Colby Mills once felt destined for a musical career, but tragedy grounded his dreams. Now the dust has settled, he spontaneously takes a gig playing at a bar in Florida, seeking a rare break from his duties at home.

The anticipated sequel for Six Crimson Cranes, and for me it was enjoyable but wasn't as heart pounding as book one was, so I was slightly disappointed.

The Dragon's Promise follows straight after the ending of Six Crimson Cranes, and after Princess Shiori has broken the curse, she and her brothers were under. Then problem is things still aren't at peace and what's even better we get to meet the Dragon's and travel to their world under the sea.

I honestly really enjoy Elizabeth Lim's writing style and found this book so easy to read. I loved being back with Shiori, Takkan and Seryu. The characters are one of the reasons why I really enjoyed book one and I was routing for them to defeat evil that seemed to appear on several fronts.

So, let's talk plot. It wasn't the best plot that I have read, and it was a slight let down from book one, but I still enjoyed the fact that we got to go and see the Dragon's and we saw more of Seryu. I will say that the Dragons are mean, and I was not expecting that, but it did add another layer of intrigue to the book and had me questioning at times what was happening. The evil that appeared in book one reared its ghastly head and at times I found it quite comical, but you know good prevails.

I did like the style of writing like I said Lim creates a wonderful world that is so easy to navigate. Her characters are well written, and I enjoyed the banter between them. I like that Shiori was still growing as a character and that it wasn't just a one-off thing in book one. I would have liked to see more of the brothers in this book as felt that they were so crucial to Shiori as a character, but they weren't as prominent which I understand but I would have liked to have seen more of them.

Overall, it was an enjoyable second book and the mysteries that were left unanswered in book one was answered in book two.

I really loved Six Crimson Cranes, so maybe my expectations were too high for this book. It was nice to be with our beloved characters again. But it feels different, and a bit repetitve. As I said, maybe I was expecting too much after Six Crimson Cranes (one of my favorite read of 2021). Characters that I liked in Six Crimson Crane I started to like less (or even dislike) here. I like the universe and the writing is still very good!

This was such a great sequel to Six Crimson Cranes!! And the romance in this one was *chefs kiss*

I really loved the direction this book took for the duology. Shiori undergoes significant development and we see another side to her and her brothers, as this plot is darker than the first book. I loved Takkan and Kiki and I would gladly take a novella with more fluff from them!

I like books that feel as if you're in the middle of one of my beloved wuxia or xanxia stories. So of course I was all in for the sequel to Six Crimson Cranes.

There was a lot in this book. A lot. The journey to the dragons - a part that I truly adored because they are, as characters, very interesting and complex and I would have loved to read more of Seryu and his realm. But alas, so much more had to happen to bring the story to an end. Enough to stretch it into another book, actually. But so, some more character driven parts fell short for the sake of telling the story.

I liked it, but it didn't warm my heart in a way I hoped and counted on. There was too much in it, and often the solutions came way too easy to Shiori and her crowd. But I really loved the ending. That saved most of the book for me.

Brilliant as always. I love how Lim always manages to tie her books together even if they aren't in the same series!

If you haven't picked up Lim's books before, I urge you to grab one right now, doesn't matter which one, they are ALL amazing!!

After finishing Six Crimson Cranes and especially, after an ending like we experienced, my curiosity about what was to come made me desperately want to read the book. I felt this was the perfect ending to the Six Crimson Cranes books. The story was magical. I do wish there was more exploration with Takkan and Shiori, but I did appreciate this wasn't just a romance.

I'll also be posting a review of this on my Instagram account at @blondesbooknook

Many thanks to NetGalley for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my opinion.

I received an eARC from the publishers through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. It has not affected my opinions.

It's an okay book, but there is way too many things that's going on for me. The scene of the story changes so fast, and it's some what chaotic.

