The Dragon's Promise demonstrated how family bonds could be deepened despite distance and tragedy. Since the beginning of Six Crimson Cranes, the characters have grown tremendously. Shiori's time in the dragon kingdom with Sheryu is highlighted in the book's first section, but she then departs, and we don't see Sheryu again. I liked him in the first book, so I was hoping for more. I enjoyed the brothers' bond with Shiori and their lasting protection and willingness to risk everything for each other. It warmed my heart to see their connections more potent than ever despite their time apart. The author's writing is terrific and conceptual, which is a lot because I've always struggled with visualization. The beginning was frantic, but it felt a little crowded and rushed. Following this, the plot felt more dynamic and reminded me of Six Crimson Cranes. The book's ending was intense, and I still have mixed feelings about it. I enjoyed this book, but Six Crimson Cranes remains my favorite.

Though newly reunited with her loved ones, Shiori must leave them to venture to the dragon’s kingdom to keep a heavy promise. In that underwater world, Shiori will learn secrets that will propel her to distant kingdoms and long-forgotten lands in a desperate attempt to restore balance to her kingdom.

Lim’s conclusion to this lovely duology is just as good as the first installment. I LOVED seeing more of Shiori and Takkan together, especially now that she can speak. I feel like Lim really brought her strengths into this book and it was a fun read. My one critique is that sometimes the descriptions were beautifully written but lacking details (like blocking, for example). All in all, if you liked SIX CRIMSON CRANES, you will definitely enjoy this conclusion!

Content warnings: violence

The dreaded second book syndrome- when the sequel to a truly fantastic book falls incredibly short. Six Crimson Cranes was a fantastic read and honestly would've worked perfectly as a standalone. Unfortunately, The Dragon's Promise in no way lived up to the excellence of Six Crimson Cranes. I had a few major problems. First, the characters who I loved in the first book fell flat. The 3D characters suddenly became 2D and I didn't care about their story or arc. More than anything, however, I thought the plot was incredibly boring. There was such a potential with an underwater dragon city, and instead the author used a setting boring in comparison. Unfortunately, this book majorly suffered from the second book syndrome and it basically ruined this series for me.

This follow up to 'Six Crimson Cranes' was honestly a bit of a let down. I really, really adored the first one and I think it might have been better suited as a stand alone. 'The Dragon's Promise' felt a bit like a standalone? Sure, we have the same characters from book one and the storyline/plot was interesting enough but it seemed to be resolved fairly quickly and a whole new conflict introduced. There were also hints of a love triangle that really fizzled into nothing? I enjoyed the characters just as much but I don't think there was enough time with the ones we already knew. New characters continued to be introduced and it could be confusing at times.

Overall, I did enjoy it but not as much as I thought I would. The worldbuilding and fairytale aspects were still my favorite part.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Dragon’s Promise, by Elizabeth Lim, continues immediately where Six Crimson Cranes left off and wastes no time launching Shiori into her new quest. The concluding book of this duology increases the action and danger as Shiori seeks to fulfill the promise she made to her stepmother.

The narrative is broken up into subplots, each with their own conflict and resolution. Six Crimson Cranes did this in a similar manner - with Shiori first forced to cope alone in the isolated Tianyi Village, then as a prisoner turned guest at Castle Bushian, before reuniting home with her brothers to break the curse - but the divisions stand out more in The Dragon’s Promise. I think this is because the first book, while it has different settings, all takes place within the Kingdom of Kiata. The second book shifts between three different kingdoms - Ai’Long the dragon realm, Kiata, and the Tambu Isles. The story felt as if it was divided into distinct acts with dramatic set changes.

This new adventure begins as Shiori travels to the dragon kingdom with her friend Seryu, grandson of the Dragon King. Lim impressively creates a new underwater fantasy world that is vivid and engrossing - and she achieves this in only 120 pages.

In Tambu and The Forgotten Isles, Shiori learns her stepmother’s backstory. The author creates Tambu as a lush, tropical kingdom, full of magic. But Tambu isn’t as immersive a world as Ai’Long. The worldbuilding here is more superficial, as the focus is on the climactic showdown.

In the books quieter moments, Shiori wrestles with her destiny as Kiata’s “bloodsake.” Her bond with Takkan, her betrothed, also strengthens, but their romantic encounters don’t move beyond kissing.

The Dragon’s Promise takes the first book and amps up the action - more dragons, more demons, gods and goddesses, murderous priestesses, and scheming politicians. Readers who enjoyed Six Crimson Cranes will not be disappointed with the sequel.

