BOOKS | Review: Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim

Name: Spin the Dawn
Author: Elizabeth Lim
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
Date published: July 2019
Genre: Fiction, young adult, fantasy, romance
Pages: 392
Rating: 5/5

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.

- From Goodreads.

Spin the Dawn had an interesting start, and for a while I was not sure how I felt about the prologue. It certainly got me intrigued but I also felt it gave me too much of an idea of what might happen later in the novel and even now I am still not sure whether that had a positive or negative effect on my enjoyment of the book. Despite my uncertainty about the very beginning, I still went on to really love the rest of the story, and the prologue did make the ending link well with the beginning and made the story come full circle before setting up to move forward for the sequel.
The descriptions in the book, especially when it came to the clothes and how they were made, were beautiful, and the author's writing style was really wonderful to read.
The relationship between Maia and Edan was so lovely and sweet and their feelings for each other really came through in the writing. I could really tell how much they cared for each other and the pain and angst they felt at certain points really got to my heart.
Maia was such a wonderful main character to root for. She cared so much for her family, wanted so badly to have friends, and managed to keep being brave and determined despite all the difficult obstacles that she came across. She loved so fiercely and was really willing to sacrifice everything for those that she loved, and I was just really happy to read her story.
The book took place in such a fascinating world and I found the world building to be so intriguing. The myths and legends of the world, and the way that Maia created the dresses and the materials that she made them out of, were all described and written so beautifully, it really was an enjoyment to read the book and I am so excited to see how that is built upon and extended in the sequel.