Book Title: Spin the Dawn (Blood of Stars #1)
Author: Elizabeth Lim
Purchase: Amazon
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Description from Goodreads:

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.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars 

I really wanted to love this book. There were many facets I did enjoy, but overall, it just wasn’t my fave and I found it difficult to push myself through the last few chapters. That being said, I’d be open to checking out the sequel, as I really appreciated the slow burn of the relationship between Maia and Edan, and for the most part, the plot was delightfully unpredictable. If you enjoyed Sorcery of Thorns (you can read my review here), I think you’ll like Spin the Dawn. Both evoke the nostalgia of Disney princess adventures, with Spin the Dawn sharing themes from Mulan and Aladdin.

Elizabeth Lim sets the scene of Spin the Dawn with a short family history. Maia Tamarin has two older brothers and one younger, and she lives at home with her mother and Master Tailor father. Eventually, Maia’s two eldest brothers are conscripted into war. Unfortunately, the war isn’t kind to Maia’s family — she loses both her brothers and the third ends up joining the army as well. Maia’s mother can’t cope, leading to her eventual passing and Maia’s father’s descent into alcoholism. As her father ages, Maia secretly takes over the tailoring and sewing business of his shop, despite the fact that women aren’t allowed to work in this world.

One day, a royal messenger arrives at the shop to summon Maia’s father to court for a potential appointment to Imperial Tailor. Maia attempts to go in his place, but the messenger dismisses her for being a woman. So she decides to disguise herself as her youngest brother, Keton, and go in her father’s stead. When she arrives at the palace, she finds the job isn’t necessarily her’s — she’ll have to compete against eleven other tailors in a cutthroat Project Runway-esque battle.

The plot of this book is both familiar and new. We’ve seen plenty of books where women disguise themselves to afford the same opportunities as men in their world, like the entire Alanna the Lioness series or, more recently, Crown of Feathers. We’ve seen competitions like this in Throne of Glass, and I already mentioned the parallels with Mulan. As Maia grows closer to the dangerous and powerful Court Enchanter, Edan, the similarities to Aladdin become clear. These familiar themes are all comforting, in a way. They allow you to instantly sink into the world of A’landi, where Lim weaves in her unique take on magic, sweeping us up in fantastical mythology with creative twists and turns. It’s a wild, magical ride.

It’s also a lot packed into one book, to the point where some scenes and arcs felt rushed or forced. The non-stop plot sacrifices the characterization of most characters except Maia and Edan. I did swoon over the budding relationship between these two and, overall, I like where their story goes. Despite the acceleration of the plot, these characters grow at a natural pace. I lived for their witty banter, their belief in one another, and their ability to bring out the best in the other. This relationship is a joy to watch unfold and absolutely the highlight of the novel for me.

About midway through the book, Maia and Edan set out on a quest to complete the final challenge of the Imperial Tailor competition. The quest is my favorite plot point in Spin the Dawn — I love all the one-on-one time between Eden and Maia, particularly as we learn more of Edan’s backstory, and the various locales they travel to. And while painstakingly embroidering complex designs sounds insanely difficult and at times, painful, I really enjoy reading about the process from Maia’s point of view. It’s something I’ve never seen highlighted in a novel and it inspired me to start watching Project Runway.

Once they return to court, the book kind of heads downhill for me. The reveal of Maia’s final dresses is a bit of a letdown — again, I think due to feeling rushed, the payoff for a two-month-long journey just isn’t there. But the conclusion does build to a satisfying cliffhanger, one I’m genuinely curious about. I do think this book has broad appeal and I’m hoping Lim can correct these pacing issues in the sequel, because I’m definitely down to check it out.