I received this wonderful ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an awesome and honest review.

If the movies Mulan and Aladdin had a baby, this book would be it. Also, spoilers might be below. Read at your own risk bitches.

THANK GOODNESS I GREW UP ON DISNEY GUYS! Huge shout out to my parental units for raising me and my much older siblings (I joke.. 4-5 years isn't a big thing right?) on Disney movies. You are the real MVP's.

Spin the Dawn definitely gave me some Disney vibes. Again, it was a Mulan retelling.. but with some Aladdin thrown in. After meeting certain characters and watching them journey throughout this book and their trials, I was surprised when I reached the last page. A bit sad because it was over and I don't have the next book but mostly because I need to know what the hell is going to happen to Maia and Edan.

Maia, basically Mulan, pretends to be her brother. No, she's not going off to war to bring her family honor. Nope, she's going to so a sewing competition.. to ya know, bring her family honor. Of course there's some drama along the way and a hint of a romance. Enter Edan, who is basically the Genie. At some points, I was feeling them and things felt a bit rushed. Especially with the whole "I love you's" coming out of left field - it felt like a hallmark version of these Disney movies.

Besides all of that, I loved the addition of demons, ghosts, and a loveless marriage. I felt bad for the two in question but I can totally see these two acting the way they did (and now I'm not talking about the MC's). Other than all of that, I have so many questions about how things ended and I seriously need the next book. I hope/pray that I will be getting the answers that I want but will totally be okay with whatever I get.

Low-key loved this book.

I read the blurb about this book but got much more out of it than I expected. This is a lovely, enchanting book that is a YA Fantasy and I highly recommend it. I will look for the physical copy as well.

#SpinTheDawn #NetGalley

I loved this book! I will be recommending it to all my young adult readers! Thank you for this opportunity to connect books to their readers.

I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The world building and the character development and the plot and the description of the setting were all so amazingly well done. The author weaves (see what I did there?) an amazing story using evocative and vivid language to describe everything.

The characters were so well written and fleshed out. The book makes you care for the characters and their hopes and dreams. I found myself really rooting for the characters.

The atmosphere that the author has built in the book keeps you on the edge of your seat, eagerly flipping through the pages in anticipation. The plot of the story was suspenseful and intense.

I will be on the lookout for more from this author!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Spin the Dawn is a gorgeous, shimmering as light reflects and refracts, but also scorching itself in your eye as you walk away. Maia's love for her family comes across so strongly, her motivation to honor her family despite all the obstacles. Spin the Dawn is a story about legends, magical gifts, mythical quests, and the power of love to move mountains and inspire dreams. It is a story about grief, vengeance, responsibility, and sacrifice. Throughout Maia asks herself what the purpose of magic is - does it make us dishonorable, in trouble with the gods, question who we are? Spin the Dawn is a story of Maia's discovery, her quest for the impossible, and her attempt to keep a grip on her dreams. Full of magical chemistry, Spin the Dawn is a story about re-thinking our assumptions and figuring out what it is truly important.

Spin the Dawn
(The Blood of Stars #1)
by Elizabeth Lim
Published by Alfred A. Knopf Books
Release date July 9, 2019
Pages: 416

Ya Fantasy

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

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This book was received as an ARC from NetGalley,in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own

This story follows Maia Tamarin, a girl with aspirations to be a tailor, but because she was born female all she can hope for is to make a good match in marriage. However, when her father, a renowned tailor in his own right is summoned by the royal court, Maia decides to pose as a boy to save her father from becoming even more ill on the journey. Aware that the penalty of death is imposed for her actions, she’s determined to overcome the hardships to become the best tailor. Except she’s one of twelve tailors eyeing the coveted position. Despite her skills, she becomes caught up in the schemes of saboteur tailors and is saved by the royal court magician Edan, who has seen through her disguise; his motives unclear. Her final challenge is the most difficult: crafting three dresses for the king’s bride-to-be using the laughter of the sun, the tears of the moon, and the blood of the stars. Her journey will set her on a path that she never imagined,

Maia Tamarin, has aspirations to be a tailor, in world where women are subservient. Born the only girl in a family of three older brothers, with a Father as Tailor. She sacrifices everything to protect her family. In a turn of events she seizes the opportunity for a one in life time chance to become a Court Tailor. Maia decides to pose as a boy and Travel to court In disguise as her brother .while there she must avoid court intrigue and schemes of saboteur tailors .She must face her final challenge crafting three dresses for the king’s bride-to-be using the laughter of the sun, the tears of the moon, and the blood of the stars.

