UNRAVEL THE DUSK is the sequel to Spin the Dusk and the concluding part in the The Blood of Stars duology. It also lays some hints and allusions to Lim’s upcoming duology Six Crimson Cranes.

Maia now has the three magical dresses she created in the first book — the laughter of the sun, the tears of the moon, and the blood of the stars – at her disposal, along with her emerging powers from her demonic deal. In UNRAVEL THE DUSK, we get to see what all of these powers can actually do.

It really ups the stakes from the first book, bring the war that’s been lurking around the edges of Maia’s story right to the centre stage. I’d say this book becomes far more about Maia and Maia’s internal journey than the previous book. Edan appears only for relatively short sections, and the romance between them takes a backseat to their efforts to save Maia and the kingdom. It feels a darker story in that sense as, instead of trying to win a contest or find magical objects, Maia faces losing what makes her her, and fighting her own descent into demonhood.

The challenges themselves – defeating the demons and fighting the war – felt a little rushed for me, perhaps because of the difference in pacing from the first book. I think I probably enjoyed the first book a bit more – the romance was a strong factor for me in that one, and I’d have like to see the tailoring aspect reappear – but UNRAVEL THE DUSK is a good sequel, that ties up the wider world aspects of the duology nicely. It’ll be interesting to see how the Six Crimson Cranes prequels feed into the world.

A worthy sequel to Spin The Dawn, it was great to see the return of Edan and Maia and find out how it all ended.

Great book, although it was missing some of the charm and light touch of its predecessor and the ending felt a bit rushed.

The magic was less delightful and it was a shame not to have any new bits to add. But otherwise decent and of course a must read if you loved the first one.

Unravel the Dusk follows Maia Tamarin after the events of Spin the Dawn.
Im not going to discuss the plot as I really don't won't to risk spoilers for anyone but little reacap... basically Maia has been revealed to be a woman, she is now the Imperial Tailor and she is slowly becoming a demon.
I throughly enjoyed this one - I wouldn't say it is better than the first, I think I prefer the first but I enjoyed this one just as much. I kinda missed Edan and all the romance in this one ... It was still there but not as much! ... We do get to see more of Lady Sarnai though and I was really glad of this.

This book was just as beautifully written as the first, the descriptions just as vivid, characters just as great.
As others have mentioned ... It is very fast paced and I would have minded it being a little slower and the book being longer but this didn't bother me as much as it did many others - maybe it would have if I read it at a different time but it was the perfect read I needed at the time.

Oh and that ending .... it was just perfect, so full of happiness and left me smiling away, heart all warm and happy! Maia and Edan just melt my heart!

I enjoyed the originality of this duology, I enjoyed the romance and I really liked the beautiful writing/descriptions!
A Perfect light YA fantasy series with a cute romance!

I look forward to reading more from this author.

***

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy to review.

I started this immediately after finishing Spin the Dawn. It is still a great book, but isn’t nearly as well crafted. There are plot lines that resolve a little too conveniently and on completion I feel that both books would have been more satisfying of they had been a trilogy. This book certainly felt a bit rushed. However, it was still an enjoyable read and I would recommend.

This book was the sequel we needed and the ending we wanted. Is hard to tell which book I liked the most from the duology. Both have their own strength. Maia is now one of my favorite characters, I will protect my girl at any cost! The writing was on point and the development of the story was also great. I’m happy we got more war and magic that drives you perfectly to the ending... but I also missed a our Edan at the beginning. No worries you will get content with him ;)
In conclusion Elizabeth did a great job and I can’t wait for her new book coming this year. I will highly recommend her books from now on! Thanks for let me read this book and find this great author.

I loved this sequel, started it as soon as I managed to finish the first book. The author manages to continue to capture each character within this book and how they develop along with the storyline. Their arcs and falls. It was such a satisfying ending to a duology and I will definitely be buying the books in hardcover ASAP. The world building was so emersive, it was a huge world and I don't feel like any of it was missed out.

"We are like the Sun and the Moon, sharing the same stars and the same sky"

An imperial tailor. A kingdom in peril. An enchanter away from home. The conclusion.

'Unravel the Dusk' is the sequel to 'Spin the Dawn', thus concluding 'The Blood of Stars' duology.

Here we encounter demonic forces, celestial magic and heavenly power. What happens to Maia Tamarin? And how does the mother goddess Amana come to her aide?

However slow and dragging the first half of the book might seem, the climax is everything this duology deserves, and we do get a happy ending after all(or do we?).

'Unravel the Dusk' might not be as good as 'Spin the Dawn', but they do make an unbeatable duo.

