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book_gremlin42's review
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Ableism, and Body horror
bree_h_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Child abuse, and Ableism
Moderate: Genocide, Animal death, Confinement, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Racism, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, and Colonisation
piaissauer's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Death
sreddous's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A colorful story with some interesting and delicate problems to solve!
I think the magic system here is really cool. The idea of abominations and how they can take different forms was really spooky and made me never be able to trust anything, which was a ton of fun.
The stakes are super terrifying and high all the time, which makes the action scenes super easy to get lost in. The political and social stuff is interesting too. The depiction of the way the stepmom treats Zhara and her sister genuinely made me anxious (in a good way!) and it was interesting watching Zhara try to manage such delicate social AND magical situations. The little cinnamon-roll romance was perfectly lovely. I appreciated how much actual time the main characters spent together, connecting -- talking about their hobbies and about experiences they'd like to have. Nice stuff!
I see some other reviewers kind of wondering where the Sailor Moon comparison comes in, and I think that's a fair question - I think the elemental magic thing could technically count as the overlap but in general I'd agree this isn't really similar in tone or pacing or emotional friendship connections that Sailor Moon is.
The thing that stops this from being an immersive experience for me is: the dialogue. There were a lot of times that the dialogue felt like a shortcut to telling the audience things, and it felt unnatural a lot. I found myself getting super annoyed pretty often at how repetitive and "tell this to the audience! Make sure they are told!" a lot of things feel through the dialogue. I had to put the book down for a little while out of annoyance around page 325 when we have the Princess incredulously ask Han if he's stupid literally twice, then, she immediately switches tone and talks about how she wants to team up with him because she already knew he was stupid. Jiyi and Xu also constanttttttly comment on how stupid Han is. And then, almost literally every time Xu addressed Han when they were in hiding, Xu is constantly almost accidentally calling him by his prince title or real name. The "My pri -- I mean, Han," stuff was a cute little "oops!" gimmick the first time, but it was just annoying and tell-don't-show-okay-I-get-it-jeez by the 600,000th time.
And the bigger problem is: in my opinion, Han doesn't even really ever do anything ALL that legitimately dense. He just... asks a lot of clarifying questions. Well, I, the reader, am often as lost in this world as he is, so I don't really appreciate Xu and the Princess calling ME stupid, like, not kidding, SO MANY TIMES, for having the same questions. It just made it hard to connect to these characters.
Overall, I enjoyed this! I'd read a sequel since this world is so interesting, as long as, in the place of repetitive dialogue, we instead get more cool magical details.
I think the magic system here is really cool. The idea of abominations and how they can take different forms was really spooky and made me never be able to trust anything, which was a ton of fun.
The stakes are super terrifying and high all the time, which makes the action scenes super easy to get lost in. The political and social stuff is interesting too. The depiction of the way the stepmom treats Zhara and her sister genuinely made me anxious (in a good way!) and it was interesting watching Zhara try to manage such delicate social AND magical situations. The little cinnamon-roll romance was perfectly lovely. I appreciated how much actual time the main characters spent together, connecting -- talking about their hobbies and about experiences they'd like to have. Nice stuff!
I see some other reviewers kind of wondering where the Sailor Moon comparison comes in, and I think that's a fair question - I think the elemental magic thing could technically count as the overlap but in general I'd agree this isn't really similar in tone or pacing or emotional friendship connections that Sailor Moon is.
The thing that stops this from being an immersive experience for me is: the dialogue. There were a lot of times that the dialogue felt like a shortcut to telling the audience things, and it felt unnatural a lot. I found myself getting super annoyed pretty often at how repetitive and "tell this to the audience! Make sure they are told!" a lot of things feel through the dialogue. I had to put the book down for a little while out of annoyance around page 325 when we have the Princess incredulously ask Han if he's stupid literally twice, then, she immediately switches tone and talks about how she wants to team up with him because she already knew he was stupid. Jiyi and Xu also constanttttttly comment on how stupid Han is. And then, almost literally every time Xu addressed Han when they were in hiding, Xu is constantly almost accidentally calling him by his prince title or real name. The "My pri -- I mean, Han," stuff was a cute little "oops!" gimmick the first time, but it was just annoying and tell-don't-show-okay-I-get-it-jeez by the 600,000th time.
And the bigger problem is: in my opinion, Han doesn't even really ever do anything ALL that legitimately dense. He just... asks a lot of clarifying questions. Well, I, the reader, am often as lost in this world as he is, so I don't really appreciate Xu and the Princess calling ME stupid, like, not kidding, SO MANY TIMES, for having the same questions. It just made it hard to connect to these characters.
Overall, I enjoyed this! I'd read a sequel since this world is so interesting, as long as, in the place of repetitive dialogue, we instead get more cool magical details.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Child abuse
mattiedancer's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Writing: 4⭐️/5
The writing is very well done. I found it fascinating, captivating, and well-thought-out, especially the first half of the novel. Several moments of truly stunning prose stuck with me, and where it lacked, it didn’t lack for too much. Occasionally, a few scenes relied heavily on exposition or felt a bit repetitive, but it didn’t interfere greatly with my enjoyment of the novel.
