“Looking for your next big YA fantasy series? We’ve got our eye on this stylist blockbuster.” –Entertainment WeeklyProject Runway meets Mulan in this sweeping 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 … 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.
“Spin the Dawn is proof that casting a wider net not only gives us a fresh story that feels unlike everything else on the shelves beside it but also allows for richer and more nuanced storytelling.” —NPR
“All the cutthroat competition of a runway fashion reality show and the thrilling exploits of an epic quest… a stunning tapestry of adventure.” —The Washington Post
”What an amazing creation! Every time I thought I knew where it was going, I was wrong. This is a white-knuckle read.” –Tamora Pierce, #1 New York Times Bestselling author of Tempests and Slaughter
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Spin the Dawn is pure magic. Romance, artistry, and deep enchantment.
What an amazing creation! Every time I thought I knew where it was going, I was wrong. This is a white-knuckle read.
I absolutely loved this book – it starts off feeling like a fresh new take on Mulan and morphs into a beautiful, adventure-driven romance full of magic, ghosts, and dangerous quests. This was one of those books I just couldn’t put down until I finished, and it’s already made my list of favorite reads of 2020.
Loved it! Maia is such a wonderful character, and I found myself invested in her story from the beginning. The perfect amount of history, romance, and magic. Looking forward to reading the next book.
This is the first book I’ve read by Elizabeth Lim. She is a fantastic author, and I really enjoyed being in this world where a woman tailor defies the odds and competes in a deadly contest. I loved the heck out of it right up until the end. Sorry, but the ending was too dark and depressing for my taste.
What an excellent novel. The publisher description labeled this novel as “Project Runway meets Mulan,” which already makes the novel interesting, especially when one thinks about these two concepts individually. Designing clothes, even though it seems to be a male-dominated enterprise, is often regarded as a more feminine concept. So that fact that this novel has Maia disguise herself as a man to enter a tailoring contest is already quite intriguing. It takes reality and constricts it into this mold that determines the worth of a woman in this world that Lim has created.
However, that is only one aspect of the novel that Lim has created as she goes from realism to the magical. Lim slowly incorporates the mysticism and magic into the tale as she goes into the storytelling. Maia has a pair of magic tailoring scissors that help her create beautiful things. However, Maia does not trust magic. The war and loss she has suffered have disillusioned her, and her beliefs make it seem as though magic is wrong. However, then it becomes the one thing that could save her.
It is an interesting take that takes her on a journey through the world. It is an eye-opening journey that lends itself to fantastic character development on Maia’s part. Maia goes from thinking the world operates in one way, to find a way to live in it in another way. Edan, the court enchanter, also opens her mind in various ways. He has been alive for centuries and has seen the world and the way it changes, offering up a new perspective to the world. It brings history to the tale, history that has been long forgotten and adds numerous layers to the story as it goes from a story about a girl entering a tailoring contest to a quest to create magical dresses.
Maia is not a complex character, but the level of depth from her narrative is compelling. She has the voice to carry the novel as she embarks on this journey to create these magical dresses, and each dress, each element brings about something different about herself that she must learn and face. These trials challenge her; they challenge her mind, body, and soul, and open different aspects of herself Maia did not know she had. It is a riveting journey that she goes on and her dynamics with Edan. They make such a great team, and Edan is such an enigmatic character. The way he moves and elevates the mystical part of the story perfectly balances out Maia’s realism.
Overall, it is quite an enjoyable novel. The magic that elevates the story and the way Lim intermingles aspects readers are familiar with make the story engaging. The whole story is a journey not just for the characters but for the reader as well.
I received this book through NetGalley.
Spin the Dawn takes a myriad of genre tropes and spins them in an incredible way, resulting in a book that’s surprising, fast to read, and immense fun. The back cover copy pitches it as Mulan meets Project Runway, and that’s certainly an apt description of the book’s first third; after that, it becomes a fresh take on a fairy tale romantic adventure.