3.5 stars

Overall, a good end to this duology. In my opinion, the way the story unfolded was kind of cliche and weirdly paced, but I still enjoyed reading it.

Maia and Edan were definitely a big reason why I wanted to read this sequel and I'm happy with how their story ended. This series feels like a good mixture of a Disney movie and a fairytale with some political intrigue. Elizabeth Lim certainly did an amazing job at writing this story.

*I was given an arc of Unravel The Dusk in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Elizabeth Lim*

Rating: 3.5/5

Synopsis:
“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. The boy she loves is gone, and 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.

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, but she will stop at nothing to find Edan, protect her family, and bring lasting peace to her country.”

Review:

This review will contain spoilers for the first book any spoilers for Unravel The Dusk will be pointed out clearly so you do not accidentally read them if you do not want to know what happens.

After my rave review of the first book, I had very high hopes for Unravel The Dusk. Sadly these were not met as highly as I thought they would be. Don’t get me wrong I still really enjoyed this book, but nowhere near as much as the first.

In book two you slowly get to see Maia transform into a demon. Well, you’re supposed to anyway. At times I definitely forgot that this was happening other than the voices she often hears of the ghost calling her to Lapzur.

*The next section has spoilers*

Maia’s personality really doesn’t change that much and I honestly would have loved to see her become the villain as that would have been a really interesting twist. Instead, the ending of Maia’s ‘demon arc’ was very disappointing and felt like it had no effort behind it. Using the classic Deus Ex Machina trope, all of the book’s problems are solved very suddenly and very easy through the intervention of higher beings. This did ruin the story for me quite a bit.

I still really love the characters and thought that they were well developed, other than Maia’s demon side. The human side of Maia really came into herself and although she was still quite timid around her higher-ups, she was much more self-confident and strong-willed.

Lady Sarnai became really likeable and just incredibly strong and resilient. It was great to see more from Ammi and get to know more about her background.

There wasn’t really any tailoring happening in this book and I was a little disappointed about that as I loved reading about the clothes. Although it was great to see Amana’s dresses again and picture just how beautiful they are.

Romance was not a huge part of this book which I found strange because it was quite a large part of the first book. Unravel The Dusk definitely focuses more on the action side of the story, with those plot points being a lot more drawn out well planned.

Overall I did really enjoy this book, however, it did take me a long time to get through it. Maybe if that wasn’t the case I would have enjoyed it more, but I’m finding that I can’t remember a lot of plot points. However, if you are interested in a whimsical fantasy that has a slight focus on romance and an incredible focus on small details then you will love Unravel The Dusk and The Blood of Stars duology.

This was a tense follow-up to ‘Spin the Dawn’, with even higher stakes and several unexpected twists.

While I did prefer Book 1, I still enjoyed this! Things felt a lot more serious this time around – everything is still life-or-death but the consequences of Maia’s choices, wins and losses reverberate far beyond just her and Edan. The constant sword hanging overhead with Maia’s mortality/loss of identity also colours most of ‘Unravel the Dusk’ with more sombre tones. I don’t know if this was deliberate but the cover of ‘Unravel the Dusk’ feels a lot darker and perhaps more unnerving than ‘Spin the Dawn’, which I think tracks well with the internal content
The very beginning was wound tight with unease and apprehension, with some shockers that I really didn’t see coming. As we went on though, the first half started to feel a bit repetitive. The same concerns seemed to be rehashed over and over even though I was already very aware of them, with little progress to a solution. I also found the (early) action scenes a bit hard to follow/visualise.

However! Just after halfway through, things started really moving along and I was a lot more gripped and the action scenes were fast-paced, exciting and generally much easier to follow. (Also I’d just like to officially declare Ammi the underrated MVP of this duology. She deserves the world and must be protected.) We also see the return of a character that I was desperately hoping to learn more about in ‘Spin the Dawn’, so I was very pleased about that. I found this character’s choices very interesting, and while I didn’t agree with some of them I could certainly understand why they made them. They felt realistic which is something that can be said for pretty much all the characters. For example, I was annoyed at Maia quite a number of times, until I realised that what she was doing – and what she was able to do – actually made a lot of sense in terms of her character history.

Yet again, Maia’s relationship with her family made me cry and I continued to love the romantic pairing as well. I did develop a bit of a pet peeve, though – I felt really weird any time Maia referred to Edan as a ‘boy’ given that he was a) over 1000 years old and b) not even a boy in regular human-age terms? (Why can’t Edan just be a man?) It wasn’t too much of a bother though.

Overall, I’m really pleased that I finally read this duology and I’m definitely checking out Lim’s future work! I enjoyed seeing the Easter egg references to Shiori and her cranes (from the upcoming ‘Six Crimson Cranes’!).

