DNF at 70%

Oh my. Where do I start. *cries in frustrated disappointment*

I tried incredibly very hard to like this. I traded for the physical arc and was both gifted the audiobook and eARC by Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Press, and Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review. Unfortunately, I spent the weeks I was flip-flopping between the three different media forcing myself to enjoy while dreading continuing through the story. And now writing this I’m still anxious about re-living the time spent with this book.

Let’s start with the good bits and he reasons why I didn’t rate it a 1 star – the cover? Absolutely STUNNING. So gorgeous and I absolutely cannot wait to see what the special editions for this book looks like because I know it’s going to be even more beautiful.

Another great thing about this book is the diversity in the representation. It’s Asian, there’s disability rep, and I instantly decide to read any book with a queernorm world.

However, those are the only bits that I enjoyed about the book. It reads so forcibly young as if it was written for middle grade age but in such a condescending way. I read quite a bit of middle grade and this felt like a parody of that. Interspersed in between al the juvenile text were irreverent and dirty jokes that felt out of place and completely irrelevant to the story line. I don’t see how a young child being joked about as obsessed with porn is important to the narrative. How jokes about the lack of intelligence of characters and the blindness of other characters are important to the story?

As for the audiobook, the narrator was objectively good but adding to my observation that I felt as if I was reading a train wreck in slow-motion, the narrator was MEOWING in my ear constantly. And not as a sound effect. She would meow out the cat’s noises when the text would say “meow” and that honestly was really disturbing.

The characters themselves felt as if they were intentionally part of the TDTL trope with how immature and intentionally obstinate they were portrayed to be. They never seemed to see what was right in front of their faces as the plot went on and they were so unserious all the time and for what? Someone gets tortured? OK, lets giggle about it.

For the writing, it was extremely repetitive, and the pace meandered over and over in the same extremely small circle. The most beautiful part of this book was the author’s note at the start. I wish I stopped there.

In the end, I really couldn’t take it and just decided to DNF at 70%. This was the biggest chore to read and unfortunately my biggest disappointment of the year next to Martha Well’s Witch King. It put me in the biggest reading slump of year so far and I really wish I didn’t try as hard as I did to love it.

**2.5 STARS**

Content Warning: violence

I was absolutely drawn to this book because of that gorgeous book cover. It’s one of the prettiest book covers I’ve seen this year. I was also intrigued with the synopsis saying it’s Sailor Moon meets Cinder but as I read the book I felt like it didn’t deliver on any of those fronts. And I watched Sailor Moon this summer so that’s fresh in my head while I read this book and there were some similarities. I think Zhara has the personality of Usagi (Sailor Moon) in some aspects, like she giggles around good looking people, she’s bubbly but cares about helping others.


Story wise it was easy to follow. There is something going on, monsters are reemerging and the need for the mysterious society called the Guardians of Dawn are needed for their magical skill. I guess that’s another thing related to Sailor Moon, the Guardians. But it’s very different from the Guardians in Sailor Moon.

Zhara has magic that she is trying to keep secret. She’s a little bit of a Cinderella, and her evil step-mother treats her and her sister horribly. Zhara meets the royal prince, Han, who’s undercover and looking for the Guardians also. I thought their interactions were cute and fun. There is a lot of sexual innuendo because of some books they discuss but it all feels very innocent. My favorite character I think is Xu, who is Han’s best friend. They are Han’s closest companion and really came through for him when he needed them. I felt like Xu kept Hu in line as much as they could.

I was okay with the build up of the story but somewhere along the way the story wasn’t holding my attention. I think maybe this would work better for younger readers. It read a little too young for me, or I’m just too old for it, but I couldn’t connect to the story.

Why you should read it:
*comparison to Sailor Moon and Cinder, it has magic and Guardians, and a sweet romance

Why you might not want to read it:
*might read too young for some adults

My Thoughts:

I wish I could have connected to this story more because I really do love that book cover. I also could have been comparing it hard to Sailor Moon since I spent the summer watching the series on Netflix. Overall, it was an okay read with some funny moments but I think it’s not for me. I do think it would appeal to younger YA readers though.

