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

adventurous emotional hopeful 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

5.0

 This was a wonderful story and I was completely satisfied with it from start to finish, it didn't let me down in anything, it met all my expectations, didn't sag anywhere in quality, absolutely wonderful. The plot is tied entirely to the conflict of the MC; it was nice to see the her develop; also, the author skillfully showed us more about the world without infodumping. This is simply a book right up my alley. ❤️ 

The best part is the author's strict adherence to the heroes' characters. The MC doesn't make decisions mindlessly, her character very much influences her actions as well as her thoughts. She feels real. I love that the MC never tolerates the way others treat her, including her love interests; even in the face of death, she stubbornly looks it in the eye. She has her own path, she has chosen it herself, and she won't let anyone bend her to another just because they think it's better for her, and she won't back down from what she wants, but she also has an understanding of honor and dignity, and she doesn't want to hurt others just to reach her goal. 

The MC's relationship with both love interests was good. Both guys are different, as are her feelings for them. With Liwei she had her first, still adolescent, naive love (which eventually grew into more as they matured), while her relationship with Wenzhi was already more thoughtful, having learned from her bitter experience with the prince (and then vice versa). Wenzhi gave her what Liwei could not, and there were none of the weights of the past between them that there were between the MC and Liwei; but in the end, Liwei was the one who stayed by her side until the end and respected her choices no matter what. 

While describing some of the situations in the book to a friend, it briefly all sounded like the plot of some ridiculous novel, but it's all so well written that you enjoy it. A less skillful author would have come out with a very different story. 

The other characters, besides the MC, also feel real. They have their own dilemmas, which conflict in some places with the MC's path; they are neither nefarious villains nor innocent angels; none of them are presented in a totally bad or good light, and each of them is understandable. 

In addition to showing what was going on, there was a lot of telling of what was going on. But that didn't confuse me or affect my enjoyment of the story. Sometimes "not showing" is a sign of poor writing skill, but in this case I think it was appropriate, otherwise the book would have stretched to all 800 pages or more. And the fact that some of the character bonding was left off-screen is not critical either, because romance is not the absolute primary focus of this story, but only one part of it. 

I will 100% be reading the next book. Very interesting to see where the story goes and how it ends for her (and who she stays with, if not alone). The author has earned my trust after this book, and hopefully they won't let me down. 
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