Her journey will set her on a path that she never imagined..


This is one of those books that you just have to read to know what feeling I’m getting at. It sucks you in and keeps you hungry for more until you reach the mind-blowing ending. It’s a unique and unforgettable magical storyline. Masterfully created spellbinding world. I devoured this one as fast as I could and was completely drawn into the lives of these characters.  I turned those pages as fast as I could and then slowly took in this beautifully written page turner.
What I especially liked is Elizabeth Lim imaginative writing style. I feel in love with the overall premise of the novel, and the quick pace it kept me engaged.

I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more books by this author

I wasn't sure what to expect, but I enjoyed reading this. An interesting story with fun characters. Well written.

This book honestly blew me away. So far this is my favorite book of the year. Truthfully I wasn't very excited about this book but I requested it from Netgalley because I kept seeing it and I got curious.
However, Spin The Dawn was a book that I truly couldn't stop thinking about. It is beautifully woven and really draws you in.
It begins with Maia telling the story of her family, which I really enjoyed. It was a brief, but heartbreaking story that really sucked me in to her life and her hopes and dreams. Then her father gets summoned to be a tailor for the Emperor, but he has become old and a bit of a drunk since his wife died, and her brother has no skill as a tailor. As a woman though, she is not allowed to go on her own merits, despite being the only one with skill. So she has to pretend to be her brother to go and fulfill this calling from the emperor.
-- Just to side track for a moment, I will say that I thought the issue of women not being able to do the same things as men, was handled so well in this book. It is a horrible thing to be thought of as less or I imagine, being sold off in a marriage despite being promised otherwise. Just something about how nicely it was acknowledged and continually brought up really resonated with me. --

One of my favorite parts of this book was actually the Tailoring competition at the beginning. Maia, disguised as her brother Kenton, has to survive each challenge to be in the running to serve as the Emperors Tailor and save her family from poverty. The atmosphere in this part of the book, which takes up about the first half, is great. Suspenseful, informative, intense, and charming. You meet Edan, The Lord Enchanter, here. I truly loved his character. It was so interesting to see him develop and form a relationship with Maia.

I could go on and on with this one. The main characters were so well built and fleshed out, and so was the world. If felt big and was very much what I wanted from a book that consisted of so much traveling. The magic was well blended and works really nicely in the world that it is created in.

Definitely put this one on your list to look out for. I know I will be pre ordering it (there are also some great characters cards available for the pre-order campaign) and I hope you will check it out too.
Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this wonderful book.

It has been quite a while since a book kept me up reading way past my bedtime. This was one of those, where the lyrical language describing seemingly endless impossible challenges kept me riveted and obsessed with seeing how Maia would react.
This is a classic fairy tale telling in the sense that a young woman sets out to save her family and achieve her dreams, encounters magic and hardship, and learns much about the world and herself. It is wholly original in its setting and details, though, pulling elements from other tales such as the dresses made of sun, moon, and stars. That was a large feature in one of my favorite fairy tales – the three miraculous dresses – but I somehow never considered the difficulties that would go into making them.
Maia employs one of my favorite tropes of girl-disguised-as-boy to enter the palace and compete to become the emperor’s tailor. She is assisted in the competition by a set of magic scissors. All of Maia’s challenges are of an impossible nature, but she employs magic sparingly, facing each challenge with a determination and strength that makes her fiercely admirable.
I’ve become obsessed with magic-and-sewing narratives since I fell in love with VALIANT by Sarah McGuire, a standalone retelling of The Brave Little Tailor features a girl-disguised-as-boy who must defeat the giants and save the city. Another book I hope to read next featuring magic and sewing is TORN, first book in The Unraveled Kingdom series by Rowenna Miller.
The setting of SPIN THE DAWN is a mythical world with east-Asian features spanning coastal towns, big cities, and expansive deserts, featuring a wide range of diverse characters. This is a beautiful world, though the realities of the ravages of war are addressed repeatedly. Maia has experienced the personal losses that come with war and, like the country, is struggling to recover. Though things are described realistically, the particularly horrifying details omitted make this book suitable for younger teens, though the romance involves some mature content. For a more detailed but brutal depiction of magic and violence, THE POPPY WAR by R. F. Kuang is the first book in a series describing a magic east-Asian war that is highly recommended for mature audiences.
This book is highly recommended for lovers of fairy tale retellings and original tales, east-Asian mythology, female adventurers, and beautiful descriptions of magical worlds. I look forward to the sequel.

