Why I DNF-ed The Dragon's promise
⚠️ Spoiler discussion below ⚠️
I can’t believe I DNF-ed this at 55%. I loved Six Crimson Cranes, but this sequel let me down in so many ways. Honestly, the first book should’ve been a standalone.
So here’s a quick summary of why it didn’t work for me:
The dragon realm was disappointing: I love dragons and was really excited for this part—but gosh, the worldbuilding and the dragons felt flat and rushed. The plot was a mess here, too. The Dragon King was especially underwhelming: more of an arrogant bear than an ancient, majestic being. He lacked presence and depth. I wish the dragons had been more like Robin Hobb’s—arrogant and dismissive of humans, yes, but still wise and compelling.
Hated the fake love triangle with Seryu: I actually loved Seryu and Shiori’s friendship in the first book. Making him “crushy” on her in this one just made their dynamic awkward and unfun. Why can’t we please have a genuine male/female friendship in a YA book? Their goodbye scene in particular felt forced and weird—I would’ve found it much more touching if they had stayed just friends.
The plot makes no sense: It’s confusing, messy, and all over the place. There’s no clear direction and so much back and forth it’s exhausting. I stopped caring about what was going on.
The villain is weak compared to Raikama: I really missed Raikama’s presence. She had so much gravity in the first book, and I would’ve loved to see her in the main cast here. This new villain? Paper-thin and borderline laughable. Another reason why the plot felt so hollow.
Shiori’s “not like other girls” energy is worse here: In book one, it was subtle and made sense—growing up with six brothers, her tomboy energy felt natural, and her bond with Megari helped balance things. But in this book? All the new characters are men (Gen, Erlang), and Quinna’s possessed. So no meaningful female friendship to balance her out, and her personality leans hard into the “I’m different from other girls” trope in a way that feels grating—and honestly, a bit sexist.
“Main character must save the world alone” fatigue: Shiori suddenly develops this “I have to save the world alone because I’m the main character” syndrome. In the first book, she relied on her brothers, Takkan, and Seryu—it made her more grounded.
She constantly pushes Takkan away for no good reason, even though they had such a healthy, heartfelt relationship earlier. I DNF-ed at the betrothal rejection scene because it felt so forced and out of character. Just... why.
I still want to check out Elizabeth Lim’s other works (Spin the Dawn, you’re on my list), but I definitely need a break before diving in.
As far as I’m concerned, Six Crimson Cranes will remain a standalone in my headcanon.
