Guardians of Dawn: Suhwa by S. Jae-Jones ~ a Review

by MK French

Min Suhwa longed to see the world outside the convent she was raised in. While Suhwa learned to keep her illusion magic to herself, the Bangtan Brothers will perform, and she wants to see them. The world outside the convent is dangerous, especially with Huntsmen searching for magicians. When the illusion magic draws them in, she must flee for her life. Meanwhile, the Guardians of Dawn and their allies are fighting the northern insurrection seeking to claim the Sunburst Throne and destroy all magicians, and against the rising threat of as well as the Mother of Ten Thousand Demons. Zhara, Ami, and Yuli must travel to the Azure Isles to seek the Guardian of Water and save the Morning Realms from annihilation, restoring balance to order and chaos once and for all.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

August 2026; Wednesday Books; 978-1250191519
audio, ebook, print (368 pages); YA fantasy

This is the fourth and final book of the series, telling the story of Suhwa, the Guardian of Water. Don't worry, there's a summary of the prior books at the start to catch you up to speed if you don't want to do a marathon reread session.

From the start, Suhwa gets more adventures than she bargained for after sneaking out of the convent. From there, she meets the other Guardians, discovers the truth about demons and her ability to craft illusions. She doesn't have a love interest waiting in the wings and feels awkward because of her sheltered upbringing, but she is central to saving humanity. As much as she second-guesses herself a lot, she grows up as much as the other young ladies have. She shows others the importance of sticking together, of knowing the core of her identity, and that the Guardians can win while working together. 

I love the appearance of the Bangtan Brothers, this world's analogue to BTS. We find out who is the author to everyone's favorite manga/light novel, which is not what I would have guessed. (It's revealed early on, and I thought it was a fun bit of in-world trivia!) The finale is properly cinematic, and we get an ending for all four Guardians. It's the conclusion that I was looking forward to reading and enjoyed. 

Buy Suhwa at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever. 

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