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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
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:
Complicated
this was pretty good idk why i put it off for so long, i had a slump mid readind this, went back to it like over a month later, but its fine 🐉🦢✨️
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Slower paced than the first book, possibly because the story departs from the original folktale entirely. This might have been better served as a trilogy to allow space for that expansion without it feeling like two separate entities.
Okay first of all, WHY?! WHYYYYY WAS THERE EVER A THING WITH SERYU AND SHIORI WHY. I was SO SAD to see them ALMOST LIKE 0.05% AWAY FROM GETTING TGT. I was NOT cheering for them, my heart was literally breaking for Takkan. Sorry but Shiori does NOT deserve Takkan at all. Man is so pure-hearted and selfless in his love that he takes being jilted at the altar TWICE! TWICE PEOPLE!! Like I get that he’s truly deeply in love with her but man, where’s your pride and self-respect?! I also get that there’s a whole demon uprising attack going on, BUT STILL STANDARDS PEOPLE!
Ok got that off my chest.
First, same with book 1, LOVE LOVE LOVEEE her world-building and that super intricate and well-written plot. It’s crazy original and interesting, nothing comes close to this (cuz sometimes I’ll read a book and I feel like it reminds me of another, but this one rly doesn’t at all). It’s insane that everything ties in tgt at the end and every little plot hint is used and woven so beautifully into the main storyline. And towards the end it’s like u can just see everything coming together so freaking well. Especially the part about Raikama’s last wish and her past. Book 1 ended off with Raikama’s passing and her last wish for Shiori to return the pearl to its rightful owner (why she didn’t just say who it belonged to IDK builds character??). So Shiori sets off on this epic adventure to find and return the pearl. She starts off with the dragons’ land (can’t rmb what it’s called lol) with the help of Seryu, they try to find out who’s the pearl’s owner. Tldr she kinda had to get married to Seryu so that his father wouldn’t kill her for not giving him the pearl, but they escape and do a bunch of exciting shit to find that it belonged to the Wraith, who happened to be half demon half dragon, and was living on a godforsaken exiled island in the middle of nowhere. Seryu confessed his feelings for Shiori and belittles Takkan stuck back home, who has no way of defending himself!!! And ms shiori here doesn’t bother defending him much either!!!! In fact, missie questions her feelings cuz she kinda has feelings for dragon boy too!!! How!!! Can!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Esp that moment when, they were in the ritual to solemnize their bond or wtv, and she tells Seryu to kiss her?????? I was hUh wHAT wHERE WHAT ABOUT TAKKAN. He didn’t kiss her cuz he saw her hesitation lol bless. Ya anyway, from this point forth the shiori x takkan ship sank to the deepest depths of the sea.
Idk her feelings towards Takkan just felt so flippant and trivial whilst she was stuck in dragon land. Especially compared to the intensity of Takken’s feelings towards her, which were wayyyyyy more heartfelt.
So then she sets out to find the Wraith and seryu stays behind. She reunites with her family (and takes an absurdly long amount of time to find even WANT to find Takkan) and gets up to speed about what has happened. So Bandur (powerful demon) is causing terror and she has to stop him from terrorizing Kiata. So tldr again she returns the pearl to the wraith and pits him against bandur. They win and bandur is banished. However, shiori realised that the priestesses had been falsely accusing demons of causing terror when it had been them all along. So shiori did what no other bloodsakes before her ever did, she freed the demons. But in doing so, drained her life force and pretty much died. But she was saved by Seryu for how much she had done and so the gods gave her a chance. She had to live 2 seasons on the moon and the other 2 on earth for the rest of her life, until Takkan died cuz their lives were bonded to each other.
Beautiful freaking story, so bittersweet and I’m glad she didn’t die. I really do love shiori and how resourceful she is, and tenacious above all. I love that everything ties in together so nicely: raikama wanting her to return the pearl, which showed that she had forgiven the demon (wraith) who killed her sister. The part where shiori visited the hometown of raikama and found about the story of her and her sister. It was so touching and sad. The sisters were born cursed with raikama having scales on her face and her sister with a pearl. So raikama always wished to have someone be fond of her and to be beautiful. She befriended a demon (wraith who wanted her sister’s pearl) and some unfortunate accident occurred, inciting the demon to kill her sister instead. In a disturbing twist of fate, raikama got what she always wished for, to be beautiful but she had her sister’s face. So she lived out her life as her sister, and no one knew better.
I love the lore and stories so much, from dragons to cranes and demons and fighting ghosts. Even the birds were exceptional, kiki albeit annoying at times was honestly the mvp in this story.
