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A review by yourstrulyemi
The Dragon's Promise by Elizabeth Lim
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Alright, I have no clue what happened to the writing between the first book and this sequel, but it felt like day and night.
The prequel was so entertaining, the plot made sense and there were few dull moments to the point it was negligible compared to the whole book. So what happened to the sequel?? Why did it make me sleep so much??? What happened to Shiori?? What is it that made her so annoying in this book? She falls, she’s saved, she’s struck, she’s saved again by some allies she made a few pages ago, who won’t be mentioned at all later as if they’ve never existed. Such gratitude! Shiori is reckless one moment, then trying to act all wise and knowing the next.
Where did all those numerous allies come from anyway? Was I supposed to feel sad for them? Granted, Nahma’s story had me intrigued for a while, but then she was never mentioned ever again, and I forgot her altogether. In fact, the whole Dragon realm arc lasted only a second because the author decided to botch it rapidly. I don’t why, wasn’t this sequel supposed to be about dragons? I was expecting dragons and magic, but instead it was replaced by demons and magic, and it just ruined everything. Was that supposed to be a crazy plot twist? Because it didn’t feel like one…
Who was Elong and Gen again? Ah yeah, two characters introduced in a way that signalled us that we should care about them because look what a sad backstory they have! How pitiful! But no, it didn’t work, the book didn’t care to make them loveable. Why should it anyway? Like everyone else, they were shown in the first few chapters, never to be seen again.
Now, you could tell me to read the middle of the book right in front of you and ask me questions about it, and I would still fail because of its strong sedative effect. No, I’m not joking. I lost count of how many times I reread a chapter because I dozed off while reading it. Which shouldn’t have happened because our characters are in the middle of planning a very dangerous trip that could possibly kill some, and that forced them to bring back a few curses used in the first novel. Ah yes, I know why. Because there was no sense of urgency, our characters were freaking out one moment, laughing the next, getting depressed for the nth time again because they looked at the future and blabla, then flirting again. Some unrest happening inside the royal court, people revolting, demons getting agitated. The stakes were much higher than in the first novel, but their importance was lost on the readers because the characters themselves cared little because apparently they believed their little trip would fix everything??
And what the hell was that ending? Why did it happen? Why? Why did the people involved in making that ending happen care? Shiori undid what they did a thousand years ago, so why? The ending makes absolutely no sense to me!
I thought I'd give it 0 stars for how bad it is, but I eventually settled on one star (not like goodreads lets us give 0 stars anyway). The one star is for Raikama's backstory. We've got some bits about the life she lived before she became the person she was in SCC. We’ve got some answers, and we got a peek into her mind and sufferings, what she had to face and what she had lost. But those bits barely make up five pages, so it can hardly be counted as a redeemable quality.
If you want to sleep, have multiple naps throughout the day, or better yet, if you lack sleep and want something to make you fall asleep easier, then this book is for you.
The prequel was so entertaining, the plot made sense and there were few dull moments to the point it was negligible compared to the whole book. So what happened to the sequel?? Why did it make me sleep so much??? What happened to Shiori?? What is it that made her so annoying in this book? She falls, she’s saved, she’s struck, she’s saved again by some allies she made a few pages ago, who won’t be mentioned at all later as if they’ve never existed. Such gratitude! Shiori is reckless one moment, then trying to act all wise and knowing the next.
Where did all those numerous allies come from anyway? Was I supposed to feel sad for them? Granted, Nahma’s story had me intrigued for a while, but then she was never mentioned ever again, and I forgot her altogether. In fact, the whole Dragon realm arc lasted only a second because the author decided to botch it rapidly. I don’t why, wasn’t this sequel supposed to be about dragons? I was expecting dragons and magic, but instead it was replaced by demons and magic, and it just ruined everything. Was that supposed to be a crazy plot twist? Because it didn’t feel like one…
Who was Elong and Gen again? Ah yeah, two characters introduced in a way that signalled us that we should care about them because look what a sad backstory they have! How pitiful! But no, it didn’t work, the book didn’t care to make them loveable. Why should it anyway? Like everyone else, they were shown in the first few chapters, never to be seen again.
Now, you could tell me to read the middle of the book right in front of you and ask me questions about it, and I would still fail because of its strong sedative effect. No, I’m not joking. I lost count of how many times I reread a chapter because I dozed off while reading it. Which shouldn’t have happened because our characters are in the middle of planning a very dangerous trip that could possibly kill some, and that forced them to bring back a few curses used in the first novel. Ah yes, I know why. Because there was no sense of urgency, our characters were freaking out one moment, laughing the next, getting depressed for the nth time again because they looked at the future and blabla, then flirting again. Some unrest happening inside the royal court, people revolting, demons getting agitated. The stakes were much higher than in the first novel, but their importance was lost on the readers because the characters themselves cared little because apparently they believed their little trip would fix everything??
And what the hell was that ending? Why did it happen? Why? Why did the people involved in making that ending happen care? Shiori undid what they did a thousand years ago, so why? The ending makes absolutely no sense to me!
I thought I'd give it 0 stars for how bad it is, but I eventually settled on one star (not like goodreads lets us give 0 stars anyway). The one star is for Raikama's backstory. We've got some bits about the life she lived before she became the person she was in SCC. We’ve got some answers, and we got a peek into her mind and sufferings, what she had to face and what she had lost. But those bits barely make up five pages, so it can hardly be counted as a redeemable quality.
If you want to sleep, have multiple naps throughout the day, or better yet, if you lack sleep and want something to make you fall asleep easier, then this book is for you.