Wow what a ride!

This book was really fun, and there's so much I loved about it.

First of all, I have to rave about the world building. I loved everything about it - deeply woven culture meets beautifully artistic magic. Really cool folklore and mythology. I'm DYING to see some fan art! Honestly, this alone made the book worthy of five stars. I never wanted to leave the world. And the story - pitched as Mulan meets Project Runway - totally fits. The first bit gave me definite Mulan vibes! But then the story takes on a TOTALLY new direction. In fact, I'd say it changes directions several times, and I definitely wasn't complaining (more below).

We start with Maia, who in order to save her sick father and provide for her family, takes her father's place by dressing like a boy to meet the Emperor's summons. At the palace, there's a competition to be come the Emperor's tailor - but the tailor must impress his fiancé first. But as the plot progresses, it becomes so much more. One thing after another, and all the sudden, Maia is thrust on a journey to craft three impossible dresses - one made of the sun, another of the moon, and lastly, one made from the blood of stars. (And don't worry - she isn't going on the journey alone. Wink wink.)

I did like the characters. Maia has the biggest heart - and she's tough! I especially loved Edan though. Some of you saw my status update - in the beginning, he totally felt like a baby Darkling! He's the Emperor's Enchanter, and has a soft spot for Maia. But as you learn more about him, he becomes more and more unique. I loved trying to figure out his mysteries! The only issue I had was trying to follow some of the character's motivations at times, but I'll admit I was pretty under-the-weather while reading this, so it might have just been me being a bit delusional.

I will say this book reads a bit younger - perfect for teens (which is the intended audience). So much of YA these days feels way older, but this one felt very appropriate for the audience. It reads very clean (meaning it's easy to follow) and the main character actually acts like a teenager (and I don't mean that in a bad way at all)! Honestly, this book was a breath of fresh air.

I received this book through NetGalley.

<i>Spin the Dawn</i> 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.

Things I Enjoyed:

It gave a similar vibe of some Chinese historical dramas, and that made me over the sun, moon, and stars happy. ;-)

Well hello, Edan. *sighs dreamily* This hero! Who doesn't like a snarky sorcerer in a black cape? Seriously, he was just GAH!-MAZING. Yes, Maia is a great character! But Edan? So much adoration for this dude.

Loved the competition for who will be the next imperial tailor. I was quite invested in finding out what was going to happen. Totally felt like I was watching a reality show... 😜 Also appreciated how it was a competition where the characters portrayed something other than battle skills. Two thumbs wayyy up.

On the note of battle skills, can I just praise this book for not being about a heroine who is good with pointy, stab-all-you-can weapons? Maia is shown strong without killing, and it was a glorious thing to see.

The author is excellent at keeping the story's pace smooth as silk, so she didn't waste time with filler scene after filler scene. *happy zither tune plays* An excellent example from which other authors should learn.

Dislikes?

Just some "Ugh, whyyy the TMI?" scenes. A couple of romance scenes went further than I preferred to read. 

But overall this "Spin the Dawn" by Elizabeth Lim was an impressive and sensational retelling of Mulan. I'm glad that I got to read it, and I will certainly be on the lookout for the author's future books. I give it a rating of four and a half.

(P.S. Take a moment to admire the beauty of the cover!!!)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a digital copy of this book. I was first interested in this book because of the cover. It is stunning. I stayed for the story. The story is a similar feel to other YA but with some great twists I didn’t expect. I will definitely be purchasing this book for the library.

I received this from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. The world building was done very well. I loved the characters. I do feel it is very character driven so I like that. I really went into this not remembering the synopsis. I could not remember why I requested it but I am so glad I did not reread the synopsis. I love going into the book not knowing what it is about. To me, it helps me to get to the know the plot and characters better. I don't judge before going in.

I do highly recommend this book.

Spin the Dawn was a fun and fast-paced YA fantasy that I absolutely adored! It has elements of Mulan and Aladdin, but all used in unique ways. Maia and Edan are really great characters and their slow build relationship throughout the story felt natural.

DNF at 74%

I had such high hopes for this book, especially after seeing so many rave reviews. Unfortunately, it just didn't hold up.

