Guardians of Dawn: Zhara
Reviews
Sailor Moon meets Cinderella in this new YA fantasy series!
Was this book brilliant? No, it's not going to win any awards, and it's stuffed full of the typical YA tropes, so you have been warned.
But it's fun! It's anime in book form. I found myself laughing out loud at the adolescent jokes and the pictures in my head while reading.
The pacing feels a little off in places, but it's a story full of heart and diversity, and it gave me the escapist reading I was looking for.
What more could I ask for?
I also loved the little gleam into the next book at the end!
This is filled with every trope you can think of in YA fantasy, but I actually loved this. I hope that all the low star ratings don’t stop people from reading it because it seems that many of them are because the author mentioned being inspired by Sailor Moon and included this in the blurb. I have noticed that especially for YA readers it seems to be a major mistake to ever mention your inspiration, as folks seem to take this as, please compare and contrast everything you love about something nostalgic with something new. The one thing I will agree with is that as some mentioned, it seemed that making the sister disabled was something only mentioned when it was necessary and convenient, but I personally didn’t see it as a checkmate for inclusion like some did. It just seemed more like a no-thought way to make Zhara have a responsibility that she could not easily leave. It could have just as easily been done in other ways—by making the sisters closer/inseparable and a more important relationship, but this was already a long book and doing that would have taken away from creating the romantic relationship, or by making the sister much younger, but then there’d be no impending marriage storyline, etc. it seemed this way just the easiest way to create that attachment without working around other storylines. Thank you Macmillan and NetGalley for the ARC
⭐️ 3.75 / 5
I was really excited about this book with the comparisons to Sailor Moon and Cinder - two series I absolutely have adored. And that cover! It is absolutely stunning.
The love story here was very sweet and wholesome and I really enjoyed the supporting cast of characters. It has the nostalgic feeling of an old fairytale with the addition of magic! And the audiobook narrator was a very good fit.
I will say, however, that this felt a bit too young for me. I enjoyed the story overall, but it felt a little too predictable and problems were solved almost too easily for the main characters. And there were certain quirks (the good looking giggles…) that I just couldn’t get into. And I wish we’d had a bit more of a look into the magic system, so I’m hoping that’s coming in the future! That being said, I would pick up the second book when it comes out and look forward to reading it.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.
🦇 Book Review 🦇
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
❝ She had always imagined her magic as a steady flame within her, and the world around her as her kitchen. Elements were ingredients to be played with, like dough beneath her fingers. Zhara held her breath and concentrated, applying her magic to the mixture in her hands like heat to a pot of water. ❞
❓ #QOTD What was your favorite cartoon growing up? ❓
🦇 Magic is forbidden by punishment of death throughout the Morning Realms, after corrupted magicians turned into abominations and razed the earth 20 years ago. Jin Zhara must hide her magic—that is, until a strange run-in with a blushing boy named Han leads her to the magical liberation organization the Guardians of Dawn. As new members of the Guardians, Zhara and Han work together to restore harmony to the world, even as chaos begins to reign.
💜 S. Jae-Jones is proof that books are their own sort of magic. She's spun together the familiar threads of Sailor Moon, Cinder of The Lunar Chronicles, Avatar the Last Airbender, and cultural mythology to produce Guardians of the Dawn. The story's mythology takes little time to grasp before you're thrown into the adventure alongside Zhara and Han, who (for lack of a better word) are adorable together. The book touches lightly on more intense themes: familial obligation, grief, identity, to name a few. The secondary characters (namely, Xu, Han's genderfluid best friend, Yulana, and Jiyi) offer far more than support; they're an absolute delight.
🦇 Unfortunately, the writing comes off as a little juvenile at times (namely with 'The Good-Looking Giggles' and Han's himbo-esque nature), so I would place this at the younger end of YA. Perhaps more frustrating was the naiveté and ignorance of both Zhara and Han. My brain was piecing together clues not revealed until 10 chapters ahead, and not because of the dual POV or omniscient narration (the reveals for Yulana, Sajah, and even the Chancellor were set up a little too well). The worldbuilding, while gorgeous, is a little basic (which is why it's so easy to dive into, making that a double-edged sword). While a cute, mythology-based tale, I really think this story (and possible series), has a lot more potential.