I love Takkan so much omg. This is the first time ever that I’ve liked the MMC more than the FMC. He is truly the definition of a book boyfriend who also isn’t boringly conventional and unoriginal. I love that he’s so calm, righteous, poetic and yet strong and confident all the same. We don’t need a man with big biceps, and is constantly threatening bodily harm!!! Not cute!!! What we need is a man who writes love letters and sings lullabies to his partner. Ugh the best. He is so sincere and genuine in his feelings towards shiori and he seriously reminds me of a golden retriever also lol. How he loyally waited at her hometown for her return, which by the way, he had no idea when (or if) she might come back!! He is so incredibly patient and understanding towards a literal cHILD who runs away from their marriage AGAIN for idk what reason. The way he was so ready to throw his life away to ensure shiori’s safety, despite knowing he could v much die. And man’s now gonna be waiting every 2 seasons for his brat to return. SIGHS she really don’t deserve him.
Anyway! It was a really enjoyable read, minus the almost cheating scandal. Cant wait to read more of her works!!
Ok got that off my chest.
First, same with book 1, LOVE LOVE LOVEEE her world-building and that super intricate and well-written plot. It’s crazy original and interesting, nothing comes close to this (cuz sometimes I’ll read a book and I feel like it reminds me of another, but this one rly doesn’t at all). It’s insane that everything ties in tgt at the end and every little plot hint is used and woven so beautifully into the main storyline. And towards the end it’s like u can just see everything coming together so freaking well. Especially the part about Raikama’s last wish and her past. Book 1 ended off with Raikama’s passing and her last wish for Shiori to return the pearl to its rightful owner (why she didn’t just say who it belonged to IDK builds character??). So Shiori sets off on this epic adventure to find and return the pearl. She starts off with the dragons’ land (can’t rmb what it’s called lol) with the help of Seryu, they try to find out who’s the pearl’s owner. Tldr she kinda had to get married to Seryu so that his father wouldn’t kill her for not giving him the pearl, but they escape and do a bunch of exciting shit to find that it belonged to the Wraith, who happened to be half demon half dragon, and was living on a godforsaken exiled island in the middle of nowhere. Seryu confessed his feelings for Shiori and belittles Takkan stuck back home, who has no way of defending himself!!! And ms shiori here doesn’t bother defending him much either!!!! In fact, missie questions her feelings cuz she kinda has feelings for dragon boy too!!! How!!! Can!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Esp that moment when, they were in the ritual to solemnize their bond or wtv, and she tells Seryu to kiss her?????? I was hUh wHAT wHERE WHAT ABOUT TAKKAN. He didn’t kiss her cuz he saw her hesitation lol bless. Ya anyway, from this point forth the shiori x takkan ship sank to the deepest depths of the sea.
Idk her feelings towards Takkan just felt so flippant and trivial whilst she was stuck in dragon land. Especially compared to the intensity of Takken’s feelings towards her, which were wayyyyyy more heartfelt.
So then she sets out to find the Wraith and seryu stays behind. She reunites with her family (and takes an absurdly long amount of time to find even WANT to find Takkan) and gets up to speed about what has happened. So Bandur (powerful demon) is causing terror and she has to stop him from terrorizing Kiata. So tldr again she returns the pearl to the wraith and pits him against bandur. They win and bandur is banished. However, shiori realised that the priestesses had been falsely accusing demons of causing terror when it had been them all along. So shiori did what no other bloodsakes before her ever did, she freed the demons. But in doing so, drained her life force and pretty much died. But she was saved by Seryu for how much she had done and so the gods gave her a chance. She had to live 2 seasons on the moon and the other 2 on earth for the rest of her life, until Takkan died cuz their lives were bonded to each other.
Beautiful freaking story, so bittersweet and I’m glad she didn’t die. I really do love shiori and how resourceful she is, and tenacious above all. I love that everything ties in together so nicely: raikama wanting her to return the pearl, which showed that she had forgiven the demon (wraith) who killed her sister. The part where shiori visited the hometown of raikama and found about the story of her and her sister. It was so touching and sad. The sisters were born cursed with raikama having scales on her face and her sister with a pearl. So raikama always wished to have someone be fond of her and to be beautiful. She befriended a demon (wraith who wanted her sister’s pearl) and some unfortunate accident occurred, inciting the demon to kill her sister instead. In a disturbing twist of fate, raikama got what she always wished for, to be beautiful but she had her sister’s face. So she lived out her life as her sister, and no one knew better.
I love the lore and stories so much, from dragons to cranes and demons and fighting ghosts. Even the birds were exceptional, kiki albeit annoying at times was honestly the mvp in this story.
I love Takkan so much omg. This is the first time ever that I’ve liked the MMC more than the FMC. He is truly the definition of a book boyfriend who also isn’t boringly conventional and unoriginal. I love that he’s so calm, righteous, poetic and yet strong and confident all the same. We don’t need a man with big biceps, and is constantly threatening bodily harm!!! Not cute!!! What we need is a man who writes love letters and sings lullabies to his partner. Ugh the best. He is so sincere and genuine in his feelings towards shiori and he seriously reminds me of a golden retriever also lol. How he loyally waited at her hometown for her return, which by the way, he had no idea when (or if) she might come back!! He is so incredibly patient and understanding towards a literal cHILD who runs away from their marriage AGAIN for idk what reason. The way he was so ready to throw his life away to ensure shiori’s safety, despite knowing he could v much die. And man’s now gonna be waiting every 2 seasons for his brat to return. SIGHS she really don’t deserve him.
