I’m completely stoked to be here to flail about Spin the Dawn today!
This is part of the blog tour (hosted by MTMC Tours & PRH International) and there’s an epic giveaway running on my instagram too…yes, open INT!
Now I’ll be honest 😌 this book gave me utterly magical feels and I am a little star-struck right now. It mixed this whimsical fairy-tale quality in with a quest-like adventure — and also gave me one of my new favourite OTPs of 2019. Not to mention the ending has left me gasping like a dried out minnow on the floor. I JUST!!!!! I thought it was a standalone and now I need more and I do not have more help meeeeee.
*pulls self together*
*barely*
*:·゚✧ can we talk about the magic first *:·゚✧
Because it was astoundingly and gorgeously done!
Maia is disguising herself as her brother to win a position as the Imperial Tailor (to save her very poor family). Eventually she’s given the impossible task of sewing three dresses from: (1) the laughter of the sun (2) the tears of the moon, and (3) the blood of the stars. The elements of whimsy and impossibility just ignited my heart. I loved it. It meshed fairy tales with good ol’ fantasy quests (cue a road trip and being chased etc). It managed to mix a satisfying amount of world building without slowing down the story and it just, overall, felt like an easy to read epic. (Accessible for people like meeeee with only two brain cells to rub together at the moment. I am. tired.) Maia also wields magic scissors, which are a huge part of the story, and I loved how she grew to trust magic.
*:·゚✧ the characters won my heart in an instant *:·゚✧
// Maia: so loving, passionate and forthright. Basically a true Gryffindor who can’t lie, loves her family and will fling herself into spontaneous danger to protec. Her hot temper streak was A+ too.
// Edan: aka the Imperial Enchanter who becomes quite keen on Maia as soon as he meets her because he can tell she’s disguising herself as a boy. Their banter goes from distrustful side-eyes to homey bickering and GAH I LOVE THEM. This is my favourite trope!! Enemies-to-lovers ajfkdlsad. I can’t even say how much I cracked up at their arguments. Edan is somehow both sinister and all powerful…and also this ridiculous puffball of sparkly magic who can’t shut up. (He gave me Darkling vibes; but like a nice Darkling.) Their chemistry was off the charts. 😌
A Basic Summary (Tumblrised) of them:
Maia: you are SO ARROGANT.
Edan: Oh yeah?????
Maia: YES I HATE IT NOW KISS ME U ARROGANT JERK
Edan: I can save you–
Maia: [snaps her magic scissors in his face] back off matey i’ll save myself and you too probably
Edan: *flirts with Maia every time he breathes*
Maia: so I have feelings for you–
Edan: 😳unforeseen consequence😳
Edan: 😳must flee before returns feelings😳
*:·゚✧ the story it told *:·゚✧
Not only where the characters stealing my affections, I really enjoyed the plot line too! It held a lot of comfy tropes I like too; like how the tailors had to have trials to win their position + the bit of Mulan vibes going with Maia disguising as her brother + the desert adventure/trek to find ingredients for the magic dresses. It felt like it had a distinct Part 1 (in the castle) and Part 2 (on the adventure). I preferred the castle plot BUT the character development of the adventure was the besssst.
The ending, however. Not. Fair. It brought out the feels like nothing else and didn’t hold back the punches W O W.
*:·゚✧ overall I’m not sure why you’re still here and not off reading this book *:·゚✧
It definitely smashed my expectations and gave me more and more. It was magical and whimsical, but also layered with humorous banter and loving character arcs. I completely and utterly adore Maia and Edan and want MORE BOOKS about them. They are magical disaster lovers. 🤗
Spin the Dawn captured my imagination and my heart! It’s also an #ownvoices narration of a full Asian cast and culture and I cannot frikkin’ WAIT until the sequel.
✨ Don’t forget to enter the giveaway on instagram!✨
GOODREADS | BOOK DEPOSITORY | AMAZON| BOOKTOPIA | PRH International
Project Runway meets Mulan in this sweeping YA fantasy about a young girl who poses as a boy to compete for the role of imperial tailor and embarks on an impossible journey to sew three magic dresses, from the sun, the moon, and the stars.
Maia Tamarin dreams of becoming the greatest tailor in the land, but as a girl, the best she can hope for is to marry well. When a royal messenger summons her ailing father, once a tailor of renown, to court, Maia poses as a boy and takes his place. She knows her life is forfeit if her secret is discovered, but she’ll take that risk to achieve her dream and save her family from ruin. There’s just one catch: Maia is one of twelve tailors vying for the job.
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 impossible 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 ever could have imagined.
Steeped in Chinese culture, sizzling with forbidden romance, and shimmering with magic, this young adult fantasy is pitch-perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas or Renée Ahdieh.
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About the author
Elizabeth Lim grew up on a hearty staple of fairy tales, myths, and songs. Her passion for storytelling began around age 10, when she started writing fanfics for Sailor Moon, Sweet Valley, and Star Wars, and posted them online to discover, “Wow, people actually read my stuff. And that’s kinda cool!” But after one of her teachers told her she had “too much voice” in her essays, Elizabeth took a break from creative writing to focus on not flunking English.
Over the years, Elizabeth became a film and video game composer, and even went so far as to get a doctorate in music composition. But she always missed writing, and turned to penning stories when she needed a breather from grad school. One day, she decided to write and finish a novel — for kicks, at first, then things became serious — and she hasn’t looked back since.
