TLDR:

The Dragon’s Promise is the sequel to Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim. She is also know for writing The Blood of Stars duology (Spin the Dawn).

Notable elements:

- Star-Crossed Lovers
- Ancient Magic
- Animal Companion

What I liked:

- Kingdom of Dragons — I loved the exploration of the Dragon Realm! It hardly made an appearance in Six Crimson Cranes, so it was exciting to finally delve deeper into its mystery and intrigue.
- Honorific Dynamics — It was interesting to see the dynamics of honorifics in both the Kingdom of Dragons and Kiata. Values of Royalty, Age, and Bloodline intersect and entangle to create a complicated and layered web of relationships.
- Fate vs. Free Will — A fierce battle rages inside Shiori, constant warring between what is expected of her and what she decides for herself. Her sound judgement allows both to coexist in an effortless tango, where she can call on whichever is most appropriate depending on her circumstance.

Reminds me of:

- Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor
- Song of Silver, Flame Like Night by Amelie Wen Zhao

Content warnings:

Violence, Blood, Death

Final thoughts:

This was the perfect ending to the Six Crimson Cranes duology! The Dragon’s Promise undoubtedly lives up to the excitement and love I hold for the first book.

I loved Six Crimson Cranes so I knew I would enjoy this book. I enjoy Elizabeth Kim’s writing so much. Her attention to detail in her world building makes it feel like you are a part of the book. The plot line was so well planned and I loved the love triangle she created. Definitely recommend this book!

This had such great potential to me. I absolutely loved SCC, it was one of my all time favorite reads last year. Also, nowhere in the description did SCC mention dragons, so that whole plotline had my super hyped. So, considering the ending for SCC, and this book's description, I was beyond excited to read this. However, it took me a long time to do so because as you get further and further into the story, it began to slow down and (I really hate to say this, because I just love Elizabeth Lim) it became... boring. Things do pick back up again, and it was a decent ending, but it just felt like pushing a boulder uphill trying to get through a big chunk of the middle of this book. Will I continue to jump at the chance to read EL's books in the future? Absolutely. But I was a tad disappointed that this sequel was not my favorite book of this year like its predecessor was...

Huge thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

We are back in the Kingdom of Kiata and we are again following our heroine Princess Shiroi as she tries to save the world from the demons threatening to take over her kingdom. This story starts in the depths of the sea as she embarks on an adventure to return a Dragon Pearl to its previous residence and the story goes from there.

I like this one. This story was fast paced and action packed. I loved spending time with the main characters Takkan, Shiroi, her six mischievous brothers and her equally fiery paper bird. I love the character Seryu and was disappointed that he was only featured for a little in the beginning. We enter into his world underwater but then are quickly taken elsewhere. I would've like to see more of that world instead of being thrust into a world we are already familiar with. However, this is just my personal opinion. The story is still well written. The world is lush and immersive. The writing is well done and I love all the cinammon roll characters. Again, I love the healthy relationship and dynamic between Takkan and Kiori. This is a great example for young people.

Overall, I gave this four stars. I would reommend this reading book if you love reading fantasy. For me, I think this will be my last dive into this world now that I've finished this duology and The Spin the Dawn Duology.

The Dragon's Promise is the sequel to Elizabeth Lim's Six Crimson Cranes. Although she has completed her mission to get out from under her stepmother's curse and restore her brothers, Shiori's journeys are not yet complete. She must now return the dragon pearl to it's owner. This journey leads Shiori down to the Realm of the Dragons and then mountain that contains the demons. Lim has once again done an amazing job of weaving in Chinese mythology into her story and really bringing it to life. This was one of my most anticipated books of the year, but I don't think it kept up the excitement I got from Six Crimson Cranes. I felt like Lim wanted to put in too much and it ended up making the story too long and winding. Overall it was good, but fell short of the first book in the duology.

This is a different genre that I usually read however I did enjoy it. I loved the first book in the duology (six crimson cranes) and it has a beautiful story :))

Six Crimson Cranes is one of the best books that I've read last year. I won't lie I have very high expectations for the sequel.. The narration of this book is just as beautiful as in the first book. There are too many wonderful quotes that I want to hang on my wall.. Elizabeth Lim could craft such magical and exquisite sentences without feeling heavy and complicated.

✨𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒘𝒏. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕.

✨𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒆.

