Blog Tour: Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim

I anticipated to read this book because everyone was hyping it which affected me. When I read the blurb, I knew I need to read this book too and because I’ve never read anything like this so it’s new to me. So when I saw Shealea @ Shut Up, Shealea announced a blog tour for this book at Caffeine Book Tours, I immediately sign myself up! 😆 And I am beyond grateful that Shealea chose me to join this tour! ☄️ Thank you so much, Shealea! 🤩🌻

Title: Spin the Dawn

Author: Elizabeth Lim

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy

Publication date: 9 July 2019

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

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.

Steeped in Chinese culture, sizzling with forbidden romance, and shimmering with magic, this young adult fantasy is pitch-perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas or Renée Ahdieh.

—Official synopsis

“Seize the wind. Don’t become the kite that never flies.”

Spin the Dawn is a story of Maia Tamarin, a young tailor who poses as a boy to compete for a position of imperial tailor. 🧵 As the final challenge, she had given a task to sew three magic dresses from the laughter of the sun, the tears of the moon and the blood of stars. Even though it was challenging and almost impossible, Maia strive for the final challenge so she could become the imperial tailor and saving her family at the same time. And as she venture of the risky task, she embarks on a journey with more challenges. ☄️

Maia is the obedient daughter. We can see from the beginning how obedient she is. But once we get to know her more, she is also the strong one. She is actually the strong one. ✊🏼 I love her, so much.Even though we see her as the strong character, I love how we can also see her flaws throughout story. ✨ This just makes her character much more realistic and frames an ideal persona to me 🥰   

My favorite character here apart from Maia is of course, Edan. 😍 I know we’d been introduced him as a smug and a proud enchanter. But I just couldn’t help but get attracted with this character. 😬 And believe me on this, I knew I’m going to like him even from the start. There’s just something about him; so mysterious yet so charming. I’m weak, guys. I’ve been enchanted. 🙃💫

The other important character other than the main characters is Emperor Khanujin. We don’t get to see much of him but he have the strongest connection to everything in this book. 💫 And I realized that everything is actually related and connected to him even in a subtle way. I respected him as much as Maia respected him but then, once his weakness was revealed, I kind of feel different about him. And come to think of it, there’s still so much left unsaid about this king of of A’landi. 👑

Lady Sarnai is the Shansen’s daughter. 🏹 I knew she would be mean with a stone-cold face person. At first, I couldn’t tell much about her but throughout the story, I eventually learn as much about this character. And that makes me have a love-hate relationship with her because at times, she makes me pity her but she also makes me want to crawl her beautiful face. 😫 But then, there’s still so much I want to know about this Lady Sarnai and I’m glad the author keep this character so consistent with how she keeps things to herself.

Hey, so what about the romance?

Oh yeah! You can say that I am head-over-heels with the romance. 😍 The romance is kind of slow but not too slow and it just adds with a good timing! It’s also kind of I-hate-you-but-I-a-also-like-you. I just love how the romance just naturally grows like that. It was so fun and enjoyable to read and I want more of it. Not just that, the chemistry between the characters is also one of the things that keeps me excited.😝

To be honest, I had problem finishing this review because I couldn’t put it in proper words and I don’t know if I’m doing this right. It’s like I don’t know any words anymore.😂 For that, I took days to finish this review. Fuh.

Once again, this book is wonderful with how it just flows perfectly. And I can just feel the poignancy of the characters‘ struggles. 😥 Now that I’ve finished this book, I feel empty because this book is the one that makes me feel whole again and also the one that broke my reading slump. So thank you, thank you very much to Elizabeth for creating such amazing world. Now I have a new home. 💗✨

My Favorite Quotes:

“My whole life, I’d been told what I couldn’t do because I was a girl. Well, this was my chance to find out. The only thing I could do was take it.”

“He broke his promise to me. At first I thought it was because the war and magic had blackened his heart, but that is just the way of men. For what is a promise if it’s made to a women?”

“You’re used to being underestimated, so you want to prove yourself. Don’t let that be your crutch. Accept help when you need it.”

“I knew then we were like two pieces of cloth, sewn together for life. Our stitches couldn’t be undone. I wouldn’t let them.”

Want to read this book?

Amazon | Book Depository | GoodreadsABOUT THE AUTHOR

Website | Goodreads | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

Elizabeth Lim grew up on a hearty staple of fairy tales, myths, and songs. Her passion for storytelling began around age 10, when she started writing fanfics for Sailor Moon, Sweet Valley, and Star Wars, and posted them online to discover, “Wow, people actually read my stuff. And that’s kinda cool!” But after one of her teachers told her she had “too much voice” in her essays, Elizabeth took a break from creative writing to focus on not flunking English.

Over the years, Elizabeth became a film and video game composer, and even went so far as to get a doctorate in music composition. But she always missed writing, and turned to penning stories when she needed a breather from grad school. One day, she decided to write and finish a novel — for kicks, at first, then things became serious — and she hasn’t looked back since.

Elizabeth loves classic film scores, books with a good romance, food (she currently has a soft spot for arepas and Ethiopian food), the color turquoise, overcast skies, English muffins, cycling, and baking. She lives in New York City with her husband.

TWITTER CHAT AND GIVEAWAYS!

Join our upcoming Twitter Chat over at @CaffeineTours with #CBTTC! We’ll be giving (2) copies of Spin the Dawn to U.S. participants if you join the chat. 

Andddd if you’re international, don’t be sad! We are also giving opportunities to international readers as well, thanks to Knopf Books 🤩 So, join this Rafflecopter giveaway to win (3) copies of Spin the Dawn. Don’t worry, it’s international! 😉

Here’s a Blog Tour Launch Post by Shealea and our Tour Schedule if you’re interested to see the next stops by fellow participants. 

Have you read this book? Is it on your TBR? Let me know in the comment! 💕