From the cover and title of this book, I thought this might be MG (and wondered why it was in YA), but after reading the first few chapters, it seemed like lower YA. But as I continued, it's for older teens, despite the immaturity of the characters. There's swearing, mentions of pornographic literature, and mentions of violence not suitable for a younger audience.

I was drawn in by the "Sailor Moon meets Cinder" comps, but I saw none of it in this book. No group of magical teen girls in epic transformation sequences or cyborgs. And the stakes aren't nearly as intense or engaging as it is in Cinder, even after reading the first 20% of the book. Unfortunately, we're ticking off the YA checklist: We have the typical setup of a girl who must hide her magical abilities from the evil Warlord who's bent on killing everyone with magic, no parents, and much more.

One of the biggest issues is the characters. The world here has a culture of young girls (teens) who are paired with their future husbands by a matchmaker. With this cultural setup, it would seem as though the main character would also have some level of maturity, especially since she works and lives in impoverished conditions, yet she is even more immature than her younger stepsister. She reads romance stories all day and her interactions with her love interest are cringeworthy (their initial dialogue was terrible, and I wasn't sure if this book was even YA--some other dialogues were also not that good). I only kept reading because I wanted to see if the MC would mature towards the end (like in Six Crimson Cranes), but this doesn't quite happen. Unlike in Cinder, the characters in this book aren't fleshed out enough for readers to care for them.

Another qualm I had with this book is the use of "they"--the author gives us some background albeit could've been more clear, but the story is contrary to the author's note. And this confused me SO much. When the MC's love interest is introduced, "they" is used, but shouldn't be clear that the MC is talking to a male when his physical features are described (which the vast majority of pubescent males have)? Or is this world where everyone looks the same? Another instance is a female character, even after we learn she's female, "they" is still used whenever she talks. This is SUPER annoying because it breaks the flow of the story and confuses the reader as to there being multiple characters in the scene. Also loathed the forced liberal ideologies in this story.

I liked the worldbuilding, as the book draws on East Asian cultures, but I think it could've been more immersive (like Six Crimson Cranes or the Red Palace). And the magic system could've also been done better.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

magic is forbidden throughout the morning realms, which is why zhara has worked so hard to conceal her own. but when she meets han, she is introduced to a secret magical liberation organization called the guardians of dawn, and zhara realizes she must find her inner magic to save the world.

this is pitched as sailor moon meets cinder. while i don’t have much knowledge about sailor moon (though i do plan on watching it someday!), i could definitely see the similarities to cinder, or at least to cinderella, which that book is a retelling of. i can for sure see fans of cinder’s long(ish) series, world building, secret magic, and so on easily getting sucked into this world.

Firstly, the cover is SO PRETTY! That was definitely one of the major reasons I wanted to pick this up, but the comparison to Cinder (one of my all time fave books) was another.

Unfortunately, I only made it about 35% in and not going to be finishing this one. The writing style seems repetitive and leans on the younger side of YA. I couldn’t take the “Mistress Brandy” and “Master Plum Blossom” nicknames, especially after they learned each others’ actual names, and some of the humor just seemed immature and annoying.

I will say that the abomination scene was super creepy! I just couldn’t get invested enough in the plot, characters, or romance to continue on with this one. Bummer.

This was my first S. Jae-Jones book and I am a big fan! I thought the writing and world-building were both really vivid and the magic system and mythology felt unique and different from other YA fantasies I've read recently. Ever since I saw that this book labeled as having "Sailor Moon vibes," I knew I needed to read it and that description is totally spot on. I am excited to see where Jae-Jones takes things next!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books for the eARC.
Overall this seemed very YA. I get the hints of Sailor Moon and Cinderella but overall the book was interesting but not for me. Curious to see if there’s more books with different guardians. All in all I’d recommend this to a teen who wanted to try fantasy books. I personally couldn’t connect with them.

