Due to St. Martins Press refusal to address the remarks made by their employee regarding Palestine, I will not be reviewing this book.

This in no way has anything to do with the author. But I refuse to support anything from SMP because of their refusal to address a major issue at hand.

I receives a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. I found the story of Zhara and her doing her best to keep her element abilities under control because they are seen as wrong and to draw creatures out of the dark. There are think like hidden identity, a secret group and something come for the world from the darkness. What drew me to this book was the cover, magic, and that is was compared to Sailor Moon. I enjoyed it it okay. I did have to go back and re-read parts at time to keep some of the characters right in my mind. The step-mother came off a little flat for me. I am not sure why the sister has to be blind. Some elements did not really add anything to the story. Maybe things will be come clear when Book 2: Ami comes out.

I still gave this four stars, but I hyped this book up a lot in my head and it wasn't as good as I was expecting. Sailor Moon and Cinder are a reach for comp titles. Overall I really enjoyed the magic in the book, and I will be reading book two, but I was confused by the pacing a lot.

Zhara is my favourite fantasy read of 2023! Look at that cover and the character art, its beautiful and interesting just like this forbidden magic story. I can see why this first book in the series did not work for many readers, but the manga loving adventurer in me enjoyed reading this one. I love the easiness of reading this high fantasy with mythology notes and retellings! If you see my review, this is your queue to give Zhara a chance.

Thank you Wednesday books for the book!

Such a refreshing read! I loved the setting; the world was so unique and vibrant. However the plot itself wasn’t very unique and some parts of the book were just cringe, but I could see how a different audience would enjoy it. The characters fell a little flat but not to the point i couldn’t enjoy the story. The writing was great, excellently done—not cliche.

I really enjoyed the ideas in this book. It is just so unique and interesting. And that cover is perfection!

It was okay as YA fantasy goes, but we will see how the patrons react to it. Good world building, but characters were super immature (even though they are teens) and it was cringy to read at points.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book early!

Expansive world-building and lush storytelling, this book drew me in from the beginning. Each of the characters were three-dimensional in their complexity and I enjoyed reading about their trials and challenges.

For fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender and Cinderella retellings, this one is not to be missed.

I have been provided with a review copy of Guardians of Dawn: Zhara from NetGalley for an impartial review. Oh my gosh this story was just epic. I just couldn’t put this story down and I was just captivated by everything that was taking place. The author truly outdid herself with this story. This story just had my emotions all over the place and I am so sad to see this book end. I just can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.

This was an awesome fantasy about a world where magic is considered barbaric and is outlawed but has not been completely eradicated. Zhara has to hide her magic to survive while trying to discover the truth about magic. She struggles with her magic while helping care for her blind sister and dealing with her evil stepmother. Zhara uncovers that the Guardians of Dawn do exist and travels to join them so she can learn to control her magic. Without knowing, she has embarked on a journey to save the world. It's an intriguing and eventful young adult fantasy.

Wintersong is one of my favorite books and I remember when this book was first announced how excited I was. Well, the anticipation was worth it, because I loved Zhara and this world so much!!

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

This felt so nostalgic for me, making my Sailor Moon loving heart incredibly happy. With an intriguing magic system, a cute romance, and some really great dark imagery, this is a fun beginning to a new fantasy series.

A new take on the tale of Cinderella is always welcome on my bookshelves, especially when they have cover art as stunning as this. Initially, I was interested in the book because of the cover then fell head over heels in love with the magical world created by S. Jae-Jones. Anyone looking for a retelling of a Disney classic, this is the book to read.

Guardians of Dawn: Zhara is a great first installment in an epic YA Fantasy series. The writing in the book makes this world seem as beautiful and magical as the cover of the book. I definitely get the comparison to Sailor Moon and Cinder.

The book follows the titular character, Zhara, who in this story is similar to Cinderella. She has to appease her cruel stepmother, while also doing everything she can to help her younger stepsister and at the same time keep her growing magic a secret. Magicians are forbidden in the Morning Realms, and the punishment is death.

