I am SO EXCITED to be a part of the Caffeine Book Tour for this highly anticipated release! As soon as I heard about Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim, I immediately added it to my TBR and was so excited when I learned about this opportunity to read and review it! If you haven’t heard of Caffeine Book Tours, it’s a blog tour hosted by Shealea @ Shut Up, Shealea .
And stay tuned for a giveaway at the end!
So before I dive into my review, here’s some information about the book!
Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication date: July 9th, 2019
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy
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.
AMAZON-–GOODREADS—BOOK DEPOSITORY
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.
Follow the Author: Website/Newsletter—Goodreads—Instagram—Facebook—Twitter
So without further ado, here are my thoughts on the book!
Rating: 4.5/5
When I started reading this, I was immediately sucked in because of the magic and the fact that I loved the character so much! The only thing I knew about the book was that it was a fashion related Mulan retelling, and let me tell you… this was so much more than I expected!
The storytelling was so beautiful and I loved watching Maia grow and become more confident in her abilities as a tailor. I absolutely LOVED the incorporation of magic! I never felt lost when it came to the world building, which for some reason seems to be an issue whenever I read a book with magic.
Maia was an interesting character to follow, and I really felt immersed into the story following her and learning the secrets (and admiring the handsome men in the novel) with her! Her emotions flowed through the pages and I felt her homesickness and her passion and her hesitation and fear as she felt it! It’s always amazing to me how emotions can be transferred through the written word, and Elizabeth Lim did an amazing job with that!
Of course, the element of romance was so absolutely perfect! I loved the interactions between the characters and there was one point where one of my favorite tropes was incorporated into the story (can’t tell you which one because that would ruin the fun!)! Of course, the whole “forbidden romance” trope was also incorporated and the bit of slow-burn romance really made the whole story so much more emotional and fun!
While I already said how much I loved Maia, Edan the magician was also a really great character! I loved his wit and learning about his story (though it was frustrating at times having to wait for more information to be revealed)! Let me just tell you, I totally yelled JUST KISS ALREADY a few times!
The plot was also really interesting! I didn’t expect the second half of the story to go the way it did, so that was a really great surprise! AND THE ENDING?! LET ME TELL YOU– I WAS BLOWN AWAY! The ending of the story came like a flood and I was completely thrown off and didn’t know what to expect!
If you enjoy retellings, fashion, political and romantic drama, #ownvoices stories, mythology and magic, this is the book for you! If you love strong and three dimensional female characters, forbidden magic, dark and handsome (and extremely snarky) males, exciting competitions, and impossible journeys, pick this book up IMMEDIATELY.
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Come check out the rest of the Caffeine Book Tour!
July 01 (Monday)
Blog tour launch (from Shut up, Shealea)
July 02 (Tuesday)
Book Freak Revelations
Happy Indulgence Books
READING (AS)(I)AN AMERICA
Snow White Hates Apples
Star is All Booked Up
July 03
BookwyrmBites
Holed Up In A Book
Librae Paints Pages
mybookcastle
The Sparrow’s Perch
July 04
Artsy Draft
Caitlin Althea
Literaery Adventures
Moonlight Pages
Read By Tiffany
July 05
Beyond Secret Pages
Crowing About Books
Lyrical Reads
String of Pages
Utopia State of Mind
July 06
Author interview on Shut up, Shealea
Hana Book Review
Phantom Paper
R E A (D) I V I N E
Unputdownable Books
Wavy Pages
July 07
Forever and Everly
The Quiet Pond
Read at Midnight
The Ultimate Fangirl
Your Tita Kate
#CBTTC Twitter chat hosted by Caffeine Book Tours (@CaffeineTours)- 10 AM EST, 9 PM Philippine Time
Enter the giveaway for a chance to win one of FIVE copies of the book for INTERNATIONAL readers! (2 copies will be given away during the #CBTTC Twitter Chat for US Readers Only!)
a Rafflecopter giveaway https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js(Or Click THIS LINK)
Star is All Booked Up 
Fabulous review! Now I really hope to get a copy of this book to experience the excellent writing, characters, and character arcs in this story.
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thanks for checking out my review! I hope you get to read it soon when it comes out and I really hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
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Great review! I love Edan wits too 😀
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Thank you so much for reading my review💜 Edan is such a sweetheart😭😭😭😭
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Yes 😍😍😍
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I think I’d really enjoy the magic and the storytelling as well!
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Hope you love it when you read it!
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