It’s worth noting that S. Jae-Jones includes a note on the language used in the novel. While there were a few moments where perhaps the writing wasn’t perfectly smooth, I understand that it was likely a bit of a translation issue.
Characters: 4⭐️/5
**Contains Spoilers**
I really did love the characters. I liked Han’s himbo character. I loved reading about Zhara’s abilities. I liked the side characters and the attention given to them. That being said, one of the only things that struck me as odd was Zhara’s stepsister, Suzhan. We get so little consistent characterization of her. She acts young, and then mature, soft and innocent and then ruthless. And, while her betrayal is justified, her actions beforehand just don’t seem to coincide with how she’s explained.
Plot: 3.75⭐️/5
Alright, so the plot starts off marvellously! I love Zhara and Han’s meeting outside the bookstore, how quickly they ignite interest in each other, and how swiftly we see each character’s background and backstories: I loved all of that. And then, about halfway through the novel, the plot starts to fall off. Progressively, the story felt more and more untied, as though it lost its way. Or never had a strong sense of where it wanted to go. I also really didn’t love getting so much exposition in the epilogue explaining to us what happened to our beloved characters.
World 4.5⭐️/5
The world is really cool. I love how magic is described in the novel, I love the emphasis on books, and I adored how vibrant each moment in the world felt.
Who Should Read This Book?
- Fans of young adult fantasy novels
- Fans of YA looking for a cute romance
Content Warnings?
Death, sexual harassment, kidnapping, death of parent, emotional abuse, physical abuse, child abuse, gaslighting, confinement, body horror, grief, gore, toxic relationship, violence, war
Post-Reading Rating: 3.25⭐️/5
A lot of potential but it kind of fell apart around the middle of the book. It was still good, but not nearly as good as the beginning.
Final Rating: 3.75⭐️/5
Final Rating: 3.75⭐️/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, Body horror, Classism, Murder, Physical abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Grief
mirrorstorm_'s review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Overall a really fun read. Loved the Sailor Moon influence in the story. The plot was interesting (a touch predictable) but the ending seemed a bit rushed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent and War
drtx_bwt's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Death of parent
Minor: Lesbophobia and Violence
onegalonelife27's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Zhara is a good fantasy story. It has the classic-magic is forbidden due to previous disasters and thus persecuted and put to death by lawy-trope in play so thus the main heroine must hide her magic while trying to support her family. However, when magicians start to become abominations, Zhara finds herself embracing her magic to save those afflicted and find out the source. There's a strong cast of characters, some good world building, solid magic combat scenes. I'd say Guardians of Dawn is off to a good start!
And onto one of my favorite aspects-the male lead in this book! Han is the BEST! He's awkward, he's tries so hard to impress and help the heroine in combat-he often fails, but tries with all he's got. He's also there for the heroine when she needs emotional support. I'd certainly put him on the himbo scale, because man all the history and innuendos that fly over this guy's head. I've forgotten what a joy it is to have such a dork of hero! We need more dorky, sweet men in fiction and this world!
I do feel like some scenes were rushed, like I knew a scene should happen but I didn't expect it to happen when it did, without much foreshadowing to it was happening now.
Either way, I think this is a strong start to a new fantasy series and I look forward to seeing what happens next in this world!
And onto one of my favorite aspects-the male lead in this book! Han is the BEST! He's awkward, he's tries so hard to impress and help the heroine in combat-he often fails, but tries with all he's got. He's also there for the heroine when she needs emotional support. I'd certainly put him on the himbo scale, because man all the history and innuendos that fly over this guy's head. I've forgotten what a joy it is to have such a dork of hero! We need more dorky, sweet men in fiction and this world!
I do feel like some scenes were rushed, like I knew a scene should happen but I didn't expect it to happen when it did, without much foreshadowing to it was happening now.
Either way, I think this is a strong start to a new fantasy series and I look forward to seeing what happens next in this world!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Child abuse
Moderate: Gaslighting
Minor: Homophobia, Transphobia, and War
scrubsandbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
If you love a Cinderella retelling crossed with Sailor Moon, with almost an anime-esque storyline, this is the one for you. Bonus for queer side characters and a himbo male love interest.
It was a cute story, I laughed a whole lot at many moment, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. This one is a good one if you’re looking for an East Asian setting that would make for a quick easy read without an overly convoluted plot. The climax though seemed to drag one and a few twists were more on the predictable side.
It was a cute story, I laughed a whole lot at many moment, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. This one is a good one if you’re looking for an East Asian setting that would make for a quick easy read without an overly convoluted plot. The climax though seemed to drag one and a few twists were more on the predictable side.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Ableism, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death, War, and Homophobia
Minor: Confinement and Vomit
rainydaycookies's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: War