Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim

12 reviews

chrisljm'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? No

3.75

I didn’t dislike the romance but I did wish it was more of a slowburn. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Sexism, Violence, War, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Child death

Moderate: Death of parent, Slavery, Alcohol, Sexual content, and Sexual assault

Minor: Abandonment

iwinatcookie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Torture, Animal death, Murder, Violence, Sexism, and Misogyny

Moderate: War, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Blood, and Confinement

meghansarmiento97's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Bullying, Animal death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and War

acidicgoddess's review against another edition

emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

The main character was kind of annoying, especially when the romance finally kicked in. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism, Animal death, and Misogyny

Minor: Torture, Violence, Slavery, and Sexual content

madravingintrovert's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 January is ending with a bang!! Here we have the SECOND 5-flapper girls approved book of the year. This is a young adult book and a pretty clean one at that. There is technically a fade-2-black scene but it is so subtle and tastefully done that you almost don't realize that is what is happening. Spin the Dawn has heavy influences in Eastern world lore, India, Middle East, China, Japan and more. This book had me reading into the late hours of the night and falling asleep reading again. It has been a few months since a book gripped me that strongly. There is mostly adventure with a slow burn love story woven through out. I can't say enough good things about this book. I have a stack that are checked out from the library and due soon and an advanced copy book that I am supposed to read soon and all that is going STRAIGHT out the window in favor of the sequel to this book because I HAVE to know what happens next. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Bullying, Grief, Violence, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Blood, Sexism, War, Chronic illness, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

moonytoast's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.25

NOTE: This book is probably not for people who absolutely despise the “main character who recently discovered she has magic and centuries old magician love interest” trope. It’s not the worst example of this and it still works for what it’s trying to accomplish in the area of forbidden romance, but as someone who is generally wary of that trope I wanted to make that clear. 

I still love Lim’s worldbuilding and writing style — it creates a really vivid and sensory image that I appreciate. I didn’t know going into this book (having already read and adored Six Crimson Cranes) that this duology was set in the same universe as that book, but I think this story and Six Crimson Cranes have their own tone and themes. I do really love the mythology around enchanters and demons; it’s not something I’ve really seen in books that have included demons in their worldbuilding generally. 

The chemistry between the two characters of Maia and Edan is…. decent, but nothing too special. I think my wariness of the aforementioned trope hindered my ability to really latch onto the romance and get swept up in that aspect of the story. I think it starts to get better towards the end, but I am interested in seeing where the next book goes with these characters given the cliffhanger-esque ending.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Death, Death of parent, War, and Animal death

beyondapage's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: War, Violence, Misogyny, and Death of parent

Minor: Animal death, Blood, and Sexual harassment

chancients's review against another edition

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, Murder, Death of parent, War, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, and Adult/minor relationship

matheo's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Colonisation, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, War, Gore, and Alcohol

Moderate: Rape and Sexual content

hazychapters's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

I loved this book. Really. In the beginning, I was a little scared because the book seemed thin to me, and I think that's also why Spin The Dawn was such a nice surprise. The author's pen is very poetic and the reading was with great ease. I had the impression that the first part was going a bit fast, but in the end, it was not that disturbing. On the contrary, it brings us directly to the crux of the matter and Maia's journey.

Speaking of Maia, I want more protagonists like her. She was so strong and true to herself. She doesn't change her behaviour depending on the wind like other YA heroines. She is down to earth, she does everything to achieve her goals and she gets to the end of things. I also adored Edan who, although being sarcastic and flirtatious, respects her. He helps her, but also without forcing her to follow his own path. I was happy to finally see a healthy relationship between two YA characters taking responsibility for their actions and decisions. They talk to each other, take their time to explain themselves and end up apologizing.

The world-building was just as amazing. I'm always very picky about this, especially in fantasy worlds like Spin the Dawn. I was afraid I wouldn't have enough given the length of the book, but everything was so smooth! I didn't have the slightest problem understanding the universe and its politics, its conflicts. And the map is beautiful, as is the cover! This book is definitely one of my favourites of the year 🥰

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death

Lashing