Elizabeth loves classic film scores, books with a good romance, food (she currently has a soft spot for arepas and Ethiopian food), the color turquoise, overcast skies, English muffins, cycling, and baking. She lives in New York City with her husband.
Website | Goodreads | Instagram | Twitter
| what do you think? |
tell me your favourite Asian fantasies or retellings? is this one on your TBR? or if you’ve read it, tell me aaall your feels 🤗
*tenth doctor voice* OH YES
I NEED TO READ THIS WTH
This sounds ۰۪۫a۪۫۰۰۪۫m۪۫۰۰۪۫a۪۫۰۰۪۫z۪۫۰۰۪۫i۪۫۰۰۪۫n۪۫۰۰۪۫g۪۫۰
it most certainly is amazing 🤗
Oooh, sounds like my kinda book! 😃 me wannna read iiiiit….need to get to the libraryyyyy….
Most crazily, ~Olive
yesss I hope your library has it 😍
I’m super excited to read this one; it sounds FABULOUS. I already have it out from the library; I just have to make time to . . . y’know . . . read it.
Oh your library is epic to already have it 😱I have to wait forever for new releases haha. But YESSS. It’s so good!
Ack I need this book yesterday
Also, I love all your book reviews, they manage to get me really interested in the book, and that’s actually kind of a hard thing to do sometimes because I can be REALLY picky. XD
Ok this is the BEST compliment ever 😍😍😍 I’m so honoured that I can convince you!
I already had this on my TBR before, but now I NEEEEED it. The romance is definitely my favorite kind (you know that part of your review was what really GOT me), and the whimsy of the story AHHH yes!!! I’m going to attempt to visit a sale at our local bookstore this weekend and this will be the first book I pick up, definitely. 😍 Fantastic review as always, Cait!
Ahhh I hope you find it at your bookstore!! And it is definitely my top kind of romance dynamics too 😌(Also HI!! I feel like I haven’t said hello in a while!)
I’m currently reading this one (like, right now! Audiobooks ftw!) and am having a lot of the same feelings you did. I like how it is incorporating traditions with fashion and genderbending things. Thanks for hosting the giveaway and for sharing this review!
It’s just magical perfection, right?! SUPER impressed!
Ohhh I’ve wanted to read this since I heard it was coming out – it sounds amazingggg!! There’s so many amazing book coming out this summer I swear by the time September comes around my bank account is going be broken whoops.
Gorgeous post as always Cait!! x
Grace Louise || http://www.gracelouiseofficial.blogspot.co.uk/
Oh wow, my wallet and I relate to this. 😂I feel like the highly anticipated books always come out after July and I’m left so broke.😂
Ahahahaha I loved that tumblrized part of your review about the characters’ relationship haha this completely won be over. Well, after the rest of your review, obviously, but you always, always make me smile while reading your reviews and posts and I love that. Thank you, Cait <3
This one is one of my most anticipated reads of the year and ahh, I'm so, so hyped for it, I hope I can get a copy of it soon, it sounds SO GOOD 😀
Fantastic review <3
🤗 my work here is done. 😌 when all else fails, I shall convince you all WITH MEMES heheh.
Wonderful review, Cait! Hahaha, I loved the summary of Maia and Edan’s relationship! SO accurate! This one was such a fun read, and I loved the atmosphere, characters, and adventure so much! I need the sequel in my life IMMEDIATELY! <3
Right?! THAT ENDING. I’m still internally screaming 😱
Yessssss I want to read this! I put it on hold at the library instantly when I saw you were posting about it. By this point, it should be there, right?
Halfway wrong. It’s being ordered right now (5 copies for all of the city I live in to share 😂) and I have on idea if it’s e-book version or paperback or what since it doesn’t say. But I put it on hold anyway. I’ll just have to keep an eye on it because I’ve never put an e-book on hold and have no idea how they lend those things out. *shrug*
Great blog post, Cait! 😃 I hope your tiredness goes away soon!! *sends cake*
AHh I’m so glad you have an epic library that buys new books 😌💕
Honestly, the amount of hype I’ve seen surrounding this book terrifies me slightly, I have seen it EVERYWHERE! I feel like every blog we follow reviewed it, and I’ve seen it over Instagram a fair share as well. And while it does sound really good, I think I’m gonna wait for the hype to die down a bit before deciding if I want to read it or not. Because at this point I would just go in expecting perfection, and that’ never a healthy way to approach a book!
Aw ok 😔 I mean, I was really happy to be part of the blog tour and promo…so yeah!
THE ROMANCE IS EVERYTHING! You already know what I feel about the book, but since you wanted Asian fantasies and retellings, have you read A Spark of White Fire by Sangu Mandanna? It is a space opera and it is brilliant and gave me all the emotions and killed me and now this comment is being typed by my corpse.
I haven’t but I know you LOVE it which makes me neeeeed it!!
“easy to read epic” <– UM YES PLEASE. I DO NOT POSSESS ENOUGH BRAIN TO DO ANYTHING MORE.
Just put it on hold at the library!!! Wooo my TBR hates me 😅😅😅
I also thought it was a standalone and was completely wrecked with the countdown as i looked at how much plot was left and how many pages there were and realized it couldn’t possibly finish up!