Reviews with content warning for Death - Spin the Dawn

“I want you to know that some journeys have ends, but not this one. This one will change you. Irrevocably." "Don't all journeys change you?" "It isn't the same." He leaned forward. "I, too, once journeyed beyond the stars." "What did you find?" His voice turned lethally soft. "That it's just the beginning.”

➽ This was the oldest unread book on my Kindle and I finally checked it out! I enjoyed Six Crimson Cranes by this author (the sequel ... not so much), so I was interested to see how I liked her debut novel. Spin the Dawn follows Maia Tamarin who is a talented tailor with a struggling family. Competing to become the royal tailor would help them out, but Maia has to dress up as a boy in order to be allowed into the competition. I don't usually like crossdressing storylines, but here it didn't bother me that much. I liked the focus on the craft of tailoring and what it meant to to Maia. As a woman, she's expected to marry and not open up her own shop, no matter how good she is. Disguised as her brother, she's trying to stand out against more experienced, wealthy tailors. The premise was interesting and I liked the challenges Maia had to overcome and the incorporation of magic in her craft. She's got a pair of magic scissors she doesn't want to use, as magic is still viewed with suspicion.

➽ I enjoyed the first half of the story the most, as it focused on the competition to become the royal tailor. It was suspenseful, as many competitors resort to sabotage and taunts in order to take down others. Maia doesn't have it easy and she constantly fears being exposed for her fake identity. To her ire, she also catches the attention of the Emperor's personal enchanter, Edan, who seems to see right through her. It was interesting to see the consequences of his powerful magic and how it kept him under contract to the palace. Since the story is set after a long war, there are also tensions among the people. Lady Sarnai is forced to marry the Emperor in order to secure peace between their nations and I wish we'd seen more of her, as she was an intriguing character!

➽ Unfortunately, the second half wasn't as engaging and didn't inspire me to keep reading. I would have loved this story more a couple of years back, but now I'm increasingly critical of YA Fantasy books. Spin the Dawn had a good premise and an interesting world, but I wish it had discussed the sexism and gender stereotypes that Maia faces more. It was more present in the beginning, but I would have loved for her to confront societal expectations and connect to how other women are similarly trapped like her. In the beginning, it almost felt like the story highlighted how unlike other women Maia looked/acted as the only girl in a household of boys. It gave off major 'not like other girls vibe' and while I'm glad those disappeared, the story could have focused on Maia's relationship with other women. In general, the story lost steam in the second half of the book, as it turned into a travel/quest story and I often find those boring. The focus also shifted to the romance and while it was cute, it didn't really stand out to me. I haven't heard good things about the sequel from people who loved the first book, so I think I'll just treat this as a standalone! I'm not invested enough to continue the story.

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lags2much's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I really like the story but the pace is painfully slow. I wish the story were told in half the time. I’m very curious to learn how everything resolves but I’m kind of dreading the time commitment to get through the second book.

Content Warnings