The Dragon's Promise

Six Crimson Cranes #2

by Elizabeth Lim, Reni Indardini (Translator)

Shiori berjanji mengembalikan mutiara naga kepada pemiliknya yang sah—penjaga Pulau Lapzur yang terjebak bersama satu legiun iblis dan hantu. Namun, kutukan yang memancar dari mutiara itu menjadikan perjalanannya tak semulus yang dibayangkan.

Dia harus menghadapi raja naga dan putrinya sekaligus, membaca dengan cermat tipu muslihat para immortal, juga melawan pencuri yang menginginkan mutiara untuk dirinya sendiri. Di tengah berbagai kekacauan, Shiori harus menyelamatkan diri dari buruan rakyat Kiata yang bersikeras untuk membunuhnya.

Mampukah Shiori mempertahankan kehidupan dan cinta yang telah dia perjuangkan dengan susah payah?

Sebuah petualangan menegangkan dan perjalanan penuh rintangan untuk membuktikan kekuatan takdir yang berkelindan

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Dragons, Mythology, Fiction, Young Adult Fantasy

440 pages, Paperback

First published August 30, 2022

About the author

Elizabeth Lim grew up on a hearty staple of fairy tales, myths, and songs. Her passion for storytelling began around age 10, when she started writing fanfics for Sailor Moon, Sweet Valley, and Star Wars, and posted them online to discover, "Wow, people actually read my stuff. And that's kinda cool!" But after one of her teachers told her she had "too much voice" in her essays, Elizabeth took a break from creative writing to focus on not flunking English.

Over the years, Elizabeth became a film and video game composer, and even went so far as to get a doctorate in music composition. But she always missed writing, and turned to penning stories when she needed a breather from grad school. One day, she decided to write and finish a novel -- for kicks, at first, then things became serious -- and she hasn't looked back since.

Elizabeth loves classic film scores, books with a good romance, food (she currently has a soft spot for arepas and Ethiopian food), the color turquoise, overcast skies, English muffins, cycling, and baking. She lives in New York City with her husband.

Reviews

[luce (cry bebè's back from hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

why are all my most anticipated 2022 releases so disappointing 😭

Please, let there be no love triangle

If you’ve read my review for Six Crimson Cranes you know just how much I loved that book. While I was concerned that the sequel would include a wholly unnecessary love triangle angle, I wasn’t at all preoccupied with the possibility of not liking it. And of course, 2022 being my underwhelming reading year, it turns out that *plot twist* I low-key disliked almost everything about this book. With a few modifications, Six Crimson Cranes could have easily been a stand-alone novel, and I actually think it would have resulted in an even stronger book. Alas, as this is a duology, we get The Dragon's Promise, a lukewarm finale that came across as boring and repetitive. Characters I previously enjoyed reading came across as very one-dimensional, the villain was far less compelling than the (apparent) one from Six Crimson Cranes, and the meandering plot failed to grab my attention. One too many chapters end with Shiori falling and or possibly facing some other type of danger (being attacked etc.). While the story doesn’t include an actual love triangle it teases one, something that I almost found more annoying than having to put up with a proper love triangle.
If you, like me, loved Six Crimson Cranes I’d still recommend you check out this sequel as you might find it a more captivating read than I did.

If you don’t mind reading minor spoilers here is my more in-depth(ish) review:

The Dragon's Promise picks up right after the cliffhanger Six Crimson Cranes. Shiori and Seryu have gone to the kingdom of dragons so Shiori can give the dragon’s pearl to the king of dragons, Seryu’s grandfather. But, Shiori doesn’t really plan on handing him the pearl as she promised her stepmother on her deathbed that she would return the pearl to its true owner. How she planned on escaping the consequences of not doing what she said she would is a mystery to me. Of course, the king is not pleased with her refusal to hand the pearl over to him and this results in a lot of back-and-forths where Shiori repeatedly believes that her newfound allies may or may not have betrayed her. Shiori is imprisoned, freed, imprisoned, freed, and so on. She comes across a character that will quite clearly play a role later on in the story but I didn’t find him as amusing as the narrative tried to make him into. Seryu’s character becomes rather unlikable and his bond to Shiori didn’t feel particularly believable. He confesses to having feelings for her (or something to that effect) but Shiori loves Takkan so she turns him down. She does now and again seem to entertain the possibility of being with Seryu but not in any serious capacity. For plot reasons, the two are of course forced into an engagement. It would have been far more refreshing to have their relationship as strictly platonic as I am tired of these YA novels where we have these two hot guys falling in love with the spunky clumsy heroine who has only very superficial and off-page friendships (here there is a weak attempt at giving her a positive relationship with a girl her age but funnily enough this friendship is mostly relegated off-page because of plot reasons).
After what felt like forever Shiori returns home and reunites with her beloved and her own family. Her brothers, who felt like such a crucial element from 1, are given very few lines and the remainder of the book sees Shiori and Takkan travel from place to place in an attempt to defeat the Bad Guy and are later on aided by a witty side character we met earlier in the book. I didn’t feel the stakes, the Bad Guy was very cartoonish, and the plot was just repetitive. In no time Shiori’s act-now-think-never attitude started to irritate me and while the story seems intent on portraying her as extremely special or whatever I didn’t feel that she was a particularly memorable or unique character. I missed the atmosphere of the first book as here that spellbinding magic is lost to samey action sequences.
Additionally, the dialogue was distractingly anachronistic. I don’t understand why the author randomly dropped archaic words into the characters’ dialogues as they merely stood out and consequently took me out of the story.
This was a deeply disappointing sequel. Not only did it make me fall out of love with the characters and setting of its predecessor but it was just a painfully ‘meh’ read. The content struck me as boorishly vanilla and Disneyesque (not in a good way as, so far as i remember, there were no lgbtq+ characters…).
I wish I could have loved it but as things stand the only reason why I gave The Dragon's Promise a 3-star rating is out of my love for Six Crimson Cranes.

find me on: ❀ blog ❀ thestorygraph ❀ letterboxd ❀ tumblr ❀ ko-fi ❀

[jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

EL is brilliant when it comes to world-building and weaving stories full of rich mythology and culture. shes just so consistent with the magic she creates and its why i will always pick up her books.

that being said, im a little bummed about this sequel. i get that EL wants to stick to duologies (i can appreciate that), but this just felt way too long. there is too much going on for just one book and, because of that, the one character that i care about the most is missing for the majority of the story. seryu is hands down the most interesting and compelling character in this series, so its such a shame that he exits the story at the 30% mark.

so just a few things i would have changed when it comes to the structure and narrative of the story. but none of that takes away from the vibrancy of the storytelling itself. i did enjoy this and i think its a nice conclusion to the series.

↠ 3.5 stars

[hiba · Rating 2 out of 5]

i really enjoyed six crimson cranes when i read it last year so it hurts to acknowledge how painfully average its sequel is.

the first 30% was completely disconnected from the rest of the plot and felt like a whole other story. the magical underwater dragon city is a pretty nice concept so i don't understand why the author decided to abandon it for the demon plotline, which was frankly lame and boring as hell. the main goal was vague and not as compelling as the one in the first book. the plot after the first 30% felt random and all over the place, especially towards the end - it felt like the author was coming up with ideas on the spot to keep the story going somehow. plus, some ideas from the first book were repeated here - it almost felt as if the author was forced to write this sequel.

personally, i think characters like shiori and takkan can only remain charming for one book - the more i got of them, the more they started to wear me out (although i admit their romance is cute). there were a couple of new characters introduced who had a lot of potential but sadly they turned out to be pointless and played no significant role in the plot.

honestly, the dragon's promise feels a bit of an unnecessary book to me - six crimson cranes would've worked perfectly well as a standalone.

overall, this is still a fast-paced, compulsively readable book with a nice writing style and if you really really love the characters, i think you'll like it (most of the early reviews are positive so i might be in the minority).

thank you to netgalley for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

[lisa ★ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for providing me with this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. This opinion is my own.

Let's say that was an interesting choice to end a duology to say the least.

