Title: Spin The Dawn
Author: Elizabeth Lim
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Release date: June 26th, 2019
Page count: 392
Genre: Fantasy
Summary
Backstabbing and lies run rampant as the tailors compete in challenges to prove their artistry and skill. Maia’s task is further complicated when she draws the attention of the court magician, Edan, whose piercing eyes seem to see straight through her disguise.
And nothing could have prepared her for the final challenge: to sew three magic gowns for the emperor’s reluctant bride-to-be, from the laughter of the sun, the tears of the moon, and the blood of stars. With this imposible task before her, she embarks on a journey to the far reaches of the kingdom, seeking the sun, the moon, and the stars, and finding more than she could ever have imagined.
Review
This book has been on my TBR for quite a while, but I didn’t decided to read until this month when coincidentially became the perfect choice for one of the Magical Readathon prompts. I didn’t quite know what to expect of a book that promised to be the mix between Mulan and Project Runway. I mean… tailoring? On a fantasy book? No way. However, this book proved to me that everything is possible if you know how to pull it off.
Spin the Dawn tells the story of young tailor Maia Tamarin, who lived with her brothers and father (Baba) until war came to A’ladan, taking her brothers from her, leaving her dad depressed and unable to sew anymore. When the emperor seeks the tailoring services of Maia’s dad, she decides to go in his place as her brother Keton. And so it begins an adventure for her, trying to make the imposible with needle and thread.
The night was dark and starless, but inside my little room, I’d spun a world of light.
This is a very short book for a fantasy (little less than four-hundred pages) but so much happens in these pages, you’d be surprised. And the best is that it doesn’t seemed rushed: there’s a contest, a quest and even more, but the characters still have the chance to develop greatly, as well as the plot and the worldbuilding.
Spin the Dawn has a very interesting and unique world. I enjoyed the author’s descriptions of the different places of the palace, the caves and castles. The whole time I felt as if I was watching an historical fantasy movie set in Asia. Elizabeth Lim built a magical world with legends, myths, demons and curses, and a very special bond between magic and tailoring that left me amazed. The tale of Amana’s dresses was by far my favorite, and I loved that the bigger part of the book focused around that.
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And I’ll have you. The sun and the moon only see each other one day out of the entire year. Even if it’s an hour or a day –I’d rather be with you for that time than not at all.
Now, when it comes to the characters, I loved most of them. They’re well written and the development through the book was excellent. Specially Maia, we get to see such strength and growth in her and I really admired how she’s willing to do whatever it takes for her loved ones, she’s a very relatable character. Her relationship with Edan was amazing to read, though he came off a bit too closed off, which I think will change in book two as we get to know him and his past better. His background story was quite original and totally unexpected for me.
The secondary characters were no different. I liked them as well, I enjoyed Maia’s memories of her brothers and everything she told about growing up with them. The villains in this story seem realistic and I fear for what they’ll do in book two. The secondary character that stood out the most for me was Lady Sarnai, because even if she’s “bad” and definitely the most rude character you’ll encounter, I think she’s a very complex character hiding some very heavy stuff so I couldn’t hate her entirely. I can’t wait to see if she’ll be in the sequel, and what her storyline will be like.
In conclusion, this book was a very positive surprise for me. I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did (partly because I haven’t heard many opinions on it), but this is definitely one of my best reads of this year. You have no idea how much i’m anticipating this sequel.
Rating
Have you read or are planning to read Spin The Dawn? Let me know in the comments!
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This looks so cool! I’m a huge fan of fantasy and from your review this sounds amazing. Thanks for this post 😀
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It is a very good book! As you like fantasy, I hope you can read it soon💖
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Great review!
I’m reading this book right now and I am enjoying it a lot. I’ve not seen much about this book since it came out, so I really enjoyed reading your review
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It definitely deserves more recognition! I hope you’re enjoying it as much as I did💖 Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on it!
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Great review! It sounds very interesting. Thanks for sharing 💕🥰
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I’m happy to see you like the review! Thank you for reading💖
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This book is on my TBR/wishlist! I was also thrown off by the “Project Runway” comparison, but hearing that it was a 5 star read for you means I’ll definitely make it more of a priority!
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I hope you can read it soon Madeline! It’s definitely worth it despite having a kind of peculiar comparison, haha.
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Glad you loved this one!! I cant wait for the sequel! Awesome review 🙂
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I also can’t wait! July seems so far away😭 I’m glad you liked the review!
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I haven’t read it but I’m so glad you enjoyed it!!
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I hope you can do it someday😊 thank you for reading!
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I’ve never heard of this book but it sounds like a great read. Fab review! x
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It really is! Great to see you liked the review😊
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I could be wrong but I’m thinking the author could have been inspired by Mulan? Which I love! Glad you enjoyed the book 🙂
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Yes! This is actually pitched as Mulan meets Project Runway and it definitely delivered that just perfectly😊
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I loved this book when I first read it and I can’t wait for the sequel!! I loved how the story was divided into different sections – it really helped keep the pace going and honestly the story flies by so quickly. 🙂
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Definitely! So many things happened in the book but everything was put together magnificently. I also can’t wait for Unravel The Dusk💖
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I’m going to give this one a go. It looks like it might be on offer on kindle right now. This looks like a fun book, and I’m liking that it’s relatively short!
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It’s definitely a book you can read in one sitting🙆🏻♀️ i hope you enjoy it!
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Great review Cielo! I’ve had this one on my TBR for a long time, but I was sceptical and wasn’t really wanting to pick it up because the blurb wasn’t enticing me enough, it was definitely a cover-add, but now that I’ve read your review, I’m going to push it up the top of my pile because it sounds like I’m going to adore it! Thank you for sharing hun! I love your reviews so much, you always have the greatest recommendations. 🙂 ❤️
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Thank you so much Ellie! You’re so sweet, it means a lot to me receive these kind of comments😊 I hope you can read this one soon, I’m looking foward to hear your thoughts of it! 💖✨
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Awww you’re very welcome hun! ❤❤
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Great review! Glad you enjoyed it.
♥ Mae
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So good to see you liked the review😊
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I love project runway! Sounds interesting, nice review!
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I’ve seen the show a couple of times and it is really entertaining, I’m glad you liked the review!
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Great review! I’ve heard a lot of good things about this book but I don’t think I’ve added it to my tbr yet, but I will!
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Yay! I hope you can read it very soon😊
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Everyone who has read this book has loved it. And it makes me feel so bad that I still haven’t picked it up. Great review tho. It gives me more FOMO. 😂
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You need to pick it up soon! There’s a very good reason as to everyone loves it😊
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Great review! Looks like a fun read. I’ll have to dive in soon.
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It is! It’s kinda like watching a movie, everything is just really epic. Good to see you liked the review!
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I really need to read this book.
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I hope you can do it soon!
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This is SO cool! It sounds unique! Tailoring and magic? It definitely sounds TBR worthy to me!
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It is definitely unique! I hope you add it to your TBR🤗
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I loved Spin the Dawn, and I’m so happy to hear you did too! If you liked Maia’s character development in this book, you’ll definitely love it in the sequel. I won’t spoil anything, but she goes through a lot of internal struggle that is really interesting to read.
Wonderful review! ❤
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That’s great to hear! I love Maia, her character development in this book was so interesting to read. I can’t wait to read Unravel The Dusk, now you left me even more intrigued! 😊
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It’s always nice when a book you want to read already fits in with a readathon prompt 🙂
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