Reviews with content warning for Death - Daughter of the Moon Goddess

Reviews tagging 'Death'

Daughter of the Moon Goddess, by Sue Lynn Tan

70 reviews

kaitzeecee's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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? Yes

3.75

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ruthlessreads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

I liked this book a lot & I look forward to the second one! The characters were realistic and the plot was well crafted. The writing style was a little more simplistic than I typically prefer but I still think the writing was good. There were some pacing issues that I think could have been ironed out before publication but, overall, it was a great book to start off my year!

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tashtasher's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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txikimandy's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book was amazing! I couldn’t put it down. The plot was intriguing and the characters were likeable. The only things keeping me from giving 5 stars are the role of the supporting characters, which is where all of the other women in the story were, and Tan’s prose.

The plot of this story was a more complex plot than I was expecting. Every new obstacle was a surprise, but each one contributed to Xingyin’s journey and her growth. I really enjoyed reading each adventure she took!

I’m not someone who is overly familiar with Chinese mythology, though I am aquatinted with a few deities and legends. Tan did a fantastic job with the world-building— she never sounded like she was taking time away from the narrative to explain the mythological roots of the story like the readers were children; instead, she wove the lore of the world into the narrative with the skill of an expert.

The characters were all likeable (and the villains, you liked to hate). Xingyin experiences many traumas and tragedies, and her flaws are apparent, which all lend a wonderful depth and realism to her character. The male leads are interesting and have enough differences to evoke the “pick a side” attitude of the Hunger Games and Twilight franchises. The nostalgia attached to that feeling wasn’t something I necessarily loved, but it added to the complexity of Xingyin’s emotional growth in a respectable way.

My two complaints keeping me from giving the book 5 stars lie with the supporting characters and Tan’s prose. All of the other women in this story are supporting characters, which didn’t sit extremely well with me. I wanted some of Xingyin’s female friends to have a larger role and was left extremely wanting. The supporting characters are also static; even when they have a deep conversation with Xingyin about their lives and futures, nothing changes for them.

While she’s an amazing story-teller, Tan’s prose is lacking. There are many instances of sentence fragments that do not work as fragments, and caused me to read the passage once or twice more. She uses a lot of chiches, including frequently calling eyes “orbs”, which is one of my personal pet peeves.

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morvvenna's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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r1vana's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

“Titles are inherited, talent might be blood-bound, but true greatness lies within.”

One of the most anticipated series of 2022/2023. The cover itself?!

Tropes:
Friends to lovers
Love triangles
Betrayal
Hero complex

Like any kind of fantasy book, the beginning was confusing. Funnily, for me, it was not the beginning that was confusing rather towards the middle to the end.

Plot? Xingyin is the daughter of a moon goddess and is being imprisoned for “illegally” becoming an immortal without the permission and blessing of the Celestial Emperor.

One day, when she realizes that her mother may be in danger because of her existence, she runs away vowing that she will free her mother from this imprisonment:

"Once you had seen the full moon, the

crescent has lost its charm"

What she didn’t expected is legit land in the Celestial Kingdom. And to become a servant in a noble household and encounter with the crown prince. Her first encounter with him was unexpected. Her talk-backs has definitely intrigued him.

Later on, she will participate in a tournament to become the Crown Prince’s companion aka in this book fall in a forbidden love.

Xingyin is a little reckless. She does stuff that will make me facepalm; like when she went saw the light and went to reach for it knowing it may cause future repercussions.

But later on, she does grow as a character and becomes more resilient. Except when it comes to “love…”

Romance…. Well it seems to be a love triangle but since I don’t like love triangle, I may be contracting this: FL has really confusing feelings for both of them and kissing the other guy while having feelings for the other, vice versa. It is hard to explain but you will know when you read it. There is a phrase that the author seems to love to use “I’ll- fated love”. At this point, it was just excuses. It made the romance really bland and also insta love-ish.

Honestly the love triangle was just ruining the magical world and the climax itself, but unfortunately it did took a part of the story for a reason…

Liwei was an interesting character at first. But the more present he is the more he is shown as bland. He didn’t stood out to me. I did like their little banters here and there.

Wenzhi on the other hand was interesting at first. But he too became boring. He had this mysterious “aura”, charisma but it all become bland when he was getting close to Xingyin. Both of them was definitely insta-love.

"I understood now that before I could embrace my future, I had to release myself from the binds of the past."

The characters are all similar. Honestly I rather read Xingyin’s parents tragic love story then this:

My father slew the suns. My mother lights the moon.

Her journey; when it comes to progressing her magic, we get up to no crumbs. We don’t get to see her growth in martial arts, her archery’s hits nor sword strengths… I think that the two love interests just ruined or rather prolonged her character development/growth…

Anyways… SPOILER ALERT!!!! 🚨 🚨🚨

Spoiler

I was not expecting Wenzhi to be the Crown Prince of the Demon World aka a villain. I shipped him with Xingyin so bad. And I know that in the second book, she is gonna end up with the crown prince…

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csmall73's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Full of adventure, political intrigue, challenges, and beauty. It was a great read. Can’t wait to read the 2nd book. I’m dying to know which way the love triangle ends up.

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sofiazee's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Notable quotes:
Some scars are carved into our bones - a part of who we are, shaping what we become.

Being an attendant doesn’t mean I don’t have my pride. The work I do is not a reflection of who I am.

…when winning would transform my life, not just gild an already bright future.

Not everyone’s path was a path through sunlit fields. We each had our own corners that we preferred to leave in the shadows.

There was no end to love - it was something that grew and renewed endlessly, expanding to encompass each new horizon. Family. Friends. And other lovers, too - none of them the same - yet each precious in their own way.

The best lies were indeed those steeped in truth.

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hq_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-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? No

5.0

I absolutely loved this - I stayed up until 1am finishing it. I’m not familiar with Chinese mythology so this was such a new and unique read for me. I loved the writing style and the characters. Some unexpected plot twists as well!!

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chrisljm's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Another book that didn’t live up to the hype. The writing is flowery and pretty, but that’s it. The plot and characters lack depth and it felt like 400+ pages of just trying to fit every plot point the author had planned.

The characters were so boring. Xingyin the female main character, is two-dimensional and lacks growth, but the worst thing to be done to her character was to end up having her centered around her love interests. The romance was definitely the worst thing about the book, and I could not have cared less. The characters had no chemistry, the two male leads had no personality, and the development in their relationships came off even worse because the pacing in the story was poorly done.

This book had me apathetic at best. The romance? Didn’t care. Xingyin only likes these boys because they’re there and the male leads. The plot? Also didn’t care. It’s hard to feel bad for any of her issues when there is no emotional impact in the writing, and so much telling and no showing.

This book just lacked in so much: personality, depth, climax, tension. The only thing it has going for it is pretty words but at the end of the day, who cares.

Spoiler

And you know what. You know how ridiculous it felt, reading about how hurt Xingyin was that Lingwei chose another woman, only for her to tell Wenzhi she wants to leave the army with him and be with him in the next fucking line. And then for Lingwei to come back in the next scene and have her be depressed over him again. Girl stfu.

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