Elizabeth Lim

Book Review: The Dragon’s Promise

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Magic had returned to Kiata. I could feel it like a song resonating around me, making the world feel more alive.

Making good on her promise to return the dragon’s pearl to it’s rightful owner, Princess Shiori is now facing the reality that this task is more dangerous than she imagined. She must journey to the kingdom of dragons and navigate the political intrigue among humans and dragons alike while fending off thieves who covet the pearls themselves and willing to any lengths to get it while also presenting an image of a perfect princess to dissuade those who would rather see her burned at the stake for the magic that runs in her blood. But, the pearl is so ordinary cargo as it has a life of it’s own and jumps to Shiori’s aid one minute but betrays her the next with threatening to destroy everything she holds dear including the love of her life, Tekkan. It’s going to take every ounce of strength that she has to defend what she holds dear and find a way through it to the other side.

Well to say this was disappointing is an understatement because I feel really let down by this follow up and conclusion to the doulogy. Six Crimson Cranes was such a beautifully written book with flawed and complicated characters that felt very real in a world that felt unlike your own. Lim does a really good job developing the characters while developing the world around them where the readers can easily immerse themselves into the world. But, this book is a mess and it was one of my most anticipated reads for 2022 and I’m bummed about it cause the beginning started out really great and I was very invested and then the last half of the book completely destroyed it.

The beginning of the book started off really well and I found myself very invested and I loved seeing Shiori, Takkan, and Seyru. Lin does a really good job with explaining the new magic system and how it worked and I found that very neat but then it starts going downhill and ruining really good character development that was established in the first book. I was really struggling but I kept hoping that maybe things would get better and I was let down towards the end as it felt very rushed and I was left wondering where it all went wrong. There were other parts that I did like but it’s hard for me to give it 4 stars because of the other flaws but I guess that’s how it goes sometimes. I hope that those who read it will enjoy it better than me!

Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim

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Rating: 3.5/5

Shiori is the last princess of Kiata, has a secret that if it gets out could ruin everything she knows. Forbidden magic runs through her veins and although she is normally able to conceal, on the morning of her bethoral ceremony, she loses control and while she’s scared of being caught, it does delay her wedding which is what she wanted. But, Shirori can’t celebrate for long as her stepmother Raikmaka, who possess forbidden magic as well caught the entire thing and banishes the young princess while also turning her brothers into cranes and if she speaks a word about it, her brothers will die.

I was delighted to finally get to this book and not only because of the beautiful cover! I have been a fan of Elizabeth’s work since Spin The Dawn and found this book very enjoyable even with some minor issues! Her style shines in her latest work but with a very creative retelling of east asian folklores. While this is a pretty decent novel with the storytelling and culture, it does have some minor issues that kept me from loving it completely. The side characters weren’t as developed as I wanted them to be so it made it hard to feel invested in them. Some of the plot points were a bit predictable but for the most part the book is solid to the end. But, all that aside Six Crimson Cranes is a rich and solid diverse fantasy read with a creative retelling. Lim’s storytelling, prose, and rich worldbuilding help with creating a world that seems very real and intriguing.