Unravel the Dusk

Elizabeth Lim.

5*s. Best Enjoyed after Spin the Dawn…like, immediately.

Pardon me, E. Lim, but what exactly have you done to me? You truly must have enchanted me because the stories you write are so full of emotion and crackling with energy and the plots are thicker than a snicker. If your books were walking down the street, I’d definitely do a double check.

The first Elizabeth Lim book I read was Six Crimson Cranes. I received it is a Galley and it was so much more wonderful than I had expected, so I decided to give Spin the Dawn a try. Thank goodness Unravel the Dusk was out because as soon as I finished Spin the Dawn I had to jump into this one (and now I’m practically going full on Elementary School making paper chains counting down the days until The Dragon’s Promise comes out).

At the end of Spin the Dawn, we are in a full crush of emotions surrounding the future for Edan and our amazing Maia, who appears to becoming a full-on demon in secret if she can’t find a way to save herself. Not to mention, there’s Shansen’s army right outside the gates of the Winter Palace. It’s crazy how loyal Maia remains to her sovereign even after finding out what a jerk he is. But Maia is loyal to A’landi first because it’s her home and she will do anything to protect it–and her loved ones–even if it means she must take Bandur’s place in Lapzur and sacrifice all of herself for her country and family.

The problem comes when her Weaver magic is not enough to save A’landi, but her demon magic and the magic that is held within Amana’s dresses–what she sacrificed almost everything to make–would be enough if she chose to wield it. But using it means that her decent into demonhood is all the faster. What is a girl to do when she’s the hope of everything she holds dear?

I don’t know if you already realize, but I absolutely LOVED this book. The entire Blood of Stars series is amazing and worth every last little moment of time it takes to read it. The characters from Ammi to Xina feel like they are right next to you, the settings from forest to dungeon pop into your mind with clarity, and you can practically feel the heat–or cold, in most cases– of the battles and wind from the swords that slash at you through the pages.

Elizabeth Lim is an author that must be heeded.