by S. Jae-Jones
Part of Guardians of Dawn
First published 2023
Jin Zhara keeps her head down. She manages her stepmother's demands, watches over her blind younger sister, and works hard to keep her magic hidden. In the Morning Realms, magicians are called abominations and held responsible for the monster plague that destroyed so much twenty years ago. Zhara has good reason to stay quiet. Then monsters start appearing in the marsh again, and a clumsy encounter with a young man named Han pulls her into the Guardians of Dawn, a secret organization fighting for magical liberation. What she learns there changes everything. A mysterious plague is moving through the city of Zanhei, corrupting magicians and turning them into the very creatures people already fear and hate. The Guardians believe a demon is driving it. Zhara can no longer afford to suppress what she is. Somewhere inside her is an elemental warrior, and if she cannot find that part of herself, the fragile order holding the world together will not survive. S. Jae-Jones, author of the New York Times bestseller Wintersong, opens a richly built new fantasy series that draws on the energy of Sailor Moon and the bones of a classic Cinderella story.
Genres: adventure, coming-of-age, fantasy, young-adult, young-adult-fantasy
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, emotional, empowering, fast-paced
Tropes: chosen-one, coming-into-power, found-family, hidden-identity
Setting: Morning Realms, Zanhei, marsh
416 pages · Hardcover · Wednesday Books
Content warnings: death, violence