Anyway! It was a really enjoyable read, minus the almost cheating scandal. Cant wait to read more of her works!!
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Ngl I didn’t like the first quarter of this book (and Shiori’s lack of communication) but the rest was so good! The ending made me tear up at work, haha
slow-paced
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I loved all of the tender moments in the story, between Shiori and Takkan, her relationship with her brothers, father and even her step mother’s memories. As with Lim’s prior book, her prose is really beautiful and she’s a master at painting a scene.
My main critique of this book is that it tended to drag. The beginning, imo, was especially hard to get into just because she spends so much time in the dragon realm for very little pay off in the long run. The plot definitely meandered.
Also, Shiori has been betrayed by so many of these creatures. Yet she keeps trying to make promises with them and is then surprised that they betray her! Like girl fool me once shame on me, but three times? You’re the problem, I fear.
My main critique of this book is that it tended to drag. The beginning, imo, was especially hard to get into just because she spends so much time in the dragon realm for very little pay off in the long run. The plot definitely meandered.
Also, Shiori has been betrayed by so many of these creatures. Yet she keeps trying to make promises with them and is then surprised that they betray her! Like girl fool me once shame on me, but three times? You’re the problem, I fear.
Rating: 3.5 Stars
I adored [b:Six Crimson Cranes|53457092|Six Crimson Cranes (Six Crimson Cranes, #1)|Elizabeth Lim|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1603387427l/53457092._SY75_.jpg|83339157], a fast-paced, beautiful and whimsical story. And the sequel has left me a little undecided.
On one hand, I did actually really enjoy this. I loved reading about Shiori, loved seeing more of her brothers and getting to know her father more. Even more, learning more about Raikama was a highlight.
Raikama is such a complex and interesting character and I'm so glad we got to unravel her backstory more. Three whole stars for Raikama's history alone. Personally, it was one of the most, if not the most, interesting element of this sequel.
The only thing that could give her backstory some competition was how cute Takkan is . He is such a wholesome character and I love that he's someone who's so strong, who can hold his own in a battle and be a badass yet he's simultaneously a softie. And not a softie deep down but an outright cutie. He paints books for his younger sister, says the cutest thing, expresses him so freely and is so damn patient .
I think the pacing was pretty fast with a lot going on and it kept me pretty entertained. However, the amount going on in this story was simultaneously a strength and a weakness. We have so many story arcs in this story that at one point, it starts to feel like too much . I would've rather [a:Elizabeth Lim|6926374|Elizabeth Lim|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1508017352p2/6926374.jpg] just pick one or two of the 'adventures' she had written and just fleshed them out more and written a shorter story.
There were also some characters that I wish we had seen more of. As relevant as Seryu was in the first 1/3, I wish he had been a little more present and significant in the rest of the story. We're also introduced to some great characters with a lot of potential like Elang, and everyone at the Dragon's Kingdom or even a Raikama's home. I would've enjoyed it more if these characters were more significant to the story especially since they seemed so be so well layered. But most of all, I loved Gen and wish we had seen more of him. If anything, I want a sequel just for Gen.
Now, for the most jarring part of all.
I adored [b:Six Crimson Cranes|53457092|Six Crimson Cranes (Six Crimson Cranes, #1)|Elizabeth Lim|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1603387427l/53457092._SY75_.jpg|83339157], a fast-paced, beautiful and whimsical story. And the sequel has left me a little undecided.
On one hand, I did actually really enjoy this. I loved reading about Shiori, loved seeing more of her brothers and getting to know her father more. Even more, learning more about Raikama was a highlight.
Raikama is such a complex and interesting character and I'm so glad we got to unravel her backstory more. Three whole stars for Raikama's history alone. Personally, it was one of the most, if not the most, interesting element of this sequel.
The only thing that could give her backstory some competition was how cute Takkan is . He is such a wholesome character and I love that he's someone who's so strong, who can hold his own in a battle and be a badass yet he's simultaneously a softie. And not a softie deep down but an outright cutie. He paints books for his younger sister, says the cutest thing, expresses him so freely and is so damn patient .
I think the pacing was pretty fast with a lot going on and it kept me pretty entertained. However, the amount going on in this story was simultaneously a strength and a weakness. We have so many story arcs in this story that at one point, it starts to feel like too much . I would've rather [a:Elizabeth Lim|6926374|Elizabeth Lim|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1508017352p2/6926374.jpg] just pick one or two of the 'adventures' she had written and just fleshed them out more and written a shorter story.
There were also some characters that I wish we had seen more of. As relevant as Seryu was in the first 1/3, I wish he had been a little more present and significant in the rest of the story. We're also introduced to some great characters with a lot of potential like Elang, and everyone at the Dragon's Kingdom or even a Raikama's home. I would've enjoyed it more if these characters were more significant to the story especially since they seemed so be so well layered. But most of all, I loved Gen and wish we had seen more of him. If anything, I want a sequel just for Gen.
Now, for the most jarring part of all.