SAILOR MOON COMPARISON?!!?!!!

The synopsis of the book really reminded me of Cinderella for some reason but I was so excited to read it, especially since it was being compared to sailor moon. The cover of the book is so beautiful I can’t, but anyways the book is sooo good, I really enjoyed it. The world building was done really well and I absolutely loved the characters. I love reading fantasy books with magical elements so I was really happy about that. However, the fact that I have to wait for the sequel to come out makes me want to cry a little bit.

In a world where magic is forbidden a girl trying to appease her mother's cruel whims and protect her blind younger sister all the while keeping her own magical gifts hidden suddenly finds herself on an journey like no other from facing off against monsters, going on dates with a charming man who just happens to be the prince, and finding her own worth. Jin Zhara has had a difficult life, from dealing with the grief of losing her parents to living with an abusive stepmother and working to make ends meet all the while taking cate of a blind younger sister that she might have accidentally blinded when she couldn't control her own magic, did I mention that she has magic that is strictly forbidden from and could have her executed if anyone finds out? The only thing that Zhara does find happiness in is a romance book series that she's been trying to get her hands on. She has a chance encounter with a handsome young man named Han who gets her in contact a secret magical liberation organization called the Guardians of Dawn. Soon Zhara finds herself awakening powers she never knew she had and facing off against demons that have begun plaguing the city. This is the first book in the series. This was a mixture of Cinderella meets Sailor moon and it was a fun read. The romance was cute and both Zhara and Han were an overall cute couple. The magic, demons, and such were a unique part of the story and the conclusion leaves off in a nice way to start the beginning of the second book.

*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
Guardians of Dawn: Zhara pulled my attention with the pitch “Sailor Moon meets Cinder.” While the latter didn’t meet my expectations for some odd reason, even though I tried reading it twice with no desire to move onto the rest of the series either time, I’m a massive fan of both versions of the Sailor Moon anime, and I’ve dabbled a bit in the manga and some of the other media. While I’m a firm believer that you need to take comp titles with a grain of salt, I ended up getting at least tangential vibes to what I liked from early Sailor Moon, as well as potential for more.
The world building is intriguing, and I liked seeing the Korean cultural influences. The rules with magic being banned, and magicians being blamed for turning people into monsters makes for an interesting premise to start off and have the characters navigate.
The titular Zhara is a fairly sympathetic character, and the Cinderella parallels are pretty apparent in her toxic relationship with her stepmother at the start. In spite of this, she remains a kind, compassionate person, and I liked that she has a positive relationship with her sister, who is visually impaired. However, in spite of these tough issues, I like that there’s a balance of lightheartedness too, especially with the constant theme of Zhara loving her romances coming up. S. Jae-Jones does a great job of balancing tough topics and fantastical violence with whimsy and humor in a way that feels reminiscent of a Sailor Moon-style shojo manga.
The supporting cast is a lot of fun. I liked the romance, especially with Han being kind of a lovable himbo (more of these types of love interests, please!). And some of the other titular Guardians were great too. An additional plus for varied gender and sexuality rep!
The pacing here was a bit uneven. While there were moments of excitement, it would alternate with moments of lull. It’s not a massively long book, so it’s not super-noticeable, but I still feel the book could benefit from being tightened up in places.
This is a fun read, and I’d recommend it to fans of fairy tale retellings or manga/anime-adjacent books.

I think this is a great premise for a fantasy series and a unique world, but the pacing of this was the biggest struggle for me. In particular, the extremely slow “reveals” for things that were pretty obvious from the beginning (and that somehow the MCs never figured out?) were tough to get through. For example, the cat fully turns into a chimera in front of the characters and they somehow never talk about it and then 50 pages later the cat does THE SAME TRANSFORMATION but that time it’s a big reveal??? Idgi!
Also, the cover is gorgeous and I love it but Zhara is described as having “brown skin” many times in the book, and I do not think this cover is reflective of that, which is disappointing (unless the cover is not supposed to be portraying Zhara, which would be confusing also)
Overall— The pacing was tough for me but if there was some stuff cut from the middle, I’d be all about this! Thank you to netgalley for the eARC! 3.5 stars rounded to 4 :)

I don't often read blurbs, but I did for this one and I"m glad I did because it truly peaked my interest. Sailor Moon meets Cinder? YES PLEASE

Zhara is a Cinderella retelling set in a wonderful fantasy universe. It felt like Disney move in the best way possible - I was on the edge of my seat and rooting for the characters (and the cute love story) the entire time. The world building itself was far more complex than I expected for this book and felt like it was trying to do a little too much at times. Although the author DID pull all those threads together by the end. While there were some common tropes and a bit of predictability, it fit really well with the author's style and tone of the book. I also really enjoyed the side characters - there might have been a bit too many, overall I felt that they really added to our main characters journeys and brought some great personalities in the mix!