I'll keep this short and sweet--there's two reasons I decided to DNF Spin the Dawn:

1. There was no conflict to keep the plot moving. Oh, sure, the main character got herself into sticky situations, but EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. she was magically rescued through one means or another (especially towards the second half of the book). No consequences--everything turned out just dandy no matter what she came up against. That made it rather hard to care about what happened next, as I all I could think was "Oh. Another roadblock in the plot. But she'll get out of this one somehow, just like she did last time, no problem."

2. I probably would've kept reading it and finished it out if it hadn't been for the second issue. Now, on Amazon.com this book is rated for ages 12 and up. That definitely puts it at the lower end of the YA spectrum, almost bordering on MG. And the writing style suits that--the lack of extreme peril for the character, and the way it's written make it seem much closer to MG than to YA. However, one problem remains with classifying it as MG: there's a sex scene on page. I'm not kidding. Sex scenes DO NOT belong in YA, much less MG, and the fact that one is included the story was the final blow to any desire I had to finish it.

All in all, I'm incredibly disappointed in this one. This could've been an amazing book, but content and storytelling issues prevented that.

Received this from NetGalley to make an honest review about it. I liked this little Mulan meets Project Runway story. I liked that Maia was a girl & that she went against the norm & wanted to be a imperial tailor. I didn’t see that falling in love with the enchanter parter I thought she would HATE him. I loved the growing of Kaden & him giving up everything for save & give Maia a happy life. I’m just wondering about the end what will happen?!

I’m not usually a cover girl, but this one sucked me in. then the Asian culture added in had me wanting to read this more than ever. In the end, I wasn’t disappointed, mostly.

I felt like the major problem with this novel was that it was two books (or more) in one. There was the fashion competition in the beginning and the journey/quest and romance for the second half. Both had their merits and their faults, but both were interesting. They just didn’t seem to go together. The beginning was very choppy, quick paced, and full of made for TV dialogue and backstabbing drama. The journey was more subdued. It dragged at parts, but was very flowing and ethereal. This makes it somewhat hard to recommend as these are drastically different styles.

The characters of Maia and Edan were quite well done. I did love Maia’s perspective and joined in her struggles and triumphs. Edan was mysterious, yet his secret was pretty obvious early on. They were fleshed out pretty well and, as their story grew, I rooted for them completely. Other characters, especially at the beginning, were very fleeting and didn’t have much to them. Most were lost in the mix.

The writing style was beautiful. Descriptions were usually quite detailed with colors, textures, and all sorts of fashion jargon that I mostly got. Lim’s settings were lovely and her dresses were gorgeous. At times it was a little much to hear about the dresses, again, but it did make for a lush tale and beautiful imagery.

The thought of more to come is both exciting and daunting. I did fall in love with Maia and Edan’s love story and would like to see what is in store for them next. On the other hand, I was exhausted at the end of this, but that may have been from the whirlwind in the beginning. I would have liked this as two different books, but I would not have read book two from book one. In other words, I loved the journey and romance, so much more than the fashion show. I will look for future installments, but cautiously, and hope they follow through like the second half of the novel.

***Spoiler Alert***

Lim does a wonderful job of world building. She creates a world that I can visually see through the eyes of the character, Maia. I can feel and sense how Maia goes about becoming a master tailor. The story reminded me of Mulan, because Maia disguises herself as a boy to protect her families honor. She masquerades as her brother since her father can no longer sew. The emperor calls in 12 master tailors to provide clothing for his new bride and become the imperial tailor. Maia wants to prove that she can be a master tailor and wants to take care of her family. Lim shows how hard it is for a woman to become anything besides a wife. Maia comes off as a strong willed character that will fight for what she believes in and do anything for the people she loves. There are times where things seem quite obvious to the reader, but Lim finds a way to surprise me on things that I didn't see coming; which left me wanting to read more. Maia does have her drawbacks of constantly having doubts, but finds a way to achieve her goals. I thought it was an interesting take on making the scissors embedded with magic that Maia receives from her baba (father) as an heirloom from her grandmother. Scissors aren't the type of thing that authors use to make magical from what I've read and this is something that sets Lim apart from other authors.

