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azrah786's review against another edition
4.25
**I was provided with an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, blood, death, murder, confinement, torture, grief, injury, self harm
--
The Dragon’s Promise is a sequel that was just as fun and magical as the first book.
The story picks up exactly where Six Crimson Cranes left off and has us following Shiori on her mission to uphold her promise by travelling all over the kingdom.
I avoid revealing too many plot details when reviewing a sequel due to spoilers but honestly I wouldn’t even know how to summarise the storyline more here. This is one of those books that you won’t be able to guess what direction the adventure will take you next.
There is still a Studio Ghibli / fairytale adventure vibe overall but the scope is a lot broader. From diving deep into the depths of the dragon kingdom to voyaging across the seas to far isles Elizabeth Lim allows us to further explore this beautifully rich world she has imagined which was one of the things I really loved about this book.
Another was Shirori and Takkan. Rereading book one before picking this up made me become enamoured by their slow burn relationship once again and my heart was just swelling watching it continue to blossom here.
Alongside exploring new parts of this world there is a lot more emphasis on the political tensions particularly in Gindara, as well as how the opinions and superstitions of the people surrounding magic come into play. Themes of grief, fear and loss are deeply explored but also love and remembrance.
I felt there was a slight set back however, in that there were various new (and old) characters and lore being introduced which weren’t given enough time to be explored as the focus was very much on Shirori and her journey. The pacing was also quite fast so some of the action scenes felt a little bit rushed and over as soon as they started but it was all so entertaining through and through.
Final Rating – 4.25/5 Stars
CW: violence, blood, death, murder, confinement, torture, grief, injury, self harm
--
The Dragon’s Promise is a sequel that was just as fun and magical as the first book.
The story picks up exactly where Six Crimson Cranes left off and has us following Shiori on her mission to uphold her promise by travelling all over the kingdom.
I avoid revealing too many plot details when reviewing a sequel due to spoilers but honestly I wouldn’t even know how to summarise the storyline more here. This is one of those books that you won’t be able to guess what direction the adventure will take you next.
There is still a Studio Ghibli / fairytale adventure vibe overall but the scope is a lot broader. From diving deep into the depths of the dragon kingdom to voyaging across the seas to far isles Elizabeth Lim allows us to further explore this beautifully rich world she has imagined which was one of the things I really loved about this book.
Another was Shirori and Takkan. Rereading book one before picking this up made me become enamoured by their slow burn relationship once again and my heart was just swelling watching it continue to blossom here.
Alongside exploring new parts of this world there is a lot more emphasis on the political tensions particularly in Gindara, as well as how the opinions and superstitions of the people surrounding magic come into play. Themes of grief, fear and loss are deeply explored but also love and remembrance.
I felt there was a slight set back however, in that there were various new (and old) characters and lore being introduced which weren’t given enough time to be explored as the focus was very much on Shirori and her journey. The pacing was also quite fast so some of the action scenes felt a little bit rushed and over as soon as they started but it was all so entertaining through and through.
Final Rating – 4.25/5 Stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Blood, Violence, Death, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Torture, and Self harm
sophiesmallhands's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Blood
Minor: Death
chrisljm's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
4.5
i cried until i couldnt breathe
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Confinement, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Self harm and Grief
adancewithbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for the review copy in exchange for an honest review. This does not change my opinion in anyway.
As I look at some of the reviews for this sequel to Six Crimson Cranes and I realize that a lot of people aren't quite as charmed with it as I was. That might be because I read this pretty close together and I didn't have to wait like some people. And perhaps because my expectations were different.
If there is one thing that I have learned with fairytale type of books as the first book of a series is that the rest of the books in the series never really keep up unless they dive into other fairytales. So I knew I was not going to get that from this sequel. And that was okay. We get a deepening of the world by seeing the world of the dragons and other islands.
This book is perhaps a bit more plot driven than character driven than I would have liked but there were just a lot of things that still needed to be resolved and discovered. There was more room for other characters than just Shiori and Takkan, and at the end of the day I think that is important.
There was some shouting about a love triangle, and while I am one that is not a fan of those, nothing about it bothered me. It was clear from the start that Seryu had feelings for Shiori even if she didn't see it herself. And it was also obvious that Shiori would never turn away from Takkan. So for me there was not a real love triangle. Shiori never gave Seryu false hope.
While we are on the subject of the dragons, aren't they a bunch of backstabbing court nannies, my gosh. There doesn't seem to be any fun reason to want to be apart of the dragon world if you constantly have to walk on your toes. But Seryu took a step in becoming his own self and I'm so proud of him.
Her brothers also seem to have grown during their time as cranes and even though we only get little bits and pieces it is still great to see the steps they are making. And I found the wizard entertaining but was sorry to see how little his role ended up being. He could have really helped Shiori since he knew more but of course all had to be done by her. I think that was a shame.
Regardless I enjoyed this duology for what it was and I can't wait to see what Elizabeth Lim will bring us next.
As I look at some of the reviews for this sequel to Six Crimson Cranes and I realize that a lot of people aren't quite as charmed with it as I was. That might be because I read this pretty close together and I didn't have to wait like some people. And perhaps because my expectations were different.
If there is one thing that I have learned with fairytale type of books as the first book of a series is that the rest of the books in the series never really keep up unless they dive into other fairytales. So I knew I was not going to get that from this sequel. And that was okay. We get a deepening of the world by seeing the world of the dragons and other islands.
This book is perhaps a bit more plot driven than character driven than I would have liked but there were just a lot of things that still needed to be resolved and discovered. There was more room for other characters than just Shiori and Takkan, and at the end of the day I think that is important.
There was some shouting about a love triangle, and while I am one that is not a fan of those, nothing about it bothered me. It was clear from the start that Seryu had feelings for Shiori even if she didn't see it herself. And it was also obvious that Shiori would never turn away from Takkan. So for me there was not a real love triangle. Shiori never gave Seryu false hope.
While we are on the subject of the dragons, aren't they a bunch of backstabbing court nannies, my gosh. There doesn't seem to be any fun reason to want to be apart of the dragon world if you constantly have to walk on your toes. But Seryu took a step in becoming his own self and I'm so proud of him.
Her brothers also seem to have grown during their time as cranes and even though we only get little bits and pieces it is still great to see the steps they are making. And I found the wizard entertaining but was sorry to see how little his role ended up being. He could have really helped Shiori since he knew more but of course all had to be done by her. I think that was a shame.
Regardless I enjoyed this duology for what it was and I can't wait to see what Elizabeth Lim will bring us next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Violence
Moderate: Grief and Fire/Fire injury
theespressoedition's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Murder, and Blood
Moderate: Torture, Violence, and Death
Minor: Death of parent
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