Thankyou to NetGalley and Titan Books for a free E-arc in exchange of an honest review!

The cover to this book really drew me in and is essentially what made me pick it up to read.
I enjoyed the story for the most part and on reading some reviews before hand i knew when going in that the writting was on the lower end of YA so i was able to adjust my expectations- something im very glad about!
Pros:
-I found it funny at times which helped with the pacing- it almost felt slapstick and as though it was meant to be a little silly
-Not too complicated and would act like a good palate cleanser kind of book
-It was just simply.. fun and didn't take itself too seriously.

Cons:
-Characters acted a little too 'thick' and naïve which is then pointed at multiple times in the story by other characters- kind of took away the faith and trust in some of the characters and made the story a little convenient how it wraps up neatly
-Too many repeated phrases for me such as the 'Good looking giggles'- this one in particular really makes how young the writing is, stand out.

I will be picking up the sequel as it definitely leads nicely into further books in the series and will be a nice rest bite between my more adult fantasy tastes.

3.5 stars!

Loved the concept (anything mentioning Sailor Moon will hook me), and I thought the cover was beautiful. Unfortunately, I really felt like I had to force myself to get through this one. I think I just had trouble connecting to the writing for this, so I couldn't get fully immersed.

This was at the younger end of young adult, with rather naive protagonists and a straightforward plot. The world was a mix of Asian and fantasy cultures, and I found myself wishing it was more the first than the latter. However, the descriptions were sparse, so it could be I filled the blanks with more western setting than the author intended. I liked Zhara, but Han never grew on me. All in all, a passable but not a memorable read.

This new thrilling story is an action-packed, delightful opening of a new series — filled with magic, secrets, scheming and mystery!

The story follows Jin Zhara, who lives in a world where magic is forbidden, and if you can use magic you are considered as an abomination and sentenced to die. Zhara is in hiding, trying to survive in a home where her stepmother gives a hard time, she is taking care of her blind sister and also working at an apothecary. One day she meets Han, a very secretive boy and due to a really shocking event, fate brings them together and they meet the secret Guardians of Dawn with one goal: restore harmony and balance to their world and protect those who have magic.

The story has really enjoyable subplots, such as a mystery surrounding the marsh, a cute love story, self-acceptance and growth as Zhara gets to know more of her magic.

I really enjoyed this story and cannot wait to get to know more of this well-crafted world, see Zhara and what more she is gonna be capable of later on, how her romantic life blossoms and what kind of new characters join in the next installments.

Zhara lives in a world where magic is banned and she has to hide her growing powers. She looks to find a hidden organisation who can give her the answers she seeks, as well as help to protect the other magicians around from becoming abominations.

This book is a mish mash of ya fantasy, asian culture and anime inspired tropes and im all for it. The world building is rich and vibrant - my only complaint is i wanted more of the history of the world to understand it better. I see where the sailor moon inspiration comes from and it was mixed really well into the story witbout feeling like a rip off.

The characters are sweet and interact in a meet cute kind of way which works well within the plot. The romance is a slow burn and I hope it is continued into the next book.

The monsters at times were terrifying, it felt like i was reading a horror story with the detailed body transformations so trigger warnings right there if you are squeamish. However this just made the plot amp up and the threat feel even more real which kept me on my toes.

I enjoyed the pace and will continue this series as it gets released!

Thanks to net galley for the arc!

First of all a big thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The world-building in this book was very well done. The history and the laws of the magic system were easy to understand, but also seemed as though a lot of planning would have had to go into it. This book was also dual-POV which was a pleasant surprise.

The main characters are quite juvenile, but I think that was a deliberate choice. One has lived quite a sheltered life as the Prince, while the other has only had time to think of her own survival as well as having to be in service to her family. Zhara gets the good-looking giggles I'd imagine because her interactions with those her own age have been limited.

I did pick up on a lot of the plot points long before the characters in the story did, which was mildly annoying, but it is something you get used to when reading.

