***3.5 stars

This was really cute. A lot of the fantasy I read tends to be adult and more on the serious side, so this was a little out of my comfort zone. Don’t get me wrong, there were some serious issues covered here, but the overall tone was much more playful and lighthearted. I’m not a young adult reader, which is what brings this book down a bit. I’m wavering on rounding the 3.5 stars up or down just cause I know it’s not my genre. The ending certainly felt rushed and confused me a bit, but I think that it’s entertaining enough for most of the page count that if you like cozy fantasy it’ll be for you.

This book felt like an anime in novel form! As someone who loves Sailor Moon, I was super excited to read/listen to this! Also that cover??? Gorgeous.

I liked the story and the lore, and I didn't feel like we got info dumped on which is always nice in a new fantasy series. I thought the pacing was pretty good, and the characters were fleshed out with distinct personalities. Our MMC is a himbo with a heart of gold which was hilarious to read and his best friend is a nonbinary voice of reason that was given the best one liners.

Unfortunately, an anime thing that didn't quite translate was all the giggling. If I never hear the phrase "good looking giggles" again, it'll be too soon. I'm almost positive that I would've rated this book maybe 1/2 a star or a full star higher if this phrase and anything giggle related was removed. It took me out of the story every time and the giggles plus the general inner monologue of Zhara made the book feel middlegrade instead of YA.

The book was really cute, maybe I'm just outside of the age range to appreciate parts of it.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC!

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).

I flipped back and forth between the e-book and audiobook for this title and much preferred the audiobook. The narrator gave the story life and gave much needed pronunciation assistance. I would definitely continue this series on audio.

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.
I absolutely loved the narrator. She was fantastic. Her voice was so soothing and so easy to lose myself in. I will definitely be looking for more audiobooks from her.
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!

This was just okay for me.
What I liked:
- the use of neutral pronouns for nearly all none MC in the book.
- a smooth, almost floral feeling, style of writing with soft cadences and lovely transitions.
- the plot is highly interesting and had me excited

What I didn't like:
- this is an audio and it was A LOT of information and characters to keep track of. A large info dump like this is always better in print so you can flip back to clarify information. I kept getting lost in who/what/when/why that I was missing out on plot points. Very difficult to keep all the bits sorted.

My favourite way to digest a new fantasy series is actually on audio with the print book in my lap, so I can flip back to maps and characters while still enjoying the story.
Much love to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for my audio ARC.

A fun adventure in a new fantasy world. The culture was rich, the magic was intriguing and I can’t wait to see more of the world in future installments

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this audio ARC!

Guardians of Dawn: Zhara is a Cinderella retelling where the main character, Zhara, has magic in a world where magic is absolutely NOT allowed. She lives with her stepmother, who is not nice, and her stepsister, who she actually adores. Her father was a magician, and he is no longer in the picture because magicians were essentially killed off. There is a mysterious happening occurring, which Zhara learns about through her part time work with an apothecary. She stumbles upon a book on magic, which begins the story.

This book felt *extremely* YA. I do not say that as a bad thing, I am just now a thirty year old woman who cannot always connect to a book written for a much younger audience. This book was very fun and enjoyable nevertheless. Zhara gets the giggles when she's around someone she finds attractive, which was adorable. I see this book being a very big hit for a younger crowd, and I am ok with not being a part of that crowd. The magic system was fun, though a bit under developed. I think this is a light fantasy with a side of romance that will work very well with those looking for a book like this!

The audio was very good. I was particularly impressed with the narrator's ability to meow and hiccup so well on command! I would recommend reading the audio if that is a format you prefer!

This was a fun, fast paced, YA Romantasy. (first book in a series)

Magic is outlawed, but weird and unexpected things are happening. Zhara, the FMC and a commoner, is hiding her magic; Han, the MMC and the royal heir, is trying to learn more about magic to help his family. Their paths cross one night and eventually team up with a motley crew to try to figure out what is happening in their world.

I think the romance and general characterization between the MCs was my least favorite part. They are both a little naive and are just starting to stumble into their bigger roles— he a prince, and her acknowledging and honing her magical powers— so there’s hopefully more depth/growth in the following books.

