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Spin the Dawn (The Blood of Stars, #1)

Elizabeth Lim

Start date: February 1, 2022

Finish date: February 28, 2022

Discussion: Series

Why we're reading this: Won the poll for the series BOTM
[close] Won the poll for the series BOTM

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Series

* Continuing Series- Nightbane
By Bailey · 4 posts · 30 views

last updated Aug 12, 2025 07:32AM

* New Series- The Princess Trials
By Bailey · 10 posts · 59 views

last updated Aug 27, 2025 04:41PM

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What Members Thought

Nov 15, 2019 Rachel rated it really liked it

Shelves: icky-romance

Wow. In the beginning this was exactly as promised, a fantasy competition that's a mash-up of Mulan and Project Runway. When Maia's ailing father is requested by the Emperor, Maia takes his place, posing as her brother. Pitted against the top tailors in the country, the future Empress to be, Lady Sarnai, gives them impossible tasks like making jackets out of paper and shoes out of glass all in an effort to avoid her arranged marriage, a marriage that will secure peace for the country.

Can I tell Wow. In the beginning this was exactly as promised, a fantasy competition that's a mash-up of Mulan and Project Runway. When Maia's ailing father is requested by the Emperor, Maia takes his place, posing as her brother. Pitted against the top tailors in the country, the future Empress to be, Lady Sarnai, gives them impossible tasks like making jackets out of paper and shoes out of glass all in an effort to avoid her arranged marriage, a marriage that will secure peace for the country.

Can I tell you how much I love that the way to save the world is by sewing dresses?

This starts out incredibly strong, with backstory about Maia and her family that instantly endears us to her. It's not boring. It's not overly-telling, so when she sets off on her journey, we are 100% rooting for her.

She's a little representative of the heroines we've seen before. Overly self-sacrificing, to the point that much of her trouble is caused by her own action. She also seems to take lightly that if she's exposed as a woman, she will be killed.

I was excited to see how the competition would end, and then it sort of fizzles with a lackluster poof and becomes a quest story instead, as Maia is charged with making 3 legendary dresses out of sunlight, moonlight and stars. I loved the legend, magic and myth surrounding this quest, so I was okay with the change, until things start happening with Eden, the Emperor's enchanter.

Then I felt like all of this was just a beautiful wrap to trick me into reading a paranormal romance about a 500 year old Jinn hooking up with a 16-year-old girl, and no one would acknowledge how creepy this was! Especially since until this point, he had been taking a mentor/sage role. When they started talking about how many kids they wanted to have, this was my face.

I waffled between giving this a 3-star or 4-star rating purely because of this romance and how much space it took in the story. But ultimately, this was such a fantastically unique and well-written book, I could not bring myself to begrudge it the extra star.

Many readers don't have a problem with this type of romance. We had a long discussion about it on Twitter, so my extreme disgust about it is entirely personal. It hurts, though, that if this had included a more age-appropriate romance, it would have been an unquestionable favorite. ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Sep 21, 2019 Lesa Divine rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2019, read-it, library, 2020, favorite-list

First read 9/2019 4 🌟

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I enjoy sewing and to have that in a fantasy book mixed with competitions to find the best tailor was great.

Maia is a girl. Girls are not to be sewing and making fabulous clothes. But Maia proved them wrong.

During a competition she finds herself fighting to stay in. But with magic on her side she's not sure if its real or could she not be the very best.
Working as a boy to win. She finds herself in a lot more trouble then she realiz ...more

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Mar 19, 2022 Lauren⁷ 💜 rated it really liked it

Shelves: library-has-a-copy, romance, young-adult-teen-new-adult, fantasy-science-fiction

This was an overall really good book! I know this is a Mulan retelling of sorts and I thought this was very well done. I could definitely see where Lim drew from the legend. I quite liked Maia. She was strong, feisty, intelligent, kind and brave and was an all around enjoyable character. I really, really, really loved the romance. It was slow paced and extremely believable. No insta-love here, folks. It was enemies to begrudging acquaintances to reluctant friends to lovers. And I thought Edan wa ...more

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