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!

What drew me to this book was the comparison to Sailor Moon - one of my all time favorite childhood shows. The comparison stands for sure, but it wasn't enough for me to fall in love with this book.

The world Jae-Jones created here was very lush with interesting magic and caste systems and the cast of characters was enjoyable. The dialogue, however, felt very young in places and then all of a sudden in others the characters would be talking about porn. It almost didn't work for me, but then it also added to the Sailor Moon comparison since she is a young girl being totally sexualized in her little costume in the anime, so I just shrugged an moved on. Many plot points also felt a little juvenile in the way that they were so easy to figure out that I don't think the author gave the reader the credit they were due and it took a little bit of the magic out of the experience.

I still enjoyed Zhara and am curious enough to continue on with the series.

Are we still listening to audios together when we travel? Yes, yes we still do even though my kids 15 and 17 now and the book we finished on our drive home from the airport yesterday was this one: Zhara - Guardians of Dawn by S. Jae-Jones which was provided by @macmillan.audio through @netgalley #gifted and we all enjoyed it after finishing yesterday there were still about 15 min left in our drive and we spent that time talking about the book - between the three of us there were four and five star ratings. We all loved the world building and the way it was delineated what works and what doesn't in the context of magic in Zhara's world, but while my son thought it was a little too detailed and long my daughter truly loved it (now guess who loves fantasy and who usually reads nonfiction
). The influences of Korean mythology were
recognizable but this book had it's own special kind of magic. Zhara lives in a world were magic and magicians exist but are eradicated wherever discovered, which happened to Zhara's father and her mother was predeceased, growing up with a stepmother who doesn't love or appreciate her makes but with special powers that she needs to learn to appreciate, control and wield makes for an interesting, really sophisticated
"hero's journey" kind of „Cinderella" story.
Another point that sparked an interesting debate in my car is the presence of non-binary characters and their full acceptance in a fantasy world that clearly relies on a male dominated patriarchal structure. Food for thought and as always I love getting my kids' takes through stories we've shared. It's the best part about sharing books, be it audio or reading.

A beautiful story with so many layers of magic an imagery. Others have compared it to Sailor Moon in a way and I can definitely see it. I think the characters and overall plot were interesting and unlike anything ive read in recent years. Thoroughly enjoyable and the audiobook was very well done!

Guardians of dawn: Zhara follows young magician Zhara as she navigates a world where magic has been made illegal due to magicians becoming demons randomly and attacking people. Zhara who’s father was killed on her youth lives with her step mother and step sister and reads romance novels, when she meets a young man asking about the Guardians of Dawn in hopes of helping his magician brother she finds herself drawn into an adventure of myth and legend.

I really wanted to like this book more than I did, it’s not bad but it suffers from being a tad to long, and for my personal tastes very much on the younger side of YA closer to middle grade than I normally prefer. I liked Non-binary rep, but I think the blind rep wasn’t particularly good. I plan on reading the rest of the series and I hope that the series improves from here on out.

The Cinderella influences on this plot are clear but it's not a strict retelling. Rather, it's a framework that the author uses to build a unique world and plot. We are deeply exploring magic, demons, and the spirit world, the ideas of balance and the cost for making changes. There are clear and consistent rules for how magic works and for it's role in society. There are a lot of complications, all of which serve to further the plot. The characters, too, are complex and nuanced. This is the beginning of a series with a lot of room to grow and continue to impress.

This was a fun story but I definitely think it was lacking a bit with the character depth! I did like the narrator though, although I'm on the fence about continuing the series.

i cannot express enough how much i loved this book. The story was amazing and engaging and so intricate. The characters were solid and i loved their development throughout the story. I fell in love with the magic system. Everything about it was beautiful and magical. I loved the world building, learning about the town and the districts was fun without being overwhelming. the narration of this novel was done so well it really brought the story to life. I cannot wait to see where this story is going to go, and cannot wait to reread this in preparation for the second!

Really enjoyed the romance and characters. Zhara is hardworking, loves her sister and at the same time is scared of hurting her. Since magic is forbidden she does not how to control her own magic. When she gets involved with the prince and how they star to know each other, those were so funny and the prince is so cute and innocent. It has a great story and hopefully will get to know more about it in oncoming books!

I really wanted to love this title but could not seem to get into it. From other reviews I can see some enjoyed it but it just wasn't the book for me. I'm going to try to read it again after a while to see it it'll grab me then