Zhara is a magician in a realm in which it is forbidden, and magicians have been mostly eradicated during the Just War. Magicians have been blamed for becoming dangerous monsters - abominations - though they cannot control if they contract this blight. She has a chance meeting with Han, the prince and heir of her kingdom, and together they join the magical liberation group, the Guardians of Dawn. Zhara discovers she is the key to determining the source of the blight, as she has the ability to sense and heal the corrupted magic.

This book in general was good, a bit slow for my tastes. I did enjoy the world building aspect of the book.

Thanks to Netgalley for the eARC

I had been highly anticipating the release of this book for a very long time. I remember coming across the listing on goodreads not long after S. Jae-Jones wrapped up the Wintersong duology. I was immediately drawn in when I read that this book would be Sailor Moon inspired. Finally after some time it will be released to the world and in my honest opinion...I was highly disappointed.

Guardians of Dawn: Zhara is the story of a teenage girl who is emotionally and physically abused by her step-mother and tries to survive everyday by keeping her head down. Oh and she is a magician while magicians are being hunted down and killed throughout the land. One day her life gets flipped upside down when the strength of her power becomes apparent to her and she starts to realize that she may be more than just a magician but a Guardian of Dawn: a legendary warrior of myth born to save the world from the chaos of demons. We also have Han, the prince who is desperate to find aid for his magician little brother who he suspects is being plagued by dark forces. When Zhara and Han cross paths they find themselves on a journey to save the realm from demons and magicians from persecution.

In theory this all sounds great. In execution not so much! This book started off really strong. I was immediately drawn into the world and I quickly took a liking to the characters. But as time went on my affection for everything lessened. I found Zhara to be a bland protagonist. She acted differently depending on who she was speaking with at the time and she was a classic YA protagonist heroine with insane magical powers she doesn't know how to use but miraculously is able to use them in dire situations every single time. There was no growth to her power, one moment she was clueless and the next she was pulling off amazing magical feats. Her power was also a little too powerful. The best way I can describe it is like Kirito from Sword Art Online a.k.a. God Mode. The power of the Guardian of Fire is transformation meaning she can basically create anything and shape anything to her will. It's too much and it led to action and plot sequences being less impactful because I knew there was never going to be any danger. As for Han he is literally the Ken to Zhara's Barbie. I have never read about a bigger himbo in my life. Han was too dumb and it became a running joke throughout the book that lost its humor after the first few mentions. He is actually clueless and one of my biggest pet peeves in people is stupidity. While Han is a very sweet and caring boy it was completely overshadowed by his main character trait: dumb jock. Another weird thing was the inclusion of BTS as actual characters. In this world they are the Bangtan Brothers, a wandering acting troupe that the realm is obsessed with. If it was just left to being easter egg mentions it would have been completely fine but it progressed to them being actual characters showing up on page with plot purpose and I was cringing a little not going to lie.

The plot was a bit all over the place. It was a bit confusing to follow since there would be random plot points or world info dropped at weird times in the book. Instead of the world building being given in the beginning of the book it was periodically sprinkled in throughout. A good idea in theory but it just left me scrambling to remember. I think this book would greatly benefit from a glossary and that would solve this issue. Since this was an arc I have no idea if the final copy will have one so keep that in mind. I have already mentioned the convenience of Zhara's powers really dampening the suspense.

The writing was extremely repetitive. Like how I mentioned above about Han's lack of intelligence being a constant reminder throughout the book this happened with many things. Another being Zhara's uncontrollable fits of giggles when she finds someone attractive. Or information being presented multiple times like it was new but it was not. This book reads very young and I think it would benefit in the middle grade category. The characters were quite immature but they were dealing with YA issues and mentioning adult themes (like pornography and Han's knowledge lack thereof being another constant joke?). I think younger readers, like actual teenagers, would enjoy this book a lot more than I, an adult in my mid twenties.