Overall this was a really fun read, but I found the really obvious movie/book inspirations regularly pulled me from the book - think Mulan, Tangled, Cinder - it fit the vibes of the book but there were too many similarities since (in my mind) they belong to those pieces of art/story.

Thank you the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC. All opinions are my own.

4.75⭐️ I ADORED this! Absolutely delightful, so fun…It’s not without depth and emotion but there is such lightheartedness that was a total breath of fresh air. This is the third Cinderella inspired story I’ve read lately and easily my favorite! The Sailor Moon comparison is totally apt but it also reminded me of Avatar (benders not blue creatures 😅) both of which I love so the vibes were ✨🤌🏻✨ for me. The pacing is great—plenty of action, magic, and adventure, it kept me totally engaged all the way through—but also enough character development that you get more than just a surface feel for the characters. There is ace spectrum, sapphic, and non-binary rep through various characters which always makes my little queer heart happy to read. Han is quite possibly my favorite prince ever? TBH I don’t usually like prince characters, the vibe is usually so typical masculine or tortured soul ehhhhhhhh…so Han with his cinnamon roll, himbo vibes was amazing and I love him. And I’m also obsessed with Yuli so I’m hoping/assuming (will riot if not!) because of who she is that one of the future books will be more about her, and I cannot wait for it!

The quick cut: A girl struggling to balance her evil stepmother's demands and caring for her blind sister finds life more complicated when monsters reappear again. Chaos ensues when the girl discovers she plays a more important role than she realizes.

A real review:
Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing the arc for an honest review.

Fantasy is one of my favorite genres because it has a mystical way of talking about life in an indirect and powerful way. We may not like to admit it, but good versus evil is a battle we experience every day. For Zhara and the morning realms, that battle is just kicking into full gear.

Zhara has a hard enough time making it day to day paying the bills, but that struggle is only worsened with her awful stepmother's demands. She finds a way to care for her blind sister Suzhan in whatever way she can. She hides the magic she has, as having it is illegal. However, the world she lives in is thrown into chaos when it's rumored that monsters are reappearing again. Can the morning realms survive the demons and monsters of the past again? Or will they rip this world apart for real now?

I have somewhat mixed feelings after finishing this ARC. While I loved the world building and the land that the author created, for the life of me I could not connect with the characters. Doing that and feeling something for the characters is sort of essential to loving a story (or it is for me).

Zhara is very much given a Cinderella vibe with the evil stepmom and prince charming like character Han. She's meant to be lovable, but for me she came across as boring and hard to differentiate from other characters. For someone with magical powers, you'd think she would stand out.

My favorite part of the book is admittedly the side plot involving Zhara and her sister Suzhan. They take an emotional journey during this story, with history unraveling itself during a crucial moment. It says a lot about why Zhara is so committed to her sister. It's the one moment I connected with her as the lead character.

A fun fantasy world that's missing compelling characters.

My rating: 3.75 out of 5

A big thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I came for the promise of this book being like Cinder, and I was wronged. The only reflection of Cinder, was that is was also inspired by Sailor Moon. Though it sure didn't read anything like it.

Guardians of Dawn: Zhara by S. Jae-Jones is a YA fantasy novel that is set in a world where magic is forbidden, and magicians are blamed for their supposed creation of monsters, like those supposedly starting to re-emerge in the bogs surrounding her home. Jin Zhara has more important things to worry about, like appeasing her step mother and taking care of her blind sister. All while keeping her own magic under control. But on a chance encounter with a handsome young man who claims he can help her learn her magic, with his super secret magical liberation group called Guardians of Dawn.

I REALLY wanted to love this book. Especially considering one of it's comp titles was Cinder (aka one of my favorite books of all time). But I just couldn't. It was decent, that's about it. Try it if you really want to, but I'm not going to recommend it.