Spin the Dawn is beautiful. From the cover to the words to the character and plot, I can only describe it all as beautiful.

I had mixed feelings when it came to this novel. I really enjoyed the world building and I thought the world was well built and had unique elements. I also enjoyed the writing style of the author and I thought it improved the overall novel.
My gripes with this book came with the pacing with how the book was paced well in the beginning, but the end of the book seemed very rushed for me, and I feel like maybe if it had been a bit longer I would have enjoyed it more.
I also felt like the relationship wasn’t bad. It was better than most because I could see the relationship develop, and I could see the personality elements that brought them together, but overall I feel like it played a big part towards the end of the novel, and I wish they focused more on the plot and the protagonist over their relationship.
All in all, I enjoyed the novel, and it was a nice and quick read however I don’t see myself interested enough to finish reading the series.
I received this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book! Mulan is one of my favorite stories because it's about a girl on a personal mission to save her family and country! When I found out that this book was similar I was thrilled to get provided a copy. Loved it!

Practically born with a needle in her hand, Maia Tamarin was born to sew. Trained by her mother and father, she is as good a tailor as any man - for all the good it does for her. In Maia's world, steeped in folklore and tradition, positions of power will never belong to women. When a one-in-a-million chance to travel to the palace to vie for the position of imperial tailor arrives at her doorstep, Maia won't let her woman-ness stand in her way. Dressed as a boy, she leaves her home to prove to the world what she's capable of sewing - but in the end, she'll do so much more than that.

I enjoyed much of this - the East Asian overtones, the girl-as-boy plot, the thread of romance, enough that I really was always happy to read and find out what happened next. My brain caught several plot holes, though, and threads that got lost, things seemed too strangely convenient and sometimes time went by WAY to fast and other times they sat around for actual DAYS but then still ended up where they wanted to be at the exact actual MOMENT they needed to be - stuff like that pulled me out of the narrative a bit. Her teenageryness was annoying sometimes (but hey, accurate!) and I wish I'd known it was the beginning of a series because holy cow is it a cliffhanger ending. There's your warning. It feels like I'm mostly finding it's faults but it was a good story, especially for those who enjoy the creative arts - the magic and the sewing add a really interesting twist to your average fairy tale journey.

I received a copy of this book for review from NetGalley. I have to thank them because this book was phenomenal! This has jumped up to the top of the list of my favorite YA fantasy novels. Spin the Dawn was so unique and that is increasingly difficult in such an abundant genre. Spin the Dawn tells the story of Maia Tamarin. She helps her father in his tailor shop but as he has aged she has taken on most of the work. She is talented but stays behind the scenes for the most part because girls aren't tailors. When the emperor demands that her father or one of his sons comes to the palace to potentially be his personal tailor, Maia knows sending her father will spell disaster. Her brother isn't up to the task and can't sew a buttonhole. So Maia cuts her hair and disguises herself as a boy (I won't ever get tired of this plot device). She doesn't want to ruin her father's reputation and cause him to lose their business. So this starts the our journey. The next portion of the book is a competition where Maia and a few other tailors compete for the honor of being the true tailor. Following some very entertaining and heart pounding moments and the book changes to focus on a journey of sorts as Maia must venture out to find some rare materials for her designs. Add in a touch of magic in the form of a pair of magic scissors and a young Enchanter and we have everything I never knew I needed in an absolutely epic fantasy. The book was written beautifully and the story is perfectly paced. I was sorry to see the book coming to an end because I've truly enjoyed it so much. I am very excited to learn that there will be a sequel in 2020.

Utterly predictable and tropey, but boy did I love it anyway. The only thing I wished was that Maia wasn't so stubborn and immature (although I know she's very young), and that she'd stop referring to Edan as a boy (he's a grown man, dammit!). Otherwise, the writing was well done, the story was compelling with a couple of interesting twists and turns, and I got seriously lost in the love story. I stayed up waaaaaaaaaaaaay too late two nights in a row because I didn't want to stop reading.

Can't wait to read book 2!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing this book for review purposes.