All this being said there were things about the book that I enjoyed. I really enjoyed Xu as a character. They are a gender ambiguous individual who is Han's best friend and confidant in the palace. Xu was funny and honestly an icon. I loved that they were unapologetically themselves and was not afraid to say whatever was on their mind. Jiyi was another fun character. She is a retired courtesan turned poet in her early twenties that ends up being somewhat of a teacher to Zhara and the only person for miles who can read the language of magic. She was also not afraid to give her opinion and she did not let danger stand in her way. The last character I really enjoyed was Yulana, the princess from the northern empire and Han's betrothed. She was not at all what I was expecting. Yulana was a vibrant personality, a strong warrior, and an intelligent individual. It was fun to watch her and Han's dynamic considering they both were every much not thrilled with the engagement and the fact that their interests are elsewhere.

I really enjoyed the close yet strained relationship between Zhara and her stepsister Suzhan. They care for one another but there is this underlying resentment that is hard to place until you learn why farther into the book. They did not have the perfect relationship and one of my favorite lines in the book was Suzhan telling Zhara that she would never sacrifice her own happiness for anyone, even Zhara. The dynamic was really interesting.

The manipulation and abuse by Zhara's stepmother was really well written and those parts, while dark and hard to read, were actually some of the best parts of the book. Watching how the stepmother's manipulation and emotional abuse had such a hold over Zhara her whole life was really interesting to see. While it's sad it was one of the few plot points in the book that had suspense due to Zhara not being able to solve it with her magic.

I really loved the Wintersong easter eggs/references in the story. Wintersong is one of my favorite books of all time so it being included as a famous light novel called "The Maiden Who Was Loved by Death" in this world was such a fun little thing. I really got a kick out of the characters quoting lines from the novel that were actually straight quotes from Wintersong that I recognized. I just think it was a really fun thing for S. Jae Jones to do and to subtly connect the two worlds like that.

While this book was supposed to be Sailor Moon meets Cinderella it was mostly its own thing. The Sailor Moon inspiration is there but not overdone and same with Cinderella. I actually did not even know this book was supposed to be inspired by Cinderella until I read it in another review. This world is very original and I would like to read more stories in it so long as they do not follow Zhara and Han. I will try out the second book in this series so long as it is not in Zhara's POV. Her story was not for me but I am very willing to give another guardian's story a go. I would recommend this story to an adolescent/teen audience or readers who have not read a lot of YA fantasy. I look forward to the next book which I believe is inspired by Beauty and the Beast. I'm a sucker for a good Beauty and the Beast story.

Overall I enjoyed this book. The magic system is intriguing. I am enjoying the world building, this idea that magic is illegal and those with it have been hunted. The idea of the 4 guardians being reborn to face the princes of hell is fun and interesting.
Some of the humor is a little heavy handed as is the foreshadowing/big reveals.
It does have LGBTQ+ rep which I liked.
A few things I found off putting was the numerous names for everyone, at times it got a little confusing. A map would also have helped with visualization, as well as a cast of characters glossary.
Overall I’d probably continue the series.
I was given an arc by netgalley my opinions are my own.

good story but I didn't get hooked into the characters. I also didn't love how MANY modern day references there were (or allegories that were very close - looking at your BTS). Also didn't love the mid gendering of the NB character.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books for the eARC. This was a solid beginning for a younger YA series. I would say it reads as more younger YA as the characters felt juvenile. There were several phrases that the characters used which were overly repetitive (“Good-Looking Giggles” being one). The other side characters could have been further developed. Overall, I neither loved or hated the book. I am curious to see where the rest of the series goes, especially if the next book is focused on a different Guardian of the Dawn.

This book started slow and was pretty confusing, but pushing through to the half way point was worth it as it picked up. I probably wouldn't read it again, but I'd recommend sticking with it, it becomes a really good fantasy!

Thank you to the publisher for providing a review copy

The concept sounded so promising, and I was really looking forward to it. I’m such a huge fan of Cinder and the lunar chronicles and the fact that it was also Asian fantasy? HELL YEAH. However, as I started to read it and get to know the world and the characters…I could tell that this was not for me.

I can’t talk too much about the plot because I only got 20% in but from what I got up to, nothing was really happening. It was very slow to start and I feel like a lot of scenes felt very random and could have been condensed. Being completely honest, if you asked me what was going on in this book, I would not be able to tell you because I had no idea what was happening.

