Guardians of Dawn: Zhara by S. Jae-Jones
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Guardians of Dawn: Zhara is the start of a new YA Fantasy series from S. Jae-Jones, author of the Wintersong duology.
I have been awaiting this release for a while and the wait was worth it. I really enjoyed this and read it so quickly.
In this story, we meet Jin Zhara, an apothecary’s apprentice, who spends her days trying to control and hide her magic, caring for her visually impaired younger sister and appeasing her cruel stepmother’s every whim.
Magic is forbidden in her society and magicians have been blamed for certain tragic events over the years, rightly or not. When a new plague hits the streets, transforming magicians into monsters, abominations, Zhara’s world becomes more tumultuous than ever.
A chance encounter with an attractive young man, Han, also shakes up Zhara’s life. It exposes her to a whole new hidden world, including a secret magical liberation society called the Guardians of Dawn.
What Zhara has no way of knowing though, is how big a role she will come to play within this group.
It’s believed a demon is responsible for the new round of abominations and Zhara, along with her recently-met friends, must come up with a plan to weed out the demon and destroy it. Only then can balance be restored. If they fail, their society may be left in ruin.
I read this via audiobook and really, really enjoyed it. The narration brought these characters to life. I thought it was so well performed. I was sucked in from the start.
I thought the world-creation was very well done. I enjoyed how it felt historical, yet modern at the same time. Additionally, the story had the perfect balance between light and dark elements.
I enjoyed both Zhara and Han, as well as their blossoming relationship and rapid-fire banter. I liked getting both of their perspectives and watching how they each contributed to the over-arching plot.
From the moment of their meet cute, I wanted them to grow closer. They were both so endearing, yet also a bit clumsy.
I loved that. I thought it worked well as they progressively grew closer and the secrets they had been hiding from one another were revealed.
Their personalities balanced each other out.
One thing I always enjoy about S. Jae-Jones writing is the dark imagery she brings to the page. Even though quite a bit of this story is fun and light, cute and bright, there are darker elements running throughout and when the monsters come, look out! They’re not so cute.
I also really enjoyed and appreciated the cultural richness that can be felt throughout this story. And as mentioned before, I felt those influences were both historical and modern, as I was feeling a touch of BTS in this.
Watching Zhara mature over the course of this story, as well as learning to harness her powers more, was so satisfying. I also liked learning about this secret society and think there is a lot of room for that element to continue to be built out.
I am absolutely continuing on with this series as it goes and am really looking forward to it. I would recommend this to anyone who has enjoyed stories like The Keeper of Night, Stars and Smoke and even Cinder.
Thank you to the publisher, Wednesday Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This was definitely worth the wait.