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ninetalevixen 's review for:
Unravel the Dusk
by Elizabeth Lim
content warnings:
rep:
I received an advance review copy for the Caffeine Book Tours blog tour; all opinions are my own and honest. This review was originally posted on my blog, Nine Tale Vixen, along with book-inspired moodboards.
★ 3.5 stars ★
Having been lucky enough to participate in the Spin the Dawn tour — you can check out my review and playlist here — and having fallen in love with this series already, I was absolutely overjoyed to be picked for the Unravel the Dusk tour!
As with the first book, Lim’s writing is lyrical and lushly detailed; there’s lots of East Asian mythology, expanding the worldbuilding I loved so much in Spin the Dawn with even more familiar stories. (No spoilers, but Unravel the Dusk prominently features another of my personal favorite Chinese folktales!)
But to be entirely honest, I may have hyped this sequel up too much in my head, particularly because I was essentially expecting it to be much the same, maybe a bit darker. It picks up after Spin the Dawn, though the conflicts and stakes are quite different, which makes the plot structure quite different: rather than another quest with milestones, this was more of a will she/won’t she gradual build.
The narrative focus also shifts, with Maia and Edan separated — we see more of Maia’s love for her family and her kingdom, which shows other sides to her character and leads to an interesting journey. (Not to say there’s no romance in Unravel the Dusk, because there absolutely is!)
None of the above is inherently bad, of course, but it does mean that your feelings about Spin the Dawn may not be a great predictor for your feelings about Unravel the Dusk. So I guess you’ll just have to read it yourself to find out.
Spoiler
precanon loss of loved ones (mother & siblings), depiction of terminal illness, grief, whipping, torture, mention of blood drinking, blood magic, selling of children, hearing voicesrep:
Spoiler
Chinese-inspired setting & culture, Asian-coded cast, implied past M/M relationshipI received an advance review copy for the Caffeine Book Tours blog tour; all opinions are my own and honest. This review was originally posted on my blog, Nine Tale Vixen, along with book-inspired moodboards.
★ 3.5 stars ★
Having been lucky enough to participate in the Spin the Dawn tour — you can check out my review and playlist here — and having fallen in love with this series already, I was absolutely overjoyed to be picked for the Unravel the Dusk tour!
As with the first book, Lim’s writing is lyrical and lushly detailed; there’s lots of East Asian mythology, expanding the worldbuilding I loved so much in Spin the Dawn with even more familiar stories. (No spoilers, but Unravel the Dusk prominently features another of my personal favorite Chinese folktales!)
But to be entirely honest, I may have hyped this sequel up too much in my head, particularly because I was essentially expecting it to be much the same, maybe a bit darker. It picks up after Spin the Dawn, though the conflicts and stakes are quite different, which makes the plot structure quite different: rather than another quest with milestones, this was more of a will she/won’t she gradual build.
The narrative focus also shifts, with Maia and Edan separated — we see more of Maia’s love for her family and her kingdom, which shows other sides to her character and leads to an interesting journey. (Not to say there’s no romance in Unravel the Dusk, because there absolutely is!)
None of the above is inherently bad, of course, but it does mean that your feelings about Spin the Dawn may not be a great predictor for your feelings about Unravel the Dusk. So I guess you’ll just have to read it yourself to find out.