🦇 Recommended to anyone looking for a bit of nostalgia through a magical retelling. The entire time I was reading it, I got HARD Cinder and Sailor Moon vibes. It wasn't until after I started writing my review that I noticed both were mentioned in the story synopsis. There's a hint of Avatar the Last Airbender in there, too!
✨ The Vibes ✨
👠 Cinderella Retelling
🐱 Animal Sidekicks
💫 YA Fantasy Fiction
🔥 Elemental Magic
📚 Book Loving MC
🏮 Culture-Infused Mythology
🌈 Queer and Disability Rep
🦇 Major thanks to the author and publisher for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book. @stmartinspress @wednesdaybooks @sjaejones #GuardiansofDawnZhara
Highlights
She'd always defined herself in relation to those around her -- small, drab, dark, mousy -- but the girl in the mirror was none of those things. The girl before her was pretty. She was pretty. Zhara's gaze touched Han's and the mirror, and with a start she realized she had not needed her reflection to tell her she was beautiful. She'd only needed to see herself reflected in Han's eyes, and the slightly odd, slightly terrified expression on his face. Beneath his gaze, she understood that she had felt pretty long before she had ever known she was pretty in truth, because in Han's eyes, she had been seen.
Location 4700
"It was your wanting that made you beautiful to me. Your desire made the world bigger with possibility."
Location 4679
"Why does any conqueror destroy the writings of the conquered?" Jiyi said in a grim voice. "If you erase their past, you deny them a future. Those books of magic?" She ran her fingers over the worn cover of The Thousand-Character Classic in her hands. "My father used to say that those books were more than just spells. They were history. Poetry. Art." A muscle along the courtesan's jaw tightened as her eyes stared into the middle distance, looking at a memories, Zhara could not see. "Magic is more than ability; it was a culture too."
Location 2809
"Demons is simply what we call the dark side of human nature when we don't want to hold ourselves accountable."
Location 1913
"The world is dangerous," Zhara said softly. "And I don't want to survive; I want to thrive."
Location 1813
"The say a pinch of prevention is worth a dollop in of cure."
Location 1799
She glowed like the edge of a candle flame, a halo of light surrounding her like one of the celestial maidens in the fairy tales his mother used to read to him.
Location 1546
When his vision cleared, he saw that Mistress Brandy was no longer just glowing -- she was on fire. No, not on fire -- made of fire. She was an ethereal being of light and flame, a girl-shaped wildfire clinging to the monster's arm as its skin blistered beneath her touch.
Location 1577
It was said that sunlight revealed many secrets, but it was darkness that would betray hers.
Location 1314
The tale of the magpie lovers had a special place in Zhara's heart; she had been born on the Night of the Sevens, and her father had called her his little magpie girl--the star born of the impossible love between a magician and a girl from beyond the Shining Sea.
Location 1309
"There are some," Suzhan said, "who are dead even as they breathe."
Location 947
"Oh?" Zhara pressed close, trying not to laugh as the student suddenly scurried backward. "Because you're awfully red right now, Master Plum Blossom."
The student splayed his hands on the wall behind him and coughed. "Well, ahem, that is"—he cleared his throat—"that is entirely due to your intoxicating presence and nothing to do with alcohol, I assure you."
Location 372
The Guardian of Dawn were a fairy tale, legendary elemental figures and companions of the Sunburst Warrior, who defeated Tiyok, Mother of Ten Thousand Demons, by sealing her in a realm far beneath the earth.
Location 292
She had always imagined her magic as a steady flame within her, and the world around her as her kitchen. Elements were ingredients to be played with, like dough beneath her fingers. Zhara held her breath and concentrated, applying her magic to the mixture in her hands like heat to a pot of water.
Location 83
The tools of the magician were also put in the pyre—the brush, the inkstone, and the seal—and any citizen with knowledge of the Language of Flowers was burned alongside the books of magic.
Location 45
This book appears on the shelf 2021
