This book got me out of the biggest reading slump I have had all year. I finished it within 24 hours and it was a ride. It kept me hooked the entire time. With mixtures of Mulan and Aladdin with just enough magic and romance to keep the story going, this was definitely a five-star read. Maia was such a well-developed character. Edan was by far one of my favorite love interests. His wit and charisma were out of this world. Now onto the plot.
This book is based mostly on Eastern Asian culture with an influence from the Disney movie Mulan. There is also a lot of magical aspects some of which remind me of Aladdin and Arabian magic and myths. I feel like the author spent the perfect amount of time on the actual competition as well as a good amount of the plot on the actual quest. Not to mention this book had one of my favorite tropes... FAKE MARRIAGE. There was the perfect amount of intrigue and danger throughout the quest as well. Honestly, I have zero complaints about this book.

Maya is a talented seamstress who gets called to to serve her Emperor. She must hide her identity as a girl to compete in the competition for who will become the next Imperial Tailor. This book reminded me why I love YA Fantasy and I'm so grateful for that. It had everything I look for, a strong heroine I wanted to root for, a hero's journey, and a beautiful love story. I felt connected to these characters and really enjoyed following Maya's adventures, and watching her come home a changed person. I can't wait to read the next book!

A brilliant fantasy based on a mix of east asian and middle eastern cultures, recommended for all teen fantasy collections.

Finally, a book that lives up to its marketing! Many features of this story reminded me so much of Project Runway that I could practically hear Tim Gunn speaking through one of the characters. Fans of the show, fantasy, romance, magic, and love as sacrifice will enjoy this story.

What a captivating and beautiful book!! Elizabeth spins a beautiful story with Maia as lead. It kept my attention throughout and I definitely love reading about clothes. The only problem I had with the book was that it was a tad bit predictable, but that is the case with many YA novels.

Really enjoyed this! From the start is was an extremely lyrical and beautifully written novel. I was captivated by the way Elizabeth Lim wove her tale and was rooting for Maia from page one.
Edan was such an interesting character. I started off being unsure if I liked him, but I found myself quickly falling for him. I have learnt that I am a sucker for morally grey sorcerers--they are a character I love to read about and Edan fits into this perfectly.
The romance was sweet and subtle, it didn't take over the plot but did make an impact on the growth of our characters. Which I really appreciated.
I cannot wait to read the second book and have bumped Elizabeth Lim into my auto-buy author list.

***Note: Deciding not to review this book since I am no longer interested and I just need to get this book off my feedback list.***

Spin the Dawn (The Blood of Stars #1) by Elizabeth Lim
Four out of five stars
About the Book - In this magic book, we follow Mair Tamarin who dreams of becoming the greatest tailor but Maia is a girl and in this world, girls aren't to do "men" jobs. So when a royal messenger summons her ailing father to court to a tailor competition. Maia steps up and poses as a boy. With her life on the line and to save her families she will use her artistry and skills to tackle these challenges. When she has the challenge to sew three magic gowns for the emperor's bride-to-be she knows she has to do her best. Setting out on a journey to find laughter of the sun, tears of the moon, and blood of the stars each to weave into a gown.

-For me this is like Renée Ahdieh meets Mulan. It took me a bit to get into this story but once it got going I really enjoyed this story. Maia as a lead character is wonderful because she has flaws, she loves her family and does what she needs to for them. Maia takes the place of her brother and I have to say that the way the author shows us how Maia does it from the way he walks and acts. It's not cheesy or over the top, it feels real. When the challenges and the journal to get the item for the gowns was my favorite part of this book. I liked how everything unfolded. Everything does seem linked together. The magic was something that I thought was going to be stronger and maybe even overpower the story. At times there are some books that are too heavy magic but this one has a great balance.
-Most of the time lead characters aren't my favorite but I think for this book Maia may be my favorite or at less tied with Edan. Edan is a person she meets while in this competition, Edan help by giving her important clues, heals her broken hands and I enjoyed watching their relationship grow. I also like how respectful he is of her. I also like her parents as characters, they felt well balanced.
-Okay, I have to say I am not a person that is into fashion at all but I love, love Elizabeth Lim writing styles. I felt I learned a lot about tailor (a topic I know very little about) and the description of styles, fabrics, and gowns just blow me away. That cliffhanger of an ending, wow! So the only problem I found was that there were a few parts that felt slower than other parts and there were a few angsty romance scenes that I felt weren't needed.
-If you looking for a fantasy adventure with a fairy tale tone this is a read for you!

Beautifully written with characters you care about. I didn't think this would really be my type of story, but you are drawn into the world and the journey and I can't wait to read book 2.

Spin the Dawn is an enjoyable fantasy with fairytale qualities and a compelling storyline. The dynamic between Edan and Maia was sweet, with fun and witty banter. The romance is charmingly honest, with some enticing forbidden love aspects.

One thing that threw me off is that this book very much felt like two smashed into one. The first half of the book is very focused on Maia masquerading as a boy to win a spot as the Emperor's Imperial tailor. It was fast-paced and primarily focused on the competition, with all the treachery and cattiness you might expect (this is definitely where the Project Runway comp comes into play). However, the second half of this book is much slower paced and primarily journey/quest focused. I actually love stories with characters travelling, but I felt as though the pacing shift was a detriment to this story and somewhat jarring after getting used to the pacing of the first half.

