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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
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
iwinatcookie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Sexual content, Blood, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail
katben2232's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood, Vomit, and Sexual harassment
lila_heart's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
fast-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? Yes
5.0
Absolutely beautiful
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Blood
aseel_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I enjoyed most of the book, until we got a bit of an insta love moment and then from there, it became a bit too eye roll dramatic for my taste. It was a good retelling of Mulan and I liked the unique elements it brought but yeah, the romantic relationship became very cringe
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
madravingintrovert's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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? Yes
5.0
January is ending with a bang!! Here we have the SECOND 5-flapper girls approved book of the year. This is a young adult book and a pretty clean one at that. There is technically a fade-2-black scene but it is so subtle and tastefully done that you almost don't realize that is what is happening. Spin the Dawn has heavy influences in Eastern world lore, India, Middle East, China, Japan and more. This book had me reading into the late hours of the night and falling asleep reading again. It has been a few months since a book gripped me that strongly. There is mostly adventure with a slow burn love story woven through out. I can't say enough good things about this book. I have a stack that are checked out from the library and due soon and an advanced copy book that I am supposed to read soon and all that is going STRAIGHT out the window in favor of the sequel to this book because I HAVE to know what happens next.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
saoreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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? Yes
5.0
It's so majestic, the way the story's been woven (no pun intended considering that the novel's about a tailor). The world-building was grandiose, with the fast-paced movement of events leading from the palace to the three-month adventure on the outskirts. I loved that the romance bloomed even more with the climax. It reminded me of that part of the book, "Dance of the Thieves," when the characters strengthened their flourishing love throughout the journey. It was notable for sure that when it came to the heroine's struggle and character development, she grew to face her own fears and fight against odds she never thought she could handle. The decisions she made were weighed between reality and happiness, yet nevertheless, she did not regret them for the better. It ended for me as a sappy reader who can't wait to read the next one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent
beyondapage's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Violence, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Animal death, Blood, and Sexual harassment