The Dragon's Promise

 Book Title: The Dragon's Promise

Author: Elizabeth Lim

Series: Six Crimson Cranes #2

Date Started: February 27th 2022

Date Completed: February 9th 2022

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Romance, Historical

Quality Rating: Four Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Five Star

Final Rating: Five Stars

Review:

◆ Thanks to NetGalley for this eBook copy for review ◆

This duology has been a joy to read; the stunning fantasy, the complex characters, the vividly immersive adventure. It has quickly become one of my favourite series of all time and I can't wait to get some pretty hardcovers to go on my shelves (anyone know how to get the US editions to the UK because I'm in love) and read more of Lim's work.

I adore the Asian mythology weaved into what is in its own rite a wonderfully exciting and magical fantasy adventure. As I gushed about when I read Six Crimson Cranes, the fairy tale of The Wild Swans is my favourite fairy tale of all time, so to see it reimagined with full respect to the original as well as boundless imagination to its potential to expand is always a delight when I come across it. And, while the main homage to that fairy tale was wrapped up at the end of the last book, there are still elements dotted throughout The Dragon's Promise, where we get to dive even deeper (pun absolutely intended) into the Asian fairy tales and folklore that inspire a lot of this book's narrative.

Something that is often hit or miss for me is the romance in fantasy adventures; The Dragon's Promise got it perfect for me. I loved how Lim let her characters be tempted by the cliches we're so used to (hiding the truth from significant others, sacrificing themselves completely needlessly, being generally idiotic because 'I care about you too much,') and then had them consciously realise that's dumb and move on to do better. The characters are then so much more tactile, they have healthy relationships even when they're strained, and they recognise the consequences of their actions - that's good storytelling folks!

And that's not mentioning Shiori as the heroine herself. Lim runs a pretty concise masterclass of how to write an active protagonist. Taking into account the fantasy elements and the fact Shiori has magic at her fingertips, it is still her active decisions that move the story forward, which makes it all the more exciting and Shirori all the more impressively brave and beloved.

This whole book was just so satisfying because it acknowledged and took elements from all of Shiori's adventures (has it really only been two books?) to impact her actions in the finale. She really has learnt a hundred lessons, and she really has changed because of it. In only two books, Shiori and her companions feel like such real human beings (and a variety of other magical creatures) to me. I think it was a perfect ending - and yet I don't want it to be the ending. Here's hoping Lim sends some new characters our way to fall in love with soon.