Demons, dragons, and a dangerous pearl.

Before Princess Shiori can rest after freeing her brothers from their curse, she must honor the promise she made to her late stepmother on her deathbed. But delivering the magical pearl to its rightful owner is no simple task. Many covet the pearl's power, and Shiori's own abilities as her country's bloodsake places her at greater risk. Facing dragons, demons, ghosts, and fanatic priestesses, Shiori will need all her brothers' and her betrothed's help to save herself and to fulfill her stepmother's last wish.

This was a great sequel to a really good first book. The plot meandered in several different directions. Instead of just tying off the threads setup by the first book, this sequel delivered a full novel in its own right, going from Shiori's home palace to the dragon realm, to demons, to their homeland, all the while exploring more about her stepmother, Channari's, own sad history.

The prose flows really smoothly, making this a pleasure to read. The Asian setting also helped distinguish this from other fantasy novels. Mostly, I liked how this duology focused on the bonds between friends and family. Shiori's brothers are always there for her, and even though her stepmother no longer lives, Shiori discovers more about her past and how much her stepmother cared for her.

I also liked how the characters weren't presented as black and white - good vs evil. Even the demons weren't depicted as solely evil beings. There wasn't a lot of moral conflicts, but there was enough to whet my appetite.

As per her plans from the first book, Shiori travels with her friend, Seryu, a dragon, to the dragons' undersea realm. But getting in is much easier than getting back out. Shiori is not the only one with plans for the powerful pearl she bears. And a human has no power against immortal dragons in their own realm.

Even without the danger from the dragons, Shiori isn't safe in her own home. With magic banished from her homeland for over a thousand years, Shiori's countrymen fear the magic she wields. There's only so much an emperor father can do to protect his impulsive daughter from the dangers of politicians or priestesses fanatic for the magic in Shiori's blood.

With a dangerous demon seeking her blood, and her life in danger due to her magical abilities, Shiori's quest to return the pearl is far from simple. With her brothers' help, and with her fiance and magical paper bird companion at her side, Shiori journeys through demon lands, through her stepmother's past, and through magical means to fulfill her promise to the stepmother she'd once hated, and to hopefully find love and family in the process.

The Dragon's Promise, by Elizabeth Lim, is the sequel to Six Crimson Cranes. In it, Shiori must carry out a deathbed promise she made to return a dragon's pearl to its proper owner, but, in doing so, must first journey to the realm of the dragons while also worrying about how to protect her own kingdom from the demonic threat she knows is looming.

Going into this book, I was worried this duology was going to be similar to Spin the Dawn, where the first book was absolute perfection and the sequel was painful to get through, but fortunately that was not the case. Like Spin the Dawn, I had thought that Six Crimson Cranes could have served perfectly well as a standalone with a little reworking, so I was hesitant about what The Dragon's Promise could bring to the story, but I found myself thoroughly enjoying the book.

Shiori continues to be an absolutely amazing heroine; I love her. She grows so much over the course of the duology, while still having the same mischievous and independent core to her personality that she had at the beginning. She's courageous and cares so much about her family and her kingdom, and is honestly one of my favorite protagonists I've read about in quite a while. I also really loved her emotional journey as she deals with the death that happened at the end of the first book; her grieving process is complex, well-written, and one of my favorite aspects of the book.

Kiki, Shiori's enchanted paper crane, continues to be a standout character from the book; simultaneously bringing both comic relief and advice that Shiori desperately needs, she's one of my favorite things about this duology.

Takkan is such a good love interest, and so different from the love interests that typically tend to work best in YA fantasy books. He's earnest and stable in a way that Shiori needs, but he's also imaginative and brave and able to keep up with her energy. Their romance is so cute and I just love them so much.

Seryu, the resident dragon friend of the book, continued to be iconic, though I think I definitely preferred him in the first book. I did appreciate how his established feelings for Shiori were resolved without a full-on love triangle, and I really wish we had seen more of him in this book. Similarly, while we see a lot of Shiori's brothers, I wish that they had more independent characterization from each other; right now, I honestly could not tell you a single distinct thing about any of them.

The Dragon's Promise expands on the narrative established in the first book, elevating the fairytale feeling of Six Crimson Cranes to the stakes of a more sweeping fantasy narrative. While I definitely preferred the atmosphere of the first book, I definitely appreciated the opportunity to learn more about the world and magic through the sequel. I also loved all of the connections to the Spin the Dawn duology; the two series are tied together while still feeling like they have their own distinct themes and stories.