The side characters, however, are lively and whimsical. It’s heartwarming to see all the relationships blossom and grow between not only the MCs, but all the characters. The queer representation was a nice surprise as well. Xu was my favorite out of everyone! He felt the most genuine and fun.

This was advertised as Cinder meets Sailor Moon, and while I can see some vague elements of both, it is way more than that. It is a beautifully intricate magic system laced with wonderful East Asian lore and great world building. The audio book was narrated very well and helped with a lot of the Eastern names and words.

Though I am growing out of my YA fantasy phase, this was still very enjoyable. This was a great first book to a series and I can wait to see what happens next!

Thank you to the author, publishers, and NetGalley for the audio-ARC in exchange for honest review.

This was a cute, fun read that I enjoyed a bit more than I expected.
Despite rehashing a number of well used tropes - main character hiding her magic, she will be one to help save her people, oppressed by a wicked stepmother, misunderstandings due to miscommunications and a prince who was so sheltered as to be overly comical (His best friend constantly despairing of getting him to his majority did make me laugh though, especially as Prince Han's adventures still managed to leave him fairly naïve).
And yet, despite all this the Zhara and Han's relationship delighted me. They were sweet and naïve together, their intentions always well meaning and true.

If I have to have one major complaint it was how they always managed to travel all around (to a volcano and back!) with no one noticing the heir was missing! Was this just a really tiny kingdom, or did no one really care where the prince wandered off to?

Received an audio-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for honest review -

Narration - I enjoyed the narration immensely and found it easy to follow. The narrator succeeded in giving each character their own voice, and it flowed well.

World building - unlike some other reviews that I've read, I actually found the world-building to be fantastic and immersive. We learn about the specifics of the magic system over the course of the book along with the characters. Place and character names were easy to follow and character pronouns were handled delicately. Another reviewer mentioned that they/them was replaced with he/him for a major character near the end of the novel. I didn't notice this at all, so it may have been corrected. The forward to the story did explain that pronouns for characters would be they/them until the character was able to give their preference through the story.

Story - This is a very young YA novel, which isn't an issue, but it is a genre that I'm outgrowing (no surprise as I'm well into middle-age). I really enjoy stories based on non-Western mythologies and folklores, and really found this one well-done. The inspirations were clear while the story itself managed to put its own brand. I did find the humor to be a bit juvenile.

Representation - disability rep in the novel - one major character is blind, and her treatment at the hands of those in power is abusive and problematic; however, her treatment from those who love her (her sister), is not. Is this an honest depiction or troublesome representation? Where is the line between the two?

I'll probably read the next book in the series - the epilogue intrigued me enough to keep me going. Fingers crossed the writing and story mature as they continue.

This was an absolutely beautiful story, and I couldn’t help but fall in love with it. The detail that went into every aspect of the background and the setting was so meticulous and I wish other fantasy writers would do the same. I can’t wait to read the following books in the series.

I feel like I've hit a bit of a wall with enjoying the books I've read recently, but this book was a fun and fast paced read.

The way the author used English to mimic how characters would have spoke in other languages was so interesting and gave it a unique quality. The magic system, while similar to others I've read about, still felt different than what I've read before.

I loved that both Zhara and Han had younger siblings that they were fighting to protect. And Xu! I loved Xu, they are probably my favorite character with Yuli coming in close second. Even though there was a romantic subplot with Zhara and Han, the friendship between them and Xu and Jiyi and eventually Yuli felt genuine and just as important as the romance. And the inclusion of queer characters was a delightful surprise.

The writing was a bit repetitive at times, but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!

The narrator’s voice for sure flowed with the story of this book seamlessly. Painting this world in vivid color in my minds eye.
One of the main things that I love about the narrator, was that she for sure, embodies everything that I loved about this book. The central character Zhara’s kind, and fiery personality to Hans adorable dorky way of flirting to Sajah’s meows and feisty animal attitude. As far as the story goes it for sure was a magical journey of self discovery of strengths and power within oneself.
I absolutely adored this audiobook of what has become one of my favorite books that I read this year. They for sure chose the perfect narrator to tell this magical journey..

Thank you NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for a advanced audio edition of this book in exchange for a honest review.