Unfortunately, I ended up not enjoying this one as much as I’d hoped. I will start with the positives – one is that stunning cover, it’s one I could never get fed up of looking at. Secondly, I really enjoyed Lim’s writing style, and it went really well with the almost fairy-tale esque feeling to parts of the book, and in the places where the worldbuilding was more developed it really shone through with the writing. However, I did find the worldbuilding rather too light for my liking, especially as what we were shone was fascinating and could have added so much more to the story – although I did prefer the latter part of the book, when the journey aspect gave us more insight into the world. The characters were the main reason this one didn’t work for me, because I just couldn’t connect with them, and while they’re not badly written in the sightest it was just hard to care and become invested in their romance and story, and it was this paired, with a plot that felt as though it lost steam later in the book and some uneven pacing had me putting this one several times. However, I can absolutely see why so many people love it – and I think that had the characters won me over, as they clearly have so many others then it would have elevated the book. It was just a case of wrong reader.

Just wow. An enchanting and enthralling take that is woven together with great craftsmanship Nd skill. The characters feel real, I cared about Maia and Edan , I loved the description. Fairy tale, magic, fashion, romance and conflict. What more could one want? (Well a sequel and that is what we get next! ) A fantastic must read.

Thanks to Netgalley for a digital sample in exchange for an honest review :) I find it really hard to rate a sample. This sounded very interesting and I am excited for this book. The writing is beautiful and it made me very curious for continuing the reading experience. I also have to say that the cover is incredibly beautiful :) This little extract/sample left me with the desire to find more about the world and I am quite curious about how the story is going to go. Loving it!

Elizabeth Lim is a fabulous new author who has been everywhere recently and I’m so excited to read her most recent release!!! This was a fantastically written book with superb world building and character growth. You’ll be picking up the 2nd straight after!!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Having just read Six Crimson Cranes I suspected I'd enjoy this, and I definitely wasn't disappointed. Maia is a great protagonist and the supporting characters are well-drawn, particularly Edan. The world-building was very well done and the journey element of the plot allowed you to see more than just the capital city, which is always nice. I'll be going straight on to book 2!

Lea
“A wonderful Mulan-esque story”
Paperback edition

by Lea
I really enjoyed this Mulan-esque tale of Maia, the daughter of a once-famous tailor, who takes his place in a competition to earn not only money to secure their future, but also fame and glory. I loved that Maia was so invested in herself, so proud of her work and wanting to show it of, whilst also working hard to help her family. Her motives and reasoning for everything were clear throughout and she made for a wonderful heroine you could truly root for. She has clear flaws and weaknesses but it’s admirable to see her overcome them–she would make a wonderful role model for teen readers.

This book is almost split into two parts, there’s the beginning where Maia comes to the palace to take place in the competition, which I did like, but then it transforms into this epic journey as she must travel to create three divine dresses–and this, for me, was where the story truly took off. The setting is outstanding and truly matches up to its gorgeous cover.

Regarding the romance, there is definitely a love story here but I don’t want to spoil too much about it, I will say it was very swoony and the two made a wonderful couple. I can’t wait to read more about them in the sequel!

I highly recommend this to fans of YA fantasy, it definitely stands out not just for it’s setting (which it gorgeous and fully realised), but also for its strong heroine and brilliantly thought-out plot.

What a ride this book was! Spin the Dawn was just the magical adventure I needed, with its charming characters, adorable romance, whimsical magic, dangerous quests and Asian-inspired lore. This book basically has it all!

The story is essentially divided into two parts. In the first part, Maia disguises as a man to compete for the position of imperial tailor instead of her brother, both to fulfil her life-long dream of becoming the greatest tailor in the land and to help her poverty-stricken family. But the competition is fierce and her adversaries will stop at nothing to win the coveted position, and if Maia's secret were discovered it would mean certain death. The competition was so fun and easily one of my favourite sections in the novel. It really kept me on the edge of my seat as I never knew what to expect from these cutthroat tailors and from Lady Sernai, the emperor's bride-to-be who judges the competition.

It was over way too soon, as we moved into Part 2, which is a magical quest as Lady Sernai tasks Maia with sewing three gowns for her: one made from the laughter of the sun, one from the tears of the moon and one from the blood of the stars. Maia sets out to retrieve these with the help of Edan, the court enchanter, and a pair of magical scissors. Perils and challenges abound, and I am totally here for it! I'm not usually a fan of long, arduous quests as I tend to get quite bored with them, but this one managed to keep my attention nicely until the end. And that ending? I am not ok!! I need the second book ASAP and I do not have the second book yet, so that's a problem.

