3.5

this was SOOOOO fun, incredibly enjoyable i truly could not BELIEVE how wonderful of a time i had listening to this! now, audiobooks used to be a sore subject for me, as i could never ever get into them. for years, i dismissed them as a method to use for my reading because i could never find a perfect natural listening pace nor could i find the perfect way to actually focus on the audio itself, not block it out (which happens naturally when i listen to music as i accomplish various tasks). and then i realized i could listen to audiobooks during my daily hit of cardio, and i went genius! so the entirety of this book, all sixteen hours of it, was consumed in the setting of the gym. do with that information what you will. now will i utilize audiobooks more? probably not. but i do want to how katharine chin did a GREAT job narrating this, the various voices and sounds were reallly good and with every new addition to the cast, i was in awe mention at the voice that chin would implement for characterization. really truly incredible, the emotion, the sound effects, especially during the action scenes, everything! she's soo skillful it was great!

now, onto the book itself. ridiculously delightful!!!!! lot of people critiqued this novel to be juvenile, but i never felt like that. sure, some things are repeated and a liiiitttle cliche, if you want to be nitpicky, but it's fun!!!! the slight cheesiness is the best part!!!! god forbid a YA fantasy forces you to suspend your disbelief just a little like. the fantasy world + plot was super intriguing and interesting, and i wish i had a map to refer to but i'm excited to get more insight for the consecutive novels in this series. the characters were reallllllllly great tbh, i really enjoyed the cast, now, i can't name names, bc i don' t know how to spell the names i heard solely by ear 😳😳😳but trust i loved them! the lgbt+ rep killed (the language note in the beginning endeared me FROMM the beginning and set the tone for such an engrossing read) and tbh i didn't have an issue with the disability rep but who am i to say that. zhara and han especially were such fun characters and i really loved being in the heads of both of them (thank you dual pov!). their devotion to their younger siblings was especially one of my favorite parts (ridiculously on brand tbh. like thank you eldest daughter). i didn't quite understand the ending truly, but that's a nonissue tbh when it came to my enjoyment of the novel. the action scenes were gripping, the descriptions were adept, the jokes were funny, and the romance. ohh don't get me started about the romance.

the highlight of this novel to me was definitely the side romance between zhara and han. a side romance in a fantasy is ALWAYS going to hit (it's my favorite romance genre truly!). every scene between them had me cheesing RIDICULOUSLY in the gym. i was, and i mean this literally, smiling, giggling, at one point i had to leave early so i could hop around giddily in private, i was JOYOUS at every little scene. i couldn't even tell you a favorite scene, every single scene from the start TILL the end of their romance was sugary sweet and i was soooooooo INTOOO IT!!!!!! so so so sooo good

i'm excited to dive into the second novel! (and it's already downloaded on my phone library trust me). this isn't the typical deep, thrilling political fantasy that i find myself craving to read almost always, but this ISS an entertaining, somewhat lighthearted, and riveting fantasy read!

This was unfortunately a DNF for me so I don’t feel comfortable giving a rating. It just was really hard to get into and didn’t feel like it was written well.

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year and S. Jae-Jones does not disappoint! The writing was very new and lyrical! I found the world-building to be very original and realistic! I love the fairytale feel! I did not want this story to end! I adored the magic and romance! The only thing I did not like about the book was that it was very slow-paced at times! Nevertheless, I was awe-struck by this book! I can’t wait for other installments in this series! I recommend this for fans of Margery Rogerson, Marissa Meyer, and Elizabeth Lim! The narrator was wonderful! She helped make the world building come alive through her voice. Her voice was very rich and smooth! I love how she made each character sound distinct! She helped make the book come alive!

I could not get into this story, I don't know what it was. S. Jae-Jones has a certain prose that either works or doesn't and I have to say it missed the mark in this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great and epic new fantasy. I really loved the magic system in this book because it was unique and interesting. I loved Zhara as our main character in this book as she was such a sweet character and was so great. I enjoyed all of the other character and the other Guardians of the Dawn that were slowly introduced. This was a great start to a new series and I cannot wait to read the next book in this series to see where we go.

I had so much fun with this one! It was actually for a book club I’m in which made it even better. I can’t wait to see where this series goes!

A spellbinding fantasy inspired by East Asian folklore, filled with magic, rebellion, and a touch of romance.