I adored Six Crimson Cranes and since I finished that book, I have been waiting endlessly to have this one in my hands, but now that I have finished it, I can't help but be bitterly disappointed. This book follows the events at the end of Book 1 (iykyk) and Shiori has to visit the dragons' realm, Ai'long in order to save her country. She is accompanied by Seryu, her friend, but also a prince of the realm.
The first part of the story I really enjoyed. I love seeing Shiori, Kiki, and Seryu navigating the complicated politics and the unexpected problems in Ai'long. The action was thrilling, and I was very excited to see how the rest of the book would play out (spoilers alert: I was disappointed).
To sum up, this part of the book was a solid 4-stars but the rest was barely a 2-stars, and I want to explain why.
First of all, the characterization in this book has gone completely off-railed. Reading about Shiori, whom I loved and loved in Six Crimson Cranes, just annoyed me to no end in this book. You might think that with all she had experienced in Book 1 and in this book, she would have acted differently (or at least, more thoroughly, because, despite everything, she is still a 17-years-old princess). But TDP feels like reading about Shiori acting recklessly all over again with no repercussions, which brings me to my next point.
Everything in this book is so damn convenient it feels like an old-time Disney movie. This universe has HUGE stakes, but somehow everything is resolved so smoothly despite poor planning and very, very reckless actors. And the ending oh my god. I was so angry at the end because it was so convenient it seems impossible (right intervention at the right time)
Moreover, this book has SO MUCH potential with the new plotlines, but everything is wrapped up so quickly that we barely have the time to thoroughly enjoy the fresh elements. For example, we meet a new character who appeared like three times, and then they are gone, while if explored thoroughly, they could have been such a good character and a key element to the intrigue. Additionally, there is also this new plotline concerning a cult, and I really think that it would have been a wonderful addition to the story if it were developed sooner.

I want to mark this as a spoiler although it isn't really one, to be honest, I don't really get the title and the cover. Seryu appeared for like 30% of the book and then he just left Shiori alone on the mainland. Is it because of that ending?

To sum up my thoughts The Dragon's Promise was a very disappointing read for me considering how much I loved Six Crimson Cranes. I only give this 3/5 because I love Takkan (he deserves the world) and Seryu (the one the only the bitch). Otherwise, this is an underwhelming conclusion to a duology with a lot of potential but was unfortunately torn up by bad choices from the author.

[iamnihitha]

It's been ten minutes since I've completed Six Crimson Cranes, such a perfect and beautiful book. Ten goddamn minutes. Sure, it had a satisfying, exquisitely written ending but I still want more. How the hell am I going to survive a whole year waiting for the sequel? HOW?

GUYS! WE HAVE A TITLE!!!

[POEKURA]

MANIFESTING NO LOVE TRIANGLE

🕯PLEASE GOD HERE ME OUT🕯

[Ana · Rating 2 out of 5]

at some point i started to wish that the demon actually did kill everyone in this kingdom because they are all so annoying*





*not seryu

advanced reader’s copy.

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This felt like two or three books pushed into one.



And it went on and on and on for-ever. I honestly didn't think it was ever going to end. You ever read a book where it feels like things are almost to the point getting resolved and then the author tacks another quest onto the story?
Well, that's what this felt like to me.



First, she's doing this undersea adventure in the dragon kingdom, then she's back home and there's stuff happening in her kingdom with some kind of cultists who are out to kill her, then she and her brothers have to go on an adventure to fight demons, and then she and her fiancee have to have another final showdown thing together where the gods show up...
And all the stuff with the dragons? The DRAGON'S Promise? It just sort of fades into the background as an afterthought.



I also couldn't stand the narration. In fact, this may have gone better for me if I'd read the book with my eyeballs because she did this squeaky child-voice thing really dug into my nerves and just wouldn't let go.



There's nothing wrong with the writing, but I get bored with this style of neverending storytelling.
This was not my cuppa but it may be yours.

[Lyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Dragon's Promise could be written by anyone obsessed with the 💫Asians💫 without actually having any knowledge about Asia outside stereotypes. I liked the plot in Six Crimson Cranes enough to not throw a book with a full cast with Obiwan Kenobi-like names out of the window and to give TDP a try. But it gets worse and I dare to say that Lim doesn't have any knowledge about the Japanese language and culture (have you watched her pronunciation guide of the names?) or have sensitivity readers who actually speak Japanese.

