Note: This is the second book in a duology. Proceed with caution if you haven't yet read the first book, Spin the Dawn. (Here is our review.)
Book Summary
The thrilling sequel to SPIN THE DAWN, a magical series steeped in Chinese culture.Maia Tamarin’s journey to sew the dresses of the sun, the moon and the stars has taken a grievous toll. She returns to a kingdom on the brink of war. The boy she loves is gone, and she is forced to don the dress of the sun and assume the place of the emperor’s bride-to-be to keep the peace.But the war raging around Maia is nothing compared to the battle within. Ever since she was touched by the demon Bandur, she has been changing . . . glancing in the mirror to see her own eyes glowing red, losing control of her magic, her body, her mind. It’s only a matter of time before Maia loses herself completely, but she will stop at nothing to find Edan, protect her family, and bring lasting peace to her country.YA fantasy readers will love the sizzling forbidden romance, mystery, and intrigue of UNRAVEL THE DUSK.
Flo's Review
Spin the Dawn ended on enough of a cliffhanger that I was like, "I need the next book immediately!" Luckily, I was able to secure an e-ARC so I could do just that.
Unravel the Dusk has a different feel than Spin the Dawn. The stories are definitely related, and it was an easy flow from the first into the second, but the two stories were also quite distinct in their tone and execution. In the first book, Maia is discovering her true self though various trials. In the second, she is fighting to stay this girl she discovered. Unravel the Dusk gave us more time with a few characters from the first book -- I really enjoyed that. Ammi was one. Another was one of the other tailors from the initial competition. And Lady Sarnai. What a character! I could write a whole separate review on what we discovered about her in this book.
The romance, which was one of my favorite parts of the first book, was present in this one -- but different. Instead of taking center stage, it was one of several important threads making up Maia's story. Their relationship was constancy instead of discovery. It evolved as both Edan and Maia changed, but it changed in a way that fit them. The strong foundation they built in the first book served them well in this one.
If you've read Spin the Dawn, I think you will enjoy seeing how the story and the characters develop and eventually end up in Unravel the Dusk. It publishes July 3rd.
Thank you to Random House Children's Book for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Book Summary
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.
Flo's Review
Wow. This book was a lot of fun! I was a little worried about it going in because the audiobook is about 14 hours long. Usually I start to lose interest in audiobooks that surpass about 8 or 9 hours. I have to really be invested in order to make it through.
Well, turns out I was really invested!
I hadn't closely read the summary when I started it, so when I realized it was going to have the "girl disguises herself as guy" trope, I was pretty into it. Then I read the summary and saw the Project Runway comparison. Oh, all the competition and scheming! There were definitely characters that I loved to hate in there, and it was easy to cheer for the underdog Maia.
Then I got to the second part of the book that focuses on the journey around the three gowns. I liked that part even better than the first one! It was adventurous and magical and romantic -- and I was here for all of it. But definitely the romance. I'm such a sucker for it, and this one was really well done!
The story didn't necessarily end in a cliffhanger, per se, but it did end in a place that makes me want to read Unleash the Dusk immediately! This was the kind of story that as soon as I finished, I wanted to talk about it with someone who had read it. Luckily, it's my book club read of the month, so I was able to do that. It made the whole experience even more enjoyable to be able to talk reaction and theory.
I thought I might like Spin the Dawn, but I was just so pleasantly surprised to have loved it as much as I did. I love when a book does that!
