Publisher: Random House BFYR


Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Revived My Love for Fantasy: Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim

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I received this book for free from Knopf Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Revived My Love for Fantasy: Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth LimSpin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim
Series: The Blood of Stars #1
Published by Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers on July 9th, 2019
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, YA
Source: Knopf Books for Young Readers
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four-half-stars

Project Runway meets Mulan in this sweeping YA fantasy about a young girl who poses as a boy to compete for the role of imperial tailor and embarks on an impossible journey to sew three magic dresses, from the sun, the moon, and the stars.

Maia Tamarin dreams of becoming the greatest tailor in the land, but as a girl, the best she can hope for is to marry well. When a royal messenger summons her ailing father, once a tailor of renown, to court, Maia poses as a boy and takes his place. She knows her life is forfeit if her secret is discovered, but she'll take that risk to achieve her dream and save her family from ruin. There's just one catch: Maia is one of twelve tailors vying for the job.

Backstabbing and lies run rampant as the tailors compete in challenges to prove their artistry and skill. Maia's task is further complicated when she draws the attention of the court magician, Edan, whose piercing eyes seem to see straight through her disguise.

And nothing could have prepared her for the final challenge: to sew three magic gowns for the emperor's reluctant bride-to-be, from the laughter of the sun, the tears of the moon, and the blood of stars. With this impossible task before her, she embarks on a journey to the far reaches of the kingdom, seeking the sun, the moon, and the stars, and finding more than she ever could have imagined.

Spin the Dawn is the book I didn’t know I needed and I want to cry from how happy I am that I read it and that it could revolutionize my life. As a baby blogger, I rarely read contemporary. I exclusive read fantasy. These past few years though, fantasy has not really been holding my attention and I find myself avoiding it for the most part except for a few books here and there. Before Spin the Dawn, the last high fantasy I read was Wicked Saints back in April. I rated in 4 stars at the time but in retrospect it was not a 4 star read given that for half the book, my attention wandered. For the first time in literal years, I don’t want to read contemporary. I want to read fantasy now and find the books that work for me. 

Spin the Dawn is a book that captivated me from the first page and I struggled to put it down. It’s the fantasy I didn’t even know I was craving and I am so happy, so so so happy that I picked it up. I’ve also realized that my issue with fantasy books might not be the genre itself but more that the fantasy that comes out these days isn’t always my thing. I love hero’s journeys and adventures. I don’t always love blood & gore and that seems to be more common in fantasy these days. 

Maia Tamarin wants to become the emperor’s tailor and prove herself to a world that claims she would be unfit for such a profession. She also wants to provide for what’s left of her family after the war all crushed their spirits and took away her two brothers. When the emperor’s orders summon her father to the capital to compete for a position as the emperor’s tailor, Maia decides to go in his place. Little does she know that a whole world of magic and betrayal await her. 

Neither Maia or Edan are wholly unique as characters. Badass female leads and snarky boys are a dime a dozen in YA, but that doesn’t mean I love that any less or that I didn’t scream any time they so much as glanced at one another. It also doesn’t mean that their voices weren’t unique or that they weren’t incredibly well-written. 

Maia is smart and talented but also stubborn to a fault sometimes. She wants to prove herself so badly that she will refuse help even when her competitors don’t. Yes she grows but she also doesn’t become a completely different person. Just… a more mature version of herself who can ask for help (but also more.) I love that even with all the extraordinary magic and power around and in her, she seems completely ordinary at times. She isn’t ‘not like the other girls.’ She has goals she wants to accomplish and people she wants to protect.

Not to be dramatic or anything but the romance b/w Maia and Edan is to die for, imho. The BANTER. The SUPPORTIVENESS. The slow build up??? Dying just thinking about it tbh. I loved Maia and Edan as individuals and I loved them even more together.

If that wasn’t enough, Spin the Dawn takes us on a journey to find three magical items to make three magical dresses from that could award the wearer with godly powers. The pacing was ~just~ right for me and I honestly went through 387 pages faster than I do with some contemporaries of a similar length.

Anyone who loves hero’s journeys set in luscious fantastical worlds will love this book. But beware, those who do not enjoy cliff hangers will want to wait until the sequel is out to read this one because YES, this book will also punch you in the feels. And yes, you will be desperate for the sequel upon finishing. I am honestly so glad a sequel is already in the works because I would have died otherwise. Anyway, to sum up, I have not loved a fantasy as much as I loved Spin the Dawn in ages and I truly think that it is worth the read. 

four-half-stars

4.5 Hot Espressos

Mediocre: Immoral Code by Lillian Clark

Posted by on 01/30/2019 • 0 Comments

I love a good heist book and 2019 truly seems to be the year of heist books but unfortunately, Immoral Code was not everything I wanted it to be. It’s the kind of book that has good bones but ultimately, neither the writing style nor the pacing worked for me.

