Reviews with content warning for Fire/Fire injury - The Dragon's Promise

Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

The Dragon's Promise by Elizabeth Lim

28 reviews

amiraqualls's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

So boring! I got through the first book with ease, but this plot was really unmotivated. The couple did not elicit any excitement from me whatsoever and the main character got her way every single time. She magically (no pun intened, especially because her magic is very lackluster) gets out of every situation with the power of her words. Finishing this book was a TASK.

Content Warnings

notapenguin's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

4.75

Content Warnings

broccoli_j's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

A good ending for this duology.

The character development was intentional and well paced, the worldbuilding was consistent and the relationships emotional and well planed.

I absolutely loved this book!

Content Warnings

eetishmeh's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

A thrilling sequel to Six Crimson Cranes and a nice ending to Shiori's journey.

I spent a little longer than I'd've liked to finish this book due to school and life stuff in general... but also because some parts of the book were a little bit slow. That might just be a personal preference, though.

I think Seryu's storyline ended to quickly. I felt robbed of an ending where he fought alongside Shiori, Takkan and her brothers 🥲 I loved him a lot and was super sad to see him go in just the first half of the book 😭 The way they closed the curtains of his stage made it feel like it was the end of the book already, haha. Shiori's time in Ai'long and her time in Kiata felt like they were split into two different arcs, which overall wasn't the best pacing choice. (I think that's why it felt draggy in certain areas :'D)

I love Shiori and Takkan's relationship, but I think Shiori acts a little too mature in the romantic relationship aspect considering how she has no prior dating experience and she's only 17. Just a little pet peeve of mine that didn't affect my rating of this book; I know a lot of fantasy books have this type of characterisation anyway.

As always, I'd like to appreciate the worldbuilding, especially since I rarely see Asian takes on typical fantasy tropes (made-up names inspired by real-life things, mythological beings inspired by legends etc) that are usually used in Western settings. (I'm sure that non-English books must do this too, based on their own culture, but this is one of the first times I've seen this in an English book.)

I liked the conclusion to Shiori's journey. It was bittersweet, yet felt more sweet than bitter because of the character reactions and the nice little bows tied onto each character arc.

Overall, I preferred book 1 more due to its pacing and the plot structure, but I enjoyed this book as well. Goodbye, Lor'yan. I enjoyed traversing your land alongside Shiori <3

Content Warnings

kayceeisbookish's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional medium-paced

Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

Liked the first book much more than this one. Really wish dragons were more involved especially Seryu and his cousin since the book is called the dragon's promise. I loved reading about Raikama's past and I will be reading the book about her that will be releasing because I need to know more about her. Honestly, Raikama was still the most interesting character and the one I really wanted to learn more about. There were def parts that felt unnecessary and I skimmed certain sections because of it. The big fight with Bandur also felt quite rushed compared to everything leading up to it that felt dragged out so I agree with some other reviews that the pacing was off throughout.
I didn't care for how throwaway the half dragons felt. They were some of the more interesting characters but weren't developed.
And spicy opinion, I didn't care for takkan. I don't remember how I felt about him in the 1st book but in this one, I didn't care for him at all. I loved why he was chosen as the betrothed but his character was boring for me in this one. I don't think I cared about the romance much at all in this. I would've preferred more focus on the "action" parts of the book-would've preferred more time in the dragon realm, would've preferred more expansion on Shiori's magic, would've preferred more Raikama backstory, etc.
Not a bad sequel, still enjoyed a lot of elements of it, but I would've been satisfied with the first book and a book solely about Raikama. Maybe even a novella solely about the dragon realm.

Content Warnings