Reviews with content warning for Violence - Heart of the Sun Warrior

An unfortunately long and laborious read. I expected so much more since I loved the first book, but this was just disappointing. The characters became caricatures of themselves, making ill-timed and unwarranted declarations. The love triangle was almost childlike. And I’m pretty sure I read the word “squelch” at least ten times. The violence was all the same, with all the same descriptions. It was boring and not at all anything like that which I loved in the first book. The characters were so two-dimensional and none of them grew. I finished it out of my own weird sense of loyalty having loved the first book, but I couldn’t wait for this book to be over.

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literatellama's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional inspiring mysterious slow-paced

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

2.5

It largely felt like I was reading the same book as the moon goddess. All the characters are the same, their struggles are the same. The main character has not learned anything from her previous adventures, and the plot armor is real.

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clairew97's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

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victoriousbookworm's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

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bryonyindecisivereader's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.0

“The ground now glittered like stardust, and in the world below, the mortals would be lifting their heads to the curved wedge of light in the sky, its face partially hidden.”

Much like its predecessor, Heart of the Sun Warrior created a beautiful world that celebrated family. The world was full of rich and vibrant courts, and there were legends aplenty. I liked the “new” magic in this - even if it wasn’t on the heroes’ side - because it added some mystery to this.

I really enjoyed Xingyin’s celebration of family and those she loved. I wish I’d reread Daughter of the Moon Goddess because there were moments in this that I think would have hit harder having read that more recently.

I think Xingyin was a good main character - brave and loyal. But I probably could have done without so much love triangle-ing.

I did enjoy this book, but I didn’t get as drawn in as I had with the first book. Whether that’s down to not rereading or because of the story, I’m not sure, but I did still have a nice time with it.

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shadymist's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted slow-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

3.0

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cheezyreads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

Oh my lanta I LOVE this duology so freaking much!!!

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nikzzz3's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

I enjoyed the book even if it took me a long time to read, it was me not the book. The world building was rich and visual, i can picture it easy and i think it would make a great tv show. I liked the depth of the romance relationships far more this book then last one.
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.

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