Reviews

Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim

kellykelly84's review against another edition

1.0

What would have happened if Maia would have had her period if she was faking to be a boy cause there is no way she would have avoid that and also what would she do if some girl starting to flirt with her and there is also way no one couldn't tell from a girl voice to a male voice and no one even notice that she had breast? They also say that lying is no good but they keep doing it and I also found Maia annoying always complaining about anything and everything and the pace for this book it was very slow and boring and I thought the narrator who was reading this book was annoying and why did she had to whisper when some parts of the words that came up the narrator had to do that and that annoyed me. And it was a good thing that I didn't waste my money on buying this book thank god for the library and I gave the first book in the series a 1 star.

wondernikel's review against another edition

3.0

3...Once I got through, the Saturday morning cartoon version of Project Runway, this novel became quite the adventure. Definitely childish, but not annoyingly so! And I will admit the Mulan plot line is getting a bit old...yet, here it worked. I will most definitely be reading the next book when it is released!

miaa1011's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

ashction's review against another edition

5.0

Wow, I LOVED this! It wasn't what I expected but it was so much better. I can't wait for book 2!

sashapasha's review against another edition

2.0

Not my cup of tea. The setup had a lot of potential — at the start, I thought that Maia and Edan could perhaps have a relationship similar to Yelena and Valek’s in Poison Study, but unfortunately they fell short and lacked any of the tension and spark of the aforementioned couple. The main problem was their lacklusterness as characters individually. Maia didn’t have half the brains or resourcefulness of Yelena, and Edan didn’t have the competence or fortitude of Valek.
Maia was frustratingly slow on the uptake and largely useless on many an occasion. When surrounded by competitors, she didn’t think for a moment that someone might try to sabotage her, despite copious clues and indications otherwise. She wasn’t able to discern who to be wary of until it literally hit her on the nose (or hand, as it were) and wasn’t smart enough to be wary of everyone from the start. She gave away her secret by being careless about faking a limp. Once on her quest, it seemed that Edan did everything for her except the three challenges she faced. Their relationship progressed too quickly and lacked in chemistry.
Overall, I enjoyed the book’s concept but found the execution fell short for my taste. Probably won’t be picking up the sequel.

jabberbabywocky's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

warlocksarecool21's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

this book had an interesting premise, and I think the author’s writing style is very lyrical and pretty it felt like I was reading a fairy tale. it felt very nostalgic of older YA books and I liked that at first but it got to a point where some things were kind of predictable. unfortunately I didn’t love this book, while I liked the parts about tailoring and the competition element, I felt the plot in the second half was really rushed and underdeveloped. I liked Maia and Edan but their relationship was insta-lovey and I just didn’t care by the time I got to the end. I thought the first half of the book was really captivating and I like the author’s writing style but the overall story needed some more work imo. I probably won’t read the next book. 

chimm's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

hannifaaa_'s review

adventurous tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

The writing was illustrative and engaging in the first half and I loved how the analogies always linked to the whole tailoring theme, given that it’s the whole driving force of the book. 

But the romance felt lack-lustre, like I didn’t really believe in it. It felt too fast and lacking depth. Also, the second half of the book lacked the tension it needed given how high the stakes were. Again, the writing felt rushed and their emotions weren’t fleshed out enough for me to actually feel what the characters were feeling.

An okay first book, but not interesting enough for me to read the next book.

canopy_'s review against another edition

4.0

Finally a dude who falls in love as hard if not harder than the girl