Ok, so I’ll start by saying I requested this before even finishing the first one because I was loving it so much.
Now, because of that I had incredibly high expectations for this, and it 1000% did not disappoint.
It was engaging and exciting the entire time. I loved every part of it, even when I was stressed, and the love between Shiori and Takkan had me in literal tears.
100/10 read these books.

“If you wanted to be told you were beautiful, you would hide your scar. But you don’t. It tells your story, a story that’s meant only for those worthy of hearing it.”

Six Crimson Cranes was one of my favorite reads last year. The fantastical
characters, magical settings, quirky yet heart wrenching storylines, butterflies-in-your-stomach romance was reminiscent of my favorite Studio Ghibli films (making me wish they’d pick up the rights asap). I loved this book so much so, that I requested the book on NetGalley—NEEDING to know how this story unfolded.

As ratings started piling in, I started growing hesitant to read the ARC once receiving it—Would I like it as much as the first? Would it ruin the first book for me? Needless to say, I was prepped to expect something less impacting than the first installment.

With those thoughts in mind whilst reading The Dragon’s Promise, my most basic review of this book can be summed up in five words: it fell flat for me. It was good, but not amazing. Made sense, but could have been better. Cute, but lacking the heart-pounding romance that I had been anticipating. Elizabeth Lim is a talented writer but Six Crimson Cranes is where it’s at for me.

Many thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

3.5 Nice follow up to “Six Crimson Cranes” but lengthy. I enjoyed this story, but not quite as much as the first book. I felt editing could have been done to tighten the plot line and shorten the overall text. Ultimately a good read with an awesome cover.

Shiori faces new challenges as she journeys to the realm of dragons to fulfill a deathbed promise. She has promised her stepmother that she will return the pearl to its rightful owner, but there are many who covet it both inside and outside the dragon kingdom. As she makes surprising allies and meet unexpected enemies, Shiori learns both to trust and to let go.

This sequel was a classic hero's journey story, and I think younger YA readers will really enjoy this duology. I especially liked the parts of this story that focused on Shiori's relationship with her stepmother, and her attempts to move on from her grief. The flashback scenes really rounded out that character and filled in a lot of missing pieces from the last novel. As usual, the writing was beautiful and vivid. This story focused heavily on the magic, world building, and plot, so readers looking for a more character based story might not enjoy this novel as much. However, those who want to get lost in a lyrical fantasy world will not be disappointed.

I would recommend this novel to younger YA fantasy readers! Thank you so much to Random House Children's and Net Galley for providing me with an advanced reader's copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

The Dragon's Promise is the second installment in author Elizabeth Lim's Six Crimson Crane's duology. Princess Shiori, Daughter of the Nameless Queen, Bloodsake of Kiata, Bearer of Wraith's pearl, made a deathbed promise to her stepmother Raikama to return the dragon's pearl (the ‘heart’ of a dragon) to its rightful owner, the Wraith. But keeping that promise is more dangerous than she ever imagined. Along with Prince Seryu, she must journey to Ai'long, the kingdom of dragons where she will come face to face with King Nazayun and other dangerous dragons.

Shiori must navigate political intrigue among dragons who want the pearl for themselves, face off against the possibility of becoming a dragon companion for life, or dying for alone without any of her brothers around to save her. The Pearl itself has a mind of its own. It tends to protect Shiori one moment, and abandon her the next. Shiori's only friend is Kiki, the paper crane she made with her magic that has people afraid of her and demons wanting her blood so that they can be released from the Holy Mountains.

While in Ai'long, Shiori meets a young boy named Gen. Gen traveled to Ai'long to steal the mirror of truth and was betrayed by a dragon, and has spent years in the undersea kingdom with no hope of ever seeing his home again. By the time all is said and done, Shiori will have been missing for 6 months before she is sent home by Seryu. 6 months where things in her own kingdom have changed drastically and not for the better. Her own people are blaming her for the demons rumbling in the Holy Mountains and an assassin tries to kill her with poison.

As the bearer of the pearl and wielder of magic, Shiori must bear its weight and things are not made easier by the fact that the monsters that had been released in her last adventure, especially their menacing leader Bandur covet the pearl for themselves. Shiori really has her hands full. Bandur is taunting her and taking the place of people she loves. And if that weren’t enough, the Kiatan people are now aware of her magic, and many in and outside court wish to see her ‘sacrificed’ to save the kingdom.

Her intended Takkan, doesn't plan on letting her go alone on yet another dangerous journey without him coming along. In order to return the pearl to its rightful owner, the Wraith, Shiori asks her brothers to once again put their lives on the line in order to travel to a far off place where Shiori's stepmother came from where demons and ghosts await. The journey to restore the pearl to its rightful owner which involves Shiori turning her brothers into cranes once again which they do without complaining.