The entire time I was reading the book, the characters voices felt sort of inauthentic? But upon reflection I don’t think the fact that they were all self-aware makes them inauthentic, I am an extremely self-aware human being, but I think self-awareness doesn’t always translate as well in writing. This book is written in a very free, stream-of-consciousness style and yes, human beings constantly think that way but also, I don’t want to hear every single thought an MC…

Not the Worst: Inkling by Kenneth Oppel

Posted by on 12/10/2018 • 1 Comment

I love Kenneth Oppel. I’ve been reading him since I was but a wee lass (middle school.) I was extremely excited to read Inkling but honestly, it didn’t live up to my expectations. It’s not that it isn’t a good book, but Kenneth Oppel is not a writer of good books, he is a writer of excellent books and nothing about this book in particular screamed excellent too me.

Don’t get me wrong, it has a lot going for it, but I think I never really connected to the characters and perhaps I am just too fucking old now to appreciate adorable monsters created from Ink.

Ethan has a hard-knock life. His mother passed away a while ago and his father does not know how to function as a human…

To Be Savored, Not Devoured: Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman

Posted by on 02/20/2018 • 2 Comments

Tess of the Road is not an easy book to read. At 544 pages it is long and those pages don’t fly by. In the traditional sense at least. Here is the thing about Tess though, it is a long book, it is winded and yet, I wouldn’t really have it any other way. The slowness can at times be exhausting but the book isn’t really about a big adventure that Tess takes. It’s about Tess’s character arc and her trauma. This book would NOT work if it was a speedy read you could flip through. It is a painful read but there is so //much// that Tess has internalized that it makes no sense if we could uncover her and her experience in a mere handful pages.

Tess is not…

Superhero Beginnings: Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo

Posted by on 09/14/2017 • 4 Comments

I want this review to start on an honest note and I would like to admit that I haven’t read any of the Wonder Woman comics or watched the movie that recently came out (for reasons I am not going to dive into for the purposes of this review.) However, I’ve always been fascinated by her and when I found out that Leigh Bardugo was the one writing the Wonder Woman origin story for the D.C. Icons series, I knew it was TIME.

The reason I even bother mentioning all of that is because I know that I won’t be able to speak to whether or not Leigh Bardugo did Wonder Woman justice (although, I am sure she did.) However, I ~can~ speak to this as an origin story and…

A Letter Was Found in the Pages Of Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley

Posted by on 07/28/2017 • 2 Comments

Text:

Dear person reading this,

You might be wondering why I chose this page to write in & that is for several reasons including OTP feels but really, even if you haven’t read this book, you can relate to the way words move these characters in these pages. CATH CROWLEY is easily one of my fav authors and her words never fail to move me. Words in a Deep Blue was no different. The words in this book will make you cry, will make you laugh and most likely, the words in this book will change your life. Read it.

Love, Rashika

***images used in aesthetic do not belong to me***

5 Hot Espressos

5 Books Carrie Mac Wishes Were Around When She Was Growing Up

Posted by on 03/21/2017 • 1 Comment

Hello and welcome to Xpresso Reads’ tour stop for 10 Things I Can See From Here. Today, author Carrie Mac shares 5 books she wishes were around when she was growing up! Her list is full of many wonderful recs (and some new to me titles) so I am definitely piling up on those books! I hope you’ll check the books and 10 Things I Can See From Here!

PLEASE GIVE IT UP FOR, Carrie Mac!

I’ve picked books aimed at younger readers, say 8-12-years-old or so because that’s when kids need to see the people they are, or will become, represented in books. When they don’t—because the book hasn’t been written or they’re not allowed to read it—that’s when feelings of isolation really set in, just…

Reminicient of Breakfast Club: Optimists Die First by Susin Nielsen

Posted by on 02/22/2017 • 4 Comments

My feelings about this novel as about as complex as they get. Optimists Die First does some really great things but also needs a whole lot of work. Keep in mind that this is all based on an ARC version of the book as opposed to the finished copy and ARCs and finished copies can be worlds apart.

For starters, this book is about as cute as it sounds and looks. It is short and sweet and all about friendships and journeys. As one character in the book says, Optimists Die First is a ‘twisted version of the breakfast club.’

There is a complex portrayal of MH without any real labels and that was great. Petula has to go to mandatory art therapy and kind of really hates it. She doesn’t like any…