✨ 𝑫𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒚 … 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆?

Shiori's adventures made me hooked on the story, but the relationship between the character is what I'm rooting for. There are so many heartwarming moments. It portrayed many faces of love. The love between family, between mothers & daughters, between friends, and also between lovers.

This was one of my most anticipated sequels of the year and I was not disappointed. It’s a perfect follow up to Six Crimson Cranes.

The Dragon's Promise was one of my most anticipated reads after reading Elizabeth Lim's Six Crimson Cranes. The world she builds in fascinating and I loved this sequel. It is a bit slower pace than the first book but overall, I enjoyed the conclusion of Shiori's journey.

This is one of my most anticipated reads for this year and it wasn’t that bad but I still preferred the first book over this one. The first half of the book was really enjoyable and thrilling especially when Shiori was still in Ailong with Kiki, Seryu and the dragons. Gen was a great character as well. I kinda missed him in the latter part of the book.

I admire all of her brothers’ dedication and support for her until the very end no matter how dangerous it may be for all of them. And of course, Takkan as well. It was also heartwarming that she got to know more about her late stepmother upon her journey of upholding her final wish. However, it felt like the story was dragging on in the latter part which made me less excited in finishing it. But, the ending was absolutely beautiful! It was bittersweet, not one that I expected but I loved it nonetheless.

This duology is a must read ;)

I am so sad that this one didn’t work for me! I kept trying to get into it for a while and struggled. From the start, the adventure started rapidly and it was one thing after another for the first 30%- you didn’t have time to catch your breath and figure out what was happening. After the plot changes locations/settings, I feel like the pacing completely changed and it almost felt sluggish at times. Overall, I just think that it was convoluted and confusing the majority of the time- compared to the first book that was consistently paced and had 1 long adventure plot. Meanwhile, at times, this sequel felt like 3 different books jammed together. I thought the underwater world of the dragons’ was really cool and had so much potential for an entire book plot, but that wasn’t the case.

Another issue I felt while reading was the characters and their choices at times. I’m glad we got to see all the characters from book 1, but I was getting fed up after a while. I did enjoy the romance though and thought it was very cute! Maybe it’s that I didn’t fully understand what was happening and why choices needed to be made as they were- It felt like Book 1 was very orderly and had a concrete limitation of magical abilities and this one seemed to have no limitations on what was possible, which is great, but it didn’t feel explained to the reader thoroughly so it felt like anyone could do anything and it was all of a sudden a thing.

I’m bummed I didn’t enjoy it and wish I just left this series as a standalone in my mind. I hope others enjoy it more than I did, just don’t go in expecting a whole plot around the Dragons!

Thank you to Random House Children’s and Netgalley for giving me a copy in exchange for my honest review!

thank you PRH International for sending me an EARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

4.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

OKAY THIS WAS SO GOOD AND BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN AND ROMANTIC AND MAGICAL AHHH!! this book is the sequel to six crimson cranes, and wow did it deliverrrr!! i think i may have even liked it more than the first one but omg both were literally incredible!!

this is such a magical and lyrical duology, full of myths and legends and love. the romance in this one had me squealing omg, I LOVE TAKKAN WITH MY ENTIRE HEART!! i do gotta admit the first 20% ish wasn’t my fave, but wow did it have me gasping and at the edge of my seat. never did i know what was gonna happen next and that made this book even better somehow.

i wish there would have been more of the brothers in this one tho, and more of them all together but i get why we didn’t get that.

also, THE WAY THIS BOOK CONNECTS TO SPIN THE DAWN??? IMMACULATE AH IT HAD ME CONSTANTLY SCREAMING BC I JUST LOVED THAT DETAIL SO MUCH AND MADE THIS BOOK EVEN MORE SPECIAL SINCE IT’S LIKE A ‘prequel’ TO SPIN THE DAWN AND YOU GET YOUNG EDAN AS WELL UGH THIS WAS EVERYTHING!!

honestly idk what to say except this book is literally pure magic from the way it’s written to the story itself. everyone please read the elizabeth lim universe YOU WONT REGRET IT OMG !!!

I'm pretty certain that there won't be an Elizabeth Lim novel that I don't love - the storytelling is absolutely magical and whimsical and so easy to fall in love with. The characters go on adventures that allow them to grow and their journey is always so delightful!

