Challenge Corner discussion

Sailor Moon meets Cinder in Guardians of Dawn: Zhara, the start of a new, richly imagined fantasy series from S. Jae-Jones, the New York Times bestselling author of Wintersong.

Magic flickers.
Love flames.
Chaos reigns.

Magic is forbidden throughout the Morning Realms. Magicians are called abomination, and blamed for the plague of monsters that razed the land twenty years before.

Jin Zhara already had enough to worry about—appease her stepmother’s cruel whims, looking after her blind younger sister, and keeping her own magical gifts under control—without having to deal with rumors of monsters re-emerging in the marsh. But when a chance encounter with an easily flustered young man named Han brings her into contact with a secret magical liberation organization called the Guardians of Dawn, Zhara realizes there may be more to these rumors than she thought. A mysterious plague is corrupting the magicians of Zanhei and transforming them into monsters, and the Guardians of Dawn believe a demon is responsible.

In order to restore harmony and bring peace to the world, Zhara must discover the elemental warrior within, lest the balance between order and chaos is lost forever.

I didn’t realize this was book two in the series 🤦‍♀️

Ashlyn wrote: "I didn’t realize this was book two in the series 🤦‍♀️"

Me either! If you haven't read book 1, I can switch this to a series thread? I haven't started it yet.

That's fine with me. It looks like the first book is a four week wait at my library though

Same! Do you want to move the BR date to the end of June? Like the 24th?

That’s good with me!

Okay switched this to a series thread for June 24th.

I just got my library book - what good timing! Did you get yours?

Yes! Just got it

Hopefully starting this weekend

Same here!

Ch 1-10: (view spoiler)[That was quite terrifying to see. So, she's the guardian of fire. Who would be the master? Adn what does the prince's little brother have to do with this? I just have so many questions. (hide spoiler)]

Ch 11-20: (view spoiler)[Yikes, the water at the fountain is tainted. Well, that's not good. Let's see what the heck it's like on this mountain. It's very interesting that the boys are there because they are hilarious. (hide spoiler)]

Ch 21-30: (view spoiler)[Oh, so the ghost is the princess, right? Also, her stepmother is a sneaky one! I'm glad that they were worried about her, because, like they said, she's not known to be late to things (all the time). It's interesting that they were able to pin her as the guardian of fire so quickly. (hide spoiler)]

Ch 31-40: (view spoiler)[omg, so many people betrayed her. Hot damn. (hide spoiler)]

Ch. 41-Finish: (view spoiler)[So, she escaped the mother with her sister? Interesting. And she gets to still go to school for music? It was not a fair trade since she betrayed her but WHATEVER. It is interesting that they are going on an adventure to find others like her. I'm kind of excited that they are, but sad that Yuli and Xu aren't tagging along. (hide spoiler)]

Started finally

Chapters 1-6 (view spoiler)[ All I keep thinking about is how Zhara had a stutter and then suddenly didn't anymore... (hide spoiler)]

Part 1 (view spoiler)[ This whole Guardian of Fire thing should be interesting. I feel like this picked up when the boy came and turned into that monster thing. I am wondering how Han and Xui will be involved with everything going forward especially now that this Teacher Hu just showed up. (hide spoiler)]

Part 2 (view spoiler)[ Part two was kind of boring. I really hope this picks up more. I like that she is able to cure the abonimations. I'm starting to find Xu funny at times especially with some of their comments. And I am glad that Zhara and Han finally kissed. (hide spoiler)]

Finished (view spoiler)[That ending was really boring. I liked the Cinderella aspect kind of but not really. Han should have told her before she found out the way she did that he was the heir. Also I just didn’t care at the end so the big reveal was just boring. So much potential for this one that just didn’t follow through. (hide spoiler)]

Ashlyn wrote: "Chapters 1-6 [spoilers removed]"

I didn't even realize that she stopped

Ashlyn wrote: "Part 1 [spoilers removed]"

Yes, I agree it definitely picked up then too!

Ashlyn wrote: "Part 2 [spoilers removed]"

I was impressed that she could cure them in some way. I think I just want to know more about the Guardians and who else is out there.

Ashlyn wrote: "Finished [spoilers removed]"

Agree that it was definitely missing something. I wonder what will happen in the next book for sure.

I'll probably jump into Book 2 over the weekend. It's end of month this week and it has been crazy busy. Unless the book is an audio, reading is getting pushed back until it's slower.

Alaina wrote: "Ashlyn wrote: "Chapters 1-6 [spoilers removed]"

I didn't even realize that she stopped"

Yeah, she stopped and then did it like one more time in the middle of the book. It was weird.

Alaina wrote: "I'll probably jump into Book 2 over the weekend. It's end of month this week and it has been crazy busy. Unless the book is an audio, reading is getting pushed back until it's slower."

I know what you mean. I feel like this whole month I haven’t really read much because of how busy I am and I already know I won’t be reading much next month.

Did you want to have this reset for a later date this month? I totally forgot to make a comment before the 14th to keep this active.

Sorry, just saw this. Whenever is fine with me

It's all good; I'll just reset it to today. I'm hoping to get to it this weekend, unless my workload gets less crazy during the week.

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RESTARTING AUGUST 21ST, 2024


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Very excited to start the next book in this series, great timing for a 3-day weekend

I haven’t had a chance to start this yet

Starting today

Chapters 1-8
(view spoiler)[ Okay, the finger crawling like a warm was creepy. I’m interested to see how The Songs of Order and Chaos will play a role in this story. (hide spoiler)]

Chapters 9-16
(view spoiler)[I had a feeling that Chen wasn’t really dead. Oh, so that’s interesting that Han’s mother is dead because Ami showed magic. And then Gaden was asked by Lee-Lee to take over the Heralds. (hide spoiler)]

Chapters 17-27
(view spoiler)[So Ami is guardian of Wood…. I’m liking the feelings that Gaden is getting for Ami that are starting to develop. I want to see where it leads between the two of them. (hide spoiler)]

Chapters 28-end
(view spoiler)[Well now we know what the order part is. Makes sense that it’s the guardians. And now Gaden is The Star of Radiance…interesting. I really don’t understand how Ami and Gaden kiss and then somehow Gaden comes back to life…makes no sense. But at least this one felt like it had more of a direction of where the story was going unlike the first book. (hide spoiler)]