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Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar // Night Markets, Star Courts and Desi goodness

GOODREADS // AMAZON // BOOK DEPOSITORY The daughter of a star and a mortal, Sheetal is used to keeping secrets. Pretending to be "normal." But when an accidental flare of her starfire puts her human father in the hospital, Sheetal needs a full star's help to heal him. A star like her mother, who returned to the sky long ago. Sheetal's quest to save her father will take her to a celestial court of shining wonders and dark shadows, where she must take the stage as her family's champion in a competition to decide the next ruling house of the heavens--and win, or risk never returning to Earth at all. This gorgeously imagined YA debut blends shades of Neil Gaiman's Stardust and a breathtaking landscape of Hindu mythology into a radiant contemporary fantasy.   ( A huge thank you to the  HOV Tours  and HarperTeen for the eARC and the opportunity to be a part of this blog tour.  ~When a book sees you~      Yes I am absolutely going to s

Unravel the Dusk (The Blood of Stars, #2) by Elizabeth Lim // Battles, Curses and star crossed love

 GOODREADS // AMAZON // BOOK DEPOSITORY
The thrilling sequel to SPIN THE DAWN, a magical series steeped in Chinese culture.

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.

YA fantasy readers will love the sizzling forbidden romance, mystery, and intrigue of UNRAVEL THE DUSK.
 (A huge thank you to the MTMC tours and PRH International for the physical copy and the opportunity to be a part of this blog tour. 



     This was my most anticipated sequel of 2020! Was it what I expected? Not exactly. But did I love it all the same? Absolutely. Unravel the Dusk is much darker than Spin the Dawn and the stakes are high. I constantly worried for the characters, not just Maia and Edan but the secondary characters too and I read the whole book in like 2 hours straight because I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN!

~4 REASONS THIS BOOK IS THE FINALE WE DESERVE~

~So much at stake, so much to lose~

    Right from the start I worried for Maia. Considering how book one ended can you blame me? And as the chapters flew by, I was scared for everyone, even characters I had not cared much for in book one.

There is more than one war to fight for Maia. While she struggles to save her country, she must also work fervently to fight the darkness spreading within her. And when we think one problem is over, another crops up! Elizabeth Lim made sure we'd be on the edge of our seats praying to Amana to JUST KEEP THE BABIES ALIVE.

~Dark magic and Mayhem ~

     While Spin the Dawn focused so much on Maia making the three enchanted dresses, Unravel the Dusk focuses on their magic. Maia sacrificed so much to make those dresses and I'd have been disappointed if the dresses didn't turn out to be so awesome and powerful. Also can I just say I love the idea of couture fashion being powerful? I would very much like a magical dress please and with pockets.
Magic was the blood of stars falling from the sky, the song of my enchanted scissors—eager to make a miracle out of thread and hope.

     I liked learning more about the magic of enchanters and demons. We were shown so little of demonic power in Spin the Dawn but the sequel elaborates on that. We see Maia starting to change because of her deal with Bhandur, starting to become something else altogether while she struggles to keep her memories.

     Also the whole descent into darkness is a trope I didn't realize I loved until I read this book! At some points Maia's struggles with her curse were described so vividly my heart ached for her. Ms Lim why must you hurt Maia so?

~Secondary characters take center-stage ~

    I loved that secondary characters from book 1 have more role here. Can I just say I want an Ammi in my life? I love seeing female friendships and the one that grows between Maia and Ammi is sweet and adorable.

     No spoilers but I am glad we see more of Lady Sarnai and as always she is complex and interesting and has so many layers. While there were some characters I didn't exactly like, i found them interesting and understood their actions even when they were not right. morally grey characters make the plotline so much more interesting.
"Whatever history remembered of us, whether it likened us to the sun and the moon - only permitted to meet once a year - or simply to a boy and a girl touched by the stars, fate had danced to bring us together."

~The unstoppable action right from page one ~

     While I missed the domestic banter and humor from spin the Dawn, I quickly became enamored by the non-stop action and seriousness of Unravel the dusk. I do wish we had more of Maia-Edan goodness and bantering BUT the lack of it did not in any way make the book less interesting. In fact the action barely gave me time to breathe.
“I will stay by your side until the fire in the sun grows cold and the light of the moon is no more. Until time blots out the stars.”

     The entirety of the book is fast paced and I liked how all the subplots came together. The action scenes were so vivid and also it's not secret I LOVE Elizabeth Lim's magical writing. The depictions of magic and enchanted fighting were so beautifully described, it's almost easy to forget there is a battle going on. Seriously, I'd read ANYTHING Ms Lim writes.

~Unravel the Dusk is the best finale we could have asked for and it delivers with high stakes, an intricate plot and characters to fall in love with~
(Actual rating - 4.5)

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What is a sequel you are very excited for? Tell me in the comments below!

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