„Unravel the Dusk“ takes place right after the events from the first book. There were hints about the earlier plot but I was still glad, that I read it right after „Spin the Dawn“.
The writing style and further world-building were as great as in book one! I liked the tone that the author was using.
I also enjoyed the plot but it was a little bit weaker than the first book in my opinion. It was still really nice to read but it did not catch me like the first book.
I liked the ending a lot and I shed a few tears.
What i especially liked was the teaser for the next book from the author „Six Crimson Cranes“. They were a few cool hints in „Unravel the Dusk“ and I cant wait to read this new series from her.

I give 4,5 from 5 Stars

This book was sensational! I am utterly heart broken that Maia's journey is over so soon. The novel was insanely difficult to put down and so easy to read, I ended up reading the majority of it in one sitting. After finishing the first book Spin the Dawn I doubted that the sequel could live up to its predecessor however I was wrong, this book was amazing!

There is so much in Lim's novels that bring them to life, her ability to create scenes and bring characters to life is beyond words. I loved the characters in this novel and both the emotional and literal journeys that Maia undergoes through the narrative.

I appreciate how this novel focuses on not only female bonds and friendship but female empowerment, the respect between Sarani and Maia is well developed and shows how women do not have to be friends in order to be successful when working together. Sarani's role in the latter parts of the novel is significant as she stands as a strong female leader and warrior and it is during these scenes that her character truly comes alive.

I loved this book so much and cannot wait to read whatever else Elizabeth Lim writes. Not only a new favourite duology but a new favourite authors as well

When I read Spin the Dawn I really loved the first half of the story but was sort of disappointed with the second half. Unravel the Dusk was the opposite. I had trouble getting into it, I found it dragged at the beginning and I just wasn't getting what I wanted out of it. But then the last half of the book happened and I loved it. Special mention to chapter 32, which had me sobbing loud enough to worry my mom (I'm sorry mom, that's what books do to me).

Overall, I think this was a very enjoyable story and a great twist on the Mulan trope, if we can call it that. I'm glad I finally read it and all I can say is that if you liked this duology, do yourself a favor and pick up Six Crimson Cranes also by Elizabeth Lim because you'll fall in love.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for a digital review copy in exchange of an honest and voluntary review.

I liked Spin the Dawn so I decided to read the sequel, hoping that what I found lacking in the first book would be developed in the second one.
I liked Unravel the Dusk as well but unfortunately a bit less than the first book. The pacing was very slow, some scenes were unnecessary (I felt they didn't bring anything to the story) and I'm still missing character development.
All in all it's not a bad book but it just wasn't for me.

Thank you to the publisher who provided me with an e-copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

After reading Spin the Dawn recently and finding it a charming read, and also Lim’s Six Crimson Cranes, I was really looking forward to reading the conclusion in this story, unfortunately it didn’t quite hit the same mark for me.

Spin the Dawn ended with Maia slowly transforming into a demon, Edan freed from his oath and separate from Maia and the threat of the Sharman stronger than ever, and Unravel the Dawn picks straight up from there. The romance, a sweet part of book 1, doesn’t feel quite the same, not just due to the distance between them but both characters have new dynamics, in fact rather opposite dynamics at times. A change in power would have been interesting to look at, but it’s not gone into, the love established in book 1 is just left there, not challenged or developed, it’s built and written around as a sure, stable thing but when the characters have changed so much, I still feel the relationship needed work.
Edan as the Enchanter is delicious, he’s flirty, protective, kind and a great presence on the page, however here he has merely just a background character, the token cute love interest. I would have loved to have known more about how he was dealing with such a change in his life literally after hundreds of years of duty. Maia,a character I really rooted for, is quite infuriating in this book, determined to protect her loved ones, she isolates herself and keeps secrets from people who love her unconditionally throughout. Becoming a demon is all her character really has in this book, and yes that is a big thing but after a while you really get it and still have to read about it. Neither characters, who were so fantastic in Spin the Dawn, felt as interesting.
The demotion of Maia and Edan’s progression in this book, and yet the book being built around Maia, is frustrating because there are 2 characters that are actually fascinating here. Ammi, a maid at the start of this story, joins Maia in her escape, sacrificing her safety in the process, she’s sweet, she’s defiant and I would have loved to know more about them.
Lady Sarnai is the star of this book, she is incredible and for me I just needed more of her, I needed a POV, I needed to know her thoughts, I need a prequel or a sequel or at best a novella. There is so much potential here, so much grey to her, love but also examples of cruelty, a warrior in battle, a woman in a man’s world, a daughter to a corrupted man, there’s so much conflict and I loved her. I kinda wish that this story had been told from Sarnai’s perspective and it felt wasted that it wasn’t. Both Maia and Sarnai have similar paths, of love and misogyny, it should’ve been compared.