This book was easy to read and it hooked me in quite early on. I believe this is the first in a series and I'm looking forward to finding out what is going to happen for Zhara and Han.

"Summer, fall, winter, spring
Guardians rise and justice sings
When Tiyok stirs to life again
Darkness falls and chaos reigns
Fire, wood, wind, and water
Join together to prevent a slaughter
Summer, fall, winter, spring
Guardians rise and justice sings"

This was really good, as expected. I'm conflicted on my rating though, because I'm not sure if it's a 4 or 4.5 or 5. On the enjoyment scale it was a 5 for sure, but it did have some flaws. But then I think about the giddy feeling the book gave me as I read it, and I want to give it five anyway. I'll figure it out by the end of the review.

I want to adress the comps first, because I feel like that's what people want to know most about. Would I say they're accurate? Yeah, actually, this is one of those books where I could see the comps clearly and know why they were chosen.

Next we have the writing, which I'd tie to the humour. Why? Because this book was so funny that it made me appreciate the writing even more. Was the humour a bit immature? Sure, but that didn't bug me one bit.

I honestly had such a blast reading this book, and couldn't keep a straight face. There were even moments where my jaw dropped and I wanted to talk to the book as if the characters could hear me.

The banter between the characters, especially Zhara and Han, was soooo adorable, I couldn't get enough. I think this is where S. Jae-Jones excels.

I loved the inclusion of BTS as characters. The first time I read their name (Bangtan Brothers, in this book) I was like no, it couldn't be, but it was!!! And they are performers here too, and even do something special on the side which I won't spoil.

And I pretty much loved everyone else as a character too, Zhara, Han, Xu, Yulana, Jiyi, Anyang, Suzhan and of course Sajah. Sajah might be my true favourite, actually.

The romance was cute, which you could probably guess by how I described the banter. It was so sweet, and innocent despite all the romance book jokes. It felt like the characters were really teens which is important in a YA book. I can't wait to see how it'll develop in the next three books.

Yes, THREE!!! There's going to be four books, SOMEONE HOLD MEEEE. I'm so excited.

The magic system is another thing I can't wait to see more of, it was unique and we were learning new things about it at the same time as Zhara.

Which brings me to a theory I have, relating to the title. I'm thinking the next one could be called Guardians of the Dawn - *wind guardian* (I used wind guardian as a placeholder because I don't want to spoil who it is, but you'll know if you read the book) and that each guardian could get their own book. I could be wrong, but...what if I'm not?

Although we could continue with Zhara as the main character, and then have all the other guardians' stories develop in the background, but I also think Zhara could be a side character in another guardian's story easily.

I don't want to part with her, so it's just a theory, but it would be fun to see if I turn out to be correct, or if the next book has a completely different title.

Also, can we talk about that cover? When I saw it, I knew I had to read this and I'm so glad it didn't disappoint.

Now that I've reached the end of my review, I know what I'll do about the rating. For platforms where I can't do half stars I'll do 5, but on platforms I can I'll do 4.5.

*Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Zara by S. Jae-Jones is YA book about a young woman and a young handsome prince standing against the evil and finding courage to protect their loved ones.

Zhara is a young magician struggling to survive in a cramped up house with her deceitful stepmother and blind stepsister Suzhan (which reminds me a little bit of Cinderella). She slays in a kitchen preparing whatever she can manage that day to her stepmother and during the day working as an assistant in a little apothecary.
In meantime we have a second protagonist Han who lives in a palace and is son to a Prince Wonhu, the heartbroken ruler, after so many years still mourning his dead wife and abandoning his duties as a ruler. Han is a charismatic character who cares about his little bother and will do anything for his magician bother to be safe.

The kingdom magicians are being hunted down and burned on pyres. Our main characters both lost their loved ones, because of mass hunt, but not all magicians got caught. They live now as an underground society, hiding in broad daylight and ready to fight for what is right.
But there is a new danger brooding and magicians are being turned into abominations. Our two protagonists, with the help of many others has to save the world and the ones they care for. How will they ever succeed?

