Reviews

Heart of the Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan

leafeaj's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.0

sabrinahend's review against another edition

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4.0

sue slayed again. another beautiful lil book with lots of drama and lots of love and I ate it up. arguably a lil weak at times and the love triangle resolution pissed me off but still enjoyed it

did make me cry multiple times

sootytugboat0's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

destinydeeter's review against another edition

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4.0

The world building of this series is severely underrated. I was happy with the ending of this duology and felt like no loose strings were left untied.

kuzuryuu's review against another edition

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3.0

Uggggh i don’t know!!! This one was a bit frustrating. The first book had its issues with pacing, timeskips, and YA-esque love triangle antics, but these problems only worsened in book 2.

Characterization really suffered, as Liwei's and Wenzhi’s personalities became essentially identical, with their only defining traits being that they are in love with Xingyin and would do anything for her. Liwei in particular felt really sidelined and useless here, appearing only when convenient.

The conversations and love triangle dilemmas that began in book 1 just continue to take place, over and over, in book 2. By the end of this book I just couldn’t handle reading about Xingyin’s conflicting feelings about Liwei and Wenzhi anymore, especially when this would be brought up during moments of integral conflict where Xingyin’s focus really should have been on the battle at hand. It felt like while there was a new external threat, Xingyin's internal conflicts remained largely the same as in book 1, which felt redundant and flat.

I was most disappointed in the characterization of Chang’e. I had hoped for her to be strong in her own right, or at least be wise or sage in some way, but instead she just continued to need protection from others and didn’t get meaningfully fleshed out.

Houyi’s return was underwhelming; again, his characterization fell flat and ultimately I feel he could have been erased from the story without any real issue. I suspended disbelief for a lot of stuff in book 1, but Houyi’s return went a bit too far for me, especially since his presence only seemed to weaken the characterization of Chang’e and Xingyin. I would have loved to see Chang’e find her own inner strength without her problem being magically solved by Houyi’s reappearance.

This problem extends to the ending as well; I enjoyed reading Wenzhi’s sacrifice for Xingyin, and was content with the thought of an ending where Xingyin moves forward with a new outlook on trust, love, loss, grief, and the meaning of strength- not necessarily ending up with either Liwei or Wenzhi. But unfortunately, Xingyin moves through the world as a husk of herself for years after Wenzhi’s passing, finding no meaning without this romantic love, mirroring her mother. Then, mirroring her mother’s situation further, Xingyin’s problems are solved when Wenzhi is miraculously able to be reincarnated. It all felt a bit disappointing, and I’m not quite sure what message we are meant to take from the female leads’ inability to cope with their situations.

Overall though, I did enjoy reading this series a lot. I particularly liked the section with Xihe in book 2. Certain parts, such as the Celestial Empress’ role as a begrudging ally, were unfortunately underdeveloped. There was a lot of missed potential with this sequel, but I would definitely still read the next books put out by this author.

justicesky's review against another edition

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5.0

Wow where do I even begin. Daughter of the moon goddess is one of my all time favorite fantasy books. So I was very excited to read this one and also dreading the ending of the duology. I read this book slow because I didn’t want to reach the end! I cannot even put into words how beautiful this book is. I love it just as much as book 1. This one did have me sobbing in several parts though. I won’t say anything that ruins anything in the book. Everything that happened was so unexpected to me. I couldn’t have guessed what was coming next and I absolutely loved that. I am a huge fan and I have already ordered several copies and I can’t wait to read it again! The story will not be leaving my mind any time soon. Thank you Sue Lynn Tan for the beautiful conclusion.
*thank you so much to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

justicesky's review against another edition

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5.0

Wow where do I even begin. Daughter of the moon goddess is one of my all time favorite fantasy books. So I was very excited to read this one and also dreading the ending of the duology. I read this book slow because I didn’t want to reach the end! I cannot even put into words how beautiful this book is. I love it just as much as book 1. This one did have me sobbing in several parts though. I won’t say anything that ruins anything in the book. Everything that happened was so unexpected to me. I couldn’t have guessed what was coming next and I absolutely loved that. I am a huge fan and I have already ordered several copies and I can’t wait to read it again! The story will not be leaving my mind any time soon. Thank you Sue Lynn Tan for the beautiful conclusion.
*thank you so much to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

bianca_verjee's review against another edition

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5.0

Tons of action and a beautifully written ending. A great conclusion to the duology. Definitely recommend.

catyduarte99's review against another edition

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4.0

4.25⭐️

O QUÊ? Estão a querer dizer-me que eu li 490 + 450 páginas para ESTE ser o final???? Ah não, eu RECUSO-ME!!

Escrita maravilhosa, adoro as descrições, todos os detalhes e tudo mais. Amo as personagens (especialmente as principais) e todas as peripécias pelas quais elas precisam de passar estão bem desenvolvidas. Há personagens que achei desnecessárias (Tao, Zihyi, ...), preferindo ter visto mais desenvolvimento noutras personagens, como é o caso da Chang'e ou da Shuxiao...

Emocionei-me várias vezes ao longo da leitura, mas ainda assim acho que não supera o primeiro livro. Acho que este plot não nos trouxe nada de propriamente inovador, ainda aue eu ame qualquer migalha que receba deste mundo mágico.

Mas que raio de final foi este? A sério que eu esperava de tudo menos isto. Dá-me vontade de descer ainda mais a classificação do livro, mas tive de meter na cabeça que não posso resumir uma obra a um desfecho que não me agrada, nada mesmo.

Ok, aqui vai ter spoilers. Por isso se alguém estiver a ler isto e não quiser spoilers, por favor, não leiam o que se segue. É que eu preciso mesmo de falar sobre.

SPOILERS A SEGUIR!!!

Como é que é possível que a Xingyin tenha eacolhido o Wenzhi? Como é que depois de tudo o que aconteceu entre eles, ela tem a coragem de o escolher? Tipo nem sequer faz sentido! Sempre que havia interaçôes entre eles eu não sentia nada mais que ódio e repulsa, não me cabe na cabeça que ela tenha preferido ficar com ele.
Com o Liwei tudo era muito mais sentido. O Liwei que sempee fez tudo por ela, ela descarta por não querer ficar na corte, mss o traidor que a enganou? Ah que bela opção!
Fiquei genuinamente com pena do Liwei. Ele foi sempre a melhor escolha. Não só porque é uma pessoa muito melhor, as também porque as interações dele com a Xingyin pareciam sempre mais reais e com amor.
Acho que nunca vou perdoar a autora por esta. Epa é que ela passa de odiar o Wenzhi para ter a certeza que ele é o amor da vida dela de forma tão forçada que até mete raiva. Uma amizade seria plausível depois do arco de redenção, mas nais que isso foi só forçado. Mais valia a Xingyin ter ficado sozinha...

lisa_mcbookface's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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