The plotting of the book did feel a bit odd; the first third, due to having a completely separate setting and goal from the rest of the book, feels almost like it either needed to be shortened or have been expanded into its own book. The beginning wasn't spectacular, but the rest of the book really made up for it.

While The Dragon's Promise didn't quite live up to Six Crimson Cranes for me, it was still a wonderful conclusion to the story that the latter set up. My only real issue with it is that I think the plot ought to have been reworked some, as the pacing felt very strange and disconnected. The characters are lovable and amazing, the magic is wonderfully written, and the worldbuilding is expertly done. Shiori's character development and emotional journey is wonderful (I almost enjoyed it more than the actual plot of the duology). I'm giving The Dragon's Promise 4.5/5 stars.

I feel the same way about "The Dragon's Promise" as I did for "Unravel the Dusk." The first book in both of these duologies was AMAZING- I'm sure my 5 star reviews for "Six Crimson Cranes" and "Spin the Dawn" are over-the-top with how much I loved them. Unfortunately, a lot of what I love about the "Six Crimson Cranes" is just not present in "The Dragon's Promise."

The first 30% of the book takes place with Seryu in the dragon realm. While I can eventually see how this fits for the events later in the story... it dragged... and dragged... and.... dragged. To the point where the book almost became a DNF for me. If you're reading this and are 25% of the book through and are trying to decide whether to finish--- there is hope! It DID get better! Ish.

The introduction of the rest of the familiar characters (mainly Takkan, but also the brothers) made the story better. However, the main villain, Bandur, is predictable and boring. He felt like a cartoon character in his villain-y moments, and for all his intelligence, he fell flat. I'm not an angry enchanter-demon, but there were definitely moments where he should have won-- except that Shiori was ridiculously lucky and Bandur was simply dumb.

I don't know how to describe my problem with "The Dragon's Promise" very concisely- it felt all over the place and characters were mentioned and dropped (I hope life is good for you Gen... wherever you are). Overall, I was left with the feeling that there could have/should have been more characterization and believable plot.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Children's for an advanced e-arc of "The Dragon's Promise." Happy day-after publication day!

3 stars

I really enjoyed _Six Crimson Cranes_, so I was thrilled to be able to read this conclusion to the duology. Also, I was nervous because all readers know how the second book can turn things around (not for the better). Unfortunately, this was not the follow-up I was anticipating.

Shiori is back and on a quest with the pearl and Seryu, and the writing remains as lush as ever; readers can visualize the space easily. There's some good action, but that excitement soon becomes a bit repetitive, and the novel starts to feel a bit long. I was so drawn to the setting and secondary characters in the first book, and those elements fell flat for me here.

I love the fairy tale references and really enjoy Lim's prose, but I'm disappointed overall in the pacing and in the feeling that while the first book is magical, this one is...good.

Lovers of the first book should still pick this up, but temper the expectations. Despite my bummer attitude, I'm still a fan of Lim's writing and will eagerly anticipate the next adventure!

I loved Six Crimson Cranes so I was beyond excited to get a chance to read this. Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this arc! This is a lighter fantasy book (as opposed to other that have some darker themes) but the characters, the plot, and the romance were still so fleshed out. I really love Shiori's character and being able to see her navigate through insanely tough situations. I'm a big physical book reader so I ended up stopping part-way through, but only because I needed to have a physical copy to read!

Thank you to Netgalley, Knopf Books, and Ms. Lim for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

I enjoyed this book but, like other reviewers, I don’t feel it lived up to the magic of Six Crimson Cranes. The writing style was still beautiful and lyrical, and I still felt transported to a magical fantasy land. But. The plotting was inconsistent in pace: the first third was so extremely distinct from the rest that it felt like a novella plopped into the beginning of a separate book. Shiori’s characterization suffered from inconsistency as well: for all her bravery and determination, she continually made poor choices, rash decisions, miscommunicated (or didn’t communicate at all) to others and excluded her loved ones “for their own good.” I would have that that she learned firsthand how damaging those actions can be, in the previous book. I felt myself growing irritated with her. This, I suppose, is why teenagers ought not to discover they’re “chosen ones” and develop immensely powerful magical gifts before they mature a little bit.