A) The main character, Shiori, said literally in the book that her her name 'literally means a knot'. But IT DOESN'T and I felt embarrassed for the author. (imagine getting the important symbolist *big reveal time* of your book wrong.. )
Shiori is one of the few actual Japanese name and still Lim managed to get the meaning wrong. Shiori is a Japanese word that means bookmarks, but in girl names it can mean MANY different things depending on the kanji chosen to make up the name. One of the possible kanji that can be chosen for the name Shiori means 'thread'. But that's a long stretch to mean a knot.
The word thread is used 69x the the book and the word knot 28x... (no not in an omegaverse way💀). The name explanation part, while symbolically meant, was unnecessary and inaccurate.
B) I complained about the abundance of Obiwan like names in SCC but at least they don't immediately give me bad associations (*just* orientalist vibes). In TDP there's a respectable, mysterious shaman named oshri.
Oshiri means ass in Japanese.
If it's not Lim's intention to make him juicy (which I seriously doubt), then it's another moment as embarrassing as finding typos on the title of a published book.

C) Minor characters with Korean names and vaguely Chinese names..what are they doing here?? Is this what the Japanese dreamed about when they invaded China and Korea? Is it the well-known Great East Asia Co Prosperity Sphere?

I find it hugely problematic that a book blurred the lines between various Asian folklores.
The book used MANY uniquely Chinese elements: smaller elements like the peach of immortality, the way the time pass in the immortal realm and the mortal realm, the elixir of immortality, but also bigger, more problematic ones. The world-building is a mess (but still Chinese.. and def NOT Japanese).

The Four Seas - It's a Chinese concept (like Seven Seas to other cultures). Metaphorically there are four oceans that make up the boundary of ancient China. There's one dragon king residing in one sea. Just like in TDP.

The dragons- while the dragons can be found in Korean and Japanese folklore, they are not as fundamental to Chinese people, who literally call themselves 'descendent of the Dragons' (Jackie Chan's Chinese name literally means Become a Dragon..). Most Japanese dragons have Chinese loanwords as names. But in TDP, they have names like Nahma, Solzaya. Another choice I don't understand.

So to summarise, everything in this book points to the direction that the world-building of this book is mainly inspired by the Dragon King of the Four Seas, and not the Japanese dragon counterpart.


But there are zero Chinese names in the book.

I've seen people praising it as an ownvoice story and I STRONGLY disagree. It's a Chinese American author viewing East Asia through a western gaze, generalising East Asian countries, giving all characters Japanese names while the story is mainly Chinese. It's just a book that uses Asian aesthetics to stand out in the publishing industry. East Asia is really diverse and very East Asian culture is unique, but that's not what I feel from this book and it's definitely not the rep I want to see.

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

That was magical! I teared up a little!



Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾

[dia💋]

after that cliffhanger i need it sooner than in 2022

[☾ · Rating 4 out of 5]

this account is PRO SERYU. i repeat- this account is PRO SERYU.

-
3.8 for the whole duology. actually, maybe 4.0. mmmmm yeah, 4.0 final decision. overall enjoyable!

[Zoë]

Hareem if you see this look away immediately
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I'm not even halfway through this book but i am already disappointed by my most anticipated read of the year.

Elizabeth got rid of my favourite character and the entire reason I was reading this book, I literally could not care about anything else but him. But hes gone, and hes not coming back.

I don't know if i will ever actually finish this book because i could not care less about fucking Takken i am team Seyru for life.

I still love book one so much, I think you should all read that book and ignore that this book exists, except if you actually like Takken but hey whatever floats your boat.



i'm not mad, just disappointed

[Rebecca Sim · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 46%

This book feels like such a catfish. I have read nearly 50 % and I did not enjoy any of it, so I have decided to dnf the book. I really rarely dnf sequels, especially if it is only a duology, but in this case I have decided to do just that.

The Dragon ´s Promise was one of my most anticipated releases this year, so I immediately picked it up after it has been released. I was excited to learn more about the dragons of this world and Seryu most of all - I absolutely adored his character in Six Crimson Cranes.

This book feels like Elizabeth Lim was forced by publishing to do a sequel to Six Crimson Cranes. Honestly, I think the book could have had 50 pages more and then should have been a standalone. There are so many books you can make money with, but please, publishing - DO NOT DESTROY STORIES WITH FORCING THEM LONGER! Do not do the same that some TV shows do!

The Dragon ´s Promise does not keep its promise to provide the dragon-content we all longed for. Sure, 25-30% of the book we do see a little bit of the dragon realm, but after that it starts to have nothing to do with dragons or a promise or a well thought out plot. Actually, it does feel like the plot from Unravel the Dusk, only with Shiori as the main character.

