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.
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.
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Reading updates
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Started reading
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18 September, 2020:
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18 September, 2020:
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