It was a beautiful story, and tied up the loose ends nicely – I found myself wondering if the ending of Dragon’s Promise relates at all to the author’s previous duology, which I haven’t read yet – and I would still recommend the duology to readers. Looking forward to see what else this author comes up with.

A stunning sequel to follow up one of my favorite books. It was truly a brilliant way to conclude the duology and the writing style made me want to inhale the entire thing. It was very, very good.

Taking place shortly after the end of Six Crimson Cranes, this book continues the journey of Shiori as she tries to protect her family, friends, and country from the demons in the mountain.

This sequel contains all of the same whimsy and humor as the first book, as well as the themes of friendship, family, and honor. Some of the highlights for me are the humor (especially Kiki’s sarcastic wit), the not-being-able-to-trust-whether-a-character-is-good-or-terrible trope, and teenagers actually acting like teenagers. I loved the undersea parts the most for sure, and I wish they’d lasted a bit longer.

I didn’t think this book was quite as strong or compelling as the first, and there were some lulls in the pacing. I love the whimsical, fairy tale feel though, and the ✨vibes ✨ brought my rating from a 3 to a 4 since I was definitely in a fairy tale sort of mood! Overall I enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed Six Crimson Cranes!

Elizabeth Lim is a winner and I ADORE her books. The Dragon’s Promise is the conclusion to the epic journey of Shiori, started in Six Crimson Cranes. Shiori has overcome so much but still has so much to live up to. She has to honor her promise to Seryu as well as honoring the memory of her step-mother. Apart from simply trying to survive, Shiori is trying to prove herself and her integrity. We also get to see a deeper exploration of her relationships within her family and with others. The world building and imagery in this book is just as beautiful as the cover.

Overall, I loved this book. It was a fitting ending to the duology and just like Six Crimson Cranes, it had me in tears by the end.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, this one did not live up to the first one, but I still had a pretty good time reading it. The setting and characters were just as breathtaking as before, and I was instantly pulled back into this magical world. But ht plot was a little scattered.

The way that Lim describes the setting is just jaw-dropping, and as someone that can’t see images in my mind, I still feel like I am there. There are so many different settings throughout the story, but each one is unique and beautiful in its own way. The magic system was also expanded nicely, and I enjoyed learning more about it.

I also liked getting to know all the characters even more in the book, and I feel like the romance blossomed nicely. My favorite part was seeing the main character interact with her brothers more. Also, the banter was so cute that I sometimes couldn’t take it.

On the other hand, the plot was a little all over the place, and the pacing was off for most of the book. At times it felt like it was short stories put together instead of one cohesive story. I still enjoyed how things played out, but I felt that were many filler chapters.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC! This was an adventurous conclusion to a fantastic duology, though I think the author struggles to find her footing in a book that has less of an established structure to work off of compared to the first installment. 3.5.5

It’s a solid, enjoyable fairytale. I think I liked her series that started with Spin the Dawn slightly better than this series but it’s a close call. I’d recommend this series and this author to any fantasy reader, adult or teen that wants a lighter fantasy read with a touch of clean romance.

Petition to make Shiori a Disney princess?? 🙋‍♀️
That was an epic journey, brutal at times, and Elizabeth Lim has a special talent for breaking my heart just to stitch it back together. The characters are what brings this story to life, I love them so much. Shiori has grown so much, while still maintaining her inner ire.
For the sake of spoiling it, I won't say how I feel about the ending beyond this: I feel like that kind of ending really works in this setting whereas in others it's a cop out. Here, it was beautiful and the best conclusion I could have hoped for. However, I enjoyed the second half of the book much more than the first half and I wish we had more of a certain character! I also have a lot of questions that need answers so here's hoping for a third book, spinoff, or novella 🤞
<b> Thank you to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my fair and honest review, I'm so glad I got to read this book! This title will be available August 30th, 2022 </b>

The Dragon’s Promise is the epic fairytale conclusion to the Six Crimson Cranes duology – an accompaniment to The Blood of Stars duology. It’s filled with lots of high-stakes adventure, tons of incredible (dragon and demon) magic, and even a sweeping romance.

One thing to note before reading this review is that it will contain spoilers for all of the books in this collection (Six Crimson Cranes AND The Blood of Stars). I had to do a bit of digging to find out that these were all interconnected, which made some of the character arcs and a bit of the world-building a little more understandable upon finishing the story.