The first half of the book was just Shiori, running around, feeling betrayed (from people she just met) and having absolutely no plan or clue what she is even doing. The characters in general lacked personality. For me, her 6 brothers were one person. Not one of them had anything that would set him apart from the others.

(September 2022)

[Diann Aguasviva · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm hoping we get to see more of shori x seyru. I know people don't want love triangles but I genuinely enjoyed their relationship and I did not nearly get swept away as much with Takkan. He is a sweet guy though, I just prefer Seyru.

[Alina Vale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edit: bawling my eyes out





I will even read Elizabeth Lim’s grocery list as long as she’s the one writing it. Yet again, being one of the first people adding it makes me super happy. Also, the fact that the title is THE DRAGON’S PROMISE doesn’t help my in-love-with-Seryu heart.

[Nancy (Busy feeding 6 rescued baby bunnies) · Rating 3 out of 5]

After really enjoying Six Crimson Cranes, I was looking forward to this one. Given the title, The Dragon’s Promise, I was hoping that Seryu to have more of a presence in this book, but sadly he did not. I much preferred the first quarter of the book which took place in the dragon realm, but then the book went a different direction all together and I found myself losing interest in parts. Elizabeth Lim writes beautifully, but this book was a bit too long, and overall the story was just ok for me. 3 somewhat disappointing stars.

[Sotiria Lazaridou · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was as epic as the first book!!

[podczytany · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oj😐😐😐😐

Jeden wielki chaos, masa rozwiązań, których nie zrozumiałem.

Lepiej zostać przy pierwszym tomie…

Ocen: 2,0.

[rina (hiatus) · Rating 2 out of 5]

(2 stars ★)
⤹ no spoilers | short review bc i'm still in a never-ending review slump

5 books and many months later, i've finally finished the books in this universe. give rina a round of applause 😭👏 i had the bestest time despite the two stars for the scc series. elizabeth lim my comfort author, waiting with bated breath for your next series.

shioritakkan <3 seryu <3 kiki <3 channari khramelan <3 i adore these characters, but i had a difficult time enjoying the book itself (sigh, a me problem) i'm grateful for the closure the ending gave, but i can't help but feel some characters' stories (seryu and hokzuh) are still unfinished. at least i liked book #2 better than the first, which is a win in my eyes. goodbye to some of the best characters, you will be dearly missed 🧸💐🩹
+ reading her radiant curse before dragon's promise was the best decision i made, it made this finale 10x more painful. to anyone whose looking to pick this up 100% not directed at my moots, i recommend going into the second scc book after having read her radiant curse, thank me later 💓

݁.⊹ ୨ pre-read ୧ ⊹ . ݁ ݁
⤹ so i didn't like scc and i've heard that the sequel will possibly be much worse, but who knows ? i might be pleasantly surprised

[Ayesha the Great &#x1f349; (Barbie's Version)]

if there's a love triangle, I will wring Eros' goddamn neck

Please, I ship Shiori and Takkan way too much

UPDATE: THE UK COVER IS HERE BITCHES! LOOK AT HOW STUNNING IT IS!

[angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay. I think I'd give this book 3.75 stars. After the somewhat disappointing follow-up to Spin the Dawn, I was worried that Elizabeth Lim would leave an unsatisfactory sequel to her second duology.

I think Lim is still finding her footing on how to finish a duology, but The Dragon's Promise was definitely better! I think the first 30% of the book was amazing & so interesting. But then the story lulls a bit.

Outside of that, all of my praise for the first book still stands. The world is magical, the writing is eloquent, Shiori is still an amazing main character. Overall, a pretty good end to this duology. I can't wait to see what Elizabeth Lim comes up with next! I'm so proud to see her books grow in popularity & for her to get the recognition she deserves :)





(Past review, before reading)
*sits in the corner, waiting for July 2022*

The title of book 2 seems to be The Dragon's Promise :)

-edit: the paperback of unravel the dusk says "The Dragon's Pearl" 😳

-edit 2: the book's been delayed a few months 😭

[Fanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

➵ nothing can be more devastating than an average sequel to a story that is an absolute favourite of yours.

18.05.2022 i now have a copy! oh my god, i'm not readyyyy
27.11.2021 i'm pretty sure this sequel will make me cry like the first book.

