A review by milkyboos
Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan

adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

A magical and intriguing world that served as nothing more than a poetic backdrop to a stale love triangle and a static main character.

The world-building in Daughter of the Moon Goddess was truly fascinating and the prose was beautiful. Those two facets alone will get me to read the second book in this series, but the character development and relationship dynamics needed some heavier editing as nearly 500 pages into the novel, our MC is still making the exact same mistakes she was making from page 1 and no one ever truly challenges her (and she never faces any real consequences for all her faults).

It makes you wonder what all the adventuring and learning was for if Xingyin stays in that same middle schooler mindset the entire time. All those monsters slain, quests conquered, and loves gained and lost, just for her to come out at the end the exact same girl she was before she ever left the moon.

I'm deeply curious where the story will go from here, and I will read the sequel at some point, but I think I need to take a break from this world for now to come to terms with my disappointment ;-;