This is an autobuy author for me. I will read anything that they write. This cover is just gorgeous! I have been excited about this one for a while! Magic is viewed as bad in Zhara's world and is also forbidden. It is something she has to hid. She has heard stories of the Guardians of the Dawn but she always thought they were fairytales. But are they really? This story had so much action and adventure. There was also a little romance. Exactly how I like my fantasies! I cannot wait to read the next book. Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I had high hopes for this book based on the ads that it was similar to Sailor Moon, which is one of my favorite animes, and this book did not disappoint! It absolutely delivered on it's promise. Jin Zhara is a bit of a reluctant heroine, but that was one of the things that I loved about her. All of the characters in this book are so vibrant, they really just come to life while reading. I loved the story of elemental guardians fighting demons to protect humanity, that definitely added to the Sailor Moon vibe of the book. I also appreciated the authors use of gender non-specific pronouns. It was awesome to see this normalized in print, and I think it is important that there are authors that write this way, as it normalizes pronouns outside the standard binary. This story really sucked me in, and I was invested from early on in the characters and the plot. Xu is probably my favorite character after Zhara, I think everyone needs a friend like them in their life. I cannot wait to see where this story goes, and to meet the other guardians! I think this is going to be an amazing series!

Sailor Moon meets Cinder in Zhara, the first in an East Asian inspired fantasy series, featuring forbidden magic, hidden identities, a magical plague, and a full POC cast with queer and disability rep.

I wanted to love this one, the concept had so much potential, but it wasn’t great for me, mostly because I didn’t like the characters. Firstly, the main characters are around 17 so this should be considered upper-YA but they are so immature. And not immature in an endearing way but in a cringey, annoying way. For example, the FMC feels the urge to giggle when she sees someone good looking and it’s literally called the “Good Looking Giggles”. There’s also a running joke that the MMC is so innocent, he doesn’t understand p0rn. None of the characters really gripped me either. The FMC, Zhara, is uninteresting except for her annoying moments. The MMC is a complete himbo, but I love sunshine MMCs so this could have been super refreshing and different from the normal dark, brooding fantasy MMC. But no, he is written as so innocent that he just comes off as an idiot.

Besides that, the story was okay, pretty typical YA fantasy. The pacing was a bit slow, but it got better in the second half. There was quite a lot of repetitiveness with both plot and phrasing. There’s also a lot of references to BTS, which seemed out of place in the historical-fantasy world. The writing seemed like more upper middle grade than YA, especially in the dialogue. I liked the worldbuilding and the Asian-inspired language and lore but that was probably the best part of the book. I’m not sure if I want to continue with the series, I may read the next one and see if it gets better.

There was so much fun and joy in this book. I was waiting for this book since it was announced years ago and it was for sure worth the wait. it's been compared with cinder and sailor moon and those are the perfect comps, really. zhara is great. the himbo prince is perfect. I can't wait for book two.

I have to say that declaring this book as Sailor Moon meets Cinder is a fairly accurate comparison. I definitely got the Sailor Scout vibe from the Guardians, especially since our protagonist Zhara has a cat companion. I don’t know exactly how accurate the Cinder comparison would be, aside from the elements that are Cinderella related. (Because yeah, I haven’t read the Lunar Chronicles).

Overall though, I fell into this story really quickly, and I found the writing and the descriptions to be really nice. What’s always interesting to me is the formality in the characters conversing with each other, and how they address each other. Just that one small element really shifts the tone and vibe of the story. It’s just a great cultural perspective.

There’s just something about being able to use the rules of propriety, the rules of formal addressing, to hide any wrong-doing done by some characters onto others. It makes the conversation have more layers and undertones that some readers would enjoy reading into. It adds more complexity to the characters, their relationships, and the plot/action of the story as well.

The magic system here was also interesting, although I would like to learn even more about it. What can I say? I like getting deep rich world-building in my fantasy reads.

Oh, and the characters…that was a fun time. I enjoyed that both Zhara and Han were adorably into reading light romance novels. It was so cute that Zhara would dissolve into “good looking giggles” at times when around someone she found to be attractive. I enjoyed that Han was a bit awkward and somewhat like a puppy…cute and fun, but maybe not the smartest of the litter (to continue the puppy metaphor). Then when you add Xu, Han’s friend and protector, and then Yuli, a tall warrior princess from another country…it becomes an interesting core group to follow.

This was my first book by S. Jae-Jones, and I read it fairly quickly. I might have to go back and snatch up some of the author’s previous books to check those out as well.

I really enjoyed this book! It felt so fresh yet included some of my favorite elements of fantasy books. The split perspective of the story made everything that much more interesting and I loved all the characters and what they brought to the story.

