Unravel the Dusk (Blood of Stars, #2)

by Elizabeth Lim

From the New York Times bestselling author of Six Crimson Cranes comes a fantasy filled with courtly intrigue, deceitful demons, and breathtaking gowns ... the stakes are higher than ever in this thrilling sequel to Spin the Dawn!

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. Edan, the boy she loves, is gone--perhaps forever--and no sooner does she set foot in the Autumn Palace than 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. When the emperor's rivals learn of her deception, there is hell to pay, 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, and in the meantime she will stop at nothing to find Edan, protect her family, and bring lasting peace to her country.

• ISBN10: 059330201X
• ISBN13: 9780593302019
• Publish Date: 7 July 2020
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Imprint: Random House USA Children's Books
• Edition: International edition
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

After really enjoying the adventure and the magic and the characters in SPIN THE DAWN, this sequel fell so flat for me. The story centered more around one character's transformation than the greater things going on in the world, so somehow, it felt like the plot was less urgent. The problems were smaller. Sure, there was still big stuff going on, but it was not as centralized. It was in the background, away from the reader, and that frustrated me.

Additionally, we spent so much time in Maia's head and worries that we missed out on the development of other characters. I would have loved a POV from Lady Sarnai's perspective that put us right in the middle of the action. I was also disappointed with the way Ewan was reduced to the role of the love interest when he had such an interesting backstory in book one. It's okay fro characters to be the love interest and have other hopes and dreams and depth!

All in all, this was a disappointing read. It's FINE and the world building was still great, but the story in SPIN THE DAWN was, to me, so much better.

For a more in-depth review of this book and others, and for more bookish content, pop over to The Literary Phoenix.

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

Review originally posted at Pages Unbound.

I never reviewed the first book in The Blood of Stars duology, Spin the Dawn, because my co-blogger Krysta had already written a review, but we had similar feelings: the book was fun, refreshing, and original but had its flaws. I think going into Unravel the Dusk having measured expectations helped me truly enjoy what, ultimately, was an exciting story about a girl who loves her family and her country and all the sacrifices she is willing to make to save them.

The flaws, I think, are largely the same as in Spin the Dawn. First, there doesn’t seem to be much actual sewing, and though Maia is supposed to be the most talented tailor in the kingdom, she consistently relies on her magical scissors instead of doing her own work. Worse, I have never actually understood the magical scissors. The book generally just says she uses them, whether she’s sewing a tear, making a carpet, painting on fabric, etc. so I have this mental image of Maia just placing the scissors on her fabric and a sewn garment just making itself while she does…nothing. I have no idea if that’s what the author imagines happening.

There’s new magic in Unravel the Dusk, and I think that it was similarly not explained. There’s demon magic and magic from the three dresses Maia made in book one, and somehow they’re different but can work together but might work against one another but…I don’t know. I never understood what was happening, and since most of the book was based around this, I was confused and never really understood what the stakes were for one type of magic being used or not used or what Maia should be trying to do. The books are very atmospheric, but I think Lim can work on the technical explanations of her magic systems in future books.

That said, I really did enjoy the story. It was exciting (sometimes to the point of too much happening?), and it does highlight Maia’s heart and love of her country, which I think are the true driving forces of the narrative. There’s still a romance and there’s still sewing, as in book one, but the real focus is the lengths Maia will go to save the kingdom she loves, even when the actual people in charge seem to have no interest in doing so. I also loved that the solution to the story is not necessarily what readers will be expecting and not necessarily what one might pick as the “ideal” ending.

The book is imaginative and really held together by Maia and her strength (and occasional mistakes and insecurities!), and I can’t wait to see what Elizabeth Lim writes next!

[Chelsea]

I hate it when a sequel falls flat. I LOVED the first book so much but this one just didn’t do it for me. I don’t know if it was a mood thing or what but I just didn’t care about anything that was happening. Maia’s struggles in this book were the exact same the whole way through. There was no character development and at the end everything was wrapped up so easily. (And quickly?) I love it when a character is struggling with that dark side but that struggle never changed. It never got worse so that I really felt for her and there was never much of a sacrifice.