An evocative story set in a fantasy version of China, one girl stands out of the assassins and princesses in the genre. A talented tailor with her gender preventing her from moving forward, Maia is forced to present herself as her bother to compete in a contest for a spot in the palace. Drawing on familiar fairytale roles with twists, the trapped princess who wants more agency, the brave tailor finding her strength, and a lost sorcerer, Elizabeth Lim creates a lush story. This becomes stronger with the use of Maia's quest leading her across various landscapes and dangers, and all beautifully written.

In particular, the story structure is solid and set in three parts: the contest, the quest, and the aftermath. Each one riveting and strong with the chemistry between Maia and Edam growing and leaving readers waiting for the sequel.

This book is a great surprise for those who are tired of assassins and European-inspired worlds.

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

**4.5 stars - review will be posted on my blog, http://pastmidnight.home.blog a month before book publication**

Thank you to Random House Children’s and Netgalley for allowing me to read this e-arc book for an honest review.

I loved it.

And I wasn’t quite sure, even with the synopsis, what I was getting myself into. But the first few sentences let me know right away I was going to be taken on a magical journey and the story held to it’s promise.

The writing reads like a dream. It’s very beautiful and reminds me of a fairy tale – but with a twist. Maia Tamarin’s idyllic life is torn at the seams due to unfortunate life events and to help her family she poses as a boy to compete for the chance to become the imperial tailor for the emperor. It sounds like Mulan, but with fashion involved.

Here’s where things take on a Project Runway spin and yes, I used to love that show! 😬 So did I enjoy that part of the book? Oh yes! The backstabbing, the challenges, the fashion, and wondering who will be eliminated, makes for great drama.

Then there is the impossible challenge which takes Maia and the imperial enchanter, Edan, on a quest. I love how Maia and Edan’s romance builds. She is not impressed by him and he helps her because he is intrigued by her but it stays that way for awhile. Edan is snarky and flirty but she doesn’t put up with it. The relationship grows deeper as they open up to one another during the quest. Yet, after the impossible becomes possible, Maia makes a choice that has consequences for both of them.

I found the characters likable and memorable. Maia is strong, brave, and willful for her age. She loves hard – it’s present in her love for her family and for Edan. I hope in the second book she gets to appreciate her feminine side since throughout Spin the Dawn, she is living in a male dominated world and has to pretend be a boy. Even in her family she was surrounded by men – so I think it would be nice for her to have a female friend who knows she’s female. The only other female in this story who has a big role is Lady Sarnia, who is the emperor’s future wife. She comes off as a villain, but she is someone trapped in a man’s world also, so I hope she gets more of a spotlight in book two because there is more to learn about her.

This story was filled with emotion, magic, love and epic adventure. It was more than I expected and I can’t wait for the next book.

Okay I LOVED this book. It was such an epic adventure. It combined elements I love about classic fairytales I love and gave me something familiar and yet new. I loved every minute, and wow what an ending. We see a lot of character growth from several characters, and the ending leaves you waiting for the next book. Read this book and you won't regret it.

Spin the Dawn has been one of my most anticipated YA novels of 2019, as I was so excited to see a Chinese-inspired fantasy with a stunning cover. Although the book ended up not being what I expected, I still enjoyed it and look forward to the sequel.

The book centers around Maia, an aspiring, a talented young girl who aspires to be a great tailor. The descriptions of her work, the embroidery and painting, were so lovely and vivid. I loved how driven and hardworking she was. The book is divided into three parts; the first part, the competition, was my favorite. I loved the suspense of seeing what the next challenge would be, what Maia and the other tailors would create, and what Lady Sarnai would decide. The glimpses of court intrigue were fascinating and I definitely felt pulled into this world that Lim creates.

However, the rest of the book, is pretty much just Maia and her love interest, Edan, on a quest. This is a fairly lengthy quest (as it should be, since it had to be difficult and dangerous) and it felt disconnected from the story that had come before. While I enjoyed the mythology weaved into the three parts of the quest, I had so many questions about the history and current state of the kingdom, and there were moments of revelation that felt less impactful than they should have. I'm also still wondering about Lady Sarnai, who I found to be the most intriguing side character.

Overall, Maia was a strong, realistic character, and I'm excited to see where the sequel takes her story. I would especially recommend this book for teens.

The story is engaging and the characters are so rich. I love the fairytale like quality of the writing. Some of the issues I had are typical regarding girl-disguised-as-boy work: namely, how it can come across as possibly insensitive to trans readers. Aside from that, very great story.