Spin the Dawn

Spin the Dawn, Elizabeth Lim. I liked this a lot - fairy-tale YA with a competition, a quest, and an appealing het romance. Goodreads describes it as "Project Runway meets Mulan" but I would throw Howl's Moving Castle in there too. It was well-constructed and hard to put down, with some vivid details, and I can't wait to see what happens next in the sequel coming this summer. (Bit of a cliffhanger in this one.) I think I'm going to nominate it for the Lodestar. Note for animal harm.