Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by marie_thereadingotter
Guardians of Dawn: Zhara by S. Jae-Jones
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I received this Ebook from NetGalley for review.
I think I went into this book with too-high expectations. The synopsis gave me a different idea of the book. I didn't see how anything in this was like Sailor Moon, beyond reincarnation. And comparing it to Cinder is also weird since that is a Sci-fi retelling of Cinderella. I did see aspects of Cinderella in this book though.
All that aside, this book was far too slow paced in my opinion. It took several chapters for this book to get its legs.
The characters felt, for lack of a better word, generic. I had no idea the two main characters, Zhara and Han, were supposed to be 18 or nearly 18. When Han's age was mentioned I was shocked. I thought he was supposed to be 16 at the oldest. I know with how popular YA books are, a large part of the audience who reads them is older than the target age. However, he did not behave like someone who was almost 18. There could be an argument about him being sheltered, and the same for Zhara, but it didn't seem believable to me that they were that age.
The magic system was a little confusing as well., it didn't have the depth that I prefer. I am a huge fan of elemental magic, but the magic in this book felt a little "bare bones" to me.
There was also a reference to a K-pop group, and while I listen to and love K-pop, it took me out of the story when it was mentioned. I dislike when pop culture is referenced in Contemporary books, so when it happens in fantasy, I like it even less.
There are things in this book I know readers will love, there was just a lot that didn't work for me.
I think I went into this book with too-high expectations. The synopsis gave me a different idea of the book. I didn't see how anything in this was like Sailor Moon, beyond reincarnation. And comparing it to Cinder is also weird since that is a Sci-fi retelling of Cinderella. I did see aspects of Cinderella in this book though.
All that aside, this book was far too slow paced in my opinion. It took several chapters for this book to get its legs.
The characters felt, for lack of a better word, generic. I had no idea the two main characters, Zhara and Han, were supposed to be 18 or nearly 18. When Han's age was mentioned I was shocked. I thought he was supposed to be 16 at the oldest. I know with how popular YA books are, a large part of the audience who reads them is older than the target age. However, he did not behave like someone who was almost 18. There could be an argument about him being sheltered, and the same for Zhara, but it didn't seem believable to me that they were that age.
The magic system was a little confusing as well., it didn't have the depth that I prefer. I am a huge fan of elemental magic, but the magic in this book felt a little "bare bones" to me.
There was also a reference to a K-pop group, and while I listen to and love K-pop, it took me out of the story when it was mentioned. I dislike when pop culture is referenced in Contemporary books, so when it happens in fantasy, I like it even less.
There are things in this book I know readers will love, there was just a lot that didn't work for me.