While her deceased stepmother was of course not physically there, her presence was always felt, especially when Shiori travels to her homeland. Their bond always mattered— to the very end. It was truly emotional shifting through Shiori's memories of her stepmother, and how she really was trying to protect her by making things hard for her and turning her brothers into cranes. I give Takkan all the credit for his patience. He could have easily stepped aside and let Shiori choose the dragon prince instead, or walked away when she went on yet another dangerous adventure. I also love her brothers. After all they went through in the first book, none of them blinded when they were needed for a dangerous mission.

To me, this was a solid sequel/ending but at the same time not?
I really love the characters in this duology. I think my favorite character will always be Kiki. I liked Shiori and Takkan, I loved the family dynamic between Shiori and her brothers and father. While I didn't feel a ton of chemistry between Shiori and Takkan, I really did think their romance was adorable. I think it was supposed to be more of an innocent love rather than one having tons of chemistry.
This book promises dragons, the word Dragon is even in the title. There weren't a lot of dragons? We start out with Shiori travelling to the dragon world with Seryu and then 25-30% in we are done with that and onto Shiori bringing Raikama's dragon pearl back to it's rightful owner. It honestly felt like 2 different stories and I wished there was more to do with Seryu and the dragons. I mean, I enjoyed the second part, I just wanted it to feel more connected to the first part. The ending also felt a little off from the rest of the book, but I don't want to say too much about it for fear of spoilers. It just too me by surprise and seemed very abrupt.
I've seen a lot of disappointed reviews for this book and while I can understand them, I still enjoyed it. I think it's a good duology and it did have a wrap up, despite it feeling like it came out of the blue.

Elizabeth Lim’s Six Crimson Cranes duology comes to a close with a fairytale ending fitting for its rambunctious heroine. The story gets even bigger and better in The Dragon’s Promise as we follow Princess Shiori attempting to fulfill her stepmother’s wish. There was a lot more action in this book, and while both are amazing, I found myself enjoying the sequel a smidge more.

Shiori ventures with Seryu to the dragon kingdom beneath the water. She plans to fulfill her promise and present the lost pearl to the dragon king but refuses to give it to anyone besides its rightful owner. This decision does not sit well with the dragons, and Shiori must find a way to escape back to the surface world. Set on a dangerous journey with an uncontrollable magic pearl, Shiori will stop at nothing until it’s returned to its original owner. As she takes up this task, the mountains grow restless with demons, and they demand Shiori’s blood to set them free. The pressure only rises as the kingdom becomes fearful of Shiori’s abilities. Joined by her magical paper crane Kiki, her six brothers, and her betrothed, Shiori alone can save the kingdom from impending chaos.

Of all the recent books hailed as great retellings or modern fairytales, The Dragon’s Promise actually delivers. Again, Lim’s storytelling wins the day and takes us on a glorious adventure in which Shiori is up against tricky dragons, uncontrollable magic, and powerful demons. The cadence feels fairytale-esque to me with Shiori being presented with several trials in quick succession that require her to make choices with little to no reflection. Shiori does not spend time agonizing over her decisions or the resulting consequences. The decision simply catapults Shiori to the next hurdle until her fate plays out. She stumbles and learns alongside a magical cast of characters without getting bogged down by deep emotions. While she does establish great connections with other characters, these are simply window dressings to Shiori’s tale.

The second book does a fantastic job exploring Shiori’s relationship with her stepmother, Raikama. Raikama’s past seemed insignificant at first, but I love that it plays a role in The Dragon’s Promise and how intricately it becomes tied to Shiori’s fate. Shiori sets out on another adventure, but Raikama’s story becomes even more intertwined with her own. This gives us a bigger look into Raikama’s past and the complexities of their relationship. Lim provides us with more opportunities to understand each character and why they made certain choices. Book one explores this a little bit, but now we get a much better picture of Raikama and the meaningful role she plays as the only mother Shiori has ever known.

Even after her many trials, one thing that has not changed is Shiori’s impulsive nature and it continues to incite chaos on her adventure. Having been tolerated and lightly admonished for her behavior in the past, Shiori now finds herself in a delicate situation. Her abilities and compulsive nature are now seen as dangerous, and here is where Lim begins to parallel Shiori’s plight with the demons locked away under the mountain. People fear the demons for their chaos and evil nature, and they start to become fearful of Shiori for similar reasons. She becomes even more misunderstood by the royal court and her subjects no matter how pure her intentions. Lim plays with the assumptions people hold and how black and white their perception of good and evil can be. As Shiori becomes confronted with the demon’s plight, her own experiences begin to reflect their struggles and the lines between right and wrong blur.