This is the brilliant sequel to Six Crimson Cranes. The story follows the main character as she goes to realm of the dragons to try to save her kingdom and her family. The story was thrilling, and beautifully written. I could not put it down.

*eARC provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

I hate to say this, but maybe Elizabeth Lim should stick to writing standalones. I felt this way about Unravel the Dusk too, and The Dragon's Promise just proves that point. She manages to wrap up the main plot in book one, which leaves book two to a completely new and mostly unrelated plot. A pointless plot.

I was excited to see more of Seryu, but he is only in the first ten or so chapters.

I did enjoy seeing Gen/Eden, even though he was just a side character.

I purchased this book for my high school library. My students have enjoyed it. and it has circulated well.

This was one of my most anticipated books of 2022 and I’m so sad this series is over. I loved the tie in with The Blood of Stars duology. I will say that Six Crimson Cranes was one of my top books of 2021 and this one was a bit of a let down. I personally hate love triangles and I felt like this one was added just for plot drama and it was so brief I wish it wasn’t included at all.

I think the best parts of this book were Shirori’s time in Ai’Long. I loved the kingdom of the dragons and how her and Seryu had to deal with the court politics. As an underwater magical city the world building was amazing and I couldn’t get enough of it. The pacing after leaving the dragon kingdoms was a bit strange. The rest of the book felt a bit dull and random with new characters being introduced and new conflicts but nothing felt particularly poignant.

The characters were okay in this book. I freaking loved Shiori’s character in Six Crimson Cranes but in this book she felt a bit frazzled and reckless at times. I felt that her and Takkan had a okay romance I think I felt more spark between them during book 1. Kiki will always be my favorite character. I wish for a book that has a dragon in the cover we would have had a bit more time with the dragons throughout the entire book.

Overall this was okay. I’m glad I read it just to know how it ends but it wasn’t as spectacular as I was hoping it would be.

Thank you Random House Children's/ Knopf Books for Young Readers and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children's, Knopf Books For Young Readers, and Elizabeth Lim for the opportunity to read The Dragon's Promise in exchange for an honest review.

Elizabeth Lim is currently one of my favorite authors, and I hold high anticipation for any book coming from her. I  find that the first novels in her series are often stronger and far superior to the second installment of the duologies, though the second books certainly do not disappoint. I absolutely love how Lim is making connections between The Blood of Stars and Six Crimson Cranes duologies.

With Six Crimson Cranes ending with a call to adventure for Shiori, The Dragon's Promise begins with her quest to Ai'Long, the realm of dragons, to fullfill her promise to Raikama to return the dragon pearl she held to its rightful owner. With Seryu's guidance, Shiori barely makes it past the dragon king and queen, after which she seeks a dragon who just might know the true name of the one Raikama's pearl belongs to. While in Ai'Long, Shiori meets a prominent young enchanter, Gen, who happens to be a major character in The Blood of Stars, though he goes by a different name. These connections really make the novel more intriguing.

After her ventures there, the story shifts from being with Seryu to her romance and engagement with Takkan. All the while, the threat of Bandur, a demon of which is also in Lim's other duology along with Gen, threatens to take over Shiori and possibly all of Kiata with his evil. Shiori knows she must do whatever she can to close the rift where demons slowly trickle out, as Bandur is also a threat to taking the dragon pearl. No matter what, Shiori will keep her promise.

While this book puts a little more focus on Shiori's relationship with her brothers, Seryu, and Takkan, that makes it a bit slower than the journey and mystery involved in the first novel. The ending wasn't bad, even somewhat wholesome, in a way, and deffinitely different, tying into Asian mythology. I greatly enjoy Lim's craft and find that duologies are a perfect length series for the stories she tells. Weaving characters in from her other stories and having readers that will recognize those connections really makes the world so much more immersive. I hope for more books in this same world and look forward to whatever Lim writes next.

Last year I read Six Crimson Cranes and fell deeply in love with it. I was so excited when I finally had this sequel in my hands!

The beautiful writing and the fantastic storytelling continue with this book and I loved where the story went.

I do understand some reviews saying that some things could have been delved in deeper and how some things were far too convenient. I don’t disagree, but I just find the world so magical that it didn’t really bother me.

DNF for now. Just can’t get into it and I have other eARCs I’d rather spend my kindle time on something else for now.

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher. This review is my own opinion voluntarily given.