Ami by S. Jae-Jones | Book Review

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When the Pillar blooms, the end of the world is not far behind. Li Ami was always on the outside—outside of family, outside of friendships, outside of ordinary magic. The odd and eccentric daughter of a former imperial magician, she has devoted her life to books because she finds them easier to read than people. Exiled to the outermost west of the Morning Realms, Ami has become the sole caretaker of her mentally ill father, whose rantings and ravings may be more than mere ramblings; they may be part of a dire prophecy. When her father is arrested for trespassing and stealing a branch from the sacred tree of the local monastery, Ami offers herself to the mysterious Beast in the castle, who is in need of someone who can translate a forbidden magical text and find a cure for the mysterious blight that is affecting the harvest of the land. Meanwhile, as signs of magical corruption arise throughout the Morning Realms, Jin Zhara begins to realize that she might be out of her element. She may have defeated a demon lord and uncovered her identity as the Guardian of Fire, but she’ll be more than outmatched in the coming elemental battle against the Mother of Ten Thousand Demons… unless she can find the other Guardians of Dawn. Her magic is no match for the growing tide of undead, and she needs the Guardian of Wood with power over life and death in order to defeat the revenants razing the countryside. The threat of the Mother of Ten Thousand Demons looms larger by the day, and the tenuous peace holding the Morning Realms together is beginning to unravel. Ami and Zhara must journey to the Root of the World in order to seal the demon portal that may have opened there and restore balance to an increasingly chaotic world.

If a book is being pitched as having inspiration from Sailor Moon, I am absolutely going to read it. If it is a book written by S. Jae-Jones, I am going to read it. Ami is the second book in the Guardians of Dawn series, following Zhara. What a follow up it is! The story picks up exactly where Zhara leaves off and thankfully still has Zhara’s point of view on some of the chapters. 

Ami by S. Jae-Jones follows the story of Ami — who is the second Guardian Of Dawn — the Guardian of Wood. Ami is the daughter of a great scholar who left the.kingdom where Zhara was for a new land. And so, Zhara goes looking for him because he may have this scroll which contains important information about magic and reawakening the Guardians. Oh, and along the way, the world is in chaos – with a plague and people not really dying but instead being a big undead, so to speak. So, okay, back to Ami. She’s shy and quiet and socially awkward. I think she was written to be autism coded. She takes care of her father who is essentially not sane. However, she has this plant that contains her mother’s heart seeds and so she takes really good care of it. As it turns out, she’s really great at taking care of plants. Oh, and there’s a Beauty and the Beast subplot – in particular revolving around a non-binary character named Gaden. Gaden is Ami’s love interest and a successor to one of the side characters and I think Gaden will end up getting a separate book.

The second Guardians Of Dawn book absolutely has whet my appetite for book three, Yuli. I liked how the story progressed. Getting caught back up with Zhara again was great too — Ami is nice and all, but Zhara is my favorite. I also felt so much empathy for all Gaden was going through – in particular with their struggle with identity – particularly when they go back home and we find out their heritage. Oh and also the magic is interesting in this book too – I liked seeing how Zhara and Ami were able to work in tandem. I look forward to the next book in this series. This one may feel slightly slow, but I think if you are invested in the story — you can get past the pacing, particularly as the character development is right on point.

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April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

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