Maia is the Mulan prototype, but instead of dressing as a boy to become a soldier, she disguises herself to compete to be the emperor’s tailor. This competition is still a kind of war, though. Not only are her peers sabotaging her efforts, but the emperor’s fiance is uncooperative and sets up impossible challenges–and then there’s the fact that if Maia is outed as a girl, she’ll be killed for lying to the emperor. When she finds out the scissors gifted to her by her father are magical, she doesn’t want to use them; to my delight, she truly wanted to succeed by her own merits. I loved Maia for that.
Of course, there’s a romance, too, and it’s an incredibly well done one. I enjoyed how it developed and yikes, did the end deliver some major surprises.
I added this book to my list to consider for the Norton Award for next year. It’s that good. I hope its release is heralded by lots of positive attention, and I’ll certainly look for other books in the series.
Set as sort of a Mulan meets Project Runway, this book centers around Maia, who poses as her brother in order to compete to be the royal tailor-type. Magic and romance and adventure abound as she’s sent on a journey to craft three dresses from legend. I loved it! Maia is an amazing character, and her slow-burn romance made my heart so happy. Excellent world-building, and while the book does not end on a cliff-hanger, there are more to come! Can’t wait to see where this series goes to next!
This book blasted past every one of my expectations. The pitch of Mulan meets Project Runway is accurate but this book is so much more than that!
Everything about this book was absolutely magical. The worldbuilding, steeped deeply in Chinese culture and mythology, is easily one of the most beautiful settings out there. The setting changes a few times throughout the book and Lim doesn’t hesitate to write about how gorgeous each place is with fantastic prose. And considering this book revolves around tailoring, the descriptions of the clothes were just beautiful. Everything was just pretty.
Maia & Edan, our main characters, were very sweet together. A lot of YA these days seems marketed towards adults in a way that makes me a little concerned for younger readers, but this romance felt like something a thirteen year old girl would be totally enchanted by. Maia is headstrong and stubborn but cares deeply for her family. Edan is your typical snarky love interest, but in no way did I ever feel like this romance was a stereotype. The lack of love triangles was a huge relief.
This book goes a lot of different ways. While rooted in the original Project Runway comparison, there are so many twists and turns. Our characters go on a great journey both physically and emotionally. An isolated competition leads to a sprawling continent-wide adventure that I never would have expected just by reading the description.
Much thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me a digital copy of this book. It’s not even out yet and I can’t wait for the sequel.
Not gonna lie, I picked this one up because I NEEDED that cover on my shelf. I’m so glad I did! I wasn’t entirely sold on the premise (though it’s definitely unique!) but the author absolutely pulled it off and I loved it way more than I expected! One of my favorite, most surprising reads of 2019. Can’t wait for the sequel.
Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim
Rating: 5 out of 5
Spin the Dawn is all about Maia Tamarin, a tailor’s daughter, who tries to restore honor in her family after a series of tragic events caused by the war. When the King sent forth her father or the next male tailor to come to compete as the Emperor’s tailor, Maia volunteered due to duty and since her father and only surviving yet handicapped brother were not fit for the journey, let alone the trip. What happens next reminds me of Mulan / Project Runway / Emperor’s New Coat with a lot more suspense, mystery, and adventure that these shows/series/stories can even comprehend!
The story is easy to follow and is from a first-person POV – Maia’s. The written scenes are a cinematographic feast that will bring readers from a humble tailor’s home to the Halakmarat Deserts, finding magical threads to the highest peaks of the Temple of the Sun! The contest is only one part of the book, and there are bigger and more complex trials that Maia will go through.
Further analyzing the book, in general, is the selflessness of Maia in everything she sought out to do to save everyone but herself like:-
(1) going in place of her father and her disabled brother, which would get her in trouble for deceit,
(2) finishing the impossible trials to acquire the materials for Lady Sarnai’s magical dresses at the cost of her life, and
(3) give her soul to free someone she grew to love.
With everything she went through, she did change beyond the expected imperial tailor expected of her. She would not go back just to sew clothes; she would evolve into more than anyone realizes.
I like how the author wove Chinese mythology, folklore, and urban tales based on thorough historical research. It was seamless and creative enough to beyond the tales I remembered. It reminded and brought back my love for these tales and legends I grew up with.