That said, I loved unraveling the mysteries in this book and all of its magical qualities. The writing style carries you right along with the characters and weaves a tale rich in mythology and imagination. I'm looking forward to exploring this world more and learning more about the side characters in the sequel!

Spectacularly creative world building and a compelling main character. The prose kept me engaged throughout.

Genderbending fantasy is always a win and Lim adds themes of art and family & a decent romance to the mix. The worldbuilding is solid and entwined with a unique mythology; the magic system for enchanters a bit simple but functional.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the cover! and the story did not disappoint!! I particularly like how the author uses a lot of Asian influence here, adding flavor to a story that’s already pretty well written.

I read this book last year and I forgot to write I thought of it, here I go: I enjoy! The characters are likeable and Lim"s words made them feel real to me.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book, and it wasn’t at all what I was expecting! The synopsis is a tad bit misleading, because it really only covers the first maybe, 40% of the book and then things really take a turn. I’ve seen a few people mention that they didn’t like the shift in the story but for me I really enjoyed it. It definitely is a fantasy romance, ESPECIALLY the second half where it becomes a main focus so if that isn’t something that you’re looking for, then maybe this wouldn’t be for you.

I have to say, I was a little bit apprehensive going into this because of the project runway comparison because I wasn’t sure if I would like that aspect of it, but I’m happy to say that I really liked the way the competition was incorporated into the story.

I really enjoyed the characters of Maia and Edan, especially as we learn more about each of them. The side characters didn’t really feel like they had much personality though, they felt pretty bland. I will also say that I was a little surprised by the romance, but mainly because I had expected Maia to have a completely different love interest based on the description! I thought she was going to fall in love with the Emperor! Maia was very strong willed and would clearly do anything for those that she loves, often putting them before herself. And Edan started off as this mysterious, unlikable guy and ended up opening up and I really loved his character!

As for the setting, I didn’t feel like I was all that immersed in the world and I was a little confused as to the history of the war and locations. I wasn’t able to get a very good picture of what the world looked like, I just know there was a desert, a mountain, some islands in a lake, and then the palace which I imagined like an ancient Chinese palace (since this is a Chinese inspired fantasy). I would’ve liked just a little more description on these places, but where the descriptions really shone was when it came to the dresses! I could easily picture what each of them looked like, and it was very well done.

The ending was also quite unexpected, and I’m curious to see where everything goes in the final book, because honestly I have no clue. I also hope we get more background on the world and some of the characters, because it felt a little lacking in this one.

All in all, it was a highly enjoyable read and I’m excited to get to the next book soon!

Damn i thought this would be an interesting story. It started really interessting but then it became a typical YA-Fantasynovel. This love story is too much. Without that core, the book would be better.

Spin the Dawn's a fantastic debut novel, though admittedly one that wasn't totally perfect for the sort of reader I am. I waffled between a 3 and a 4 on this, because I do think it's quite well done, but I think my personal enjoyment was a bit lower since it's less bantery and romancey than would be my personal preference. If you're really into fairy tale vibes, though, I would absolutely recommend Spin the Dawn.

The first part of the novel clicked for me, largely because I loved the plot. The pacing's on the slow side, but the setup's so great I didn't mind. The first part of the book reads like Mulan meets Project Runway, as Maia sets out to serve the emperor as a master tailor in place of her father who cannot go only to discover she's actually competing for the job in a competition straight out of reality TV. Part I was my favorite part of the book.

In Part II, things change. Now, it's more of a traditional fairy tale setup, as Maia and Edan set out to perform a series of nigh impossible tasks to gather the things Maia needs to sew gowns of legend for her final challenge. Plot-wise, this section really dragged the book down, and my engagement flagged here. Maia and Edan go from place to place like in a video game, without surprises. They go somewhere, Edan tells her what to do, she struggles but does it, and then they go to the next place. It's tedious and unexciting. There's an attempt made to do the emotional journey while this is going on, which would have worked if I cared about the romance between Maia and Edan, but sadly I don't. There's no spark between them, probably because they don't banter and I don't really know anything about either of them but that she's awesome at tailoring and he's awesome at magic. What are their other interests? Do they have senses of humor? I really couldn't tell you. Characters like this very much fit stylistically in fairy tales, but my preference is always going to be for a dynamic, exciting character. That said, I did appreciate the Ladyhawke vibes.

Part III picks up the pace and ends the book on a high note. I'm curious about where the story will go from this point, so I do plan to read the next book.

I started reading this one but didn't hold my interest. I though the concept was good but I wish I could have connected with the characters more.

Preface: I have a thing for pretty dresses, and the making of pretty dresses..
So, This means that this book was perfectly up my alley, I mean, Mulan + Project runway? I couldn't be more delighted Not to mention, the cover art is absolutely gorgeous.. They say dont judge a book by its cover, but the cover had me sold
I absolutely adored Maia's character.. Her loyalty, the fact that she's an artist, her relationship with other characters... It was wonderful. Besides her, i was absolutely breathtaken by the world and the way different cultures blended together to create it. It was so vivid and real. Elizabeth Lim did a beautiful job with her writing.

To me, this book suffered because it tried to do too much at once. If it had been all about a sewing competition, with Maia learning how to stand on her own, or even the quest to find the 3 things the empress to be wants, it would've felt more solid.
Maia was not enjoyable to read from, or about, and I think we were forced to see her as the ingenue, and if it was done well, it would've made sense for the rest of the novel. She's supposed to be selfless, but all I saw was her selfishness the whole time.