The beginning of the book felt like a completely different story to the rest of the book. The pacing and flow of this one felt a lot better, and I liked Shiori's character in this one even if her development was a little unbelievable. The main character gripe I had was with the fact that no one really trusted Shiori (with a few exceptions), with her track record understandable, but keeping her in the dark about necessary information when shes the only one who actually has to finish this quest was so annoying everytime it happened.
I am glad with how the love triangle resolved, although I will say I did not expect the plot to follow the path it did but I'm not upset with it - it is much better than what I thought was gonna happen. Shiori and Raikama's relationship was something really great to watch unfold, and makes me upset bc that means the first book had so much more potential for that.

I didn’t love it- which surprised me a lot considering I loved the first one. 

Positives first - the fairytale like energy that first book had was in the end of this one. It gave it a really nice ending that I liked and thought was a perfect way to send the characters off. 
The romance between the main couple is still as cute as ever- they are the literal definition of rude or die and sometimes take it too seriously. They have really good chemistry and banter and that makes their interactions really good and fun to read- like he never lets her live it down that when he met her she had a bowl cursed onto her head. 
The world was described really well and very whimsical and dangerous at the same time depending on the place. The ideas the book brings are really cool and would have liked some aspects developed more or gotten their own book (like the prequel to this story about how them demons got trapped?? Sounds epic??) 

Now … onto what I struggled with. 
This book was so hard for me to read, there was too much going on and too many plot lines to follow. We only spent 30% of the book with the dragons- and it didn’t amount to a lot. We don’t compete the quest and we get into more trouble than when we started waste so much time there  because of the time conversion. 
There were 4 different antagonists, one for each detour she went on, on the way to returning the pearl. I forgot about one of them for a second that’s how short a time we spent on that. It felt like each time we finished one thing it was like “welp where we go again” and onto another plot line. I think the problem is that they didn’t feel like sub plots on the way to the larger ending but each complete plot lines on her way to return the pearl, which isn’t where the book ends too so idk.  Also … halfway through she does something that I am so confused about like the magic could have been used ANY OTHER WAY WHY THAT?? Iykyk but I am still so confused why she did that.  

It was just overall hard for me to click with and it could 100% just be me but I think it had too many things going on and needed to narrow down the journey. This is not one I will be re-reading even though I would 100 times over re-read the first one. Again there were parts I liked but it was just overshadowed by the fact that I wasn’t being drawn into the story the same way I was before. Which could just be me not being in the right reading mindset so please support the author and read their work cause it was very beautiful and poetic when it wanted to be. 

 I rarely reading YA, mostly because I dislike love triangle that back then seems like the norm because of Twilight and I'm often got impatient reading immature characters. But in my latest 30-ish, I discover that some of YA titles are good! That's the case with Six Crimson Cranes and I'm glad that I also enjoyed The Dragon's Promise!

I do agree with reviewers that said for a title with "DRAGON" on it, the story about Shiori's journey to Ai'Long, the Dragon King Palace only happen in like 150 first pages give and take. But, I think the title is more like the "other" dragon's promise and not only Seryu's. I did like with how Lim write about the dragons in the Ai'Long. They are more like capricious, cunning and terrible creature. Seryu is antique, a rarity, but other dragons are creatures with their own agenda. Reading about dragon in this book is a delight for me because often I read dragon as a wise creature or only magical without sinister personality.

The story itself was fast paced and I have a hunch that it's maybe better written as trilogy rather than compressed it into duology. So much happen in this book, from Shiori's journey to Ai'Long in order to fulfil Raikama's wishes, then back to Kiata just to find that the demon Bandur whom a villain in SCC come back to claim his right as a Demon King and demand Shiori to free the demons once and all. Then, continue with Shiori's journey to Raikama's hometown, searching for the true owner of the pearl and the final showdown with the Bandur himself. I agree that Bandur feels like a 2D villain although not too cartoonish. Malicious, but not too over the top. For a book, plenty things happen but the story kinda wrapped nicely while some things kinda left unexplained.