The book was funny, lighthearted and at the same time heartbreaking. I fell in love with our main characters right away. They felt innocent, young, not broken down by hardships yet. Even though the story is targeting YA, it was very well written (writing style was well thought out), prose like, characters young, but loveable. There was balance between world and character building.

I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend to younger audiences.

Zhara is a book about Jin Zhara, a young woman with magical powers she must keep hidden, as magicians are persecuted and blamed for a monstrous plague in the past. Zhara meets a young man called Han, who is secretly the crown prince, and they discover the Guardians of Dawn, a resistance group of magicians. Magicians are turning into the monsters of the past and with the guardians waking up, so too are the demonic creatures of old. I really enjoyed reading this book, and I loved Zhara’s journey of discovering who she was and how her powers worked, as well as the other characters’ stories. I liked how characters were introduced by neutral pronouns and descriptors until they explicitly gendered themselves, as I thought this was a nice and refreshing way to describe characters and normalise they/them pronouns, especially with the character Xu, who uses them throughout the whole novel. I enjoyed the character development and writing style, and can’t wait to read more by this author!

This was such an enchanting read for me. I really enjoyed the magical world building, the slow burn romance and the action that was going on throughout. The book really keeps you on your toes. I watch a lot of anime and Zhara definitely had some comical anime moments going on. Although I did eye roll at "the good looking giggles" moments. Xu and Yuli were two of my fave characters. Xu was so funny and I loved Yuli's dry sense of humour and how empowered she was. As much as I enjoyed this read, I did find it a little slow-going in the beginning and at times found it hard to connect with the characters, although, I could relate to Suzhan to some degree as I'm blind in one eye and partially sighted in the other. Han, though, was an adorable character, if not a little naive.

I liked this, but I didn’t love it. The overall world-building and interesting premise was there, but some of the characters just felt too juvenile and underdeveloped for me to get really stuck in.

I’m not a Sailor Moon fan so can’t comment on the inspiration there, but I think I’m hoping it’s not in connection to the immature FMC who can’t stop giggling when in the presence of attractive people (seriously!!).

I actually think if this was just aged up to adult with a stronger main character I could potentially enjoy it more!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I fell in love with the gourgeous cover and was attracted by the blurb that I found intriguing.
It's entertaining and there's plenty of potential but the characters are very juvenile and it not always work.
I think that some more character developiment could turn this into a very exciting and intriguing series.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Thank you NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When I first heard about Zhara (as a millenial Sailor Moon is always a hell yes to me), I got really excited. Unfortunately, this excitement didn’t last as I had to DNF this book very fast.
I don’t think I was the target audience for this book. It’s listed as YA but it read as middle grade (at best) to me. Characters didn’t really feel like actual characters, they fell flat to me. They were sadly also very unlikeable and that was also really the reason why I couldn’t finish the book. I can sit through a mediocre to bad plot if the characters are likeable enough, however that was not the case. I did NOT enjoy any of the popculture references, as I feel like that dates a book extremely hard.

I really did want to enjoy this book, but it just didn’t click for me and as I saw that there was no way my review and rating would change if I did force myself to finish it, I had to DNF.

Elemental magic is something I’ve always loved, and have always been drawn to in fiction. Which is the reason why Zhara got my attention (beside the gorgeous cover). The plot line of elemental guardians bound to protect the world from darkness, but living in a kingdom where magic is outlawed and magicians are killed, provided for an intriguing plot line. The magic system as well as the world-building really was the best part of this book, and I have come to realize that richly described fantasy worlds are like my catnip. On this world-building front Zhara delivered above my expectations, as it was complex, imaginative and very detailed.

When it comes to the characters I really enjoy the main trio, with especially Zhara providing a very interesting perspective of the story. I also enjoyed the budding romance between her and Han. But apart from these three I had a hard time keeping track of all the characters. There were alot of them, and it just became a bit overwhelming. This also wasn’t helped by the pacing being a bit slow and at times felt like it dragged on in the non-magical parts of the story.

