Genre: Fantasy – Romance – Young Adult
Publisher: Random House
I thought this series was a trilogy, but it’s not, it’s a duology, which means this book is the conclusion to the story which started in Spin the Dawn. If you’ve been following me for a while, you probably know how much I loved that book, and how much I love Lim’s writing as a whole, including her books in the Disney Twisted Tales series (Reflection and So This Is Love are absolutely fantastic).
Spin the Dawn left the story of Maia on a cliffhanger, and Unravel the Dusk continues her tale. Separated from Edan, it is up to Maia to prevent her country going to war. But Maia is slowly turning into a demon, and is struggling to fight against the darkness threatening to consume her.
A big focus of the first book was the sort of slow-burn romance between Maia and Edan. In Unravel the Dusk, Maia spends much of the novel trying to decide if she should even go to Edan or not. The focus is less about their relationship, but the romance elements still play a part, as Maia struggles to retain her humanity. And it’s an aspect I always love about Elizabeth Lim’s writing. She does Romance so well, whether it’s between Maia and Edan, Cinderella and her prince, or Mulan and Shang. She creates couples you instantly root for, and moments between them that fully elicit a strong response, having you on the edge of your seat and hoping so bad they get a happy ending.
There’s a lot of action in this one, with a few actual battles taking place with Maia caught up in them. The action was done really well, with the focus remaining in the POV rather than trying to find reasons to have Maia darting all over the place to see everything that is happening.
I feel like we got to see more of some of the female characters in this novel, with Maia having the opportunity to get to know particular players a bit better. As well as the various relationships deepening and Lim’s excellent skill at portraying these – friendships, romantic relationships, and family ones – she’s also great when it comes to descriptions.
The settings are vivid and clear, and even though Maia no longer feels the need to eat, we still get tasty, mouth-watering food descriptions as others try to tempt her.
Elizabeth Lim’s writing never disappoints, and Unravel the Dusk is no exception to that. I absolutely loved reading this one, and getting the conclusion to Maia’s story. The tension runs throughout, and the inner battle between Maia’s dark and light side worked really well. This is a duology I highly recommend.
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Find out more about author Elizabeth Lim on Goodreads, or visit her website.
Unwrapping Words 