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.

Didn't give me enough Sailor Moon vibes.

The portrayal of the characters in the story seemed to be lacking in depth, as they appeared to be one-dimensional and failed to exhibit any complexity or nuance. This made it difficult for me to empathize with them and affected my overall engagement with the story. Additionally, the plot's pacing felt slow, and at times, it seemed to drag on.

Good idea and concept, but wasn't well executed. Overall, just an okay read.

*** Thank you to NetGalley, S. Jae-Jones, St. Martin's Press, and Wednesday Books for graciously sending me a copy of the novel to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

This book was a solid 3 that I enjoyed, but honestly don't remember a huge amount about (I'm writing this 5 months after the fact). The characters didn't stick with me and I recall struggling to connect with them. A lot of it was predictable. I would not compare this with Cinder, which was overall a better book.

2.5 stars
I love fantasy, especially mythology, so I was so excited to read this, but the execution made me regret reading it.
An overall boring read, it lacked the type of writing that made you want to stay up all night. I don't know exactly what it is about this story or the style that makes it so hard to stay engaged with, but I largely attribute my dislike to the writing. The dialogue was very cheesy at times, and there is a lot of telling rather then showing that occurs in this book. The characters were hard to like, and the disability rep is quite frankly terrible. Suzhan was infantilized numerous times, and it feels like the author has no idea what it is actually like to live as a blind person. She is treated more as an invalid then an actual person. It reads more of an after thought then something that was put genuine time and research into.
The characters just feel so...I can't even put into words what is so wrong with them. They are fleshed out, and have different characteristics, they just feel dull. A book about fantasy and magic should never feel dull.
I did enjoy the world-building and all the magic, that was very fun to read.
It becomes very obvious within the first few chapters what is going to happen. While that is not unusual for books, instead of being excited by the journey from point a to point b, it lacked substance.
There is a lot of queer rep, in that the characters that are queer seem to flirt with everything that moves.
It has taken me an inordinate amount of time to slog through this book. I received it as an ARC through Netgalley, and heavily considered dnf-ing it several times.
I personally would not recommend this, nor I will I be reading the next book in the series. At this time I don't think the authors' writing style is for me either.
This is a winning cover, it is absolutely gorgeous, and a lot of people will definitely buy this for how pretty it looks. The composition and design work seamlessly, and I love the font used.
Thank you netgalley for this ARC

The one word I can think of describe this book is this:

Silly.

And that’s not necessarily bad, just don’t go in to this expecting it to be serious. This book relies heavily on the characters sharing one brain cell between them, often as they all often completely miss the obvious. I mean really, something could smack them in the face and they’d still be confused.

Sometimes the silliness did get a little irritating and I found the supposed “humour” to not be funny, as well as feeling tired at how the plot relied so heavily on the characters being so oblivious to literally everything.

But you know, it was fun! The plot was interesting and well paced. I think the world building and back story somehow simultaneously had tons of detail and not enough — things got a bit confusing! And often times I felt the writing was a little clunky, and I had to go back and re-read paragraphs of text before my brain could process what it was trying to tell me (maybe the one brain cell thing was rubbing off on me?).

The ending also left a lot unexplained / rushed. And not in a “you’ll find more out in the sequel” kind of way, but a “quick we are at the end” kind of way. Tons of things were just dumped on page and then it ended, leaving me scratching my head trying to process it all.

All in all, this was a decent read although I did have my issues with it. I will acknowledge that I’m not the target audience for this, and why I enjoy many YA books, I really felt that in this. But still, I liked it and I’ll likely read the second book (but I won’t be rushing).

I wasn't sure what to expect, I was surprised by one of the authors previous works and was excited to try this one out. This has lots of vibes that I enjoyed from other series, so I am excited to see what is to come as well. I find myself in love with the main character and watching her become who she is meant to be. The magic system and world building were beautiful and make me really excited to see what's to come. A little slow to start, but I was in love regardless.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

The synopsis of this book sounded really interested and I was thrilled when I saw that I was approved for the arc! That being said when I actually got around to reading it I was a bit disappointed.

The Asian mythology and setting were spectacular and the world seemed so beautiful. The FMC Zara is a magician in a world where magic is outlawed. It's got some Cinderella themes and sailor moon vibes.

The story felt really really slow at times and a little too juvenile for my liking. That being said I thought the concept was unique and I'm looking forward to the next book!

A rich fantasy where magic is outlawed and simply being a magician is punishable by death.

Magic was outlawed years ago by the infamous Warlord to rid the realm of abominations--magicians who become possessed and transform into terrible creatures. Zhara is a magician in hiding within the Morning Realms. After her father was put to death, Zhara's cruel stepmother kept her hidden and put her to use as a servant in their household. However, there are rumors circling around the city of Zanhei that monsters are returning.

Meanwhile, Han--the Royal Heir to the Morning Realms--is searching for the mysterious group called the Guardians of Dawn to get help for her little brother whose powers grow ever unstable. After a chance encounter with each other, Han and Zhara join forces with the Guardians of Dawn to put a stop to these monsters and whoever is creating them.

Overall, Guardians of Dawn: Zhara was a good read and rich with folklore.