This was definitely an enjoyable read, although with a few flaws, and I’m very interested to explore more of this world in the future.

3.5 Stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Titan books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This books was described as Cinder meets Sailor Moon a book and a series that I love! Sign me up!

Zhara Guardians of the Dawn follows Jim Zhara born with powers that she does not know how to control and forced to hide them as magic is forbidden in the morning realms. Magicians are called abominations and are sentenced to death.

The only person who knows about Zhara's magic is her stepmother and she has to bow to her every whim caring for her blind younger sister.

However there are whispers of monsters in the marsh re-emerging and a chance encounter with a young man named Han introduces Zhara to the Guardians of the Dawn, a secret magical liberation society.

Together they discover a secret magical plague that is corrupting the magicians of Zanhei. Zhara must come to terms with her powers and unleash the warrior within to restore harmony.

I will start by saying there were many aspects of this story that I found enjoyable. The numerous nods towards Sailor Moon gave me much joy, I really enjoyed the plot of the book and felt the characters were well fleshed out.

The reason however for my lower score is that the book read abit more juvenile than I expected it too and I must admit the nicknames they two main love interests used made me cringe and I got abit sick of reading them.

Those things aside this story was enjoyable and I didn't struggle to finish it at all. I would be intrigued to read the sequel but I believe I might not be the right age demographic.

Thank you NetGalley and for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The book sounded like a really exciting concept, however upon reading it, it just felt quite dull. This supposedly is a YA, but it felt much more like a Middle Grade novel. The characters didn’t have as much depth to them as I would’ve liked and frankly were not that likeable. Additionally, there was a massive BTS reference in the book, which is a Fantasy novel and has the most in common with the 10th-15th Centuries, making zero sense. Pop-culture in fantasy just ruins it for me, because it feels so forced to connect readers with the character and doesn’t usually work. I had to force myself to get to the end of this book, and honestly would’ve DNF’d it if I was someone that gave up on books. Maybe this book wasn’t directed towards me and others much younger would enjoy this - I would say early teens -> teens.

Zhara tries to handle her unruly magic while living with her cruel stepmother and taking care of her blind younger sister. Magic is forbidden in the Morning Realms. A plague of monsters razed the land 20 years ago and magicians were blamed. Now there is a rumor that the monsters returned. A chance encounter with a young man named Hand puts her on the path to a magical organization called Guardians of the Dawn — an organization they both need for different reasons. Zhara can save them, save everyone if only she gets her powers under control.

Presenting and endearing narrative that feels like a delicate flower, we are gifted with a protagonist that is instantly likeable, that tugs at our heartstrings. Then the flower shows its thorns, its magic and the presence of evil, all the twists and turns. The author succeeds in making the reader feel part of this world from the beginning, the foreshadowing of future danger blending in the lyrical accents of the descriptions.

Both POVs are equally enticing, having in common the trappings of a predetermined life, even if their circumstances are different. They share the pain of loss. Zhara and Han are both inherently kind and a bit shy, Zhara more so since Han is a little full of himself. Their blossoming feelings are adorable,

I love the witty remarks and the chucklesome encounters in addition to the parts that resonate bittersweet melancholy and of wanting to hug the characters. The author has a great sense of humor and a wonderful grasp on how to convey the thoughts and emotions of each character, no matter how small a part they play. There is also an unexpected character you will absolutely love. The secret identity trope works here and anticipating the reveal is half the fun.

There is a bit of infodumping that might be a little confusing and there are times I don't fully understand details about the magic system. There are musing and explanations that run away with themselves, and I want to say "Can you please get to the point from a shorter route?" But I did enjoy this magic system and how all the strings of the plot come together.

The book often talks of order and chaos, leading us to the need for balance. It prompts us to achieve the freedom to be ourselves and to believe. It emphasizes how much we do for the ones we love. Also as the aptly puts it "surviving is not the same as living" and "live your truth".

New favorite thing: the Good-Looking Giggles.