The Dragon’s Promise was a perfect conclusion. The book was able to expand on the world and characters in a meaningful way while also wrapping up the story. Lim’s whimsical storytelling is present in both books, yet each one has a unique tone and identity that supports the different parts of Shiori’s journey. Gorgeous covers aside, this duology is definitely deserving of a spot on your shelf.

After finishing Six Crimson Cranes I was so excited to read the sequel! I love Shiori and her character arc and the relationship she has with her brothers and Kiki. Their curse and subsequent reveal with their stepmother is fantastic!

That being said I was a bit disappointed with the sequel and I know this is going to sound like a pretty negative review but, I still enjoyed it a lot and would recommend the series. I just think Six Crimson Cranes on its own was a far more interesting story and there were a lot of characters from the first book (like Takkan's sister) I would have loved to have seen more of.

In this one I liked that the focus was on Shiori fulfilling the promise she made to her stepmother and getting to essentially take control of her own destiny as the bloodsake of her generation. Shiori's stubbornness and unwillingness to listen to anyone who tries to control her was great and I liked that even though she was surrounded by male characters, she didn't really take orders from any of them in any situation.

But one of my biggest annoyances was a stylistic choice and not a story choice and it's a scene I won't go into the specifics of since it happens about 70% of the way through the book, but it is the only chapter (I'm pretty sure, I did not double check this) that happens in third person POV. After that we're back into first person. It really threw me off to have the POV change abruptly. I wound up flipping back and forth because I thought I'd forgotten how the book was written between setting it down and picking it back up.

***SPOILER BELOW***

Not a big one, but I realize there was the hint of a love triangle going on with Shiori, Seryu, and Takkan, and it was obvious who Shiori was going to end up with, but I still wasn't a huge fan of how Shiori and Seryu said goodbye and how it happened quite early on in the book. On the whole I really liked Seryu's character and thought he deserved a better send off or at least more time with Shiori. I thought he was going to make a a full appearance one more time at the end when they had found the Wraith, but the last we get of him is when Shiori is leaving the moon to see Takkan and her family.

Again, I know this sounds like a negative review, but these are the things that stood out to me in reading The Dragon's Promise and even though I enjoyed it, I think they're things worth bringing up.

Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!

The Dragon’s Promise is the concluding novel in the Six Crimson Cranes duology. The story picks up right where the last novel left off as Shiori’anma (Shiori), the youngest daughter of the Emperor of Kiata, is on her way to the Realm of Dragons, Ai’long, where she promised Seyru, the favored grandson of the Dragon King, she would return the pearl to his grandfather, Nazayun, yet also promised to return it to the wraith.

In Ai’long, Shiori faces many new challenges and dangers. Lim does a great job of world-building with the new setting and characters as Shiori navigates this unfamiliar place. There is a lot in this part of the story, so I hope there is a spin-off where readers can further explore Ai’long and its inhabitants. Through this journey, Seyru and Shiori’s relationship is further explored. In the first novel, Seyru does a lot for Shiori and continues this trend in this novel. While Shiori’s character seems like she would be appreciative of this, I wish there was a little more to this part of the story. There were many moments in Ai’long where I wish this was its own novel as there was enough material there to keep the reader interested.

Along with Ai’long, the story takes Shiori back to Kiata and to another new location. The demon king, Bandur, continues to loom in the background. During these moments, there continued to be dangers and character development. Kiki, the paper crane who came to life, along with Shiori’s brothers were excellent side characters in this story and it was nice to continue to explore their relationships with Shiori. Along with the family and friendships, the romance between Takkan, the prince from a kingdom near Kiata, was sweet. They face many obstacles in their relationships, yet they work together to overcome them.

Along with more exploration of the characters above, there is also more information given for Raikama, a sorceress and Shiori’s stepmother. Shiori and Raikama shared a strained relationship in the first novel, so it was interesting to learn more about Raikama’s past and how the previous events have shaped Shiori. While Bandur became the main center, the original evil at the very beginning of the duology was Raikama. The transition for Raikama being the only threat to Bandur’s presence emerging was a nicely done transition.

Overall, this was a great duology that weaved together fairy tales and mythology. While I love the story, I do wish that this were a trilogy where Ai’long was book two and the rest of the novel was book three. For me, this would have allowed for more exploration of everything and to help some parts of the pacing from seeming rushed. The characters all go through a lot in this duology, and I loved the themes of family and self-discovery that were carried throughout. Although there were some elements that were not perfect for me, I did love my reading experience and look forward to reading more from the author in the future!

