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theromantasynerd 's review for:
Daughter of the Moon Goddess
by Sue Lynn Tan
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
🌸 ‘Daughter of the Moon Goddess’ is a captivating fantasy and the first book of a the Celestial Kingdom Duology written by debut author Sue Lynn Tan. I’ve been obsessed with Asian and Chinese mythology inspired fantasies lately, so this new release was on top of my most anticipated releases list!
🌸 It is inspired by the legend of the Chinese moon goddess, Chang’e , in which a young woman’s quest to free her mother pits her against the most powerful immortal in the realm and sets her on a dangerous path—where choices come with deadly consequences, and she risks losing more than her heart.
Daughter of the Moon Goddess begins an enchanting, romantic duology which weaves ancient Chinese mythology into a sweeping adventure of immortals and magic, of loss and sacrifice—where love vies with honor, dreams are fraught with betrayal, and hope emerges triumphant.
🌸 The plot does seem very similar to that of ‘Star Daughter’ by Shveta Thakrar… yet I am super intrigued to read this book! Thanks to Nadia for her amazing posts that tempted me into reading this book on kindle without waiting for my hardcopy to arrive 🙈… plus the setting and the hot chocolate were too fitting for me not to pick this book up tonight.
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🌙 “Some scars are carved into our bones —a part of who we are, shaping what we become.”
🌙 You know that an author has done a great job when you lose yourself in the fantasy world created by them and that’s exactly what happened with me while reading ‘Daughter of the Moon Goddess’ by Sue Lynn Tan!
🌙 Synopsis :
A breath-taking debut fantasy and the first book of the Celestial Kingdom Duology, inspired by the legend of the Chinese Moon Goddess, Chang’e.
Xingyin is the daughter of the Moon Goddess who escapes from her mother's home when her existence is discovered and starts to make her own way in the Celestial Kingdom, hiding the truth of who she is from everyone. She makes her way through the treacherous grounds of the Celestial Palace with its never ending intrigues, antics, and resentments. She encounters bullying and mistreatment, but also the draw and excitement of love.
We follow her as she journeys through the Celestial Kingdoms of immortals to discover her hidden powers and find a way to free her mother from her imprisonment.
🌙 Review :
To say that the world building was stunning is an understatement! Sue Lynn Tan has brought the scenes alive with her beautiful prose. The language is lyrical, beautifully flowing throughout.
Xingyin is a solid female protagonist and an incredible narrator. She's honorable, strong-willed, brave and smart.
There’s a harmonious blend of legends and mythology in this book. It has many common tropes like "MC with hidden powers", "Forbidden Romance", "Love Triangle", but they are well integrated with the main plot.
There's also some political drama happening in the background and to top it all off, this book has Demons and Dragons!
If you’re looking for an immersive high fantasy full of magic, romance and adventure, go for this book! I can’t wait for the sequel 🙈.
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*UPDATE*
I recently re-read this book.
🌙 I have already put up a review of this book. I love YA fantasies inspired by East Asian mythology or legends, and I enjoyed reading about the legend of the moon goddess, Chan’ge. The plot is undeniably captivating, the setting is whimsical and the book feels like pure escapism. Sue Lynn Tan has meticulously painted each scene in absolute detail with her beautiful words.
There’s loads of action in this book as well, so this one’s the perfect pick for someone who enjoys that in fantasy books.
🌙 However, re-reading this book brought to my attention a few things that I had earlier missed. For starters, the writing seems a little childish for YA, but that’s not too bad, because it’s smut-free so, even young readers can read and enjoy this book. The male MCs lacked dimension imo. The book skips a lot of time in a mere sentence, without any elaboration on the same and the dialogues seem pretty much the same for all characters whether it be the Emperor, an army general, a servant or a Prince. But I can forgive those cons for the sake of the riveting plot. I hope the author works on them and we get to see more of those cool dragons in the sequel, ‘The Heart of the Sun Warrior’, which releases in November this year.
🌸 It is inspired by the legend of the Chinese moon goddess, Chang’e , in which a young woman’s quest to free her mother pits her against the most powerful immortal in the realm and sets her on a dangerous path—where choices come with deadly consequences, and she risks losing more than her heart.
Daughter of the Moon Goddess begins an enchanting, romantic duology which weaves ancient Chinese mythology into a sweeping adventure of immortals and magic, of loss and sacrifice—where love vies with honor, dreams are fraught with betrayal, and hope emerges triumphant.
🌸 The plot does seem very similar to that of ‘Star Daughter’ by Shveta Thakrar… yet I am super intrigued to read this book! Thanks to Nadia for her amazing posts that tempted me into reading this book on kindle without waiting for my hardcopy to arrive 🙈… plus the setting and the hot chocolate were too fitting for me not to pick this book up tonight.
--------------------------------
🌙 “Some scars are carved into our bones —a part of who we are, shaping what we become.”
🌙 You know that an author has done a great job when you lose yourself in the fantasy world created by them and that’s exactly what happened with me while reading ‘Daughter of the Moon Goddess’ by Sue Lynn Tan!
🌙 Synopsis :
A breath-taking debut fantasy and the first book of the Celestial Kingdom Duology, inspired by the legend of the Chinese Moon Goddess, Chang’e.
Xingyin is the daughter of the Moon Goddess who escapes from her mother's home when her existence is discovered and starts to make her own way in the Celestial Kingdom, hiding the truth of who she is from everyone. She makes her way through the treacherous grounds of the Celestial Palace with its never ending intrigues, antics, and resentments. She encounters bullying and mistreatment, but also the draw and excitement of love.
We follow her as she journeys through the Celestial Kingdoms of immortals to discover her hidden powers and find a way to free her mother from her imprisonment.
🌙 Review :
To say that the world building was stunning is an understatement! Sue Lynn Tan has brought the scenes alive with her beautiful prose. The language is lyrical, beautifully flowing throughout.
Xingyin is a solid female protagonist and an incredible narrator. She's honorable, strong-willed, brave and smart.
There’s a harmonious blend of legends and mythology in this book. It has many common tropes like "MC with hidden powers", "Forbidden Romance", "Love Triangle", but they are well integrated with the main plot.
There's also some political drama happening in the background and to top it all off, this book has Demons and Dragons!
If you’re looking for an immersive high fantasy full of magic, romance and adventure, go for this book! I can’t wait for the sequel 🙈.
-------------------------------
*UPDATE*
I recently re-read this book.
🌙 I have already put up a review of this book. I love YA fantasies inspired by East Asian mythology or legends, and I enjoyed reading about the legend of the moon goddess, Chan’ge. The plot is undeniably captivating, the setting is whimsical and the book feels like pure escapism. Sue Lynn Tan has meticulously painted each scene in absolute detail with her beautiful words.
There’s loads of action in this book as well, so this one’s the perfect pick for someone who enjoys that in fantasy books.
🌙 However, re-reading this book brought to my attention a few things that I had earlier missed. For starters, the writing seems a little childish for YA, but that’s not too bad, because it’s smut-free so, even young readers can read and enjoy this book. The male MCs lacked dimension imo. The book skips a lot of time in a mere sentence, without any elaboration on the same and the dialogues seem pretty much the same for all characters whether it be the Emperor, an army general, a servant or a Prince. But I can forgive those cons for the sake of the riveting plot. I hope the author works on them and we get to see more of those cool dragons in the sequel, ‘The Heart of the Sun Warrior’, which releases in November this year.