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A review by themoonwholistens
Unravel the Dusk by Elizabeth Lim
2.0
I think a reason a lot of people (including myself) didn't enjoy this book as much as the first one is that it didn't really feel like it brought anything new for the majority of the book, the first half felt like we were getting a darker version of Spin the Dawn. With the court and the secrecy, it just left like she had another secret to keep when I thought it would turn into an adventure of some sort. Just like book one, I would have given the first half and the second half of this book different ratings —
First half rating: 3.5
Second half rating: 2.0
— overall thoughts: 2.5 —
⇢ content warnings//
I still think that the elegant and rich descriptions is the strong suit but other than that, I wasn't that interested in much of anything. Furthermore, the tone actually turned darker than Spin the Dawn which I don’t think matched the beginning of the first book and was what I was initially reading the story for. Both books in this series started off strong and intriguing but it fails to build up from there in my opinion.
This series does still have good themes about family, destiny, with a rich culture in it's background but I don't think it was executed to make the most interesting story. It doesn't help that I wasn't as invested in the romance as much as other people were. I wasn't sold on how the main couple got together in the first book, so given that Edan wasn't really present for a huge part of this one, nothing really helped mend that for me. I found a lot of inconsistencies in the plot and the build up, which I think were missed opportunities.
I expected that we were going to get more of the world building but it wasn't as in depth as I would have thought it could have gone. The plot went down a road that made me feel very underwhelmed given else could have been possible. The writing was still rich and descriptive, which might have been my favorite part. There were parts when the narrative/dialogue felt more modern than the traditional setting.
Maia wasn't my favorite person to follow though in this story for the same reason that it didn't feel like we were getting to know her more. You do get to see her internal struggles which was a nice touch but there was just something about the setting that didn't sell it for me. I don’t think I can say the pacing was slow, but it took so long for the narrative to get to the point. If I was invested enough in the character relationships, I normally would not have cared.
I did like the ending (yes, it's a happily ever after) for how it was written with the touching family moments. All that said, I still really loved Elizabeth Lim’s writing for what it is, I just was not a fan of a lot of choices in the plot and flow.
↣ This was an underwhelming sequel for me and I had high hopes. If you liked the writing in the first book, it's still prevalent here and I think people could still love this if you're sold on the romantic chemistry. ↢
First half rating: 3.5
Second half rating: 2.0
— overall thoughts: 2.5 —
⇢ content warnings//
Spoiler
Physical Violence, Blood, Disfiguration, Torture, LashingI still think that the elegant and rich descriptions is the strong suit but other than that, I wasn't that interested in much of anything. Furthermore, the tone actually turned darker than Spin the Dawn which I don’t think matched the beginning of the first book and was what I was initially reading the story for. Both books in this series started off strong and intriguing but it fails to build up from there in my opinion.
This series does still have good themes about family, destiny, with a rich culture in it's background but I don't think it was executed to make the most interesting story. It doesn't help that I wasn't as invested in the romance as much as other people were. I wasn't sold on how the main couple got together in the first book, so given that Edan wasn't really present for a huge part of this one, nothing really helped mend that for me.
Spoiler
The fact that he suddenly just decides to come back for whatever reason that we don’t see or experience was off to me because it was treated like he could have returned at any time but we know that wasn't the case.I expected that we were going to get more of the world building but it wasn't as in depth as I would have thought it could have gone. The plot went down a road that made me feel very underwhelmed given else could have been possible. The writing was still rich and descriptive, which might have been my favorite part. There were parts when the narrative/dialogue felt more modern than the traditional setting.
Maia wasn't my favorite person to follow though in this story for the same reason that it didn't feel like we were getting to know her more. You do get to see her internal struggles which was a nice touch but there was just something about the setting that didn't sell it for me. I don’t think I can say the pacing was slow, but it took so long for the narrative to get to the point. If I was invested enough in the character relationships, I normally would not have cared.
I did like the ending (yes, it's a happily ever after) for how it was written with the touching family moments. All that said, I still really loved Elizabeth Lim’s writing for what it is, I just was not a fan of a lot of choices in the plot and flow.
↣ This was an underwhelming sequel for me and I had high hopes. If you liked the writing in the first book, it's still prevalent here and I think people could still love this if you're sold on the romantic chemistry. ↢