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this entertaining novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

This is the perfect ending to the duology. Elizabeth Lim once again weaves a beautiful tale. Shiori's adventures will never fail to excite, and even though so much happens, the pacing is perfect...the plot is never rushed and never drags. I thought we would revoke back to the YA love triangle, but I really love how Shiori really sticks to her guns and is adamant on her love for Takkan.

Really exploring the concepts of morality and protection, Elizabeth Lim writes another spectacular book to wrap up our favorite princess' story.

The curse on Shiori and her brothers may be broken, but Shiori can’t rest quite yet. She has promised to return a cracked and corrupted dragon’s pearl to its original owner in the hopes that it can be mended, and an emotional wound healed. Shiori’s task won’t be easy though. A dragon’s pearl is an object of great magical power, and many covet it for themselves, from demons to other dragons. And to make matters worse, a rift in Shiori’s homeland threatens to release a dark power into the land unless Shiori can find a way to seal it.

THE DRAGON’S PROMISE is a solid follow-up to SIX CRIMSON CRANES, though it falls short of the lofty bar set by its predecessor. SIX CRIMSON CRANES was an exceptional book elevated by the captivating premise of a heroine who couldn’t speak, but who wasn’t going to idly sit by and wait for someone else to save the day. Shiori is no less active in the sequel, but the plot in THE DRAGON’S PROMISE felt a bit more repetitive and unfocused.

I was a bit surprised, for instance, that the time in the dragon’s court took up barely 25% of the plot. And that’s a shame, because the world the author paints is stunning and was easily my favorite part of the book. The dragons live undersea, so there was a lot of dark mermaid-type imagery and the uniqueness of navigating a world where movement was akin to flying. I easily could have spent the entire book in this setting.

That was not meant to be, as Shiori flits all over Kiata in her bid to honor her promise, while also juggling unrest at her father’s court and a magical disaster looming over the kingdom. It left things feeling a bit scattered as she bounced from one problem to the next. I didn’t hate the plot so much as I wished that maybe one storyline had been excised so that the others had time to breathe.

Thankfully, the characters of the series remain a delight, from steadfast Takkan to cheeky Kiki, and of course Shirori herself, the princess who will do what’s right and damn the consequences. There was a heartfelt thread of Shirori trying to understand her stepmother Raikama and why she cursed her family to begin with. It lended a bittersweet theme to the story of wishing you had known someone better while you had the chance, and was a welcome thread.

Lastly, a quick shoutout to the realization that this duology is a prequel to the author’s other duology, SPIN THE DAWN. While I had gathered the two series were set in the same world, it hadn’t fully clicked the ways in which the plots were connected. You do not REMOTELY need to have read SPIN THE DAWN to enjoy SIX CRIMSON CRANES, but it was fun to realize you were witnessing a certain event that had been mentioned in the first duology.

THE DRAGON’S PROMISE is an adventurous conclusion to the SIX CRIMSON CRANES duology that will mostly satisfy readers. Issues I had with it aside, I still cried at the beautiful ending and was glad to see the continued growth of Shiori and Takkan’s relationship. It may be a bit scattered in places, but THE DRAGON’S PROMISE does a wonderful job of paying off the characters you fell in love with in the first book and giving them a heart-felt sendoff.

Note: I was provided a free ARC by the publisher in exchange for my fair and honest review.

Six Crimson Cranes was one of my favourite reads from 2021, so I was really looking forward to The Dragon's Promise to follow the adventures of Shiori, Kiki, and co. My expectations were met in many ways - the world-building is imaginative and Shiori is still a very compelling lead (albeit very annoying at times for her impulsiveness before thought). However, I felt like this lacked a tight, well-paced plot and, equally, enough weighty stakes. The time Shiori spends in the dragon kingdom under the sea felt separate from her mission on land, once she returns. Even while underwater, Seryu is relegated to a side character, and I missed the urgency and purposeful action of the first book. I loved SCC and had wished for more, but now I realise that perhaps a second book was never needed, or even if it was, there were enough narrative threads left untied to craft a more engaging plot and conclusion.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved Six Crimson Cranes, and it was easy to get swept up with the amazing world building and likeable characters in the sequel. The details of the dragon realm were so intricate and I loved seeing how Shioris and Takkans relationship grew over time. It was great to learn more about Shioris stepmothers past. I would definitely recommend this book.

