Adored this one a lot! I do feel like something is missing for me, but I do know there’s going to be a second one that’s definitely why and hope it I can see what it is

Zhara by S. Jae-Jones has an almost Cinderella feel. We meet Zhara who lives with her stepmother and stepsister. While she does have a decent relationship with her stepsister, her stepmother takes advantage of the fact that Zhara has magic. In this world, there is an overlord who has banned all magic and to have magic is deadly. This book had me from page one. The characters were relatable and the world building was easy to fall into. I loved this book and can't wait until the next installment!

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange of an honest review. All opinions are entirely my own*
I really enjoyed Wintersong by this author so when I heard that they'd be writing another book, I knew I had to check it out! It's marketed as Sailor Moon meets Cinder and while I'm familiar with Sailor Moon, I absolutely loved Cinder so this book seemed right up my alley.
I will say, it isn't quite what I was expecting, but I don't mean that in a bad way. I knew if it was going to be a Cinderella sort of retelling there would be romance, so I knew to expect that. The romance in this book wasn't that terrible to be honest. It didn't dominate the entire story, which is something I'm not a huge fan of in fantasy.
I did love all the world building. It was a lot though at times and sometimes I felt it was a little too much. I didn't get much of a sense of character development for any of the main characters either. They all pretty much stayed the same throughout the whole story. I do think Zhara is learning to stand up for herself, which I think was very difficult for her since she lived with an abusive "parent". (She can deny that fact all she wants. The Second Mother was so abusive. Fits though with the Cinderella retelling).
I think overall, it was a good book. There are lots of places where it info dumps and that can be super overwhelming, but the information is interesting (for the most part. When it's 2am and you're still up reading because you don't want to put the book down, it can kinda ruin the vibe). I would recommend this book though!

I don't really know how to talk about this book. For the first part of it, I was really enjoying this. I really liked our two main characters, and I was very intrigued by the world that was slowly being build up for us. I found it quite a compelling read as well. But then the magic properly gets introduced, and we really kick of the plot, and I just kind of got bored.
That being said, I really liked the magic system. Just the whole mythology behind it was incredibly interesting to me. I also still liked our cast of characters, and I liked seeing their personal developement. The romance was also a bit underdeveloped, but still quite cute. I did really like that aspect of the book. The plot just didn't work for me.
I don't know. I was just so incredibly bored throughout most of this book, and I had a really hard time picking it up after putting it down (hence why it took me a month to read this book). I also found myself not caring enough to read more of this series, which is a shame because (again) I did quite like the characters and world.
So yeah, I'm quite dissapointed this didn't work for me, but I do really hope it will work for other people because there are nuggets of goodness in here for me.

Incredible imagery and lovable characters. Nothing really stands out trying to write this review 2 months after I finished the book, but I remember that I want to read the next one, so that's good enough for me.

Unfortunately this book didn’t meet my expectations.

The cover itself is what drew me to read it and the summary was promising too.

Sadly, the characters were not it for me and it felt impossible to connect with them. The plot was underwhelming as well, mainly because the story progressed at a snail’s pace.

There were of course some moments where I enjoyed the book but they were overshadowed by the rest.

I wish i liked it more and had nicer things to say but I don’t.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

The world-building was interesting, and complex at times. I really struggled with this book and the amount of characters I was being introduced too. I found myself distracted and skimming a lot. I did see some comparisons to Cinder and Sailor Moon like so many others have mentioned, but it still was not enough to keep me fully invested.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press providing me with an advanced readers copy of this book.

This book was a fun read and such an interesting concept. This is a unique retelling idea, and that really showed in the voice and tone of the book as well.

I think while the ideas themselves were there, I wasn't necessarily hooked by the storytelling if that makes sense. The worldbuilding was unique, the characters had interesting motivations, and the ideas sounded fun. However, the writing just never sucked me into the story itself, and so it just never completely pulled me in.

However this is a fun YA fantasy that many will love!

Zhara is a beautifully written book. It did take me a bit to get into the book and I didn’t read it as fast as a typically read books but non the less I enjoyed it. This book is fun and enjoyable to read. It has a full cast of likeable characters and cute little nods towards Cinderella while still being an incredibly unique book. I’m looking forward to reading the next one!

I was a huge fan of this book. Beautifully written and it will warm your heart. 10/10 cannot wait for book two.

I would recommend this book to someone who is just getting back into reading but if you are a seasoned reader you might have some of the same opinions I do about this book. Now is this book good yes but did i find myself in love no. Which is said because I really wanted to connect to the characters and fall in love with this book because it has so much potential.

I enjoyed this one but didn't feel it was unique enough. I may need to re-read it as it seems to blend into others or didn't stand out compared to those I've read more recently.

I didn't connect with the characters or world as much as I was hoping to. I love this cover and do plan on giving the next one a try.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc of this title in exchange for this honest review.

Sadly i did not enjoy this book as much as i had hoped to. It felt a bit too juvenile for my tastes and had quite a few inconsistencies that were hard to look past. Also fantasy BTS, while funny, did shatter the immersion for me.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I had high hopes!

This started so well that about 20-40% in, I was already recommending the book to friends. Then it went downhill from there…

It became so repetitive after a while. Always the mocking of the prince and his lack of knowledge, the repetitive reminders of Zhara’s protection and family and the reason why she can’t fully give herself to her magic. I’m all for a complex universe, but the multiplication of names, side stories and terminology made it so that the story just became quite dense. And let me not get started on the writing that was soooo slow-paced.

To be honest, about halfway through, I had decided to DNF it. I told myself I’d read a couple more chapters to decide and behold, the story sprung to life again. Only to die a slow death that was the reveal of the plot and the ending of the book. I understand that the ending is the way it is to set up the reader for a sequel, but if it is written as densely as this book, there is no need for any setup. I will not dive into that universe again.

This was comped to Cinder and Sailor Moon - two things I have really enjoyed in the past - so I was looking forward to this.

I wasn't a fan. I pretty much disliked the whole cast of characters. The felt very shallow and very 2023 for a book set in a fantastical (mildly historical) East Asia. The only character I didn't dislike was the cat. Sajah was awesome.
Besides the cat, I did really love the world and the lore that S. Jae-Jones created, but I do wish it had been a bit more in depth.

Overall it felt like this book was relying too heavily on it's comps to get the vibes across than the actual words of the book. I was just left really wanting and really disappointed.

Loved the magic in this story, and wonderful world building as well. I can't wait to read more by this author!

Thank you for the advanced copy NetGalley and publishers! I really enjoyed this one. I ended up listening to the audiobook from my library. I was very quickly hooked into the story and invested in the characters. It was a fun and enjoyable fantasy.

Charming, fun adventurous world with Cinderella vibes! I loved reading to this book. There’s not very many Ya books that I love anymore but I was never bored!

I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Just okay for me. Loved the mythology but the story wasn’t that engaging. Dialogue needs improvement and too much exposition.