This isn’t a terrible book, it’s just that my expectations because of how much I enjoyed the first book weren’t reached and I could see the potential. That said, besides Sarnai, I did continue to enjoy the stories and world building in this book. I enjoyed the references to Shiori in Six Crimson Cranes, when it comes to describing the heritage and culture of the characters you really feel the authors heart. I also loved the family element in this book, the true love story and I’m really glad this was explored and developed. This element did leave a sweet memory for this book.

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to review this book.

(Warning! This is the second installment in The Blood of Stars duology so be aware that the following review may contain spoilers regarding the first book, Spin the Dawn!)

Book review: Everything comes with a prize, a fact that Maia is well aware of after the events in Spin the Dawn. In Unravel the Dusk, the story of Maia continues, picking up right where the first book ended. One enemy may have been defeated at a great cost but another dark power soon takes its place, threatening to turn the entire kingdom into ruins.

How much will Maia need to sacrifice to save her beloved country and protect the ones she love? How much can she give without loosing herself completely? Without turning into a monster?

The stakes are higher than ever and the odds have never been more uneven. Here, there is no knight in shining armor who rides in on his white steed to save the day. No, in this heart-wrenching tale, the fate of the entire kingdom is forced on the shoulders of a young woman who wanted nothing more than to live out her life as a tailor with her own little shop next to the ocean.

Once again, Maia shows that she will stop at nothing to save the ones she love. But how do you win war when the deadliest enemy may very well be yourself? In Spin the Dawn, Edan called her the hope of A’landi and maybe she is. But what if Maya's part in this fairy tale isn’t to save the kingdom but instead causes its doom?

Enemies come together, devastating sacrifices are made and just when you thought you were safe, everything changes. This is the thrilling conclusion to the fast-paced, action-packed and emotional roller coaster of a story which began in Spin the Dawn. It’s the end we’ve all been waiting for and trust me when I say that you don’t want to miss this!

Unravel the Dusk was more than I could’ve ever wished for and once again I’m in awe of how beautifully and masterly Elizabeth Lim composes her vibrant and fantastic stories. Elizabeth Lim is just as much of an artist as any painter or master tailor.

***I received an ARC of Unravel the Dusk through NetGalley (thank you Hodder & Stoughton) in exchange for a honest review.***

I had such high expectations for this book because i absolutely loved the first one. This book had so much potential but just didnt reach it!

It was incredibly slow. I had to push myself through reading the first 60% because it was so slow and not alot happened.

The was no character development at all and this made me incredibly sad. There were some parts that i didnt understand why it was in the book. they didnt bring anything to the story at all.

This book could of been so much more it just didnt hit the mark for me. I still enjoyed it but after the first book i expected so much more

Honest review in exchange for a EARC from netgallery.

Another great read from Elizabeth Lim. I loves Spin the Dawn so couldn't wait to read this sequel. This book focuses more on the war than the first novel. I enjoyed watching maia evolve as the novel progressed and was very satisfied with the ending..

My only criticism is there should have been more Edan. Looking forward to reading more of Lims work in the future.

This arc was provided by Hodder & Stoughton, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

TW: war, violence, death, murder, imprisonment, torture, depictions of blood

Unravel the Dusk is a strong conclusion to The Blood of Stars duology. As soon as I finished Spin the Dawn, I immediately needed to read its continuation and I'm grateful to Hodder & Stoughton for providing me a copy.

The first book ended on such a cliffhanger, I had no idea where it would go and Lim impressed me with this story. It was gruesome but hopeful at its heart as Maia does everything she can for her family, kingdom, Edan, and, lastly, herself.

Maia's development throughout both books is admirable. She went from the obedient daughter, who put everyone else above her, to someone who wants to fight for what she wants. She still puts others before herself, but she never ignored her own happiness (even if it cost her).

It was also a hopeless story as she went through each trial and obstacle. Lady Sarnai had me raging with the way she treated Maia, considering she is the reason Maia is suffering as she is. That's one thing I wish Maia had done, stand up to her but she is too kind-hearted to do that.

If you're reading this review, I highly recommend you pick up this duology. The writing is beautiful and the characters loveable. The story will have you despairing over the circumstances, and you'll gladly thank the author for it.

A strong duology and I will read anything Elizabeth Lim writes!

Such a great conclusion to this duology, i really enjoyed this tale and i cannot wait to see what else the author comes up with. Thank you!