The Dragon’s Promise is the second book in the duology, Six Crimson Cranes. Princess Shiori promised her stepmother she’d returned the dragon’s pearl to its rightful owner. To do so, she’ll have to travel to the dragon kingdom and will encounter demons, thieves, and those who want to rid her of the world because magic runs through her veins. Shiori is determined to fight, to protect her family and make it back to her true love.

For this book to be titled The Dragon’s Promise, I would have enjoyed a lot more inclusion of dragons! There was a lot of potential, but it this aspect the book fell flat. Elizabeth Lim always uses descriptive language and is excellent at world-building. I wish we got to experience more of the dragon kingdom than we did. I understand Shiori was on a journey throughout the story, but some parts were extremely long-winded. Making this book shorter could have really packed a punch. Unfortunately, I did not like the ending, because the romance was predictable and there was not a surprise element. I did like parts of this book, but I would not say I loved it.

Thank you to Net Galley and Random House Children’s for the ARC!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an arc copy of this book to read and review. These thoughts are mine own!

I was super excited to be able to read this early after reading Six Crimson Cranes. I absolutely ADORED the first book and had high expectations for this one.

I will start off by saying that I’m a tad disappointed. I expected more out of this book. It seemed very repetitive at first with her being captured then escaping and then captured again while with the dragons. It also didn’t make since that 40% of the story she is with Seryu and then after they escaped the last time, he had no more part of the story and I felt like he should have been more involved.

I also didn’t like the temptation of a love triangle with Shiori, Takkan, and Seryu. It was just weird that Seryu is acting all jealous and confessing his feelings for Shiori in my opinion. I think the connection between Shiori and Takkan was already perfect and didn’t need this “extra drama”.

I also don’t understand why almost half of the book was set in the dragon world but then all of a sudden it was switched into the demon world. If the demon plot was the point of the story then why was half of it in the dragon world and constantly being repetitive. It just didn’t make a lot of sense to me. Kind of seems like a filler for more words/pages in my opinion.

Now with all that said; I did enjoy the book. It wasn’t bad. I do feel like it could’ve been better and had great potential. I wanted to enjoy it more since I loved the first book and had high expectations for this one.

Thank you again for allowing me to read and review this!.

I liked book 1, Six Crimson Cranes and would have liked it to be a standalone novel. I felt that the sequel was unnecessary. Shiori made a promise to her stepmother to return the dragon pearl to its rightful owner. In her adventures, she is captured and escapes from dragons and demons. Her quest is ultimately successful although there are some consequences for those involved and for her country of Kiata.

I personally didn’t like this as much as the original book, however, as a duology, this still sticks the landing. The love triangle and overall ending ended up being resolved a bit too tritely for my personal taste. But it’s still a well written book, and even if it stumbles a bit as it tries to wrap the threads from the last book and decide where it should try to go for original magic vs the fairy tale it’s based off of, it still is a good read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As someone who read the first book in this duology, Six Crimson Cranes, almost a year ago and was very rusty on the finer details of the plot, starting this book was a little wild, because it just dives right into the action of where the first book left off. Fortunately, after flipping through Six Crimson Cranes, my memory was properly refreshed and I could adequately enjoy the action and the story.

There is a lot going on in this book, and sometimes the different stages of the plot felt like they were all very different tales, but they all woven together beautifully. I also very much enjoyed how this book had bits that tied it even closer to The Blood of Stars duology, which I adored.

Overall, the conclusion was a satisfying one that tied into mythology very well. A very fun ride that made me laugh and cry and get anxious, even in places where I knew things would turn out ok.

Not as good as the first book in this duology but it was still a great read. Lim continued on the story with beautiful story telling and word building. Thank you netgalley for this arc!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children pub for this earc


Sadly this book wasn’t for me. The first tell was that it was super easy for me to put it down and days to pick it back up.

I really enjoy SCC but this book just didn’t have same feel. One of the biggest issues I have is that beginning on the book, the whole part Shiori was the dragons was completely forgotten for the rest of the book. It was barely mentioned and honestly barely had an impact on the story. The begging was also very slow. So slow by the time we back from underwater I completely forgot what the book was about. I actually didn’t see the plot for most of the story. How many times did Shiori had to run away and almost die? At some point, I just didn’t care anymore. The ending also felt off. I get that the author trying to do something different but I still don’t get how releasing all the demons would make the world better.

You would think the romance could have saved this book. But it didn’t. There’re so few scenes between Shiori and Takkan, I didn’t think they should be getting married at all considering how “young” their whole relationship felt. All he does is runs after her every time she jumps into danger. It should have been cute but somehow still wasn’t.

Overall, this book made me completely forget why I enjoyed book 1 so much. The worst thing a sequel can do. Let’s see honest. It should have been a standalone.