Title: Spin the Dawn
Author: Elizabeth Lim
Pages: 397
Release Date: July 9, 2019
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Series or Stand-Alone: Book 1 of the Blood of Stars series
Stars: 5
People of Color?: Yes, Chinese characters and culture
LGBTQ?: No
Bechdel Test: Yes
Trigger Warning: No
I received a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The book follows the main character, Maia Tamarin, whose now impoverished family once designed gowns for the elite in the capital of the empire. The war forced them to move to a small seaside village on the brink of starvation. Maia is the sole income earner of the family as she darns socks for fishermen. A representative of the Emperor shows up unexpectedly looking for her father, the once-great dressmaker. The Emperor requires his skills as a potential royal dressmaker for his soon to be bride. As only men can be professional tailors, the representative expects to bring her father or one of her brothers in his place. Shy and awkward Maia goes in his stead, disguised as a boy, She soon enters a world she is not ready for. The bride-to-be keeps issuing increasingly difficult challenges in order to postpone her wedding, Maia faces off against cut-throat tailors, and strangest of all, the court magician Edan. The final challenge requires her to travel the entire continent in search of magical material for three bridal gowns. With her family's lives at stake, she takes Edan's offer of assistance but get's much more than she bargains for! The ending left me hungry for book 2!
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