Reviews tagging 'War'

Heart of the Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan

70 reviews

zinn24's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I have loved both books in this series- transporting fantasy and the second book was better for me than the first! If you love fantasy or mythology retellings, this series is a worthy addition to your to-read list, especially if you have yet to venture into the beautiful world of Chinese myth.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Violence

madamenovelist's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Medical content, Misogyny, War, Death, Grief, Death of parent, Blood, and Torture

Moderate: Alcohol

kenny_2288's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, War, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Blood, Classism, and Death

lucyatoz's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This is my 14th book read for the reading challenge in 2024!

Heart of the Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan continues the story of Xingyin, the daughter of the Moon Goddess Chang'e and her mortal husband Houyi. She is again forced to flee her moonlit world along with her mother and joins forces with former Captain Wenzhi of the Celestial Army and Prince Liwei, heir of the Celestial Emperor, two men who she loves for very different reasons. 

By the end of the story, one is believed dead, following an intense battle which involves all of the Immortal World, and one is restored to his rightful place...however, that is not the end of the story! 

This novel, of 3 parts, is another great story which takes you on a breathtaking journey from the Moon to the Eastern Sea, and the majesty of the Celestial Kingdom to mists of the Demon Realm.  
 
I borrowed a copy of this novel from my local library and listened to it on cloudLibrary. I read this for prompt 24, a cover without people on it, for the 52 Book Club Reading Challenge 2024. This novel is the other half of the prompt 15, part of a duology. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Grief, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, War, and Death

cookiemonstaly's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Got my heart broken over and over, and yet somehow it managed to piece itself back together at the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Child death, and Death

kaywhiteley's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is such a good book. Truly the perfect fantasy story that seamlessly weaves Chinese folklore and Tan's own ideas into beautiful, rich narratives. I'm so obsessed. I also really enjoyed the romance and the honesty of the mistakes made, the complex feelings, and the compassion given to each character. Both novels in the duology were interesting and gripping, but there was also so much hope and love ingrained in the stories and the characters that made reading it all the more engrossing and emotional. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War and Grief

bree_h_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Infidelity, Violence, Murder, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Child death, Grief, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Stalking

guessgreenleaf's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Blood, Death, Murder, Violence, and War

aims122's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, War, and Violence

Moderate: Murder and Child death

Minor: Gaslighting and Death of parent

In the first book, Daughter of the Moon Goddess, Xingyin went through a lot and there's a lot of references back to things that happened in the first book. Namely to a betrayal, abduction and imprisonment by someone whom she trusted. This is referenced quite a bit throughout the book, especially in the beginning.

bookwormabby54's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Vomit, War, and Child death