One of the things that definitely made me love this book so much was the beautiful writing. The author's world-building and descriptions are just fantastic and I could almost picture everything. This was especially great because this book is so visual, with all the descriptions of dresses, colours, embroideries, and the lush and gorgeous settings. I also really liked how deeply it dives into the world's culture and its complexities, flawlessly mixing epic fantasy with fairy tale elements.

And the characters... how can I even begin to talk about the characters? Maia and Edan, I loved these two so much! Their banter was just fantastic and often had me hopelessly grinning or straight up laughing and I ship them so hard! I found them both to be characterised so well independently from one another, and I took to them almost immediately. Some of the secondary characters didn't get a lot of air time, but they very well might in the second book. And Maia and Edan were alone on the road for a significant part of the book, so it does make sense!

A minor complaint I have is around the marketing for this: I saw it pitched as a Mulan retelling but, honestly, I don't really see it? I mean, the only resemblance to Mulan is Maia dresses up as a boy to answer the emperor's call in her father's and her brother's place, and that's about where that ends. This book is so much more than simply a Mulan retelling!

Overall, Spin the Dawn was a fantastic read and one I'll be gushing about for a long while yet. It weaves together danger, magic, humour, romance, and a complex, Asian-inspired world in a beautiful and intricate tapestry. One not to miss!

This book was beautiful. The writing was incredibly enthralling. I adored the characters, I thought they were fleshed out really well and I was curious to learn more about everyone.

The first half of this book was a competition very much like Project Runway, impossible timeframes, ridiculous materials, picky client the whole shebang. It was very entertaining and it was over way too quickly for my liking, I was enjoying it far too much to change focus.

The second half is more of a quest and romance focused which I did enjoy but I definitely preferred the competition a little more, but that’s just my personal preference.

Overall this book was great. The writing gorgeous, characters entertaining, the magic was different to what I’ve read before which made the book feel fresh and new. I recommend this if you’re looking for a read where you can swept up in the whimsy and beauty of the story and truly forget where you are.

I was lucky enough to get a copy of both Spin the Dawn and Six Crimson Cranes through Netgalley (and I am sorely regretting not requesting Unravel the Dust as well, because I am gutted I couldn’t pick that up straight after finishing Spin the Dawn). I read Six Crimson Cranes first, you can read my review here, because it was based on one of my favourite Grimm Fairytales. But after falling in love with that book, and Elizabeth Lim’s writing, I couldn’t wait to read Spin the Dawn too and picked it up just a couple of weeks after finishing Six Crimson Cranes.

I do wonder whether these two books are set in the same world, they share some of the same lore and mythology, so I like to think they might be, (if you know, drop a comment below), but these two books share a couple of other similarities too; they both have amazing world-building, epic quests, high stakes, heart-warming themes, strong female leads, delicious food and respectful, kind-hearted love interests. I found all of the things I loved best about Six Crimson Cranes in this book too, so I knew I was on to a good book as soon as I started.

I love how Elizabeth Lim’s books are based on familiar stories and themes, but manage to be so unique at the same time. Spin The Dawn reminded me a lot of Mulan, mixed with an ounce of Project Runway, but at the same time, it was unlike anything I had read before either. I loved that this book focused on the mythology of the world, the goddesses and monsters, the folklore that has been passed down for generations. And it had such epic highs and lows, with some moments really ripping out my heart, and others filling me with happiness. I do wish we could have seen more of Maia’s relationship with her brother and father, and some of the side-characters were not completely developed enough to get me to care for them. However, I think we might get to see them more in Unravel the Dusk, and I am not mad that this story focused more on Maia and Edan’s story, because it gave me the time to become completely invested in them.

What I love most about Elizabeth Lim’s writing, is her description. You can picture everything. And as this book is so focused on art (sewing, embroidery, weaving etc), description is essential for helping us really feel and see everything that the tailors create. The world Elizabeth creates is so vivid, the food sounds so delicious, and the clothes are completely magical (literally!). This book was also unique in the way that it had two distinct parts. First we have the competition to become the imperial tailor, then we have Maia and Edan’s quest to create three magic gowns. It was as if we’d been given two thrilling adventures in one book! I was captivated from beginning to end.