Zhara loves to read romances when she can, and on her trip to get the newest release she bumps into a handsome young student. This chance meeting kicks off a series of events that lead Zhara to joining the Guardians of Dawn. It also leads her to finding out more about herself and her destiny.

I loved the magic system in this book. The guardian powers are so cool and I can’t wait to meet the rest of them. The characters are great and I loved the slow burn romance in this one. Great world building too. The sequel cannot come soon enough.

While this isn’t an edge-of-your-seat read, it’s still a pretty solid first book in a series. I think she has a lot she can build off of for the second one. The plot was unique and I’m excited to see where it goes.

I loved the cinderella aspects and honestly, I think some reviewers forgot that this was ya because it definitely reads as YA, but that's not bad. The world building is strong, the characters you want to cheer for and while there could be more, this was still a very enjoyable read.

Unfortunately, I will not be sharing my review of this book on my platforms as I am participating in the boycott of St. Martin's Press and related imprints due to the Islamophobic, Queerphobic, and racist posts regarding the ongoing genocide in Palestine made by one of your employees that has not been addressed by St. Martin’s Press or MacMillan. We are incredibly disappointed with the lack of response from SMP considering our demands are very simple:

1. Address and denounce the
Islamophobia/racism from their employee.
2. Offer tangible steps for how they're going to mitigate the harm this employee caused.
3. Address how, moving forward, they will support and protect their Palestinian, Muslim, and Arab readers, influencers, and authors in addition to their BIPOC readers, influencers, and authors.

It is unfortunate that SMP seems to have decided to stand with genocide and hatred rather than take action to protect their influencers, authors, and readers. I look forward to seeing SMP respond and take action towards this incident so that I can share my reviews of your titles with my audience and edit this feedback with my actual review. Until then I will be holding my reviews and all promotion of any books that fall under the St. Martin’s Press umbrella.

I ended up DNF’ing.

This is YA but feels even more juvenile, feels very middle grade. But there are multiple p*rn jokes. So idk what’s going on.
I feel this should have been manga. It’s written with the feel of manga, but doesn’t work as a novel. Lots of fluff and GIGGLING. And if y’all know me “giggling” is my nemesis. So much giggling.. *shudders*
I’m listening to the audiobook as well, and the narrator is meowing (there is a cat in here) in my ear every time there’s a “meow” written on the page. I don’t like that.
Also very repetitive.

The magic seems cool though. I feel like this needs the right reader to enjoy. I am not the right reader for this.

3.5 stars

Zhara is such a fun time. I think it's perfect for the YA category and the age range. It's also got more of a lighter tone, not so dark, gloomy, and gritty, which is a nice refreshing change.

The star of this book is the characters and their relationships. Especially the main leads, Zhara and Han. The way they initially bonded over their love of romance books is so funny! Prince Han is such a sweetheart. He's a bit vain but he's absolutely a softie. I like that he admits he's scared of situations instead of trying to be all gung ho, macho, and stoic. Zhara will do anything for her sister to make sure she's happy, even if that means sacrificing her own. Sure, she might be too quiet or passive for people in that she's not really an in your face confront danger or injustice but I think the way she's portrayed matches her personality and the background we're given of her.

Also, I enjoy the way the side characters get to know each other and treat each other respectfully or even become friends. Even when there's future potential suitors, it doesn't turn into an antagonistic relationship that vilifies them. Which I think is great. They even work together to all focus and solve one goal.

The world that the author created is so fascinating, full of different Asian influences. The magic is slowly learned throughout the story and I'm happy that the characters don't become all powerful right away. There's even a talking cat! (sort of)

I wish there had been more scenes with Zhara and her sister, Suzhan. I think that's what really brought the dramatic tension to the plot and really stood out to me. They're spaced out and I think there could totally have been more scenes with each other so we could really feel worried about how these two are going to get through their obstacles.

Also, that cover? Stunning!