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foreverinastory's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I love this duology so much! It’s just so lovely, and Natalie Naudus’s narration is perfect for it! I have loved listening to these books and being swept away to the Celestial Kingdom.
Without any spoilers, Heart of the Sun Warrior has the same charm as Daughter of the Moon Goddess. We see Xingyin continue to grow as a person and I love her character so much. She’s so easy to relate to and root for. We get to see Xingyin start to figure and decide what and who she wants in her life. I really liked the message that just because you love someone, doesn’t mean you need to sacrifice your every happiness for them. The ending turned out even better than what I had hoped for! Highly recommend this duology for lovers of mythology, legends and epic fantasy worlds!
CWs: Death, grief, war, violence, child death, blood, murder, fire/fire injury, injury/injury detail, death of parent, alcohol consumption (wine).
Without any spoilers, Heart of the Sun Warrior has the same charm as Daughter of the Moon Goddess. We see Xingyin continue to grow as a person and I love her character so much. She’s so easy to relate to and root for. We get to see Xingyin start to figure and decide what and who she wants in her life. I really liked the message that just because you love someone, doesn’t mean you need to sacrifice your every happiness for them. The ending turned out even better than what I had hoped for! Highly recommend this duology for lovers of mythology, legends and epic fantasy worlds!
CWs: Death, grief, war, violence, child death, blood, murder, fire/fire injury, injury/injury detail, death of parent, alcohol consumption (wine).
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Alcohol, Child death, Blood, and Death
hq_reads's review
adventurous
emotional
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? No
3.5
I enjoyed this book although I had to take a reading break from it as I wasn’t excited by the plot. I hate to say that as I absolutely loved Daughter of the Moon Goddess! As such my rating is reflected in this but please note that I am a mood reader and unfortunately that means my ratings can seem inconsistent!
Once I picked it back up, I really enjoyed it again. The love triangle between Xingyin, Lewei and Wenzhi added some excitement amongst the action.
I love the writing style, it’s like reading a fairytale. But where this style falls down I think is capturing those moments of love, anguish or tension and drawing them out to keep the reader feeling that emotion. This series is my first time reading Chinese mythology and I absolutely love the lore so I will definitely look for more.
I will definitely read more of Sue Lynn Tan’s work in the future!
Once I picked it back up, I really enjoyed it again. The love triangle between Xingyin, Lewei and Wenzhi added some excitement amongst the action.
I love the writing style, it’s like reading a fairytale. But where this style falls down I think is capturing those moments of love, anguish or tension and drawing them out to keep the reader feeling that emotion. This series is my first time reading Chinese mythology and I absolutely love the lore so I will definitely look for more.
I will definitely read more of Sue Lynn Tan’s work in the future!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death
daniellekat's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.75
I struggled with this. I really enjoyed Moon Goddess especially since I'm not a huge fan of high fantasy, but the lack of character development really killed this for me. If I thought Xingyin was annoying in the first book, she was unbearable in this one. The characters all lacked substance, leading me to not care about their individual outcomes. While I generally enjoyed the weird pacing (some parts were so slow while others were super quick), the writing felt much more repetitive than Moon Goddess. Overall, the plot was fine and I would still read more of Tan's work, but this left me feeling disappointed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Grief, Death, Blood, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: War, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
Minor: Death of parent
3arth2kaye's review against another edition
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
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? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Grief, and War
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Death of parent
maregred's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, War, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, and Death
clairew97's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Classism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, and War
navayiota's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
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
Somehow even better than the first. So worth the wait. I think this might be the first book to have ever made me romantically interested in a character. Wenzhi stole my heart and it was so unexpected, cause Liwei was and is still my favourite character. I think that it was all executed perfectly. Tan managed to capture the experience of being in love with two people which is usually too difficult to verbalise in an informal setting, nevermind in a book with such wonderful writing. Reading it was a healing experience. I never forgot about the first book and I will never forget about this one either. I don't do re-reads often but I might do it for this series.
How I wish there was a third book, so we could watch them fall in love again. I wanted more time with Liwei, he was such a pure soul in that way that only fictional people can be. I felt heartbroken for him when Xingyin picked Wenzhi, but it was also healing for me. Seeing someone do everything right, be the best version of themselves and still be rejected because the person they love does not love them back.. Xingyin not wanting him back does not make him any less valuable as a person. It doesn't blow out the light in his soul. He continues to exist. He is her friend. It gives one hope after heartbreak.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Murder, Abandonment, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Torture, Blood, Child death, Death, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Alcohol and Fire/Fire injury
kirstenf's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Death, War, Grief, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Death of parent
thequeeraunt's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
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
4.0
I am reviewing this audiobook after receiving a complimentary ALC from Libro.fm
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.I didn't love the way the triangle resolved, either. Xingyin made a choice by not making a choice, and I feel that it detracts from the supposed strength of her convictions.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Grief, War, Fire/Fire injury, and Kidnapping