As for the characters, this was what made me put down the books because they were just so annoying. Zhara, the main character definitely had so much potential as a character, as she’s a girl who’s had to hide her magic her entire life and is terrified of using it, especially because it harmed her little sister in the past. However, as I kept reading about her, the more and more I didn’t like her. I honestly don’t know how to properly explain this, but to me, it seemed like she had two completely different personalities, which threw me off. At first we see this shy, quiet girl who keeps her head down and is just trying to survive, and then the next thing you know, she’s flirting around in a way that feels very much unlike her personality. She also had a bunch of weird character quirks, such as stammering every 3 sentences (I am not even exaggerating) and the “good-looking giggles.” I kid you not, every time someone attractive interacted with her this girl was GIGGLING, and the phrase “good-looking giggles” was brought up way too much. I just couldn’t do it.

Also the humour in this book… Being so honest right now, this felt like not even a millennial trying to write Gen Z humour. This felt so much worse. For a book that is supposed to be YA, and is filled with a lot of aspects that felt very middle grade or lower YA (i.e. the writing style, world-building, immaturity of the characters) there were so many juvenile jokes. And while I appreciate a good dirty joke…this just wasn’t it. From what I’ve read, the absolute entirety of the humour comes from these ‘dirty jokes.’ The amount of times sex, or pornography was mentioned was just way too much to the point where it felt repetitive, redundant, and just icky.

All in all, I don’t think this was the book for me and I’m sad to give this a 1/5 stars. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. ZHARA releases August 1st 2023.

"I would rather light the flame knowing it will go out, than sit forever in darkness."

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Magic flickers.
Love flames.
Chaos reigns.

In a world where magicians are accused of being abominations and responsible for the rising numbers of monsters terrorizing the Morning Realm, magic is forbidden!

Between caring for her blind sister, serving her wicked stepmother, and trying to subdue her magic, Jin Zhara lives a quiet but secretive life.

All that changes when she stumbles upon a boy who has a secret, too. With the help of Han, Zhara finds a hidden magical liberation organization called the Guardians of Dawn. Magicians are being transformed into monsters by a mysterious plague, and the Guardians of Dawn believe evil demons are to blame. With news of the monsters re-emerging in the Marsh, action must be taken.

Zhara must uncover the elemental warrior within if she is to restore harmony and peace to her world or let chaos reign forever.
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First and foremost... S. Jae-Jones and her writing style... I am constantly impressed. I will read whatever her heart desires to write because it just flows!

This was a fun and entertaining read and held true to YA. The love was so innocent and sweet, the characters were a united friendship fighting evil, and the resolve left me satisfied but wanting book two.

You can easily jump into this epic world with tons of loveable and enduring characters. The monsters were so exceptionally creepy and vivid that I thought of them long after they left the pages.

I will definitely continue this journey!

This retelling with a twist will be available on August 1st, but you can pre-order now🌸

Zhara
Zhara, named after the main character, is so cute! I loved the way the author intertwined comedy into the story and had a main character that also serves as comedic relief. After reading several darker/serious fantasy books, this was a very nice respite.
In this universe, magicians are burned alive, and we follow the story of Zhara, a magician, and His Grace Han. They are introduced very early in the story by a book swapping meet-cute. Han switching his book of magic with Zharas romance novel. The magicked people of the world are slowly turning into demons and they believe they figured out why.
the story did lose me a smidge in the middle but it picks back up. Really good read and a palette cleanser.

I was immediately drawn to Guardians of Dawn: Zhara after reading the captivating description that included Sailor Moon, Cinderella, monsters, love, and hidden magic. By the end of chapter 2, my heart was captured by S. Jae-Jones' relatable, endearing, and genuinely kind protagonist, Zhara.

S. Jae-Jones weaves together a compelling narrative that explores mythology, intense family dynamics, and a sweet romance. The characters are beautifully written and evoke a range of emotions, from love and affection to fear and rage. Zhara's character is reminiscent of Cinderella in that she is mistreated and manipulated by her stepmother, but she is determined to protect her blind sister at all costs and has a passion for romance novels(SAME Girl).

