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A review by readwithria
Heart of the Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
Heart of the Sun Warrior was a beautiful, gut-wrenching conclusion to this enchanting duology. It made my heart sing, only to split it in two and heal it over.
This book was not perfect, but it captured the essence of war, betrayal, and love so incredibly well. I did find the first half to be a bit slow and easy to put down, but as the plot picked up I noticed everything that had been laid down in the groundwork of the book coming back and playing its part in the conclusion. The stakes were real, this was a war story and war has its casualties, but the losses were surrounded by an incredibly well written story of grief, forgiveness, vengeance, and love strong enough to defy the odds.
I was more than a little surprised that I didn’t hate the love triangle. I often find that love triangles feel contrived and unnecessary, but Xingyin’s feelings for both Liwei and Wenzhi are so real and complex that I could feel as her love shifted between betrayal, deep love, friendship, and all the stages in between. Love was a theme explored throughout the book, not only romantic love but also familial and platonic love. Having this balance helped to keep the love triangle from overwhelming the book.
Sue Lynn Tan’s writing was just as beautiful in this book as in her debut, the story even more tightly woven, and the characters increasing in complexity. I will definitely be buying myself a physical copy of this book when it is released. 5 beautifully imperfect stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.
This book was not perfect, but it captured the essence of war, betrayal, and love so incredibly well. I did find the first half to be a bit slow and easy to put down, but as the plot picked up I noticed everything that had been laid down in the groundwork of the book coming back and playing its part in the conclusion. The stakes were real, this was a war story and war has its casualties, but the losses were surrounded by an incredibly well written story of grief, forgiveness, vengeance, and love strong enough to defy the odds.
I was more than a little surprised that I didn’t hate the love triangle. I often find that love triangles feel contrived and unnecessary, but Xingyin’s feelings for both Liwei and Wenzhi are so real and complex that I could feel as her love shifted between betrayal, deep love, friendship, and all the stages in between. Love was a theme explored throughout the book, not only romantic love but also familial and platonic love. Having this balance helped to keep the love triangle from overwhelming the book.
Sue Lynn Tan’s writing was just as beautiful in this book as in her debut, the story even more tightly woven, and the characters increasing in complexity. I will definitely be buying myself a physical copy of this book when it is released. 5 beautifully imperfect stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and War
Minor: Confinement and Fire/Fire injury