For me, the strength of the Six Crimson Cranes duology is in its characters interaction and relationship. While told entirely from Shiori's first PoV, I still get a glimpse and insight into other characters. I always love the siblings love between Shiori and her six brothers, while they like to bickering, the brothers also support Shiori in her journey and predicaments. What make me surprised is how Shiori's Father, the Emperor himself behave. Yes, he's stern, as befitting of the Emperor of Kiata, but he's also kind. That's the sign that I really read a fantasy book because a kind and loving father is apparently hard to find especially in real life (I admit I have daddy issues, lel)

As for the romance, I'm Team TAKKAN FTW! For Seryu, I find him likable but I always know from the start that he fall into the friend-zone area with Shiori. I mean, they are better as friends! I love Takkan because his soft boy personality, lol. Beside, the romantic arc between Shiori and Takkan already written in Six Crimson Cranes and The Dragon's Promise just kind of make it official. Yeah, I know that Takkan written as a veryyyy nice boy, but I hope in the future Lim will make him hardened enough to face the gossipy & cunning court in the Kiata. Beside, he also show his strength in this book while fighting Bandur and the demons. Reading Shiori and Takkan's romance is one of the book's highlight for me and remind me that sometimes I just need a sweet and over the top young love that still manage to make me swoon.

Discussing about SCC duology is not complete without discuss about Raikama. While I appreciate Shiori's character development in SCC, although her reckless behavior in this book make me shake my head, the most interesting character in SCC duology is Raikama. She's a complex character and if you had read SCC then you already know Raikama's fate in The Dragon's Promise. The focus of this book is more like Shiori's promise to Raikama and how she finally discovered her stepmother's past. How hard Raikama's past was and the reason why she become Shiori's stepmother kinda of heart-wrenching to read. Raikama just want to be loved and have a family of her own. I know that her past will be written more in Her Radiant Curse, and since I know what happen with her in the past, I kinda dreaded reading Her Radiant Curse while also curious.

I like the ending since Lim maybe want to write that HEA can come in many ways, lol. Seems befitting of Shiori and Takkan too, and well, the most important thing is they are happy. Pronto. A well mix of fantasy and romance with characters that you will love, influenced by fusion of Asian myth and a journey that will make you don't want to finish reading (I sure did), I pretty much recommend Six Crimson Cranes duology!! 

So this book had me sobbing and soulmates is my favourite trope. Solid book

A good sequel to “Six Crimson Cranes” it left on a mostly satisfying ending. Still a very family friendly story, same as the first book. The only thing that left me wanting more was

that Shiori did not meet her new niece or nephew at the end. It was implied in the epilogue when it is mentioned that her brothers came to visit her upon her return but we don’t get to read about their reunion or her meeting her new family members included new sister in law and nephew/niece.

I felt like it would have been more satisfying to the reader because the brothers became beloved characters and it was stressed in both books that her relationship with her brothers was very important to her. 

  disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial 

If you’re looking for a completed young adult fantasy duology that has refreshing takes on fairy tales and is inspired by East Asian mythology, look no further!

I loved this duology & Shiori is a hero that is so lovelyyy to root for! I love her tenacity & capacity for hope amidst everything she is thrown into.

I also love Kiki, the magical little talking paper crane. Probably the real MVP of this duology for me hahaha.

Also (hopefully this is helpful), if you liked books like the Celestial Kingdom Duology by Sue Lynn Tan, The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh, A Magic Steeped In Poison by Judy I. Lin, This Woven Kingdom by Tahereh Mafi or Only a Monster by Vanessa Len, then you’ll probably enjoy this! 

While I think this is a decent expansion on the story of Six Crimson Cranes, this book may not have necessarily needed writing but I think offered a fitting conclusion to Raikaima's part of the story. 

I found the determination that Shiori goes through to fufill her stepmother's wish touching and a level of growth and maturity in Shiori that I don't think you would see in most older teenagers. However, the new characters we were introduced to didn't hold my attention as much, the dragons seemed a little lackluster and I found I didn't really care for their politics or their ruling, or even their realm in general. 

Putting these criticisms to one side, I found the ending of this book to be satisying if not a little bittersweet between Shiori and her love. It felt like a fitting use of mythology to inspire this ending, and I am very much looking forward to reading the prequel book following Raikaima's early life. 

I loved this book! Not a much as the first, but I still loved it nonetheless. I love that we got to learn more about Shiori's stepmother and her background. I already have Her Radiant Curse open on my kindle ready to be read. 

I think my favourite thing was the relationship  in this book. The romance between Shiori and Takkan was so beautiful- Such a breath of fresh air that there was no silly relationship drama between them! I wish we had more Seryu stuff, too. Romantic relations aside I love how all the characters interact with each other.