There are three charcters that I don't particularly like. The first character that I don't particularly care for is the Lord Enchanter for the emperor. He goes by the name Edan and he gives off a sly persona. It seems like he wants to help Maia, like he knows what's going to happen at the end of the trial. He gives off this mysterious aura that the reader doesn't know what side he's really on. the other character I don't like is Lord Lorsa. He obviously sticks to the old traditions that women can't be tailors. It was obvious he didn't think Maia was capable of sewing Lady Tainak's gown by the way he looked down upon her. It's quite easy as a reader to dislike him from his first introduction. Then there's Calu who wants to marry Maia. He's the baker's son and he constantly asks her to marry him every time he sees her. The boy clearly can't take a hint and even goes so far as to insult her when she clearly tells him no. That isn't the way to woo a girl into marriage and he certainly has some anger issues.

i love love this book. Maia was inspirational as a girl who overcame sorrow and her own disability. She broke so many standards in her time and goes on a journey to find unimaginable ingredients to gowns for her to create. I sat down and read this book within an evening and was very much a part of their world. I can't wait to read the second book if Elizabeth Lim writes one.

I absolutely loved this book! It sucked me in from the start and didnt let go until I was finished. I cant wait to continue reading about Maia's journey in the next book!

4/5 stars

I need the next book NOW! Please tell me there's more!? I can't just have it end there!

My precious Maia... May Amanna bring you happiness! Ahhhh I loved this!

Also, can we just talk about how the synopsis is literally Mulan meets Project Runway? Because I love both of those and this is seriously it chief. The combonation I never knew I needed.

So anyways, Maia is the youngest in the family, who happens to be the best tailor. Unfortunately, in her land women are not allowed to become tailors. After the passing of her mother and her older brothers being sent to fight in the war, she must tailor in secret to keep food on the table. One day, the emperor sends to seek out a male member of her family to be a potential royal tailor, a dream of Maia's since she was a child. With her father ill and her last survivng elder brother unable to walk, she must disguise herself as a man in order to save what little she has left.

This was such a great book, and I seriously recommend it. There aren't enough Asian Fantasies out there, but this one has been on my radar for months now. After reading this, I seriously just fell in love with Maia, her love for her family, and her strength. She goes through a lot of pain in order to try and save her family, and she honestly deserves all my love and affection. I just want her to be happy ok!?

But yeah seriously. Book 2 please. I'm begging.

Thank you to the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I do not think the tag of "Project Runway meets Mulan" is fitting or gives this story justice at all. Neither is really true, and both kind of diminish the story here. The only ties to this are that Maia poses as a son to save her father and that there is a sewing competition. The Mulan tie is much closer, but that's it.

Maia's father is one of the best tailors in the land, but pretty much gives up on life when his wife dies, and then his sons in the war. Maia steps up and takes over for him, but women are not allowed to be tailors, so she has to pretend that her work is her father's. When a messenger from the Emperor comes and tells them that the Emperor's tailor has died and her father is required to go to the castle for the competition to replace him, Maia takes his place. There she takes on the identity of one of her brothers and acts in her father's place.

The competition is full of backstabbing and magic, but Maia is determined to win.

Elizabeth Lim's SPIN THE DAWN is a lush, exciting fantasy debut, perfectly straddling the line between fresh originality and a classic feel. Each of the novel's three distinct acts is rich and compelling, filled with pitch-perfect details about Maia's skill with tailoring and just the right amount of needle-sharp romantic banter. This is the perfect read for fans of Shannon Hale, Roshani Chokshi, or Renee Adieh!

I, uh, really did not like this book. At all.

I found the plot to be very cliché -- don't get me started on the competition -- and I did not like a single character. The romance was forced and awkward and, again, cliché. The writing was nothing special.

I also had a really hard time visualizing the setting, like I could describe parts of the palace to you, and about a hundred different things that Maia sewed, but the culture and Chinese aspects were so far from focus that I actually had to look up where the world was inspired by because I was so confused.

I enjoyed the first half of the book more than the first, but then the long journey was more boring than Alina's oft-complained-of journey in Shadow and Bone. I didn't feel that Maia was even that important to the story--the person journeying with her did most the hard work and made all the decisions and had all the knowledge on how to complete the task. I just...was so bored. And there was basically nothing redeeming about it.

This book is full of vibrantly beautiful writing, Chinese-based mythology, and a strong, hard-working protagonist.

