Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan

16 reviews

krumanda's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring reflective sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Toxic friendship, and War

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Confinement

hue's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

The writing is a bit much. It's so heavily floral it sort of ruins the course of the story. I'm not a fan of the passage of time within the story either. It's rather clunky, and the sudden 2 year time skip by chapter 9 was rather strange.

The romance seemed rather. . . forced. They like each other because??? They were close? It didn't really work as well as the Author might've wanted, which was a shame because individually Liwei and Xingyin were interesting enough. Together? Not so much.

And then the addition of a rather awkward love triangle. Yeah, no. 

However, I really did like Xingyin as a main character. She's strong willed and fierce, gentle and soft, and she stands up for herlsef and her choices.

When she finds out about Liwei's political marriage, she chooses herself rather than a position where he'd be more comfortable than her. As abrupt as it was, it was a good choice.

She also keeps her goal in her mind, and her want to save her mother is her driving force throughout the book which I really liked.

It is a bit like the story itself doesn't know where the plot is going and why, which was why it felt so stilted and . . odd at times. The "missions"(?) she was sent on were so detached from the main story I wondered why they were there at all.

All in all, not a bad read just rather clunky and boring at times. I might still pick up the next volume since there is only the two. I'd like to know what happens next, especially with the Moon Goddess and Xingyin.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and War

hmunger's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective 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

4.25

While there are valid critiques of the pacing and some plot choices, this novel never failed to enthrall me and envelope me in the world. I love the characters, as they each hold an important role in the plot and the messaging. I was truly torn between Xingyin’s choices and thought her inner dialogue, while at times extensive, was vital to the understanding of how she grew as a character and how she made sense of the world she did not grow up in. Highly enjoyed, excited to get the sequel! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Death, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Vomit, Death of parent, and Classism

fiercereadsfiction's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Confinement and Torture

Minor: Emotional abuse

bea_reads_books's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism

solarel's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

At the end of part 2 I was ready to say this fell in a 2 star range. The main character reads like a YA heroine, quick to swoon and quicker to anger. Her perspective was repetitive, and this grew very little as the book went on. She stars out angry about her mother and her own honor disrespected, and she ends that way too. 

I loved the world, though. It was fun and I found it immersive. It felt rich and saturated, though at times repetitive. 

What bumped it up to 3 stars for me was a twist that I had misread the signs for as overused tropes. I was delighted about this turn in the plot and it was a lot of fun to see it play out. 

Overall I think this book is very charming and worth a read. Parts of the plot felt like they floated by without enough weight, and others felt as if they were drawn out far too long. I’m looking forward to the second one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Infidelity

mayhem9683's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Torture

Moderate: Emotional abuse

beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition

It's been a long time since I started reading this and I just don't really feel like doing so anymore. Hardly any of the characters have much depth to them, the love triangle is unnecessary, and the plotting feels too episodic in nature. All the obstacles that Xingyin faces feel too easily overcome before she moves on to the next one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Violence, Medical content, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

booksthatburn's review against another edition

emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

The worldbuilding unfolds slowly, with early mentions of the various kingdoms supplemented later on by more detailed descriptions once Xingyin actually travels there. The descriptions are evocative but not overwhelming, tending to focus more on her thoughts about what she observes. There’s a strong focus on Xingyin’s internal life, as her relationships get more complicated but she’s still keeping her parentage a secret. She’s the daughter of the moon goddess, having grown up in secret since her mother was exiled to the moon after claiming the immortality meant for her husband, Xingyin’s father. 

I like the first third and I love the second half, in between those sections the pacing gets a little weird though it’s still pretty good. Mid-book events which in some other story might be a training montage instead are collapsed into a very brief mention as several years are skipped at once. Xingyin ends up in the Celestial palace, surrounded by people who despise her for her class and who would detest her if they knew who her mother really was. After spending several years as the prince’s companion, she tries to make her own way by excelling at arms, becoming a formidable archer. Her goal is to earn a favor from the emperor in order to request her mother’s freedom. 

Once place where this excels is in relationships, specifically the way that Xingyin’s relationships with Prince Liwei and Captain Wenzhi change over time. It is a love triangle, but one which at each stage feels like there are good reasons for the choices Xingyin is making. She proceeds as well as she can while figuring out who she wants, if anyone. I love the ending, it pulls things together in a fantastic way and lays the ground for what the sequel might cover while still letting this first book feel complete.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Torture, Vomit, Grief, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexism, Sexual content, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment

kels_18's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

This did not live up to my expectations. I really wish that I liked this more than I did, but there were too many time skips and difference in locations, jumping from one thing to another for there to really be any cohesive thought process from me. I don’t know how this could be turned into a duology. Too much happened in this book, way too much. The only thing tying everything together was Xingyin’s quest to free her mother from her prison on the Moon. That was the only thing tying everything together. Then you add in the love triangle between the two main MMCs, ugh. These two men you jump off of a cliff for all I care. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Torture, Violence, and War

Minor: Sexual assault