August 29, 2022

BLOG TOUR The Dragon's Promise (Six Crimson Cranes #2) by Elizabeth Lim

Hi friends! I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the blog tour for The Dragon's Promise by Elizabeth Lim, organized by TBR and Beyond Tours. Check out the post, and make sure to show the other hosts some love as well! The link to the schedule is below. 

About the Book

RELEASE: August 30, 2022
Rep: Asian (Japanese)
*Please note - this post contains affiliate links, from which we may earn a commission (at no additional cost to you) if you make a purchase
From the New York Times Bestselling author of Six Crimson Cranes comes a thrilling new adventure! 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… Fans of Shadow and Bone will devour this soaring fantasy.

Princess Shiori made a deathbed promise to return the dragon’s pearl to its rightful owner, but keeping that promise is more dangerous than she ever imagined.

She must journey to the kingdom of dragons, navigate political intrigue among humans and dragons alike, fend off thieves who covet the pearl for themselves and will go to any lengths to get it, all while cultivating the appearance of a perfect princess to dissuade those who would see her burned at the stake for the magic that runs in her blood.

The pearl itself is no ordinary cargo; it thrums with malevolent power, jumping to Shiori’s aid one minute, and betraying her the next—threatening to shatter her family and sever the thread of fate that binds her to her true love, Takkan. It will take every ounce of strength Shiori can muster to defend the life and the love she’s fought so hard to win.

REVIEW of The Dragon's Promise (Six Crimson Cranes #2) by Elizabeth Lim
Rating: 4 Stars
Release Date: August 30, 2022
Format: eARC (Courtesy of Publisher, TBR and Beyond Tours, and NetGalley)
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Elizabeth Lim’s The Dragon’s Promise picks up after the events of Six Crimson Cranes, with Shiori venturing to the dragon realm to fulfill her promise to Seryu. She's playing a dangerous game of words and magic though, as her true intention is not to give the pearl to the Dragon King but to honor her stepmother's dying wish and return it to its true owner. The ensuing tale that follows is full of adventure, magic, and even a bit of a romance - a fitting close for the heroine so many readers connected to in the first book. 


The author once again did a great job making me care about the characters. Takkan and Shiori’s relationship really blossoms in this book (many of my favorite quotes center around their relationship). While they are undoubtedly the story's focus, I enjoyed learning more about Raikama and her past. She was so much more than the villain people initially thought her to be at the start of the duology. I was also quite intrigued to get to see a different side of Seryu and learn more about the dragon court. Talk about some crazy relatives there. My favorite character out of everyone was Kiki. She’s truly one of the most loyal companions I’ve ever seen, and some of the scenes she’s featured in at the end of the book were particularly heart-wrenching. 


The world-building and imagery were superb. The realms of Ai’long and Lapzur were quite enchanting to visit (though the journeys to get to the respective places seem somewhat harrowing). It was fun to see how this book borrows more elements from the original inspiration of Hans Christian Andersen’s ‘The Wild Swans’ and incorporates some new features from Chinese myths and legends. In my review of the first book, I made a comment about stories being made better with the inclusion of dragons. That statement holds true in this book because readers are introduced to more dragons, demons, and other fantastical beings. In short, I loved it!


The Dragon’s Promise was a worthy sequel to the story that started in Six Crimson Cranes. If a young adult fantasy composed of a sweet romance, dangerous quests, and vibrant worldbuilding sounds like something you would enjoy, I highly recommend this series. Elizabeth Lim is the queen of duologies, and she has cemented a fan for life in me with this latest release. 


Thank you to the author Elizabeth Lim, the publisher Knopf Books for Young Readers, the team at TBR and Beyond Tours, and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary review copy of the book as part of my participation in the tour. I appreciate the opportunity to read and review The Dragon’s Promise immensely. 


FAVORITE QUOTES
“Never play games with a dragon,” she whispered. “You cannot win.”
“Be it bright or dark, you are the light that makes my lantern shine.”

“Your brothers warned me that a lifetime with you would mean plenty of jabs to my pride. But my love for you is far greater than pride, Shiori.”

“If you wanted to be told you were beautiful, you would hide your scar. But you don’t. It tells your story, a story that’s meant only for those worthy of hearing it.”

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


About the Author

Elizabeth Lim is the author of the critically-acclaimed and bestselling The Blood of Stars duology (Spin the Dawn and Unravel the Dusk), the New York Times bestseller So This is Love, and the USA Today bestseller Reflection. Forthcoming books include the Six Crimson Cranes duology, expected summer 2021 and summer 2022, respectively. 

Elizabeth 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 she 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 graduated from Harvard College with an A.B. in music and a secondary in East Asian Studies, and she completed her graduate degrees (MM, DMA) at The Juilliard School. She grew up in Northern California and Tokyo, Japan, and now resides in New York with her husband and two daughters.

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads


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