SUMMARY

I can definitely say that I Elizabeth Lim is a new favourite author. I love the worlds she creates, the folklore and mythologies, I also love her vivid descriptions, the thrilling, twisting plots and her strong, investible characters.

In Spin The Dawn, we follow Maia as she disguises herself as a boy and leaves home for the first time. We watch her find herself, and find love, while crossing mountains and deserts to craft miracles. This book is a thrilling adventure from start to finish.

CAWPILE: 9.86

(This book would have been a ten but I had to give it a 9 for ‘Logic’ because I couldn’t quite work out why one of the character’s made the decision they did towards the end of the book… a different choice could have been made that would have solved the character a lot of trouble. But that was only a minor thing!)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I really enjoyed this book and after that ending I’m looking forward to reading the sequel!

This book wasn’t what I thought it would be but I still enjoyed it a lot. I really liked Maia and Edan and their dynamic and banter. The world building and the Chinese culture was so beautifully written. I loved the world that Lim has created and the descriptions of the palace and the towns and even the clothes are so beautiful.

Maia is a wonderful character, she is determined and perseveres despite the odds being against her. She is brave despite being afraid and cares deeply for her family and loved ones. She suffers a lot in her life and still grieves for those she lost. And I loved how her grief was shown in the book, it felt so real and relatable and I appreciate that it was shown because often we are told to just “move on.” I loved how she became more confident in herself and her abilities as the story went on as she is exceptionally talented but has been prevented from furthering that because she is a woman but she outshines the best male tailors there.

Edan was a character that grew on me, I didn’t know whether I should trust him at the beginning and if he was truly someone that would help Maia but I ended up really loving his character and snark. He was witty and sarcastic and I loved that. I really loved his banter with Maia and how she gave it back as much as he gave.

Their journey takes us to several different places and it was great to see more of the world and how different the areas are. Maia having to make the dresses from the sun, moon and stars was so interesting and the descriptions of the dresses were breath taking. Honestly I want these dresses please and thank you. I did have some issues with the pacing in the middle, I felt it dragged a little but I really enjoyed the ending and I am looking forward to reading the sequel after the way this book ended!

What a beautiful journey of adventure and tension. Loveable characters, shrouded in mystery and once I started I literally could not put it down (save for sleep and work!). I absolutely loved this tale and the only thing that kept it from being a 5⭐️ read is that there were very slight pacing issues - sometimes things felt like they were happening very quickly despite the prior buildup, however this did not have a huge impact on changing the brilliance of this novel!

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC in exchange of an honest review.

This book had me at forbidden love and fantasy. I loved the development and growth of Mala the main character and the intricate love.
I can't write a longer review because I NEED to read the second one!!!

3.5/5 stars.

I was given an eARC of this book by Netgalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, I have extremely mixed feelings about Spin the Dawn. I'd really been looking forwards to reading it, and while there were some elements of it I found myself really enjoying, it was somewhat disappointing overall. I liked Elizabeth Lim's writing style, but I felt like the book was too fast-paced at times, to the point that it felt rushed and mildly underdeveloped. I also didn't have particularly strong feelings for the main character, Maia. I didn't hate her, but I certainly didn't love her either. Her and Edan's dynamic was cute, but again, I kind of didn't care that much. All that said, I did enjoy some bits of the book so it really was a mixed experience for me, and I would still recommend it to friends. I guess part of me feels like it's the kind of book I would've loved a couple of years ago but now, less so. So I'm sure there will be people out there who will adore it, but overall it wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley & Hodder & Stoughton for the e-book of Spin The Dawn by Elizabeth Lim in exchange for an honest review

4.5 stars

Mulan ft Project Runaway with a little spice of magic and adventure !

Maia is the new Mulan except that she sewed into the way to palace to save her father. I really be able to feel the pain of war that was facing by Maia on how she lost her brothers in war. I am pretty entertained with the Project Runaway scene. Really felt like I watched one of its episode but make it in Ancient China. However, Lady Sarnai is too arrogant for me to handle. I just can't---

The adventure that she's going through with Edan, such an adventurous one. They went through desert, climbing a mountain, swimming and reaching a ghost island.The magic world building is just really good and interesting! You will surely want to know more about Amana's children as that is the magic sources.

The slow burn love between Maia and Edan also good enough. Not too rushing and they started to get to know each other when they embarked on the journey.