Before learning about the way the duologies connected, I was greatly confused by Bandur’s presence in Six Crimson Cranes. Since he was such a huge part of The Blood of Stars, it immediately seemed strange that he was the number one “villain” in The Dragon’s Promise. However, what I found to be true was that similar to The Grishaverse and the way each of the three series in that collection come together and share villains and characters, these books by Elizabeth Lim do something very similar. They’re not only set in the same world, but you’ll regularly see familiar names, magics, and other elements.

This book started out incredibly strong, with Shiori and Seryu getting into lots of trouble in the dragon’s realm. There were some great fights, fantastic magic, and character introductions that led me to believe there will be more stories told in this universe over the coming years. Part of me wished that the entire book had taken place in that particular timeline. The dragons are so fascinating and I absolutely loved Seryu from start to finish. I didn’t want to “say goodbye,” so to speak. It almost felt as though that entire portion of the story could have been its own book.

However, that period of time was very necessary for the remainder of the tale. While I believed that we would have a bit of a love triangle (Shiori/Seryu/Takkan), I was grateful for the fact that our protagonist stayed true to the love she “left back home,” returning to Takkan and cultivating a really wonderful relationship through the remainder of the book. There were so many moments where I thought, “you need to TALK with him,” and then, rather than a terrible miscommunication trope, she actually did talk with him. I absolutely loved that. It made the romance something really enjoyable and sweet.

There were a few things about this book that really stood out to me and I loved:
– It was beautiful to learn more about Raikama/Channari’s life. She’s such a fascinating character and despite being the “villain” for the majority of the first book, this book allowed us to understand her so much more.
– KIKI! This paper bird is the love of my life, I swear. She’s adorable, sassy, hilarious, and just so much fun. I love the impact she has on Shiori and the way she stepped up to the plate in so many ways throughout this book. She really is a star character.
– Shiori’s brothers. We got to know so much more about each of them and I just adored their willingness to sacrifice for their sister and each other. They were so precious and Hasho is my very favorite of the bunch.
– The “I used magic and so my hair turned white” trope. It’s niche, but it’s a thing, and I kind of love it.

While this didn’t necessarily hold the same kind of power the first book did for me, it was a really wonderful story and it had a strong finish. I really look forward to seeing what Elizabeth does next in this world. I think there are so many incredible tales to come from the land of dragons and demons, magic and myths.

[CW: (major) Grief, Murder, and Blood, (moderate) Torture, Violence, and Death, (minor) Death of parent]

Elizabeth Lim’s The Dragon’s Promise picks up after the events of Six Crimson Cranes, with Shiori venturing to the dragon realm to fulfill her promise to Seryu. She's playing a dangerous game of words and magic though, as her true intention is not to give the pearl to the Dragon King but to honor her stepmother's dying wish and return it to its true owner. The ensuing tale that follows is full of adventure, magic and even a bit of a romance - a fitting close for the heroine so many readers connected to in the first book.

The author once again did a great job making me care about the characters. Takkan and Shiori’s relationship really blossoms in this book (many of my favorite quotes center around their relationship). While they are undoubtedly the focus of the story, I enjoyed getting to learn more about Raikama and her past - she was so much more than the villain people initially thought her to be at the start of the duology. I was also quite intrigued to get to see a different side of Seryu, and learn more about the dragon court. Talk about some crazy relatives there. My favorite character out of everyone was Kiki. She’s truly one of the most loyal companions I’ve ever seen, and some of the scenes she’s featured in at the end of the book were particularly heart-wrenching.

The world-building and imagery were superb. The realms of Ai’long and Lapzur were quite enchanting to visit (though the journeys to get to the respective places seem somewhat harrowing). It was fun to see how this book borrows more elements from the original inspiration of Hans Christian Andersen’s ‘The Wild Swans’ and incorporates some new features from Chinese myths and legends. In my review of the first book, I made a comment about stories being made better with the inclusion of dragons. That statement holds true in this book because readers are introduced to more dragons, demons, and other fantastical beings. In short, I loved it!

The Dragon’s Promise was a worthy sequel to the story that started in Six Crimson Cranes. If a young adult fantasy composed of a sweet romance, dangerous quests, and vibrant worldbuilding sounds like something you would enjoy, I highly recommend this series. Elizabeth Lim is the queen of duologies, and she has cemented a fan for life in me with this latest release.

Thank you to the author Elizabeth Lim, the publisher Knopf Books for Young Readers, the team at TBR and Beyond Tours, and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary review copy of the book as part of my participation in the tour. I appreciate the opportunity to read and review The Dragon’s Promise immensely.