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A review by thewordslinger
Unravel the Dusk by Elizabeth Lim
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Ya'll, I dunno. This one didn't quite get there for me.
There's a lot of back and forth in this from Maia. A lot of "I am powerful, I can do this impossible task with the help of my friends/the boy I love" and then, when even the slightest thing goes awry, "I'm a miserable demon who's just gonna hurt people so I have to leave and be miserable and alone".
I get that the author was trying to have Maia struggle with the changes she's undergoing. But I think she missed the mark a little. Because the constant flip flopping got repetitive and boring and then downright irritating. Every time she got angry and lashed out I had to skip 3 or 4 pages after to miss the pity party she inevitably throws herself. This Maia wasn't the same spitfire character she was in book 1 and it sorta sucked.
There's also an awful lot of "I could tear them limb from limb with a thought" or "I could slip into her mind and bend her to my will" or "don't they know I could burn them all to ashes with a snap of my fingers?" ...but we never actually get to see ANY of that. Not even close. When Maia fights, she's always up against the impossible. She's always barely alive, barely succeeding. So for all this internal boasting she's doing, there's zero evidence to back it up. Her "demon self" is arrogant, but also impotent.
And when spectacular stuff <i>does</i> occur, it's as if it's happening TO her, rather than her making a decision or sacrifice. It's all the magic in the dresses, the sun, stars, or moon. Never Maia.
In book 1, I had zero problems with Maia, but in this one, I didn't like the person she became (even after the demon possession or whatever). I didn't really see it as growth for the better. She treats her friends and even her love interest poorly (even when she's not being all grry demon), she feels weak and run-down and indecisive. If this book was supposed to be about her internal battle making her stronger, I don't think it accomplished that task.
Some of the charm and chemistry between her and Edan fizzled too. Which is saying something because they don't even meet up again until the 50% mark. I would almost say that the two swapped roles in this one--where Edan is the eternal optimist and Maia is Ms. Doom and Gloom...but I don't think it's accomplished well. Instead, it just sort of puts a wedge between them for the vast majority of the book. And the Great Enchanter is reduced to generic love interest. Sidekick. Hype man. I get the man's got little magic--but it's like without it, he's almost completely useless to the plot. Book 1 stripped him of the 1 thing that made him unique and powerful and purposeful? Really?
The feel of this book in general is different from book 1. In Spin the Dawn, we're awash in vibrant folklore and history and culture. This book feels a lot less rich in that way. We've got <i>plenty</i> of action and intrigue, there's a lot of focus on the journey to save the country and destroy the demons--which ordinarily I'd eat up, but coming out of book 1 where we got all those things AND this rich atmosphere...it falls short.
Lim's writing is still just as good, though. I cannot fault her for that at all. The story is great, I just don't think it quite measured up to book 1, and it's tough not to compare when this is a duology.
There's a lot of back and forth in this from Maia. A lot of "I am powerful, I can do this impossible task with the help of my friends/the boy I love" and then, when even the slightest thing goes awry, "I'm a miserable demon who's just gonna hurt people so I have to leave and be miserable and alone".
I get that the author was trying to have Maia struggle with the changes she's undergoing. But I think she missed the mark a little. Because the constant flip flopping got repetitive and boring and then downright irritating. Every time she got angry and lashed out I had to skip 3 or 4 pages after to miss the pity party she inevitably throws herself. This Maia wasn't the same spitfire character she was in book 1 and it sorta sucked.
There's also an awful lot of "I could tear them limb from limb with a thought" or "I could slip into her mind and bend her to my will" or "don't they know I could burn them all to ashes with a snap of my fingers?" ...but we never actually get to see ANY of that. Not even close. When Maia fights, she's always up against the impossible. She's always barely alive, barely succeeding. So for all this internal boasting she's doing, there's zero evidence to back it up. Her "demon self" is arrogant, but also impotent.
And when spectacular stuff <i>does</i> occur, it's as if it's happening TO her, rather than her making a decision or sacrifice. It's all the magic in the dresses, the sun, stars, or moon. Never Maia.
In book 1, I had zero problems with Maia, but in this one, I didn't like the person she became (even after the demon possession or whatever). I didn't really see it as growth for the better. She treats her friends and even her love interest poorly (even when she's not being all grry demon), she feels weak and run-down and indecisive. If this book was supposed to be about her internal battle making her stronger, I don't think it accomplished that task.
Some of the charm and chemistry between her and Edan fizzled too. Which is saying something because they don't even meet up again until the 50% mark. I would almost say that the two swapped roles in this one--where Edan is the eternal optimist and Maia is Ms. Doom and Gloom...but I don't think it's accomplished well. Instead, it just sort of puts a wedge between them for the vast majority of the book. And the Great Enchanter is reduced to generic love interest. Sidekick. Hype man. I get the man's got little magic--but it's like without it, he's almost completely useless to the plot. Book 1 stripped him of the 1 thing that made him unique and powerful and purposeful? Really?
The feel of this book in general is different from book 1. In Spin the Dawn, we're awash in vibrant folklore and history and culture. This book feels a lot less rich in that way. We've got <i>plenty</i> of action and intrigue, there's a lot of focus on the journey to save the country and destroy the demons--which ordinarily I'd eat up, but coming out of book 1 where we got all those things AND this rich atmosphere...it falls short.
Lim's writing is still just as good, though. I cannot fault her for that at all. The story is great, I just don't think it quite measured up to book 1, and it's tough not to compare when this is a duology.