I really had hope for this one, but ugh... it didn't catch my interest very much, especially not with the chaos the book came with.

and that's why i have rated as I have

5 stars! An excellent magical ending to this duology.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review

The Dragon’s Promise is immersive YA Fantasy that revolves around Shiori’s adventure to fulfill the promise she made to her stepmother.

Writing is engrossing, vivid, and fast paced with Shiori’s PoV. Plot is interesting and filled with lots of adventure and twist and turns. It wouldn’t be spoiler if I mention everything mentioned in synopsis is wrapped up in first 30% of the book which was a surprise. I get now why all readers wished there was more of dragon world.

It was interesting to meet new characters under the sea that I would have liked to know more but that was short lived. Relationships in this book is my most favorite part. Kiki is still my most favorite character. Seryu made those first 30% come alive. I wish there was more of his story. Romance between Takkan and Shiori is cute and charming. There is love triangle in the beginning but author nicely avoided it by limiting it to first 30%.

I loved more of legends, folklores and exploring not just Taijin Sea but also other parts of the world that takes us to Tambu Islands and Forgotten Isles of Lapzur with its own legend.

Why 4 stars-there was lots of potential with new characters (especially those half-dragons), layers (cult) and setting (Ai’long) and it could have made an amazing story if those areas were explored more, making it a series than ending it with duology. Let’s just say I loved first book more.

Overall, this is immersive, fast paced, action packed and adventurous YA fantasy with spectacular world, theme and layers but first book was much better than this sequel.

The Dragon’s Promise, second book in the Six Crimson Cranes duology, tells of Shiori’s quest to return the dragon’s pearl to its rightful owner.
I really enjoyed this sequel and was delighted to once again visit the magical eastern world Lim created in these books. Shiori journeys to the kingdom of dragons, and I enjoyed learning more about Seryu’s background. At times, pacing felt a bit slow, but I was totally invested in the characters and persevered, which was rewarded with the most beautiful conclusion to this duology. Like in the first book, the banter between Shiori and her brothers was really funny, and I adored the dynamic between Shiori and Takkan.
Overall, this is definitely a duology I’ll be recommending, and Elizabeth Lim is an author I will be following. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an electronic review copy – all opinions are my own.

A beautiful sequel to a beautiful story. I can’t physically describe just how much I loved this book. Wow. A solid five stars.

six crimson cranes was my favourite book last year and oh boy did this sequel deliver and meet my expectations in fact exceeded them, i was immediately drawn back into this world and i love that we get to see the incredible workd of the dragons i have so been looking forward to that and it was truly magical , our main character goes on quite the journey and really is devloped so well and the romance was fantastic very happy about who was chooses

The Dragon’s Promise by Elizabeth Lim is the magical sequel to Six Crimson Cranes. This story picks up where we left Shiori carrying the promise to her stepmother and entering the dangers of the dragon’s realm to return the pearl to its rightful owner if she can find him, when so many others are hoping to take possession of the precious dragon’s pearl.
This is a fast-paced book, full of twists and turns and a thoroughly enjoyable sequel. I loved being back in Shiori’s world and discovering more about the characters I had come to love in Six Crimson Cranes. Shiori is a strong and determined character who will go to any lengths for the ones she loves and isn’t afraid to take risks to do what is right, which makes the story more compelling. I raced through this book in a few days and would recommend this and Six Crimson Cranes to anyone who enjoys magical, fantasy writing. I’m looking forward to reading more of Elizabeth Lim’s work in the future. Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for a digital review copy.

This book was a lovely, refreshing read. I quite enjoyed it after the prequel. However, I think it was a bit slow to start and only picked up halfway through. The ending was quite fitting. I still enjoyed the prequel more though.

Six Crimson Cranes was one of my favourite releases of 2021 and I am so sad I didn't love this book just as much.

The Dragon's Promise picks up right where Six Crimson Cranes left off and see's Shiori travel to the Dragon realm. From the first page TDP was fast paced and jammed packed.

