Book Review: Spin the Dawn

SPIN THE DAWN by Elizabeth Lim
4 stars
Verdict: Awesome, dull, then crazy!

Maia is a talented tailor who dreams of working for the Emperor. When a male from her family is summoned to compete for the honour of imperial tailor, Maia poses as her brother to take his place.

Magic, adventure, and banter ensue.

This tale is spun from three parts, and my opinions varied throughout. It starts as Mulan meets Project Runway, and then suddenly becomes an adventure romance before ending on a cliff hanger. Let's break it down.

Part one I absolutely adored. It was fast and fresh with all the right East-Asian fantasy vibes. Maia is a brave, loyal, and ambitious girl and her voice is compelling. The competition is fierce, mixed in-between a magical court drama with twists, stakes, and intriguing characters, oh my.

Part 2 slowed the pace. Maia is sent on a fetch quest which sounded like the perfect opportunity to explore the world more. Instead, it became a romance. It kind of felt like a bait and switch. I was lured in with a magical East-Asian fantasy, but given a romance instead. The legend behind the fetch quest isn't foreshadowed as well as it could have been, and more could have been done to connect the greater world with what we learned in part one. I even felt the writing wasn't as magical, with the magic written less in the moment. Don't get me wrong, I liked it, but I didn't love it.

Part 3 was chaos. The magical fantasy return, and there are twists, stakes, and bam! Old stakes are thrown out the window as things happen, happen, happen! It didn't go in the direction I expected, and I have to admit I didn't fully understand the mechanics in the heat of the moment. Although entertaining to read, it was leaning towards chaotic. It also cuts off the story without resolving much. Now I really want book two, but mostly because book one just isn't complete. This is very much half a story.

Side note, this seems to be true for most YA fantasy these days. And I'm not looking for all loose ends tied, but I'd prefer a satisfying ending to each story per book in the series.

So I fell it love with this book early on, but there were things here and there that just didn't hit that high note. The scissors didn't quite shine, the rules were sketchy, the adventuring pace dipped, and the world wasn't quite as deep as I had first thought. I didn't feel as much love went into the middle as the beginning, but that might just be because the beginning could outshine most novels.

This is a solid four starts for me. I look forward to book two!

Source: Bought it.
See my video review: https://youtu.be/GCLUEX9I4mQ

Buy the book using an affiliate link.

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