Unravel the Dusk by Elizabeth Lim

Read Dates: July 27, 2020 – August 8, 2020
Publication Date: July 7, 2020
Source: Owned Hardback

Goodreads — Amazon

Beginning today, things would be different. Beginning today, when fate caught me, I’d meet it head-on and make it my own.

Beginning today, I would have no heart.

When we last saw Maia, she had lied to the man she loved to save his life and sacrificed her own life in order to save her homeland of A’landi. With the enchanter gone from the palace, the emperor grows weak and has been exposed as such to his enemies. The shansen sees this as an opportunity to overthrow the emperor and claim the kingdom for his own. War rages once again in A’landi and Maia Tamarin will stop at nothing to save the people and the lands she loves… even if it means losing her body, mind, and her heart along the way.

FINALLY. Book two! I’ve been waiting for this book for like… I don’t know… an eternity?! Ok fine. A little over a year. It’s been a little over a year.

Rightfully so, though. The first book was one of my all time favorites last year! (Just realizing I didn’t do my usual yearly wrap-up post and I got a little sad…)

Anyway…

So Maia is back and she is so different. For real. If you read book one and just couldn’t get into it because of how weak and sad and clumsy and ridiculous Maia was, well go on ahead and pick up book two and meet the NEW, INDEPENDENT, “DON’T NEED NO MAN”, “I’LL TAKE ON ALL THE ENEMIES BY MYSELF”… Maia. Seriously. I love the way the author has taken this character and changed her as the journey she endured in book one would have done. Maia went from non-confrontational, to a straight BADASS. But I guess that’s what sewing the three magical dresses of an ancient goddess and sacrificing her freedom will do to you. AMIRITE?

We were like the sun and the moon, sharing the same stars and the same sky.
Somehow, that made him feel less far away. And made my heart feel slightly less alone. Less cold. For a moment, the darkness inside me weakened, and my dress came alive –

The relationships in this book were on par with the way they were in book one and they succeeded in twisting my heart in a million different ways throughout the entire book. Maia and Ammi, Maia and Edan, Maia and her baba and her brother. Maia and some others at the end of the book whom I won’t mention so as to not spoil anything… ughh. Things are a little different since Maia is different because of the sacrifice she had to make in book one in order to craft the magical dresses… and it is gut wrenching at times. I’m going to be completely honest here… I cried more than once reading this book. Sad tears and happy. But mostly sad at the things that were happening to Maia and the war that was being waged inside her mind.

“Then let your heart be at peace,” Baba said at last. “No matter what you become, you are always my Maia. Always my strong one.”

The meat of this book was such an adventure. Maia trying to keep everyone she loves safe while also battling her own inner demons (see what I did there?). Maia making decisions for the greater good, not just to benefit her or the ones she loves but ALL of A’landi.

“Your heart is strong, sister,” said my brother hearing my thoughts. “It always has been.”

With the emperor gone, Maia is still acting in her role as the imperial tailor… but the emperor knows she is something more and he uses this to his advantage. There were so many political moves made in this book and so many sacrifices made by so many of the characters. Even the ones who you didn’t really care for surprised you and acted not for their own personal gain but for the gain of the nation. Heartwarming stuff going on…

LORD. What a ride this was.

Now, I offed a half a star (cat, whatever) on this one because the ending… the way the conflict wrapped up… I saw it coming but it seemed too easy and it all happened so fast. Which, thinking back I guess there was no other way to really go about ending the conflict and everything made sense but considering how tense the entire story was, the way in which the conflict is resolved fell a little flat for me. JUST A LITTLE THOUGH. Because once the big finish happened, the after effects and where Maia ended up and the choices she had to make left me in tears. Sad or happy? Well I don’t know, go read it and find out!

“I’ve had enough of the stars for now. Take me to the sea.”

Regardless, this was such a beautifully written story just as the first was and I was so happy to be able to read the conclusion to Maia’s story. Elizabeth Lim is a GEM and I fully intend to explore her Disney re-imaginings next.