Spin the Dawn & Unravel the Dusk Review // A lot of potential and a lot of disappointment

Author: Elizabeth Lim
Published On: July 9, 2019 & July 7, 2020
Publisher: Knopf
Genre: Fiction, YA, Fantasy
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Synopsis of Book 1:

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.

Hey hey hey!! I am FINALLY returned, with *shocked gasp* a new review!

I know, I’m a book blogger who, like, doesn’t review books. I hate that about myself and I need to get back onto the review wagon because I love to share the books I read with you guys, and it’s also just a great way to keep track of what I’m reading and my thoughts!

So I read Spin the Dawn two weeks ago for the reading rush. I was super excited about this one because the plot sounds so interesting. I enjoyed it, and promptly drove my lil self over to Barnes & Noble to purchase Book 2, Unravel the Dusk.

Ugh, I wish I wouldn’t’ have.

Here are my wildly unorganized thoughts on this duology.

(THIS MIGHT CONTAIN SPOILERS SO READ WITH CAUTION)

Things I liked:

• The tailor element: I thought it was really cool that this story revolved around tailoring and making clothes. I haven’t read really anything like that, and it was a really neat element to add into this fantasy world. It was cool to see how Maia was so shaped by her ancestors and their family craft.
• The three dresses: What an interesting concept! Three dresses sewn from the sun, the moon, and the stars. I thought this was really cool and the set up for a fascinating adventure.

Things I disliked (whew, where to begin):

• Maia (sometimes): It wasn’t that I actively disliked her, I just didn’t feel much need to like her?? She seemed really immature at points and I felt really no connection to her.
• Instalove: Of course Edan had to fall in love with her. She so. NOT. Like. Other. GIRLS!!™ Ignore that fact that he’s over 500 years old and getting into a relationship with this literal child. Usually ridiculous fantasy age gaps don’t bother me in stories, but it speaks to how immature I found Maia that I realized how weird it was that she was 17 and he was 500+.
• Plot (*cough* Lady Sarnai): This entire plot could’ve been avoided if Lady Sarnai stepped up and stood up to one of the men in her life instead of stomping her feet like a whiny, tantrum-prone baby. She also was really evil and a bitch and clearly showed no concern for the well-being of anyone other than herself yet STILL was somewhat redeemed in the end. No, thanks.
• The magic system: Or should I say the lack of any rules in said magic system?? Like how did those scissors even work? Sometimes she was holding them, sometimes they were just floating sentiently?? The dresses can also basically do anything, which I realized randomly when one literally flies Maia to safety. She also possesses something called “demon sight”, which is essentially an easy way for the author to take us into a random one-off perspective of the love interest for absolutely no reason. The whole magic syste seemed like an easy way to Lim to fix plot holes and add intrigue, even if it didn’t make sense.

Honestly, I could say a lot more about why I disliked this second book and how it pretty much ruined any chance I had of keeping the duology on my shelves. It wasn’t bad, it just was not my cup of tea. I skimmed the last 100 pages of Unravel the Dusk and just did not care one bit about the outcome of this “adventure”.

Rating:

Even though I didn’t, I hope you enjoyed this and if you’ve read it, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Thanks for reading guys! xx