I’ve been putting off reading this series for a while and I regret doing it especially since its exactly as described “Sailor Moon meets Cinder”. This book was beautiful, not only on the cover but also on the contents inside. The magic in this series seems to be an interesting concept, and truthfully, I’m thrilled to see the other guardians blossom in their books. Watching Zhara realize who she was amazing, and I felt like I could truly connect to her character. The romance in this book was also there, and I enjoyed it. I never felt like it was rushed, and I appreciate that since I feel romance can tend to feel forced and rushed in books these days. I’m excited to read the next books and carry on with this series and read it until it ends ( although I hope it never ends)
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillian Audio for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the mythos and world-building in this. I'm so excited for book 2. I need to know how it all comes together.

I would recommend this book to someone who is just getting back into reading, but if you are a season 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 sad because I really wanted to connect to the characters and fall in love with this book because it has so much potential.

Guardians of Dawn: Zhara by S. Jae-Jones wasn't my favorite read. The character development felt slow, making it hard to connect with the protagonists. Additionally, the romance between the main characters had an insta-love feel, which lacked the depth and buildup I prefer. Despite these aspects, fans of the genre might still find the world-building and plot intriguing.

The Guardians of Dawn: Zhara is one of those books which quickly picks you up. I loved the world building and magical feeling you immediately get. This is abook about duty, love, heart, and family. About all the things, and sacrifices, we will make for our family. It feels a bit on the younger YA side, but because of that felt nostalgic to me. Who hasn't, at some points, felt like they were limited in our potential to dream? And so when we have the opportunity to spread our wings, sometimes we will do everything we can to do so. One of my favorite elements has to be the humans versus deities in terms of power and cruelty. All the things we would do, or not, if we had more power, if our tomorrow was ensured.

The narration of this one made it absolutely hilarious too. It's fun when you can see a character shine through and be allowed to have their nitty gritty doubts, but also their humor and snarkiness shine. And Katharine Chin does a great job at showcasing that.

I did not realize that I could only listen in the NetGalley app. That was a really rough interface and so I ended up not listening to this audiobook.

I loved this book! I had absolutely no idea what it was about but I saw it everywhere and I got in in my Illumicrate box. I was happily surprised by this book. It really is a sailor moon meets Cinderella book. I did not realize that until closer to the end of the book where the similarities were more jarring. The magic system is super cool and I can't wait to learn more about the lore, it is so intriguing. I'm super excited for the next book to come out. I cannot wait!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ALC! ♥

there is nothing about this that is inherently bad but i just can't get into it. comes off as juvenile but i was also a bit bored and uninvested in the story. i don't think this was marketing correctly. thank you to netgalley for an advanced copy of this book!

I was attracted to this book by the sheer beauty of the cover and the plot, Unfortunately as I listened to the book found it difficult to connect with of the characters. I also found that the sheer numbers of characters left me confused and times and it was hard for me to connect characters to their stories.

The world-building was detailed and allowed me to see the vision of the author, but the pacing was often slow, and I struggled to move forward at time. I did both finish and enjoyed the story overall and I look forward the sequel to see if it helps me to put this story together a bit better.

Overall I thought this was a fun story with cute characters. The plot is very classic Asian inspired fantasy. It’s classified as YA but the writing style and characters made it read more like middle grade. I liked that this story was full of monsters and magic.

Han and Zhara’s meeting was super fun. I liked them not knowing who they were but there came a point where it was too obvious to be believable.
I thought Zhara’s family dynamics with her stepmother and sister was very interesting. I especially liked the tension that built with her sister with her blindness.

Sadly the pacing wasn’t for me- and it feeling more like middle grade. There were also a lot of sexual innuendos geared towards a character who’s asexual which was weird to me and didn’t add to the story.

The cover art is GORGEOUS and is what initially drew me to this book.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

3 Stars

Been a minute since I dived into fantasy, and this book was a good way to ease back in without getting too tangled up.

Keeping it simple applies to the plot, characters, and overall conflicts. It's a decent book, maybe just that – decent.

Saw the twists coming, and the story felt like it followed the beats of a show like Avatar: The Last Airbender. Think Cassy Claire but more on the fun side than the shadow hunters series.

In a nutshell, it's cute and an easy read. Slows down a bit here and there, but not enough to make me bail. Turns out, I'm more patient than I thought. Probably won't give it a second go, but I'm debating whether to grab the next book.

DNF at 55%

I've been trying for 6 months to finish this audiobook but I'm throwing in the towel at 55%. I think when comparisons are made in the blurb to Sailor Moon and the Cinder series, you're setting yourself some very high expectations. And the book cover reminded me of those pretty manga covers that I loved from when I was a teenager in the aughts. But Zhara was kind of boring in comparison to the marketing behind the book. I never could get into the story. The plot trudged along at a snail's pace and I wasn't compelled to continue listening to the audiobook.

2 out of 5 stars.

This book was good! I liked the characters and the setting. The author writes good too!!
I hope to read more by this author in the future! Looking forward to it!