I also kinda hated that this was mostly a solo adventure for Maia. We hardly saw any other characters and they’re what I loved from the first book. Eden only shows up around half way and he literally does nothing except be a love interest which was REALLY disappointing.

I found the plot super rushed and things like the big battle at the end weren’t as long as the boring travel stuff in the middle. There was a battle at the beginning of the book that lasted 2 pages and suddenly we were off to wherever to do another big thing but that didn’t last long either. Why was the travel soooo long but the actual plot points so short? I was never satisfied. Shouldn’t the final battle be longish and exciting? I felt none of that while reading and that’s what disappointed me so much. I was reading just to be finished instead of enjoyment. The conclusion was too perfect but also didn’t really add anything to the story since Maia’s character had no development. Maybe my expectations were too high after the first book.

Also just a random pet peeve but this magic system made no sense. It was unlimited half the time and the other half Maia had none at all. It was confusing.

To end on a positive note, I really do love Elizabeth’s writing style. It’s very pretty without being too flowery which is perfect for me. I’m hoping we see more from her!

[Mad Soul Child]

У меня видимо были какие то уж очень завышенные ожидания, но ждала я чего то другого. На самом деле было не так уж и интересно, что там случиться дальше.

[alindstadtcorbeax]

Star Rating: —> 4 Stars

Wow, what a great conclusion! This was a little underwhelming, but still amazing! Plus the last 1/3 or 1/4th of the book— the conclusion, was seriously freakin’ amazing !

RTC
________________

That cover tho

[bookishzelda]

Wow so Unravel the Dusk is quite the sequel to Spin the Dawn. It was crazy every step of the way. I really didn’t know what Maia’s fate was going to be until we went there. This the second book so beware there might be unavoidable spoilers for the first book in this review.

So I feel like the synopsis doesn’t do justice to the intensity of this plot. Maia did indeed sew the dresses of Amana but she paid a grave price. She paid it out of love though for her family, her country and Edan. I love Maia because she has changed so much from when we met her in the first book. She’s not perfect by any means. She makes mistakes but she also has found a new confidence and a new purpose.I think it’s really interesting how she is able to see beyond the surface of people. Including maybe some of the ones that come across as the worst like Khanujin, Sarnai and Xina. She doesn’t excuse their misdeeds but she is also able to find their value. I also love how she loves A’landi and the people in it.

Like I said the plot is intense and fast paced. I kept wondering what Maia would do next. I did get frustrated with her sometimes and her actions. In the grand scheme of things it all led to where she needed to be. She just kept managing to get herself stuck in situations. I felt the ending was really heartfelt as well. The conversations that occur and how things wrap up.

I really loved Unravel the Dusk. I don’t want to give anything away because it is such a great sequel to Spin the Dawn. I wish there could be more but again the ending was perfectly executed.

[Veronica 🦦]

A+ | There aren’t enough words in any language that I can speak — English, Tagalog, and German — that can describe how much I adored this book. It is simply spectacular, beautiful, lush, and stupendous. It is a million times these words. Elizabeth Lim’s writing shines and there is no rest in this novel. Maia is absolutely my favorite protagonist, hands down. And I didn’t think I would love Lady Sarnai more than I did in the last novel. It is everything I want in a book, but especially everything I want to see in a sequel/conclusion to a series.

This is a spoiler-free review as part of the Caffeine Book Tours #UnravelTheDuskTour. Check out the rest of the review on my blog, moon & coffee.

[Beth C.]

First, a note: I read an arc of this, and *that's* when I learned this is a duology, not a trilogy. So be aware, fellow readers!

It's hard to write a review of a coming book that isn't out yet without giving spoilers to the *first* book that people may not have read...but I will try. Essentially, we find Maia fighting to keep from becoming a demon. In the meantime, her country is on the brink of war with one who has bargained with his soul, and all the best laid plans keep going awry.

The lovely thing about this book is that so much of it revolved around friendship and family. Those we choose, and those whom fate chooses for us. As someone who has leaned particularly hard on my friends over this past year, *and* as someone who has recently lost a brother as Maia has, this book had me sobbing into my sweatshirt. But the heart of this book shines, and it's a worthy successor to Spin The Dawn.