I did find that at times the way the worldbuilding was set up, the story was hard to follow. I also wish it went into more detail on a few things but overall this is a strong start to what is sure to be a fun new fantasy series.

Guardians of Dawn: Zhara is the start of a new YA Fantasy series from S. Jae-Jones, author of the Wintersong duology. I have been awaiting this release for a while and the wait was worth it. I really enjoyed this and read it so quickly.

In this story, we meet Jin Zhara, an apothecary's apprentice, who spends her days trying to control and hide her magic, caring for her visually impaired younger sister and appeasing her cruel stepmother's every whim.

Magic is forbidden in her society and magicians have been blamed for certain tragic events over the years, rightly or not. When a new plague hits the streets, transforming magicians into monsters, abominations, Zhara's world becomes more tumultuous than ever.

A chance encounter with an attractive young man, Han, also shakes up Zhara's life. It exposes her to a whole new hidden world, including a secret magical liberation society called the Guardians of Dawn. What Zhara has no way of knowing though, is how big a role she will come to play within this group.

It's believed a demon is responsible for the new round of abominations and Zhara, along with her recently-met friends, must come up with a plan to weed out the demon and destroy it. Only then can balance be restored. If they fail, their society may be left in ruin.

I read this via audiobook and really, really enjoyed it. The narration brought these characters to life. I thought it was so well performed. I was sucked in from the start.

I thought the world-creation was very well done. I enjoyed how it felt historical, yet modern at the same time. Additionally, the story had the perfect balance between light and dark elements.

I enjoyed both Zhara and Han, as well as their blossoming relationship and rapid-fire banter. I liked getting both of their perspectives and watching how they each contributed to the over-arching plot. From the moment of their meet cute, I wanted them to grow closer. They were both so endearing, yet also a bit clumsy.

I loved that. I thought it worked well as they progressively grew closer and the secrets they had been hiding from one another were revealed. Their personalities balanced each other out.

One thing I always enjoy about S. Jae-Jones writing is the dark imagery she brings to the page. Even though quite a bit of this story is fun and light, cute and bright, there are darker elements running throughout and when the monsters come, look out! They're not so cute.

I also really enjoyed and appreciated the cultural richness that can be felt throughout this story. And as mentioned before, I felt those influences were both historical and modern, as I was feeling a touch of BTS in this.

Watching Zhara mature over the course of this story, as well as learning to harness her powers more, was so satisfying. I also liked learning about this secret society and think there is a lot of room for that element to continue to be built out.

I am absolutely continuing on with this series as it goes and am really looking forward to it. I would recommend this to anyone who has enjoyed stories like The Keeper of Night, Stars and Smoke and even Cinder.

Thank you to the publisher, Wednesday Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This was definitely worth the wait.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Wednesday Books for the eARC. This is an honest review.

This book was a fun time! Perfect? No. Fun? Yes! Enjoyable and super fast with diverse lore? Absolutely. It was young and silly and funny. I feel like ALL of the characters were the comedic relief.

The portrayal of the blind character felt like a plot device, lacking a fully fleshed-out representation. Additionally, most (if not all) characters came across as relatively flat, lacking the depth and complexity that could have added more dimension to the story.

However, despite these shortcomings, the novel excelled in delivering an enchanting blend of Sailor Moon-esque vibes and a smidge of Cinderella. The romance between the characters was adorable and endearing. There are cool demon-monster abominations and body horror elements that were excellent.

Although the book included some common YA tropes, such as secrets kept from allies and youthful behavior, it managed to entertain. The balance between order and chaos was a great inclusion.

This is a book worth exploring for those seeking a magical escape with romance and a bit of mystery. While the character development and representation of certain aspects could have been further refined, the novel's overall charm and unique twists make it a worthwhile read.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Thank you to Wednesday Books for the free eARC and opportunity to read this early. This is my honest opinion.

First off, this was pitched as a blending of Sailor Moon and Cinder...which was a siren's call to me since I adore Sailor Moon, and Marissa Meyer's Cinder was one of my first retellings that I fell in love with. I can see lots of different references that blended into this story, which was actually a fun little side quest while reading.

I loved Zahra, she is a completely flawed character that is still a good person despite everything that could have turned another person. All the characters were interesting but Han takes the cake. Han is the definition of himbo (handsome, idiot, cinnamon roll), but his concern for his little brother drives him into a world and situations that he is very out of his depth in, and it is often left up to Xu (his best friend) to save him from himself.