This made The Dragons Promise feel super rushed yet at the same time it also kept dragging on and on. There were way too many enemies to overcome and everytime I thought the book was wrapping up there was another problem.

I really wish I had loved this book but I feel like it would have been better as a standalone. While this book wasn't quite for me, deffinetly give it a go if you enjoyed Six Crimson Cranes.

*no spoilers*

Six Crimson Cranes was one of my favorite reads this year. This heart warming retelling stole my heart and I couldn’t wait to read the sequel and discover how everything was going to end.

The Dragon’s Promise has the same fairytale atmosphere as his predecessor, the same enchanting writing, the same lovely characters. It was so easy enter in this world and get lost in it. Miss Lim has a gift to create beautiful stories with great messages and stealing our heart in the process.

But the story itself didn’t had the same rhythm and quality than the first one. The plot started a bit chaotic and despite the pace getting better, the truth is that the plot felt always very disconnected from the original story. I was curious about was happening and about Raikama’s origin story but, in the end, it was all very messy and didn’t serve a big purpose to the story.

That made me sad because I love these characters and they deserved an emotional ending but it was a bit difficult when the plot didn’t let you feel it. Even though I was immersed in the story and worried with the characters, at the same time, I was feeling that something didn’t sound right.

I would read this duology again but I think Six Crimson Cranes would have work as a standalone perfectly. I recommend it the same, because I love the first book, I just wanted the sequel had lived it to the hype. It is a good story, with lovely characters and a fairytale style. Just wasn’t perfect as I hoped for 💜

⭐️⭐️⭐️,5

* Thanks to @netgalley UK for providing me an arc of this book in exchange of an honest review

Many thanks to Hodder&Stoughton and NetGalley for letting me read an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Returning to the magical world that we were introduced to in Six Crimson Cranes, The Dragon's Promise takes us in an entirely different direction: downwards, into the ocean, diving head first into the realm of magic.
This book was much more heavily focused on the magical aspect of the world, which almost made up for the... less than ideal pacing. The vibes were great and I especially enjoyed Shiori's time in the realm of Dragons, but ultimately, no single aspect of the story was explored in a way that felt satisfying and fulfilling to me.
I did like the nods to Lim's other duology, The Blood of Stars, and I think that the connection of both stories worked out really well. It seemed cohesive, still left some room for curiosity and overall made the reading experience more fun.

Ultimately, I suppose it's just time that I admit to myself that I don't connect with Lim's writing. This was a cute YA duology with some great concepts and vibes that really should have hit home for me, but at the end of the day, I simply could not connect to it, no matter how hard I tried.

enjoyed more the first one, the story is a bit messy and had a lot of plot conveniences, the story goes all over the place without a clear line, not bad but i would prefer the first one alone



Here is a video review for it that is live on October 30th https://youtu.be/KSy8Ua3dz0k

The Dragon‘s Promise is the second book in the Six Crimson Cranes series. Princess Shiori made a promise to return the dragon pearl to its rightful owner, but keeping this promise is dangerous. She must go to the kingdom of dragons, navigate political intrigue among humans and dragons alive, fend off thieves and defend everyone and everything she loves. It will take every ounce of strength Shiori can muster…
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Dragons are my favourite mythical creatures EVER so I loved that The Dragon‘s Promise is partly set in the kingdom of dragons. 🥰🐉 I think that‘s why I actually enjoyed the sequel even more because the dragon kingdom inside the sea was fascinating.
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I enjoyed being back with the characters and and I love Shiori and Takkan together! Everybody needs a Takkan in their life. 😊
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I‘ll be honest, I thought the book started off strong and then I got a bit bored towards the end. However, I thought that the writing was beautiful and it was a satisfying conclusion. And the cover is gorgeous! So if you enjoyed the first book, I‘m sure you‘ll enjoy the second book too 😊️
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*rated 3.5 stars* Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my review copy!