Things I liked:
⭐️The writing itself is so beautiful and vivid, it made the world so clear to me while reading.
⭐️I loved seeing Maia’s relationships with her family and home.
⭐️ As a lover of mythology, I was not at all disappointed by myths told in this story.
⭐️It’s so refreshing to see a YA fantasy protagonist who’s good at something besides fighting, and is instead good at something that is classically feminine (in our world, in Maia’s it’s definitely not!)
⭐️The court intrigue, I only wish there was more of it.
⭐️The cover is absolutely stunning!

Things I didn’t like:
▪️The journey portion wasn’t my favorite, I liked the quests themselves , but the rest fell a bit flat. I think I would have like it better if more characters had been included.
▪️The plot is a bit formulaic at times, it would’ve been nice if the plots could’ve flowed together a bit better.
▪️The romance isn’t done in a way that I loved, it’s a bit rushed and over the top.

Overall a good debut, but there were a few issues here and there for me. Great for fans of Howl’s Moving Castle.

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this book but I knew it was good as soon as I got hooked literally 10 pages in. I've read many Mulan-like retellings which took FOREVER to get to the actually interesting parts, but this book jumps right into the exciting storyline and the plot only quickens. I think that describing this as "project runway meets Mulan" is a serious underselling and I want to have a little chat with whoever came up with that. I see why they'd say project runway because she IS a tailor but... are we really comparing this amazing fantasy and plot to a show that shows people making dresses out of gum wrappers? Anyways. This book actually focused on two tropes usually written separately: the royal competition and long, exciting adventure. They weirdly work well together and while I wish we'd spent more time during the competition I enjoyed the adventure parts a lot as well.

I thought the main character, Maia, was clever, determined, witty and honestly so entertaining to read from. She felt very genuine and it was kind of refreshing to see a badass female character that isn't entirely mean and murder-y. Sometimes it was a bit frustrating to see her not notice little details or avoid confrontation to further the plot but I'll let it slide. And ugh, I thought the romance was so cute. I was mad enough about the ending that I wanted to reduce my rating by half a star because while it left me very intrigued to read the next book it also made me think: "How could this work out the way I so desperately want it to?" The worst question ever.

The writing was honestly gorgeous and so easy to sink into. This book is 400 pages long and I read it in like 2 days because it was so easy to get lost in. It's been a while since I've been dying to sit down and read a specific book and nothing else but this book made me feel that again. The plot was very well done because it managed to balance two pretty big tropes and not feel too choppy and unnatural. Everything started super fast-paced and exciting and I felt that way almost all the way through the book except for a few parts where things slowed down a bit, unfortunately. Overall, I'd TOTALLY recommend this book to anyone especially because it surprised me so much. Honestly, it's just so good and exciting to read, PICK IT UP!!!

Project Runway is nothing something I had ever heard associated with a YA fantasy book before so of course I had to check it out. There was so much good about this book. From the setting's Asian inspiration which is something much needed in YA to the love story that for once didn't revolve around the girl being treated badly and manipulated by the man. In this one they were equals. Maia the main character is talented, brave, intelligent, and wonderfully flawed.

While I did enjoy the book, as it was a quick light read it was unfortunately a little young for me. There were moments where the main characters choices grated at me merely because of the differences in our maturity levels. But over all I'd recommend this story.

Thank you to Random House Children's and NetGalley for a digital ARC copy of this book!

WOW. This book was given 5 stars and deserves it 100%. I could tell from the first chapter that I was in for something unique and I was not disappointed. Maia is a strong character that readers will love and relate to. Edan is also captivating. Both of these characters are complex and compelling and certainly add to the perfectness of the book. The details about EVERYTHING in this book are absolutely wonderful. I felt like I was in the book itself watching the story as it went along. I loved the folklore tale of Amana's dresses and I felt like this tale brought magic to the book. I also very much enjoyed the adventure part of the story, although I wish it had lasted longer. The romance was also a nice touch. It wasn't an annoying romance like you might find in some young adult books but was subtle and added to the story. Edan also represents how someone should treat their lover and I appreciated that. I honestly can't come up with any flaws in this book! It captivated me from page one and left me amazed at the end. I cannot wait to see what the next book brings!