Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Heart of the Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan

88 reviews

kellyfeather's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

I read this in less than a day, immediately following the The Daughter of the Moon Goddess. I'm here for a complicated love triangle, but this one didn't do it for me. 

I feel like Wenzhi's rehabilitation in this book was unearned, but perhaps that was because his betrayal in the first book was surprising to me, and perhaps unearned? I did shed a tear for the minor character deaths.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

grace_reads49's review against another edition

adventurous fast-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

3.5

I liked this a lot. Sue Lynn Tan has a way of making her worlds light up and feel so beautiful. Her sensory descriptions always draw me in. It also feels like her plot is always moving -- something seems to happen every chapter that progresses where characters are and how they interact with each other. I was impressed by how much changed in Daughter of the Moon Goddess, and I was impressed again by how much changed in this one. It's been awesome following Xingyin along on her journey finding her place in this world, and making hard decisions for herself and her family.

I think some of the steam got lost in the last few chapters of falling action, but that could have been the intention. I still don't regret reading this, and I'd definitely read more from Sue Lynn Tan in the future. I love the quick fairytale adventure feel of it all.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death

There is on-page death of a child character during a fight. They don't suffer much, but they are injured and die from their injuries on page. There is also reference to past child death, the killing of the sunbirds. This is not on-page, but some grief of their deaths by the remaining sunbird and by their mother is present, and Xingyin mourns the loss.

natashalg's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

I wish we saw more of what the future held after the ending, but it was still a satisfying end that leaves one feeling as though everything will be how it should be with time. I enjoyed this book more than the first, it had more adventure, action, and suspense/twists which I enjoyed. It does a wonderful job showing how one can fight for what they love, deal with grief and loss, and still find happiness in the end. A wonderful read I would highly recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

hannasreads's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Death

rnbhargava's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

The strong aspects of this book are on level with the first book. That said, much of the pacing for the first half is unbalanced. The protagonist also makes choices and voices feelings that come across fairly inconsistent with where the first book left off and they’re not really even partially addressed for half the book. I ultimately had fun so I went 3 stars but I took a long break from reading down the middle of this for several months and I was mulling a DNF. I was even considering a 2 star once I did resume but it picked up.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

hannahfreyvogel's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Violence

Moderate: Death, Blood, and Grief

Minor: Death of parent

wilful_wisp's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

kaneebli's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I speed read the last 100 pages of this book because it got so depressing I just wanted to be done with it. That's not to say it's a bad book, because it's not a bad book. But throughout the entire book, Xingyin goes through so much physical and emotional pain and suffering it started to really bother me. Like it became just straight up unenjoyable. 

Also it sucks that Liwei just ends up basically trapped in his role as the new emperor. I feel like eventually at the end everybody gets what they want and becomes happy, except him. And that's a bummer, because it's easy to imagine that in the future, he ends up exactly like his shitty father because he has no happiness in his life. I wish he had gotten a happier ending. :/ 

ALSO, it's a bummer that we never get to read about any instance of Wenzhi and Xingyin actually just being happy together. It just ends with the promise of potentially being happy together in a few decades. :///

ALSO ALSO ummmm hello why has no one even considered polyamory????? whack.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, and Grief

Minor: Death of parent and Fire/Fire injury

liamliayaum's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Grief, and War

Moderate: Child death and Death

savvyrosereads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring 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? No

4.5

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

The sequel to DAUGHTER OF THE MOON GODDESS, continuing and concluding the story of Xingyin and her loved ones.

I enjoyed DAUGHTER OF THE MOON GODDESS, but I loved this one even more. It was so emotional, and hooked me into the drama and action right away—it felt like the plot never stopped moving, and I was engaged pretty much the whole time. I’m not always a fan of love triangles, but this one was done so well, and while I wanted to throw the book at one point, it ultimately ended up with an outcome I absolutely loved.

I also felt like the world building was more thorough this time, and I came away with a decent understanding of the world, the mythology, and the magic here. All of the characters really grew on me, and I felt all the emotional gut punches I should have felt and all the joy when things went well. I’m really glad I read this duology, and excited to wrap it all up with TALES OF THE CELESTIAL KINGDOM soon!

CW: Blood/injury/death/violence/war, including child death; infidelity; grief

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail