed these from start to finish.

I was thrilled to be approved for an ARC of this book - it's been one of my most anticipated reads for 2022! Six Crimson Cranes was one of the books that got me out of my reading slump, and Elizabeth Lim does it again with this solid finale to her magical duology.

The Dragon's Promise picks up right where we left off, with Shiori traveling to the dragon's underwater realm. From there, we're taken on a nonstop adventure with familiar characters and a few new ones as our Kiata princess determinedly sticks to her promise of returning the pearl to it's original owner. However, as Bandu and the trapped demons in Kiata hound her every decision, it becomes clear returning the pearl won't be the only big mission Shiori will have to accomplish.

Once again the writing was as captivating as it was beautiful, and I enjoyed being able to re-immerse myself into the magical world Elizabeth has created. This book has a much faster pace than the previous one, as there are a lot of plot lines to manage and wrap up conclusively. Overall, I'd say the author did a fantastic job making it all come together.

The Dragon's Promise was one of my most anticipated reads of 2022. I absolutely loved the first book in the duology, Six Crimson Cranes, and was very eager to return to the world. I have to say this one disappointed me a little bit, maybe because I really liked the first book so it's hard to live up to it. The writing was good - Elizabeth Lim never fails to spin an intriguing story and excels at creating fantasy worlds full of magic. However, I think the fact that this story moves around a lot, with Shiori and her brothers and Takkan and a whole cast of other characters quite literally flying around to different places during their quest, there wasn't quite the same setting development and emotional "hit" as in Six Crimson Cranes. The overarching plot with the pearl and Bandur and the demons was sort of lackluster.

What did I care about, and made me continue reading? The focus on family and Kiki as always added some fun in moments of high stress. I also liked seeing Takkan again - his relationship with Shiori is so sweet. Overall, The Dragon's Promise is an entertaining and heartwarming ending to this duology. I'd highly recommend anyone to read Elizabeth Lim's books!

Thank you to the publisher for providing me a digital review copy of this book via NetGalley!

I was so happy with this story. It's an excellent sequel and conclusion to Shiori's story. I really did not know where this book would take me. There are so many twists and turns. I really enjoyed the ride. I felt like there was so much action that it easily kept me turning pages. I just had to know what was going to happen next!

I think Lim does an excellent job of reworking the original fairytale into a new story all her own. I felt that in the first book and this one continues that trend. I especially like how she manages to work in so many aspects of Chinese mythology, including dragons, all while creating her own lush, fleshed-out fantasy world. Kiata is so unique, as are the magical elements and fantasy creatures you find in it.

The romance was very sweet. I enjoyed that Lim stays away from a real love triangle and instead keeps true to the love fostered in the first book. Shiori and Takkan are both so endearing and their love for each other is so sweet and pure, it was really enjoyable to see how they kept their relationship going amidst all the hardships and challenges they face in this book.

I really enjoyed the ending of this story. It's bittersweet, but it fulfills everything I could have hoped for in an ending, and I'm really satisfied with this duology. I will definitely be reading more from Lim. I will definitely be recommending this series to readers looking for fantasy, especially retellings or stories that involve magic.

My biggest complaint is that I wanted like 100 more pages! Solid conclusion to the duology and I just wanted to stay in this world longer and see more fleshed out. I think that’s more of a testament to how much I enjoyed it rather than an actual complaint though. The writing is beautiful and Lim takes us many places in this one, each location vivid and with interesting characters. Shiori contributed to be a great protagonist and she had some strong development throughout the books as she matured from immature princess to cursed nobody to a woman fighting with her all for her family and kingdom. I love Takkan and I think if I had one wish, it would’ve been to see more romance between the two (I get they were busy saving Kiata and all but let a girl dream). The ending was fantastic! I don’t want to say much but it’s my favorite kind of ending. You’ll know when you read it. It felt fitting.

I absolutely loved Lim’s The Blood of Stars duology and I love this prequel duology just the same. Interestingly enough, I actually found the first books in both series’ better than the second book but overall, I’m a fan. Lim has a lot of overlap between the books and I loved finding all of the connections! Really exciting to see my favorite character in both duologies too!

I can’t recommend these duologies enough! Retellings and blending in folklore is something I adore in my fantasy books and if you’re the same, you’ll love these. Even though The Blood of Stars was released first, I definitely recommend reading Six Crimson Cranes first if you prefer reading in chronological order. Can’t wait to see what Lim writes next!