The action is so-so to me since not much of destruction happened but overall, it is an enjoyable book !

****Posted in Goodreads separately*****

I was pretty disappointed with this novel, especially as I only got the chance to start it once I owned the second book in the series. However, I found the protagonist so irritatingly passive. Everything she is, is a comparison to her brothers, her father or the boy at the bakery whose toxic behaviour is played for short-lived conflict. Whilst the world and mythology was interesting, there wasn't an equal balance of set-up and payoff for me. I just didn't engage with the stakes or the characters enough, and I ended up DNFing this book.

I requested this book because the concept sounded so fun- a sort of Mulan meets Sewing Bee - both things I absolutely adore.

What I didn't expect was to end up completely in love with the characters and the story and to desperately need the second in the series! 😂

You'll love this book if you enjoy young adult ancient Gods-based fantasy or if you think you're excellent at predicting stories - I think I am but I did not see the story having so much depth in the end.

Please pick this up!

Spin the Dawn is a wonderful fairytale that brings fashion and adventure together.

In Spin the Dawn we meet Maia, who dreams of becoming the best tailor of the land, but as a girl, can only ever hope to marry well. When the emperor summons her sick father to join the court in a contest to become the royal tailor, she disguises herself as her brother and joins the contest instead.

Spin the Dawn reads like a modern fairytale, with just the right amount of magic and wonder, stories and mythology. Especially the descriptions were magical; the beautiful fashion, the delicious sounding food, the price of magic.

The characters were written well, and the romance didn’t feel too rushed. The pace of the story was nice as well; enough exciting moments but with plenty of peaceful moments in between.

There were a few moments the writing snatched a bit, moments where a character was doing something and I was wondering how this character ended up there. Or conversations that went a bit all over the place. It definitely wasn’t enough to bother me, though.

Spin the Dawn is a great story, and I am very eager to immediately dive into the next book.

Spin The Dawn was a solid fantasy and I can understand why it's so popular but unfortunately I just did not love this one, it was a solid middle of the road for me but I would recommend it to others.

3,5 stars from me.

I love Mulan, and I used to love Project Runway, so a mix of both of these things just sounded great to me.

I´m not going to lie, I was kind of bored reading this book, but there was still that curiosity as to "what is going to happen?" that kept me reading.

Overall I was a little disappointed, I hoped for more Mulan, but the only Mulan we get is that Maia disguises herself as a man.

The competition arc was too short in my opinion, I really wish that the competition had went on for longer, or that we had spent more time at the palace.

The tailoring competiton felt like petty high school drama, I had hoped for something more political and perhaps strategic, instead we got men that tried to get each other hungover or they tried sabotaging the others but mostly Maia with petty tricks.

I´m a sucker for romance in general, so the romance in this book was fine, and dare I even say kind of sweet. But I would have preferred if the romance wasn't the main motivation for story. I didn´t particularly care for Maia or Edan, which made me less invested in their growing romantic feelings. Nonetheless, some of the moments between them were sweet, and I did enjoy reading it.
Maia and Edan are okay. Not a fan of them, but not hating them either. Maia is boring and she is too naive and clueless, which annoyed me a little and Edan didn't particularly catch my attention either.
I'm happy that Edan was never a jerk, because one of the things I hate is when the main protagonist is made to fall for a douchebag, who then becomes a better person. I much prefer the love interest just always being likeable.

To conclude, I did like this book, and there wasn't anything aggravating in it for me. I wouldn't mind re-reading this book someday.

Spin the dawn is advertised as Mulan meets Project Runway ... I can not comment on this having watched neither of these but it follows Maia Tamarin, the daughter of a tailor who disguises herself as her brother to compete to become the Emperor's court tailor.
Maia competes against several other tailors (some who don't always play fair), meets the mysterious enchanter Edan and embarks on an impossible quest to make three dresses to symbolise the goddess Amana's children: the sun, the moon, and the stars.

***

I enjoyed this one so much more than I expected I was going to - It was the perfect light fantasy read I needed and I loved the romance.
Elizabeth Lim's writing is just beautiful, the descriptions just so spot on I could visualise everything I was reading perfectly.
Maia was such a brilliant character - she is intelligent, brave, determined, talent and so much more .. I loved her!! Edan was just **swoon** and I absolutely loved the romance between them. It just had me smiling so much!

Overall, a great read and I have picked up book 2 right away!!

***

eARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review! Thank you so much.