The fantasy elements and world-building are captivating, and I felt fully immersed in the world S. Jae-Jones created. If you're a fan of fantasy, romance, and beautifully written characters, Guardians of Dawn: Zhara may be the perfect read for you.

ALSO as an artist by day THE COVER IS BEAUTIFUL!!!

Guardians of Dawn: Zhara (Guardians of Dawn #1) by S. Jae-Jones, 416 pages. Wednesday Books (St. Martin’s Press), 2023. $20. lgbtqia
Language: PG (5 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG13
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Being discovered as a magician means death in order to prevent abominations from running rampant again—except that abominations are coming back anyway. While she is still unsure about the nature of her magic, Zhara (16yo) will do what she can to help find the guardians and heal the abominations. Hans (17yo) also wants to find the guardians and offers to help, all the while hiding the identities of himself and his betrothed.
Forbidden magic, unwanted arranged marriages, and a search for the heroes to save them all—fantasy troupes we all love. Zhara’s story has a lot of potential, but setup for the action was slow going. The fantasy world built by Jae-Jones could be cool, but there was too much textbook-like explaining and I skimmed a lot of it. I admit that the parts with meeting the secret society, backstabbing, and the powers were engaging; I hope this book got all the boring details out of the way for the sequels.
Zhara is described as having “brown” skin, and the majority of characters are implied non-White. The mature content rating is for mentions of alcohol and pornography, innuendo, scary images, and attempted sexual assault. The violence rating is for mentions of genocide and murder, implied physical abuse, child abuse, and fantasy violence.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

I really enjoyed this book. The tagline suits it perfectly because it is truly Sailor Moon meets Cinderella. I loved the use of humor in the face of danger and the banter between the characters. I also loved the world building and am eager to read the next book in the series.

One thing I wasn’t crazy about was the MC. Don’t get me wrong, I liked her. But I didn’t love her. She was a little too silly at some points to take seriously. I hope the other books in the series follow the other Guardians because I’d love a book about the Guardian of Wind (I won’t say who because of spoilers).

Overall, this was a great start to a series I can’t wait to continue and I will definitely be reading S. Jae-Jones’s other books.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5 stars
Solid beginning to a series. Most of the characters were good, I think I liked some of the side characters more than Zhara. The world building was interesting and the magic system was as well. The writing style was so-so, there were times I was pulled out of the story, but it was easy to listen to.
Some of my favorite characters were (I'm hoping I don't butcher the spelling of these names as I listened to the audio) Chee who is the prince's best friend, Yulia, and the prince's young brother. Chee was just a great sidekick and added some humor. Yulia was the prince's arranged fiancee and she was very confident and I enjoyed the page time I got with her. The prince's brother, I have no idea why I really liked him as he's not in the book a lot. Both Zhara and the prince (Han?) were just ok for me. Zhara was very submissive to her stepmother and oblivious the the obvious abuse she was giving her. She doted on her blind sister who seemed to not want to be doted on. She was much more confident and a more likeable character when she was away from them. Han was juvenile, but a cinnamon roll. He was almost there. Oh, I also loved Sasha, the cat. He was sassy.
The world building was good, I really could picture the scenes in my head. The magic system was interesting, if a little confusing at times. Magic is forbidden, yet Zhara possesses it. She can make light with her hands and I believe a few other things (other than the *big* thing that is a spoiler). People also can get possessed by demons.
The writing style wasn't my favorite because there were times I was jarred out of the story, yet being a longer than (my) typical audiobook at almost 16 hours, I felt like I flew through it. It was so easy to listen to while doing something else which I don't always find with a fantasy book.
This book was marketed as Cinder meets Sailor Moon which is like 99% of the reason I requested it, but I didn't find a lot of them. At around 70% through I said to myself "ah, I see the Sailor Moon now." Granted, I haven't read Cinder in years, but I didn't see a ton of it. Zhara was the step-daughter who fell in love with a prince but that's all I can remember from Cinder that gives me the vibes.
The book was nicely wrapped up, but with a lead into the next book that makes you want to pick it up. I will definitely be continuing on with this series. I'm excited to see what happens next in Zhara's story!