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clairew97's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
victoriousbookworm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death
lizcarson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Death
bryonyindecisivereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, and War
shadymist's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Minor: Death and Violence
cheezyreads's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death and Violence
nikzzz3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.5
But the best part of the book was the acknowledgements. The writer thanked everyone from artists to editors to translators to narrators to librarians to booktok/tube/instagramers. Im not sure ive read a more thorough thank you to the writers team, fans, and book community.
Im very excited to read more from this author.
Graphic: Death and Violence
navayiota's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Child death, Death, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Alcohol
kirstenf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent
thequeeraunt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
There are many, many things that I loved about Heart of the Sun Warrior, and only a few things I disliked. I'll start with the dislikes, first.
The love triangle took up far more space than it needed in this novel. I'm an avid romance reader, so I don't mind romantic subplots in other genres, but what bothers me is when the romantic subplots eclipse the bigger narrative taking place. Such was the case with Heart of the Sun Warrior. There's a really cool, fascinating conflict that Xingyin and her family must navigate, but so much page space is spent on Xingyin's divided feelings between her two beaus.
We got some LGBTQ+ representation... tacked on to the very end of the novel like an afterthought. This is one of my least favorite ways to introduce queer characters. It feels like Tan may have gotten to the end of the novel, realized she had only heterosexual romances represented, and smashed two characters with barely a hint of chemistry (and certainly no page space to develop feelings for one another) into a relationship. Cool. It's not quite as bad as certain writers proclaiming characters to be gay long after books have been published with literally no supporting evidence for their gayness. That said, it was disappointing.
Those two major complaints aside, a lot of what I loved about Daughter of the Moon Goddess was present here in Heart of the Sun Warrior as well. The worldbuilding is exquisitely done without falling into the habit of being overly-descriptive. The different immortal kingdoms have unique identities that set them apart from one another. Natalie Naudus' performance of the audiobook was enjoyable from beginning to end. And, in spite of the fact that I was disappointed by the amount of pining taking place throughout this whole apocalyptic conflict, I would still recommend this novel (and of course, its predecessor) to anyone in need of a vivid and delightful fantastical romance.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Kidnapping, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and War