When I saw this book described as Mulan meets Project Runway, I was understandably disbelieving, but that is literally exactly the plot of the first half of Spin the Dawn. Our heroine, Maia, dresses herself up as a man and takes her fathers place as he is summoned to the palace to serve as the Emporer's imperial tailor (this opening premise is just unmistakenly Mulan-esque). However, when she gets there, she discovers that 11 other tailors have also been invited to compete for the title, and so we settle in for the first half of the book: the competition (this is the Project Runway of it all). To be honest, I preferred the second half for a variety of reasons but one of which was because I, personally, have become a bit tired of books that revolve around competitions/tournaments. It's just a trope I've read a lot recently and think is becoming a bit overplayed.

However, delightfully, the book continues into the second half, when Maia is tasked with creating three mythical dresses and sets out to find the magical ingredients she needs to create them. This is another staple plot: the Quest. However, the quest provides the author with more freedom to explore their world, which I really enjoyed in this book. Like Mulan, Maia struggles with impersonating a man and the book repeatedly drives home the message that, as a woman, society would never have let her get as far as she has.

I've been really into books that feel like fairytales lately, and Spin the Dawn is a perfect example of that. It's fun, the characters are lovable, it isn't trying to be anything it isn't. I really, really enjoyed Spin the Dawn and I wholeheartedly recommend it to all my fellow lovers of YA fantasy and fairytales.

ARC provided via NetGalley