Reviews with content warning for Blood - The Dragon's Promise

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The Dragon's Promise by Elizabeth Lim

35 reviews

lanid's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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pastelmeganes's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I think the magic of the first book didn’t transition well into the sequel. I think the whole plot of her navigating this world unable to communicate enticed me to pick up the series in the first place. Without that there anymore, a little of the magic was faded.

The first third of the book was a little odd for me personally. We spent so much time in the dragon realm and i just didn’t feel connected with anybody but Seryu (whom is by far my favorite character).

The book definitely picked up my interest again in the middle when were back in the human realm. Learning about Raikama’s past was my favorite part of the story by far.

My least favorite character of the main cast was Takkan. He just didn’t add anything in for me and was pretty boring, in a way he made Shiori a lot more boring in my opinion. I found myself rolling my eyes a few times at their interactions. I mean it’s cute but lacked elements that made me want to ve interested in their relationship.

If i were to do anything to make the book better for me personally, id change out the Dragon realm arc for something different, make Raikama’s home a bigger portion of the book, have shiori learn more magic and abilities, keep Gen more in the story, and have Seryu end up with Shiori instead of Takkan.

I will say Shiori choosing to free the demons was an interesting choice which i appreciated. It was some nice growth.

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mpbookreviews's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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yaoipaddle's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I preferred the first book. I felt like the pacing was not as well done as the first book. Too much time was taken up by Shiori pining over her boyfriend or rehashing the same things she has done in the last book. The few new and interesting settings or concepts were far too brief.

I'm just a little tired of Shiori being head over heels for Takkan when he does not show himself to be outstandingly amazing in this book more than other characters. I do appreciate that there is no Twilight/Hunger Games level pandering over who has Shiori's love though.

The further exploration into Shiori's feelings over her stepmother are sweet and some of my favorite parts of the latter part of the book. I like how towards the end Shiori showed a lot of maturity and the theme of "what is 'home'" really came around neatly. So for general themes and concepts I felt a nice closure.

As for the actual nitty gritty details and actions...
The ending felt rushed and parts of it were poorly explained to the point where I had to stop reading and try to piece it together myself before continuing.

I would say this is an OK end to the series but could have been better. Feel free to pass on it and make up your own ending tbh.

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kirstenf's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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kbairbooks's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful lighthearted sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Wow! The imagery, the colors, the scenery, the outfits, the food. This book is so rich with culture and flavors and texture it’s just so good. I am really enjoying Elizabeth Lims writing style and I currently have her other duology in my library audiobooks holds which I’m super excited to read as well. It was just such a lovely story. Though there were moments where I would fall out of intrigue and there were moments of dullness for me I guess… I did really enjoy it and my fairyloot edition is absolutely stunning.

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cinnabagel's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

so much was packed into 600 pages it left me reeling at the end. speaking of, the ending was absolutely beautiful. i feel like this book kinda unnecessarily went on forever, but i didn’t mind too much as i absolutely adore the writing of this book and the one that came before it. i appreciate how well the characters were thought out as well. i don’t think the plot was as interesting a concept as the book before it, though.

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natashaleighton_'s review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Elizabeth Lim’s gorgeous follow up (and conclusion) to the Six Crimson Cranes duology was another intricately crafted and vibrant tale of identity, family and learning to embrace your power that I genuinely fell in love with!

It picks up immediately after the events of Six Crimson Cranes and sees our Protagonist, Shiori journey into the watery realm of Dragons (Ai’long) and risk untold danger into the forbidden land of Spirits (Lapzur) to fulfill a promise to her stepmother —and the action is pretty much non stop the entire time.

If you’re familiar with any of Lim’s previous books then you’ll know just how dreamy and immersive her world-building can be and Shiori’s world of demons, dragons and magical paper cranes is no exception. But, if you’re not all that familiar then you’re in for a treat as this vividly detailed and sweeping, fantasy is chock full lush descriptions and loveable characters that fans of fairytale retellings and East Asian mythology will definitely adore. As this is a sort of prequel to Lim’s previous duology which references the events which take place here, I do think for newbies who haven’t read them —you’d be best starting out with this duology (Six Crimson Cranes, The Dragon’s Promise) to get the most enjoyment.

We don’t actually spend much time in the Dragon Realm (only about the first third of the book) but fans of Lim’s The Blood of Stars duology will be delighted to know we encounter a familiar fan favourite from that series during Shiori’s time there and his scenes were just soo delightful!

We also get to see more of Seryu, the dragon mercurial dragon prince Shiori befriended in Six Crimson Cranes and I loved getting to explore his character on a deeper level—and learn more about the dynamics and culture of the dragons.

Kiki (shiori’s magical paper crane companion) is still one of my favourite characters and loved her witty banter, antics and dynamics with a few of the other characters.

The opportunity to delve into Shiori’s stepmother’s past was really interesting and definitely added a poignancy and depth to her actions in Six Crimson Cranes. I truly felt for her here, and it seemed definitely help Shiori gain a deeper understanding too.

Overall, another spellbinding, fairytale inspired YA Fantasy that I urge everyone to check out—after you’ve read Six Crimson Cranes, that is!)

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shannasbooksnhooks's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

"Twilight crept over the Holy Mountains. The Moon was a crown faint against the coal-black sky, but the breach glowed a deep, visceral red."
This was an amazing follow-up to Six Crimson Cranes, and I was absolutely in love. I couldn't set this book down for long - I kept picking it up to read another chapter or two. Seeing how much the characters grew - both in Six Crimson Cranes to The Dragons Promise and in The Dragons Promise on its own - was so endearing to read. Everything about this book was pure magic, and I definitely recommend it if you've read Six Crimson Cranes.

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madyou's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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