The Dragon’s Promise

Nowhere near as compelling as Six Crimson Cranes, which is a pity considering I loved that one to bits. Don't let the title fool you, this isn't a Seryu-centric or even a dragon-centric book. It does have dragons and their underwater palace, but they pretty much exit the plot at the 30% mark. Once Shiori is back on land, it's goodbye to the dragons (for the most part) and instead we are given a completely different story.

Different, but familiar if you've read The Blood of Stars duology.

Demon business. Again.

This book reminds me a lot of Unravel the Dusk. Not only in terms of plot and progression, but also in the way Shiori behaves. Specifically, how she lies to the people she loves and shuts them out from the fear of endangering them. Including Kiki, even though Kiki has always been caring and loyal towards her. They've always been together even in the bleakest of times, but now suddenly Kiki's concern is branded as "prying"? Really? In the first book, Shiori was spoiled but endearing. In this one, she's downright frustrating to follow. She's so argumentative and barely listens to others, so I liked her better when she couldn't speak.

The structure also gets repetitive. Shiori gets in danger. Shiori is saved. Brief respite. Shiori gets in danger. Repeat ad infinitum. It makes it even more draining when she makes dumb decisions without consulting anyone, causes trouble, and then the plot lulls for a bit. I think it could've been more interesting if the plot in Ai'long is fleshed out more, with all its dragon politics and society, instead of mixing it with the whole demon ordeal and Raikama's past sandwiched in-between. It feels like several stories rolled into one, each of them deserving a better resolution than what the book is giving.

Despite its flaws, however, I still enjoyed this book mostly thanks to the characters. Takkan may have a less significant role to play this time around, but he still deserves the world (and much better treatment) for his patience and devotion to Shiori. It's also nice to see Gen in his younger days, to know a part of his life that he briefly mentioned in Unravel the Dusk. But in the end, it is Kiki who will always have a special place in my heart. The last scenes with her are so emotional, for me the whole duology is worth reading for her alone. Kiki best girl. I want my own Kiki.

Anyway, this brings a nice ending to Shiori's tale. Not the best, but good enough. It leaves me curious about Raikama's story since the book only dips into it a little bit, so I'm going to pick up the prequel too.