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shannasbooksnhooks's review
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
Minor: Torture, Body horror, and Death of parent
sknappy1's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Death
azrah786's review
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
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
ezwolf's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
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
4.0
After finishing Six Crimson Cranes I was so excited to read the sequel! I love Shiori and her character arc and the relationship she has with her brothers and Kiki. Their curse and subsequent reveal with their stepmother is fantastic!
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!
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!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Classism, Body horror, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Torture
adancewithbooks's review
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
lennie_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this arc.
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
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Fire/Fire injury
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