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sirkeili's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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? Yes
4.5
I kind of stumbled upon this book series by accident, but I vividly remember looking at the sequel and the book store clerk excitedly gushing that these books were amazing.
From the beginning, Xingye wormed her way into my heart. Her sheer bravery in the face of impossible odds, to her devotion to those whom she loves, just made her more and more appealing as a main character.
I also love how she is always looking at the bigger picture, rather than a blind focus on her end goal, and will take sacrifices that she knows will save more than just herself. She sees the machinations of her world, and the rules she's forced to abide by, yet she has them bend to her own desires with a fair compromise.
As someone who loves mythology and fantasy, this is a really refreshing and engaging take on it, and Xingye is an absolute delight to share it with!
From the beginning, Xingye wormed her way into my heart. Her sheer bravery in the face of impossible odds, to her devotion to those whom she loves, just made her more and more appealing as a main character.
I also love how she is always looking at the bigger picture, rather than a blind focus on her end goal, and will take sacrifices that she knows will save more than just herself. She sees the machinations of her world, and the rules she's forced to abide by, yet she has them bend to her own desires with a fair compromise.
As someone who loves mythology and fantasy, this is a really refreshing and engaging take on it, and Xingye is an absolute delight to share it with!
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Torture, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
lpdx's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
Minor: Alcohol
amroyer's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
kaerene's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-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
4.0
I want to give Daughter of the Moon Goddess five stars, and I was going to, until the chapters after Xingyin leaves the Jade Palace (IYKYK). I didn’t feel like Xingyin recapping the previous 14 hours of a 15 hour audiobook to a certain character felt relevant. There were some moments of those chapters that needed it for reconnection but it was too much.
Aside from needing to cut some chapters at the end, I truly enjoyed this book. The writing is beautiful. The way that Sue Lynn Tan describes the places in her book and what Xingyin is experiencing is almost like prose and is extremely profound. I don’t think I’ve read or listened to anything like it before. I also loved the plot and got heavily invested while listening and would make comments to what other characters were doing or saying. AND! Part 4’s plot twist?! The way I screamed when that twist was revealed. Mind blown.
Aside from needing to cut some chapters at the end, I truly enjoyed this book. The writing is beautiful. The way that Sue Lynn Tan describes the places in her book and what Xingyin is experiencing is almost like prose and is extremely profound. I don’t think I’ve read or listened to anything like it before. I also loved the plot and got heavily invested while listening and would make comments to what other characters were doing or saying. AND! Part 4’s plot twist?! The way I screamed when that twist was revealed. Mind blown.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Gore, and Death of parent
woolerys's review against another edition
adventurous
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? No
3.5
Writing - 3/5
Plot - 4/5
Characters - 4/5
World-building - 4/5
Personal tastes - 3/5
TOTAL: 3.6
Started slow, but then had multiple moments where I was holding my breath and racing over the page to see how a close predicament turned out. I didn’t ever quite trust Wenzhi but the extent of his betrayal still took me by surprise!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Violence, Grief, and War
Minor: Sexual assault
maraavillaa's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail
loquaciousleon's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
This book has my heart.
Additionally: I got to page 100 and events were unfolding that I assumed would be stretched out over the course of the 500 page book. Sue Lynn Tan took me on an entire journey throughout it all.
It was wonderfully unexpected to have so much more packed into the story, and to have been done in a way I literally could not have imagined. Every 100 pages felt like a completely new foundation for the story to continue building upon.
Additionally: I got to page 100 and events were unfolding that I assumed would be stretched out over the course of the 500 page book. Sue Lynn Tan took me on an entire journey throughout it all.
It was wonderfully unexpected to have so much more packed into the story, and to have been done in a way I literally could not have imagined. Every 100 pages felt like a completely new foundation for the story to continue building upon.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
magicalb1tch's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
TLDR; Mostly good pacing, improvement of some common tropes, refreshing heroine that is fierce and compassionate, and world building that is beautiful and illustrative.
-----
Tan’s duology takes place in the Chinese depiction of heaven, where Immortals dwell separated from the Mortal realm. I don’t personally know much of anything about Chinese mythology, so I was really excited to get such a beautiful, intricately woven image of this world through the authors illustrative descriptions. By chapter 4 I was like, I need a comic version of this story. I need to see this world in full color! Imagining an entire series illustrated like the cover art sounds amazing to me.
Tan’s duology takes place in the Chinese depiction of heaven, where Immortals dwell separated from the Mortal realm. I don’t personally know much of anything about Chinese mythology, so I was really excited to get such a beautiful, intricately woven image of this world through the authors illustrative descriptions. By chapter 4 I was like, I need a comic version of this story. I need to see this world in full color! Imagining an entire series illustrated like the cover art sounds amazing to me.
Anyway, for the storyline we are following the life of Xingyin, the secret daughter of the Moon Goddess Chang’e. It starts off a bit cliche in that she’s chased away from the safety of her home and into enemy territory, but I do feel that our heroine’s drive and personality make her so much more than the typical “deposed princess” trope, and I do feel that the unique world building does elevate some of the other tropes used as well.
As someone who gets really, really frustrated by the “Advances Quicker Than Everyone Else” trope, the pacing for this book is really well executed. Our main characters do not progress solely because they are main characters, they’re actually working tirelessly every day for years to get to where they are, and they are trained by professionals with hundreds of years of experience (literally). Yes, their ability to access magic also helps them, but they struggle to learn that effectively as well. The timeline is well balanced in that some months just pass right by in the story, much like how real life is, and it removes the pressure of the story to invent interesting things to happen every week and then feel forced. The romantic plot in this book advances in a similarly slow, realistic pace that isn’t overdramatized.
I don’t want to spoil too much about Xingyin, but she is a fierce and sincere character who fights for herself while still showing compassion to others, even Mortals who some would see as “beneath” her. She wants to be her own champion, and live up to her own ideals. I think she’s a really beautiful character to follow in the narrative.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gore, Violence, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Body horror, Confinement, Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Sexual harassment, and Classism
k_fry's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
If I had to pick one word to describe this book it would be “lush”. Tan does an amazing job of bringing the glittering richness of the immortal realm to life without bogging down the story with extraneous description.
There were a couple of predictable plot points and character types, which I think is because it followed a similar tale to any major YA fantasy produced recently, but overall was done so well I didn’t mind. Even though some things have been done before, it felt fresh in this book because so much else was uniquely done.
There were a couple of predictable plot points and character types, which I think is because it followed a similar tale to any major YA fantasy produced recently, but overall was done so well I didn’t mind. Even though some things have been done before, it felt fresh in this book because so much else was uniquely done.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming, Confinement, Kidnapping, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Death of parent
spec_tacles's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Grief and Death of parent