First Line Fridays #17

first-lines-fridays

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines? If you want to make your own post, feel free to use or edit the banner above, and follow the rules below:

Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!

If you’re using Twitter, don’t forget to use #FirstLinesFridays!

Hello friends! Today I’ve got my first (!) First Lines Fridays post of 2020!!

‘I had three brothers once.’

This book is a story that I’ve been waiting for the right time to read. However, I genuinely think that this book is a book that you just have to sit down to read it, once you have a copy in front of you.

This book is !

Spin the Dawn (The Blood of Stars, #1) by Elizabeth Lim | Young Adult, Retelling, Fantasy, Romance

Project Runway meets Mulan in this sweeping YA fantasy about a young girl who poses as a boy to compete for the role of imperial tailor and embarks on an impossible journey to sew three magic dresses, from the sun, the moon, and the stars.

Maia Tamarin dreams of becoming the greatest tailor in the land, but as a girl, the best she can hope for is to marry well. When a royal messenger summons her ailing father, once a tailor of renown, to court, Maia poses as a boy and takes his place. She knows her life is forfeit if her secret is discovered, but she’ll take that risk to achieve her dream and save her family from ruin. There’s just one catch: Maia is one of twelve tailors vying for the job.

Backstabbing and lies run rampant as the tailors compete in challenges to prove their artistry and skill. Maia’s task is further complicated when she draws the attention of the court magician, Edan, whose piercing eyes seem to see straight through her disguise.

And nothing could have prepared her for the final challenge: to sew three magic gowns for the emperor’s reluctant bride-to-be, from the laughter of the sun, the tears of the moon, and the blood of stars. With this impossible task before her, she embarks on a journey to the far reaches of the kingdom, seeking the sun, the moon, and the stars, and finding more than she ever could have imagined.

Steeped in Chinese culture, sizzling with forbidden romance, and shimmering with magic, this young adult fantasy is pitch-perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas or Renée Ahdieh.

I’ve been wanting to read Spin the Dawn for at least 6 months now. I first heard of Spin the Dawn on Netgalley, read a blurb, and knew that I had to get my hands on my own copy ASAP, no matter the cost.

Honestly, I keep having high hopes for Maia’s story, but I’m trying my hardest to start reading Spin the Dawn with a clear conscious.

Have you read Spin the Dawn? What were your thoughts on the story?