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kirstenf's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Death of parent
Moderate: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Grief
Minor: War
madyou's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Kidnapping and War
lizgriffinwords's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Enjoyed for the most part - but the plot felt somewhat rushed and disjointed. Thankfully Takkan continues to be an amazing book boyfriend, even when Shiori is a bit of a disaster.
Those familiar with the Wild Swans inspiration will recognize a few additional details.
Overall, lovely sequel but didn’t quite live up to the first one, for me.
Those familiar with the Wild Swans inspiration will recognize a few additional details.
Overall, lovely sequel but didn’t quite live up to the first one, for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Death of parent
Minor: War, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
maidmarianlib's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Great continuation of the series, lots of action.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Violence, and War
hollyk's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I think I'm in shock a little as I write this--I literally finished this book 2 minutes ago. I want to make it clear that I don't think this book was bad, but I do think it was underwhelming/disappointing. This picks up right after Six Crimson Cranes so I had to play some mental catch up in terms of what happened in the previous book. I also think that y'know, if you title the book The Dragon's Promise and then only about 1/4 of the book takes place in the Dragon Kingdom, and then we don't see another dragon for a solid 70% more of the book, the title may be a bit of a misnomer. I also didn't like the lack of Seryu, and I didn't understand why he didn't stick around?? Maybe I missed something .
In terms of plot, it's fairly straightforward--go to point a for the purpose of b, but there were a lot of unnecessary, small bits that added up over time to make the book drag. It also lacked a lot of the charm of Six Crimson Cranes, but that is in part due to the higher stakes in this book. Other reviewers have touched on the villain and the lack of nuance and development that the "antagonist" of the first book had, and I agree. I think that overall I'm just disappointed because this book didn't live up to Six Crimson Cranes for me. There were definitely some good parts, and Takkan is a gem, but there were just some elements that didn't gel together for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and War
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