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natashaleighton_'s review
- 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
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Grief and Death of parent
shannasbooksnhooks's review
- 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
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.
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
Minor: Torture, Body horror, and Death of parent
lizgriffinwords's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Moderate: Violence and Death of parent
Minor: War, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
azrah786's review
4.25
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
Graphic: Confinement, Blood, Violence, Death, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Torture, and Self harm
hollyk's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and War
sophiesmallhands's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Blood
Minor: Death
chrisljm's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Confinement, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Self harm and Grief
ezwolf's review
- 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
4.0
That being said I was a bit disappointed with the sequel and I know this is going to sound like a pretty negative review but, I still enjoyed it a lot and would recommend the series. I just think Six Crimson Cranes on its own was a far more interesting story and there were a lot of characters from the first book (like Takkan's sister) I would have loved to have seen more of.
In this one I liked that the focus was on Shiori fulfilling the promise she made to her stepmother and getting to essentially take control of her own destiny as the bloodsake of her generation. Shiori's stubbornness and unwillingness to listen to anyone who tries to control her was great and I liked that even though she was surrounded by male characters, she didn't really take orders from any of them in any situation.
But one of my biggest annoyances was a stylistic choice and not a story choice and it's a scene I won't go into the specifics of since it happens about 70% of the way through the book, but it is the only chapter (I'm pretty sure, I did not double check this) that happens in third person POV. After that we're back into first person. It really threw me off to have the POV change abruptly. I wound up flipping back and forth because I thought I'd forgotten how the book was written between setting it down and picking it back up.
***SPOILER BELOW***
Not a big one, but I realize there was the hint of a love triangle going on with Shiori, Seryu, and Takkan, and it was obvious who Shiori was going to end up with, but I still wasn't a huge fan of how Shiori and Seryu said goodbye and how it happened quite early on in the book. On the whole I really liked Seryu's character and thought he deserved a better send off or at least more time with Shiori. I thought he was going to make a a full appearance one more time at the end when they had found the Wraith, but the last we get of him is when Shiori is leaving the moon to see Takkan and her family.
Again, I know this sounds like a negative review, but these are the things that stood out to me in reading The Dragon's Promise and even though I enjoyed it, I think they're things worth bringing up.
Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Classism, Body horror, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Torture
lennie_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I adore Elizabeth Lim's books and after the ending of Six Crimson Cranes, I couldn't wait to get my hands on The Dragon's Promise!
However for some reason it took me a while to get into this story. I found the part in Ai'long (the underwater dragon city) very rushed and overall it didn't even seem that integral to the story, other than to meet Gen. What I wanted to see was more Seryu but we didn't even get that, however I am glad that there wasn't a love triangle storyline.
After leaving Ai'long, the story picked up for me. Once Shiori reunited with her family and Takkan, and they were trying to solve their problems together, it reminded me of some of the many reasons I loved the first book.
This book almost felt like three shorter stories in one, there was cohesion but each one could've been a story in its own right.
I found the look into Raikama's past really interesting and loved that Shiori was able to really connect to her now that she has her memories back.
Also because this book is technically a prequel for The Blood of the Stars, you knew what some of the outcomes would eventually be, especially with Bandur, which did lessen the peril slightly.
This book was a solid 4 stars throughout but the ending made me give it that extra half star. It was utterly heartbreaking for me and very bittersweet. I love Takkan so much and the romance between him and Shiori was so refreshing and the ending felt very mythical.
I also love how Lim likes to flip your character expectations, especially for characters who are 'villains'.
There were some typos in my copy but it's an arc so that's to be expected.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and I think it's a good sequel. I can understand some people's views that Six Crimson Cranes could've been extended to be a standalone instead but I appreciated being able to spend more time with Takkan and looking into Raikama's story.
CW: injury, blood, imprisonment, fire
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Fire/Fire injury