➵ six crimson cranes ★★★★★

[Ali Mohebianfar · Rating 5 out of 5]

رویای خالص!
داستان ادامه دهنده جلد اوله. با ضرباهنگی که در اوجه و خواننده رو با خودش همراه می کنه.
اتفاق پشت اتفاق، ماجراجویی ها، شخصیت های دوست داشتنی، رومنس دلچسب و زوجی که لبخند به لبت میاره، و مهم تر از همه... جذابیت کرکتر اصلی!
شاید شیوری، راوی داستان و کرکتر اصلی، جزو معدود کرکترهای اصلی باشه که انقدر کیوت و دلنشینه! معمولا شخصیتای اصلی به خصوص شخصیت های اصلی دختر رمان های فانتزی، رو مخ و اعصاب خردکن هستن اما شیوری جسور و بامزه س و حتی اگه جایی تصمیم اشتباهی بگیره، نمک ذاتی که داره باعث می شه خواننده ازش حرص نخوره و دوستش داشته باشه.
تاکان هم که همچنان جنتلمن و دوست داشتنی بود. و آخ از سیرو! من یه داستان جدا با محوریت سیرو می خوام و حدس می زنم که خود نویسنده هم همچین پلنی برای نوشتن از این کرکتر داشته باشه.
رمانی مربوط به داستان گذشته رایکاما هم با عنوان Her Radiant Curse قراره منتشر بشه و من برای خوندنش لحظه شماری می کنم چون از همون جلد اول رایکاما مِن جمله شخصیتای موردعلاقه م بود.
درباره پایان دوگانه هم باید بگم که پایان زیبایی داشت و وارد فاز اساطیری شد که بیشتر رنگ و بوی فرهنگ شرقی و اسطوره های چینی رو به چشم آورد و من از این بابت استقبال کردم و دوست داشتم.

پ. ن: ولی کی کی»»»»»»»»»
هیچ وقت فکر نمی کردم روی یه درنای کاغذی کراش بزنم😂

[mors]

Dnf 25%
My reading slump got worse 🙃

[annie ❦ · Rating 3 out of 5]

one of my anticipated reads this year turns out to be a bit disappointing, considering of how much i loved Six Crimson Cranes.

first of all, the title and the cover don't exactly fit the whole story because (slight spoiler) Seryu only appeared for like one-third of the book only to solve the cursed pearl business and then he just left Shiori alone in the mainland and never shows up again (which kind of disappoints me cuz i long for more of his contents). however it is not the main problem. i found the scenes took place in Seryu's kingdom just fine. it is in few pages later, in which we were introduced to new characters and new conflicts. i feel like is written in hurry hence almost everything became somewhat messy and confusing.

apart from its tolerable flaws, it's fun to read about these lovely characters again. Shiori and Takkan's romantic interactions had me smiling giggling and kicking my feet. also, petition for elizabeth lim to write a seryu spin-off because we need more of him!!

[earth to vivie' · Rating 3 out of 5]

❥ 𝟯.𝟱 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘀 ✨

"𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.”

a journey to the kingdom of dragons, a star-crossed love, and a cursed pearl with the power to mend the world or break it..

“𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥—”
“—𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨,”

*sigh* i freaking love fairytales and this one was rather dazzling, (i don't need to tell y'all that my 3 ratings are GOOD books, do i?) meaning that i pretty much enjoyed this one, not as much as i enjoyed the first two but still, i just felt slightly underwhelmed at times that's all but it wasn't boring or anything not at all

"𝘪 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦."

the first 40% of this book felt like a disney movie, i needed more of the dragon kingdom (more of seryu to be exact), the writing was easy to read which i loved so much about this author's writing in general, the plot was pretty good too, i didn't expect this ending (i was half afraid that she might actually die after all)

"𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘬𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮"

i have made it well known by now how much i adore bushian takkan, he and shiori's relationship warmed my heart, their characters were strong and brave, i felt a bang in my chest every time channi and vana were mentioned
and the six brothers were growing on me (especially hasho)
don't even get me started on kiki because I'm fucking jealous, i want my own paper bird ugh, life is not fair y'all
now i have to move on from this world or i'll cry :)ꨄ.

some of my 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀💌:

"𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘰𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘬𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘤 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘺?"

"𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘯𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘳, 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥, 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘸?"

“𝘪 𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨,” 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘬𝘢𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦. “𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴, 𝘴𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦, 𝘪 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘨𝘰.”

“𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘙𝘢𝘪𝘬𝘢𝘮𝘢’𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦.”

"𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦; 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨"

[La Crosse County Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Dragon’s Promise is the conclusion to Elizabeth Lim’s “Six Crimson Cranes” duology. What a beautiful story! (As always, if you haven’t read the first book, spoiler warnings for the content ahead.)

As I probably have mentioned before, I am a big mythology fan. It started out with Greek mythology (primarily Rick Riordan’s “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” books) but as I found more books about other cultural mythologies, such as the Asian mythologies explored in the “Six Crimson Cranes” duology, I just ate them up! It’s fascinating to see how similar and how different each culture’s origin stories are, as well as those regarding the divine and creation itself.



The Dragon’s Promise picks up where Six Crimson Cranes left off. Princess Shiori is fulfilling a promise she made to her dying stepmother, Raikama, to deliver the dragon’s pearl back to its rightful owner, a mysterious half-dragon, half-demon being known as the Wraith.

She ventures into the sea, escorted by her dragon friend, the dragon prince Seryu, to his father’s kingdom, Ai’long.



I really enjoyed the descriptions of the majestic underwater domain of the dragons, where Shiori finds herself caught up in the political intrigue of the Dragon King’s court. And the pearl she is shepherding to the Wraith is mischievous—you know the Sour Patch Kids candy commercials where they’re “sour then they’re sweet?” The Wraith’s pearl is the same, helping Shiori only when it feels like it would itself most benefit from doing so.

It turns out that a dragon who gives someone a piece of their pearl, like Seryu did in order to save Shiori from drowning in the first book, is essentially a marriage proposal. So, Seryu and Shiori are forced to a “binding ceremony” but luckily, they manage to escape at the last second, before Shiori had to drink a potion that would turn her immortal and erase her memories.



Shiori’s whirlwind journey, and eventual escape, from Ai’long is aided by an outcast from the court and a Lady of the Court herself, Nahma.

Despite having a family of her own in Ai’long, Lady Nahma risks everything to help Shiori escape her fate, which I found incredibly brave. Both books feature strong women characters who do whatever they can to help others, which I appreciated. Lady Nahma is just one of many.

However, Shiori’s escape from Ai’long is not the whole story. The stakes rise further when Shiori’s homeland, Kiata, is threatened by both demons and frightened humans afraid of magic’s potential return rising up into huge mobs.

Can Shiori and her friends save the day?

For a fantasy YA duology, I enjoyed Six Crimson Cranes and The Dragon’s Promise. The worldbuilding was beautiful, the characters mostly well-written, and the underlying romance sweet and poignant as Shiori is grappling with divine forces much larger than herself that threaten her life and those of her family and kingdom.

As I refrain to many adult readers looking for new books, “Don’t be afraid to read YA!” There are some good YA books out there, and The Dragon’s Promise is one of them.

Happy reading!

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[♥Milica♥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know one thing for sure, this book (and series) was made to break my heart. I hope Elizabeth Lim is happy, because the Six Crimson Cranes series wrecked me.

Both books were so emotional that I kept wanting to cry. This one maybe even more so? I can't tell right now, I STILL WANT TO CRY.

Everything I loved about the first book is present in this one too. Incredible world building, amazing characters, a good storyline and writing style. The only thing slightly different is the lack of Seryu.

Based on the title, cover and about a third of the book, it seemed it was finally Seryu's time to shine (I said in my review for the first book that I hoped he would, since Takkan got his chance before) and it kinda was, but only for that third.

Other dragons do appear while in the underwater kingdom, and then even after, but I really missed Seryu in that after. And it kinda felt like Shiori forgot about him while she was off on another adventure, and we don't see him again till the end.

So my heart broke pretty early on, and stayed that way till now. AND SO IT WILL STAY, UNTIL WE GET A SPINOFF. Not that it was announced or anything, I'm just putting that thought into the universe, hoping it'll come true because this world and its characters are way too good to be contained to only two books.

ALSO, I will never emotionally recover from those Kiki scenes near the end. My poor heart was ripped out and stomped on. That was so cruel. I love all characters equally, but Kiki might just be my ultimate favourite.

I'm BEGGING you to read this series, you won't regret it.

*Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review*

[sol✯ · Rating 2 out of 5]

i want this so bad

edit: COVERRRR OH MY GOD ITS BEAUTIFUL

after reading: 2 ⭐️
what an utter disappointment
im so sad