Unravel the Dusk (The Blood of Stars)
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.
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.
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Community Reviews
I dived into this book once I finished Spin the Dawn. This is, by far, one of my favourite series. I never got tired of Elizabeth Lim's writing. I was enraptured all the way, down from the choice of words â that lyrical prose â to the plot and her characters. When I thought I'd seen it all, I was left surprised time and time again.
Maia continued to be strong throughout the story. The change was creeping up on her, and she struggled to fight the demon inside for as long as she could, try to buy herself time. There was a lot of pessimism in the process of trying to find a cure for this transformation, and Maia was down on her luck. She was left disappointed a lot of times, and I felt for her. I always had this feeling that she was going to have a good ending, but for a time, I was as demotivated. Even Edan's magic couldn't save her, so what could?
I would also like to make a special mention to Lady Sarnai, because throughout it all, I really am impressed. The parts I loved most in this book wasn't even the moments between Edan and Maia, but Lady Sarnai and the parts she played in bringing victory to the war alongside the tailor and enchanter she despised before. Her character was interesting, and so was her backstory. I also felt terrible for her after learning of her ending, because even though everything ended well in her favour, there was also a debate on that. Those she cared for, or at least had a form of camaraderie with, gone. No one stayed by her side. It was tragic, but I knew she would continue to soldier on, just as she had all those years. Oh, and joke's on those backward ministers who didn't want to bow down to a woman.
All in all, I'm ecstatic that I got to read this duology. Excellent writing, intrigue and characters. Perfectly original ideas, too, that leave readers drowning in twists, prompting them to want for more, more and more. I absolutely can't wait for my next Elizabeth Lim's read.
Also on https://elainefloret.wixsite.com/reviews
Maia continued to be strong throughout the story. The change was creeping up on her, and she struggled to fight the demon inside for as long as she could, try to buy herself time. There was a lot of pessimism in the process of trying to find a cure for this transformation, and Maia was down on her luck. She was left disappointed a lot of times, and I felt for her. I always had this feeling that she was going to have a good ending, but for a time, I was as demotivated. Even Edan's magic couldn't save her, so what could?
I would also like to make a special mention to Lady Sarnai, because throughout it all, I really am impressed. The parts I loved most in this book wasn't even the moments between Edan and Maia, but Lady Sarnai and the parts she played in bringing victory to the war alongside the tailor and enchanter she despised before. Her character was interesting, and so was her backstory. I also felt terrible for her after learning of her ending, because even though everything ended well in her favour, there was also a debate on that. Those she cared for, or at least had a form of camaraderie with, gone. No one stayed by her side. It was tragic, but I knew she would continue to soldier on, just as she had all those years. Oh, and joke's on those backward ministers who didn't want to bow down to a woman.
All in all, I'm ecstatic that I got to read this duology. Excellent writing, intrigue and characters. Perfectly original ideas, too, that leave readers drowning in twists, prompting them to want for more, more and more. I absolutely can't wait for my next Elizabeth Lim's read.
Also on https://elainefloret.wixsite.com/reviews
It's not bad. Lots of action and stuff.
This one had so many things happening and just back to back to back.
There was no time to breathe.
I think I like the first one better.
This one had so many things happening and just back to back to back.
There was no time to breathe.
I think I like the first one better.
A brilliant sequel to Elizabeth Lim's beautiful fairytale! I was either laughing or crying, but either way I couldn't put it down! <3
When I saw the cover of Spin the Dawn with the comp of Project Runway meets Mulan I knew I had to read it. I was lucky enough to participate in the blog tour last year and I fell in love! (Check out my review HERE)
Maia returns to the kingdom after completing her task of sewing dresses of the sun, moon, and stars only to be forced to wear the dress and pretend to be the emperor’s bride. Follow her in Unravel the Dusk as she tries to stave off the demon threatening to take her over while trying to find Edan. We get to see how the competition effected Maia and her inner turmoil which I felt made the story much more complex. She’s not only trying to find Edan, the man she loves, but save the kingdom and herself at the same time.
This second installment feels almost like a new story with the same characters we fell in love with in the first one. Maia is tougher than she was in the first book and instead of using her magic to create the amazing dresses we saw in book one, she’s using it to help her fight the war she’s been plunged into the middle of.
Book one was fast-paced in competition whereas this one is fast-paced in war. I enjoyed every minute of it! If you’re looking for a unique duology about family, love, and loyalty than you’ll enjoy these books!
https://thecleverreader.wordpress.com/2020/07/07/unravel-the-dusk-review
Maia returns to the kingdom after completing her task of sewing dresses of the sun, moon, and stars only to be forced to wear the dress and pretend to be the emperor’s bride. Follow her in Unravel the Dusk as she tries to stave off the demon threatening to take her over while trying to find Edan. We get to see how the competition effected Maia and her inner turmoil which I felt made the story much more complex. She’s not only trying to find Edan, the man she loves, but save the kingdom and herself at the same time.
This second installment feels almost like a new story with the same characters we fell in love with in the first one. Maia is tougher than she was in the first book and instead of using her magic to create the amazing dresses we saw in book one, she’s using it to help her fight the war she’s been plunged into the middle of.
Book one was fast-paced in competition whereas this one is fast-paced in war. I enjoyed every minute of it! If you’re looking for a unique duology about family, love, and loyalty than you’ll enjoy these books!
https://thecleverreader.wordpress.com/2020/07/07/unravel-the-dusk-review
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