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A review by lennie_reads
The Dragon's Promise by Elizabeth Lim
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