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vivelarevolution's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.0
I loved this book when I was younger and I wanted to love it now. I mean, come on, magic and sewing and spinning and knitting! What could be more up my alley?
Unfortunately I found the ableism to be absolutely intolerable and the love interest to be frustratingly sexist. I hated how the main character pushed her disabled brother into taking "one step every day" while she was off on her adventure as if that isn't an incredibly fucked up thing to encourage a disabled person to do, and I hated that she (poorly) faked his disability in order to pretend to be him. I stopped reading when she got drunk and strange men goaded her love interest (who she was not in a relationship with yet) into kissing her and she kissed him on the cheek to attempt to satisfy this request without making herself uncomfortable and then he kissed her anyway. Like, what the hell? Also, I assume that her love interest is also a teenager, but there were some weird references to him maybe being immortal that made me wonder. I can't remember my first reading well enough to say for certain whether or not this relationship was straight up pedophilic.
Also, this is one of my more minor gripes, but why have the main character come out as a gay man while going out of your way to establish that her love interest knew her gender the entire time and therefore nothing about that relationship is actually queer? It's not funny or cute, it's just weird.
Also, introducing a whole (fake, but still) ethnic group as "barbarians" and then having the main character meet some and learn "they're not all barbarians"? That's sick.
Unfortunately I found the ableism to be absolutely intolerable and the love interest to be frustratingly sexist. I hated how the main character pushed her disabled brother into taking "one step every day" while she was off on her adventure as if that isn't an incredibly fucked up thing to encourage a disabled person to do, and I hated that she (poorly) faked his disability in order to pretend to be him. I stopped reading when she got drunk and strange men goaded her love interest (who she was not in a relationship with yet) into kissing her and she kissed him on the cheek to attempt to satisfy this request without making herself uncomfortable and then he kissed her anyway. Like, what the hell? Also, I assume that her love interest is also a teenager, but there were some weird references to him maybe being immortal that made me wonder. I can't remember my first reading well enough to say for certain whether or not this relationship was straight up pedophilic.
Also, this is one of my more minor gripes, but why have the main character come out as a gay man while going out of your way to establish that her love interest knew her gender the entire time and therefore nothing about that relationship is actually queer? It's not funny or cute, it's just weird.
Also, introducing a whole (fake, but still) ethnic group as "barbarians" and then having the main character meet some and learn "they're not all barbarians"? That's sick.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Classism, Violence, Blood, Misogyny, Sexism, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Torture, and Ableism
Minor: War
booksthatburn's review against another edition
The main character disguises herself as a (specific) boy with a disability she doesn't have. That was iffy enough, but my hell no point was when she bound her chest for five days with no breaks and then kept going through the pain. I'm not interested in watching a character either slowly distort her ribcage through unsafe binding practices, or mysteriously have it just be painful but have no other consequences.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Child death, Death, Grief, Classism, Ableism, and Misogyny
Minor: Alcohol and War
hanarama's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The Good:
- Plot is fun and interesting.
- Main character is clever and likeable.
The Bad:
- Prose is a little more tell than show at times.
- Romance is a bit bland and over takes the plot after a point.
You Might Like this Book if You Like:
- Fairytales and impossible tasks.
- Competition storylines.
- Fashion
The story is pitched as Mulan meets Project Runway, which I feel is a bit disingenuous. The only similarity to Mulan is that Maia crossdresses in order to enter the initial competition, which only lasts for about 1/3 of the story.
Beyond that, this is a highly patriarchal setting where women are prevented from working as anything more than maids or cooks. I expected the book to be more critical of this, but it really wasn't outside of how Maia is effected. There are a few comments made regarding the Emperor's betrothed, but not much beyond that. I would have liked at least the love interest to be less patronizing towards Maia. While he seems very supportive of her goals as a tailor, he still comes off as kind of belittling.
The moments spent in the world's mythology are compelling and fun. I loved the descriptions of the clothes and Maia's work, but I felt like there was a lot that could have been improved with this book. I will likely still read the second book, and I am hoping to check out Six Crimson Cranes at some point, but this one was pretty middle of the road for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Gaslighting, Grief, Misogyny, and Sexism
chloejadereads's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Death of parent and Death
water_violin's review
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This was a really fun and somewhat challenging book; I’m definitely looking forward to the second one! I got very serious Tamora Pierce: the Immortals quartet vibes from the main characters in Spin the Dawn. Gaia shared several characteristics with Daine; Edan shared a surprising number of characteristics with Numair (and some of Daine as well). And their relationship definitely felt comparable as well. Super interesting premise and I’m excited to see where they go next!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, and Violence
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