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a_picky_reader's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
One of the best romances I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. Romance aside, Elizabeth Lim’s writing never fails to move me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Grief, and War
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual content
shadow_cat94's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
The first section - out of 3 - is a type of sewing contest that she enters to fulfill her lifelong dream. There are hints that there is more information in this world than we and Maia are given. Periodicall y there are writing mistakes such as movements not lining up with the previous action making it feel like the author forgot what they had just written previously, but it was easy to forget after that section of the scene has passed.
After she is given her quest to complete the 3 dresses of the goddess (the primary plot of this story) which kicks off section 2. This is where the major problems started popping up for me: the magic system is not ever very well defined other than us knowing that Maia's and Edan's are from different sources and there are different magical beings. Edan has magic limitations, but we don't know much about enchanters, his power limitation (caps) or magic in general in this world. When something magic related happens it feels like it is constantly asking me to be in a sense of suspended-belief because I know practically nothing and when Edan or Maia "wins" ir feels like a no-brainer because I don't know what they CAN'T do.
Section 3 is fairly short in comparison to the others and it wraps up the dress plot while continuing the magic plot for the next book. Maybe my concern about the magic worlbuilding will be addressed in the second book, but I'm not invested enough to read the second book. I enjoyed Edan's character and his flaws/character arc, but Maia didn't feel like she grew much. Her biggest flaw was that she was lost in grief over her dead family members, but in the end found happiness in love while still seeing her remaining family happy without magic? That doesn't sound like much to me nor did it address the grief as it was taken from her without choice. She didn't feel compelling compared to someone enslaved fighting against their master to help an almost stranger to survive then continuing a life of enslavement for life to save someone they love (something that was originally impossible/improbable).
After she is given her quest to complete the 3 dresses of the goddess (the primary plot of this story) which kicks off section 2. This is where the major problems started popping up for me: the magic system is not ever very well defined other than us knowing that Maia's and Edan's are from different sources and there are different magical beings. Edan has magic limitations, but we don't know much about enchanters, his power limitation (caps) or magic in general in this world. When something magic related happens it feels like it is constantly asking me to be in a sense of suspended-belief because I know practically nothing and when Edan or Maia "wins" ir feels like a no-brainer because I don't know what they CAN'T do.
Section 3 is fairly short in comparison to the others and it wraps up the dress plot while continuing the magic plot for the next book. Maybe my concern about the magic worlbuilding will be addressed in the second book, but I'm not invested enough to read the second book. I enjoyed Edan's character and his flaws/character arc, but Maia didn't feel like she grew much. Her biggest flaw was that she was lost in grief over her dead family members, but in the end found happiness in love while still seeing her remaining family happy without magic? That doesn't sound like much to me nor did it address the grief as it was taken from her without choice. She didn't feel compelling compared to someone enslaved fighting against their master to help an almost stranger to survive then continuing a life of enslavement for life to save someone they love (something that was originally impossible/improbable).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Slavery, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Classism
Minor: Death, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
kaneebli's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, and War
estock36's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Sexism, and War
Minor: Death and Death of parent
bookcheshirecat's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
“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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Sexism, Violence, Blood, and Grief
vivelarevolution's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.0
I loved this book when I was younger and I wanted to love it now. I mean, come on, magic and sewing and spinning and knitting! What could be more up my alley?
Unfortunately I found the ableism to be absolutely intolerable and the love interest to be frustratingly sexist. I hated how the main character pushed her disabled brother into taking "one step every day" while she was off on her adventure as if that isn't an incredibly fucked up thing to encourage a disabled person to do, and I hated that she (poorly) faked his disability in order to pretend to be him. I stopped reading when she got drunk and strange men goaded her love interest (who she was not in a relationship with yet) into kissing her and she kissed him on the cheek to attempt to satisfy this request without making herself uncomfortable and then he kissed her anyway. Like, what the hell? Also, I assume that her love interest is also a teenager, but there were some weird references to him maybe being immortal that made me wonder. I can't remember my first reading well enough to say for certain whether or not this relationship was straight up pedophilic.
Also, this is one of my more minor gripes, but why have the main character come out as a gay man while going out of your way to establish that her love interest knew her gender the entire time and therefore nothing about that relationship is actually queer? It's not funny or cute, it's just weird.
Also, introducing a whole (fake, but still) ethnic group as "barbarians" and then having the main character meet some and learn "they're not all barbarians"? That's sick.
Unfortunately I found the ableism to be absolutely intolerable and the love interest to be frustratingly sexist. I hated how the main character pushed her disabled brother into taking "one step every day" while she was off on her adventure as if that isn't an incredibly fucked up thing to encourage a disabled person to do, and I hated that she (poorly) faked his disability in order to pretend to be him. I stopped reading when she got drunk and strange men goaded her love interest (who she was not in a relationship with yet) into kissing her and she kissed him on the cheek to attempt to satisfy this request without making herself uncomfortable and then he kissed her anyway. Like, what the hell? Also, I assume that her love interest is also a teenager, but there were some weird references to him maybe being immortal that made me wonder. I can't remember my first reading well enough to say for certain whether or not this relationship was straight up pedophilic.
Also, this is one of my more minor gripes, but why have the main character come out as a gay man while going out of your way to establish that her love interest knew her gender the entire time and therefore nothing about that relationship is actually queer? It's not funny or cute, it's just weird.
Also, introducing a whole (fake, but still) ethnic group as "barbarians" and then having the main character meet some and learn "they're not all barbarians"? That's sick.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Death of parent, and Classism
Minor: War
lags2much's review against another edition
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
Graphic: Sexism and Violence
Moderate: Death, Grief, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Slavery and Torture
kemikemi's review against another edition
i knew from other people’s reviews going in that the competition was only the first half of the book and that the second half was a quest, but yeah they lost me during the quest…majority of page-time turns into development for the loveline rather than more sewing/designing/tailoring content, and i cannot get myself to buy into this romance because i hate the “hundreds year old man and teen girl” trope i keep yelling at him and calling him ‘gramps’ in my head. it would be different if he was straight up not human at all, but hes just a man who took an oath for his magic and for reasons the magic just makes him stay looking 20 for 1000yrs while he serves out his oath. this man is old as shit.
so yeah, i cant bring myself to listen to 4 more hours of this just to finish it im sorry; the premise was so captivating but the way it ended up going just isnt for me. cover art is gorgeous though
so yeah, i cant bring myself to listen to 4 more hours of this just to finish it im sorry; the premise was so captivating but the way it ended up going just isnt for me. cover art is gorgeous though
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Classism
Moderate: Bullying
shannonvonpesach's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Sexual content and Sexual harassment
chrisljm's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I didn’t dislike the romance but I did wish it was more of a slowburn.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Abandonment