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A review by gen_wolfhailstorm
Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
5.0
Buddy read with KatiEllen'sBookishAdventure & HillsOfBooks.
I was so behind on the buddy read, with no pressure other than my own, that I decided to download the ebook for my travels. I then found the audiobook on YouTube, from Harper Collins, with a narrator with a mesmerising voice, which really helped me properly ground myself back into the story from chapter 4 and was super helpful in the pronunciation of our character names.
I loved Xingyin and all that she stood for. She did come across as very stubborn and prideful, that some may not get on with, but for me, I interpreted her pride as a strong sense of self and resilience and I feel like her competitive nature and determination to prove herself, time and time again, came from her isolation in a very tight family home up until this point.
I felt like her abundance of pride was more to do with Xingyin never having to face such critique before and has had to face a sharp humbling by going into servitude to get established in the Imortal Realm.
I struggled with the time jumps. This is something I tend to struggle with most times. It just feels cloudy to me, and I lose sense of time and place. I couldn't comprehend how many achievements had been made in such quick succession because I couldn't grapple with how much time was supposed to have passed. I think the only solid acknowledgement of it was a passing "2 years" mentioned, but other than that, I found it hard to feel grounded, was disorientated in that earlier portion after the flee, and a lot felt told rather than shown during these speed through the years. I felt like I needed a more cultivated balance of not showing us everything, but showing us enough that it made sense that a substantial amount of time has past... but also... immortals... so time is a construct.
I had so many conflicting emotions when it came to Liwei and Wenzhi. I loved them. I hated them... I think I was just team Xingyin all the way because I just felt for her through everything, but the heartbreak I felt was probably more than she had!
I enjoyed that although this was fantasy, it had a lot of militant themes too. I don't typically read lots of military fantasy, or fantasy where it's a larger portion of the story, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially seeing all the different parts of the Celestial Kingdoms, who sided with who, political intrigue, etc.
Overall, this was a fantastic start to the Celestial Kingdom duology and an even better debut.
I was so behind on the buddy read, with no pressure other than my own, that I decided to download the ebook for my travels. I then found the audiobook on YouTube, from Harper Collins, with a narrator with a mesmerising voice, which really helped me properly ground myself back into the story from chapter 4 and was super helpful in the pronunciation of our character names.
I loved Xingyin and all that she stood for. She did come across as very stubborn and prideful, that some may not get on with, but for me, I interpreted her pride as a strong sense of self and resilience and I feel like her competitive nature and determination to prove herself, time and time again, came from her isolation in a very tight family home up until this point.
I felt like her abundance of pride was more to do with Xingyin never having to face such critique before and has had to face a sharp humbling by going into servitude to get established in the Imortal Realm.
I struggled with the time jumps. This is something I tend to struggle with most times. It just feels cloudy to me, and I lose sense of time and place. I couldn't comprehend how many achievements had been made in such quick succession because I couldn't grapple with how much time was supposed to have passed. I think the only solid acknowledgement of it was a passing "2 years" mentioned, but other than that, I found it hard to feel grounded, was disorientated in that earlier portion after the flee, and a lot felt told rather than shown during these speed through the years. I felt like I needed a more cultivated balance of not showing us everything, but showing us enough that it made sense that a substantial amount of time has past... but also... immortals... so time is a construct.
I had so many conflicting emotions when it came to Liwei and Wenzhi. I loved them. I hated them... I think I was just team Xingyin all the way because I just felt for her through everything, but the heartbreak I felt was probably more than she had!
I enjoyed that although this was fantasy, it had a lot of militant themes too. I don't typically read lots of military fantasy, or fantasy where it's a larger portion of the story, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially seeing all the different parts of the Celestial Kingdoms, who sided with who, political intrigue, etc.
Overall, this was a fantastic start to the Celestial Kingdom duology and an even better debut.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Self harm, War, and Violence
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Bullying