Sometimes it feels like the book is trying to do too much, but that may be because of it being the first in a series (it looks like it's going to be a quartet), but the pacing of the book drives the reader forward at a insane speed, sorta like you are hurtling out of control downhill and you can see the obstacles coming, but nothing should be taken at face value.

Highly recommend, I want the second book now.

3.5 stars

This story was enjoyable and light. Which is odd considering that it was dark at times but it didn't make you think all that much. It was on the young end of YA which was actually really disappointing considering the MCs ages. Han read especially young and naive, which got real annoying real fast. Zhara was better, she seemed to act more her age. Xu was super whiny and felt like a 1 dimensional character. Honestly, aside from how "big and brainless" Han was, and how "dark-skinned" Zhara was, I've no idea what any of them look like.

I wasn't a fan of the constant reference to Han's muscles but lack of intelligence, it felt degrading and rude. Zhara's shame over her skin colour was also bothersome, but I could just be reading into it.

I did order a physical copy to go along with my ARC, since I am interested enough to read the next book, I just hope it is more fleshed out and the characters mature from middle grade-sounding to their 17-18 years of age.

The world building/mythology was fun but again, not as fleshed out as I would have liked. The ending resolved "perfectly," you know? Fast, nothing wrong, everything was what it was supposed to be (or we assume). The plot twists/reveals were unfortunately predictable and before I turned the last page into the epilogue, I had a feeling of what would happen in that last part.

Overall, I didn't love or hate it, I was just a little disappointed.

If the "Good-Looking Giggles" can just not appear in book 2, that'd be great. They were seriously annoying.

Guardians of the Dawn: Zhara

ARC provided by NetGalley

This book was fine. I wish that it had been more than that because I was so excited to read it, but it is just fine. This book pitches itself as Sailor Moon meets Cinder and that is a pretty good description. I could never quite pin down what about it was sailor moon but it is definitely there in the bones and blood of the story if you get my metaphor. The cinder thing is also there but I feel like we could just say the story takes inspiration from/ is a retelling of Cinderella because it is. While I get why Cinder was picked because if you liked that story this one would also be right up your alley in terms of vibes it just feels weird to not call out the base inspiration and story beats that are here.

That being said I don’t have all that much to say about the story which in and of itself is part of the problem. It was just fine. It was nothing revolutionary or drastically different from anything else I have ever read. It was in fact a lot like so many other stories I have read before* but just not as something as those stories.

I will also say that this is definitely a more younger YA which is a good thing, there is a definite lull in that half of YA in recent years with the rise of “TikTok” book trends. And I don’t want to hear any complaints that younger YA isn’t a thing, the YA books written for 13 and 14-year-olds are different than those written for 18 and 19-year-olds. A lot of life experiences happen during those years and the interests of those readers are varied to reflect those changing experiences and interests. However, I have definitely grown out of most of the aspects of younger YA such as the humor and characters' behaviors so much of this story did not connect for me.

I just did not get super invested in this book. I wasn't that engaged for much of the story. The characters didn’t grow on me that much. The only thing really pushing me to get this one done and read was the publishing date which I needed to get out the review for, without that I’m just not sure I would have finished this one.


* The similar books in question:
Cinder
Sailor Moon
Descendant of the Crane
The Book of Tea Duology

First off, I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of this book! I was first excited to pick this book up after reading about its interesting premise, and how it incorporates notions of Sailor Moon within it. I also loved the mysterious, and supposedly powerful plot line that was described in the premise (and OMG can we talk about the gorgeous cover?! Definitely one of the prettiest covers I’ve ever seen). However, I truthfully have some mixed feelings about the book. I though that the world-building was really interesting and detailed, and I felt as if I was actually absorbed to this unique fantastical world. The story itself was still an enjoyable read, albeit I do feel that some segments of it were too slow-paced. Admittedly, it took me a few pushes to keep myself reading the book, but I continued to lose interest; and after pausing reading, it takes a while for me to want to pick it back up and continue reading it. Moreover, I found it a bit difficult to connect with the characters, and it also took me a while to be familiar with the abundance of characters and names that flood the chapters. I do think, however, that the characters were built really well, and they are fleshed out quite thoroughly.

Story-wise however, I was still really intrigued by the story and world, so will definitely be interested in picking up the book’s sequel when it is released!