The Dragon's Promise, by Elizabeth Lim

On the mission to fulfill her stepmother's death wish, to find the rightful owner of the pearl, the Wraith, Princess Shiori endures the land of the dragons, where she has to forcefully marry Seryu, the heir to the throne of the Dragon King and her friend. Using her wits, she manages to shut down the ceremony which invoked the wrath of the Dragon King upon herself. Seryu helps her escape. Through a bet with the Dragon King's daughter, Shiori got a shard of the Mirror of Truth, which granted her the ability to see what happened or is happening in the present. Also, she gained safe passage to the land above the water(Kiata), her home, and the Dragon King promised that no dragon would hurt her on land or sea. Time was slow in the land of dragons, so she had spent 6 months away from home and her lover, Takkan. From Seryu's cousin Elang, she found out where the Wraith was located. After coming back to Kiata, Shiori reunited with her brothers and her lover Takkan. But at the same time, a demon was terrorizing Kiata. Will she fulfill her promise and stop the demon? Only time will tell.

I loved The Dragon's Promise, by Elizabeth Lim a lot. It was magical, fantastic, and other-worldly. It had dragons and demons, beasts with crazy power. It was interesting how demons represented evil and were locked in a mountain while dragons who were corrupted represented good and were free to roam. It had life UNDERWATER! Like Atlantis, lost to the humans above. I loved the whole dragon hierarchy of power, it was really interesting. I loved Nazayun and how he ruled with an iron fist. Shiori was cunning and liked to think outside the box, which is a really useful skill to have and helped her escape the dragon's land. I would recommend teens to read this book. This book made me awe-struck by the amount of power possessed by dragons, demons, and magicians alike and how all of them were bound to oaths they made.

Reviewed by E.Z., Grade 8

Glendale Central Library