The story’s character development is deep, clear and ultimately made Maia determined to overcome it – no matter what! In the beginning, readers will see a reluctant and sheltered Maia, a tailor in their small town. Still, ultimately, she is meant for bigger things than she could have imagined – even if everyone seems to see it already before the contest and trials began. There were a few revelations given, while some were still shrouded in mystery. Each character developed in different paces as they encounter Maia and her story. Maia is forced to grow up immediately because of survival and her determination to save her family as she faced many impossible tasks. Her journey has been long, but the book’s ending, although resolved a few things, will have to continue because an impending war is coming, and the battle still has to begin when the book ends.
I completely fell in love with this book. It gripped my attention from the first chapter until the end. The plot is an awesome mix of adventure, romance, and obviously fantasy. However, I must say that this novel is clearly a love story and a pretty great one. All of the characters were amazingly written; I liked the relationship between Maia and Edan a lot, and I wish we get more background on the emperor and Lady Sarnai in the next book.
I would recommend this book to people who like fantasy romance.
• •
: Spin the Dawn
: The Blood of Stars #1
: Elizabeth Lim
: 5/5
I heard some really good things about this book and I love to read about Asian cultures, so I was really excited to dive into this one. And let me tell you it did not disappoint. I really liked the Mulan vibes I got from this book as well, and the magical system in this fantasy world was created beautifully. The story was beautifully written and it captivated me from beginning to the end. The character development of Maia was truly amazing, we see her develop and change herself throughout the story whilst also making friends and find love. I liked how the competition aspect was balanced with the adventure aspect of the story. It made me wanting to read on further to see what would happen next. Therefore, the writing and the pace was really good as well. Recommending this book to everyone who loves a good YA fantasy romance with strong Asian influences.
A lot of my reviews are also available with photo at my Bookstagram: @justmyfantasyworld
Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim has the feel of Project Runways competition rooted in Asian culture. It reminded me of Mulan in the sense of a girl venturing out to take on the role that is only given to a male and excelling at it as a girl. I found this to be a wonderfully engaging read for the first half of this story and couldn’t get enough of it. I loved the competition and danger of the secret life that Maia Tamarin is living to stay in the fight, so she can provide for her family but cannot be caught in the process. She is in danger in many different ways, but she is so talented and shows that even though she is a woman, she can do things better than men can. The entire first half of this story grabs you and doesn’t let you go.
However, the second half feels a lot like a different story in some ways. Yes, it is the same character, and she is in some way continuing her task, but she is taken out of the palace and sent on a journey to acquire items to make three dresses from impossible things. It felt like this was added to give Maia a love interest and add to that. I don’t know if this last half of the book was necessary. It wasn’t bad; it just wasn’t as exciting and fun as the first half of the book, and I found myself having a more challenging time getting through the last half of the book. I flew through the first half and couldn’t put it down, and then it was like hitting a wall. Overall, the entire story is really good, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. It just felt a little disconnected. Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim wove its way into my heart with every page I turned.
This Mulan retelling was so amazing! Maia is such a strong female character. I love the magic in this story. Edna is also a great character. He is mysterious and funny. I love them both. I cannot wait to read the next one. I recommend this book!
the second book not so much though
I can’t say much about Spin the Dawn that hasn’t already been said, but I’m going to try. This book lives up to the “Mulan meets Project Runway in this sweeping fantasy adventure” hype. However, to summarize the book so plainly is doing it a disservice. Lim addresses gender discrepancies driven by cultural expectations head on. She tackles such a heavy concept with grace and subtlety. The main theme of “you can’t do this because you’re not a boy” is prevalent in this book but delivered in a way that is perfect for young adults. Spin the Dawn goes to great lengths to turn that concept on its head and prove it wrong, with great success! I devoured this book in two days and immediately pre-ordered the next book in the series, Unravel the Dawn. I look forward to continuing this series and seeing where Maia’s story takes us next!
Fun to read
I loved this book! very well done. It doesn’t end great, but that’s because there is a second book at least in which the story continues (it’s not out yet) and I’m hopeful that there will be a happy ending at the end of that book.
This is an incredible work of art. Elizabeth Lim spins a beautiful tale of love, loss, and life. The main characters are unique and draw you into themselves.
I have re-read this book many times and it keeps me up late into the night every time.
I definitely recommend it to anyone who is a fan of sewing, or romance books.
Great read!