Very readable and utterly entertaining, this was a read full of surprises and captivating in its own adventurous way. The satisfying finale gifts us with the promise of new exciting escapades to look forward to, as this inviting new fantasy series continues.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. When humor is done well in fantasy, it usually ends up being one of my favorite aspects of the book.
But when it’s not done well (or at least doesn’t work for me), it just ruins my reading experience, and Zhara falls into this category.

The characters were quite immature, as someone who usually enjoys YA fantasy, this was too young for me.
The MMC was so clueless and frankly stupid, it was really frustrating to be honest.
And the FMC with her Good Looking Giggles just was too much for me, it made me cringe so hard.

I think this book works for people who are more into animes, Sailor Moon etc., I love Asian-inspired fantasy books but this one had a different feel to it, which is obviously fine, it just wasn’t for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Unfortunately I found the writing in this novel to be a little too YA for my taste, especially the relationship between Zhara and Han. However, the plot is strong and I did really enjoy some of the supporting characters like Xu and Yuli, and I liked the complexity of the relationship between Zhara and her sister.

3.5 stars. i enjoyed reading it even if I felt some aspects could have been improved. I am look forward to the next one .

This book has been promoted in comparison to sailor moon and comparing it to something as Iconic as sailor moon is a bit of a double edged sword. It was one of the reasons I was really excited to read this book but it also creates an expectation that is extremely hard to live up to.

Even so Zhara is a very cute goofy book and I found myself enjoying it, and keen to read the next installment. I can see the comparison, it has a very young, goofy, a bit cheesy tone to it, very much like the sailor moon manga. And I mean that in the best way, I always find it charming when stories don’t take themselves too seriously, and Zhara really doesn’t. It reminds me a lot of media like sailor moon and bbc Merlin in that regard. Light, silly tone with more serious plot underneath. In some way I felt it used those kinds of stories as a touch stone and found it quite nostalgic.

Some of the side characters were great. I really loved Xu and Yuli particularly. I am hoping for them to get more development as the book goes on. I also loved that Han, the main love interest, was a bit of a Himbo.
Mostly I loved the diversity of gender expression and sexuality in this story.

I think people who go into this expecting a young adult (with stress on the adult) book will be disappointed. It had a very youthful tone, and even the romance subplot is created to be very much “awkward first love”, which I found sweet. While some of the content was a bit “older” , (death, corpses, jokes about naughty books, mention of abuse) it was all pretty eluded to rather than explicit and so I would feel very comfortable recommending this to a 10-13 year old as well as adults who would enjoy the nostalgia it invites.

There were some elements of this I felt could have been improved. The pacing needed work. It started out great but lulled in the middle and then everything wrapped up very quickly.

Another issue was information was sometimes introduced repetitively. Eg. You would find out something in chapter 3 and it would be mentioned again like it was the first time in chapter 10. This may be useful if you are only reading a chapter or two a night but disruptive for me, who read it over a few days.

The other thing which I think some readers will not enjoy is that, tied into the repetitive nature of information, this story does not keep its cards close to its chest at all. It’s very obvious when a character is introduced who they are going to turn out to be, partly because, like sailor moon.. some characters have elemental or thematic aspects to them which are sort of easily recognizable from the get go. This also plays out in how the story unfolds, the reader is given very clear signage early on which may make it feel too predictable. A younger reader who is less familiar with the genre may enjoy this more than a prolific reader who is very familiar with the genre.

Personally I didn’t mind it too much, I wasn’t expecting a surprise anyway and just enjoyed the cute and goofiness of the characters and story. but was mildly irritated with how oblivious the characters were to some extremely obvious clues and information they should have figured out way earlier. Including being told a bit of information early on and then half a book later was surprised by it. I know Han was written to be a bit dense but Zhara could have been a bit less so.

Overall though I think this was a fun read, I enjoyed it even as an adult, it was whimsical, even though it was easy to see where it was going. though think the audience who will get the most out of it are young readers, and fans of media that does have that goofy camp tone. Hopefully some of the issues I had with it can be smoothed out in the next installment.

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan books for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.