Reviews with content warning for Classism - Heart of the Sun Warrior

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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passionatereader78's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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? Yes

4.5

Xingyen has freed her mother, however, the celestial emperor despises them which sends them fleeing from their home once again. Xingyen finds her father and we are on another family quest. I love the family drama and the adventures.

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kenny_2288's review against another edition

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adventurous tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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daniellekat's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No

2.75

I struggled with this. I really enjoyed Moon Goddess especially since I'm not a huge fan of high fantasy, but the lack of character development really killed this for me. If I thought Xingyin was annoying in the first book, she was unbearable in this one. The characters all lacked substance, leading me to not care about their individual outcomes. While I generally enjoyed the weird pacing (some parts were so slow while others were super quick), the writing felt much more repetitive than Moon Goddess. Overall, the plot was fine and I would still read more of Tan's work, but this left me feeling disappointed.

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clairew97's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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navayiota's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad 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

5.0

Somehow even better than the first. So worth the wait. I think this might be the first book to have ever made me romantically interested in a character. Wenzhi stole my heart and it was so unexpected, cause Liwei was and is still my favourite character. I think that it was all executed perfectly. Tan managed to capture the experience of being in love with two people which is usually too difficult to verbalise in an informal setting, nevermind in a book with such wonderful writing. Reading it was a healing experience. I never forgot about the first book and I will never forget about this one either. I don't do re-reads often but I might do it for this series.

How I wish there was a third book, so we could watch them fall in love again. I wanted more time with Liwei, he was such a pure soul in that way that only fictional people can be. I felt heartbroken for him when Xingyin picked Wenzhi, but it was also healing for me. Seeing someone do everything right, be the best version of themselves and still be rejected because the person they love does not love them back.. Xingyin not wanting him back does not make him any less valuable as a person. It doesn't blow out the light in his soul. He continues to exist. He is her friend. It gives one hope after heartbreak.

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kumquats87's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful sad medium-paced

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

3.25

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lastblossom's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective

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

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an advance copy.

tl;dr
Equal parts heartbreaking and hopeful, a strong follow-up to the previous book. Romantic endgame might be divisive.

About
After winning the Celestial Emperor's pardon (although not his favor), Xingyin thought she'd be returning to her quiet life on the moon with her mother. But political turmoil rages in the Celestial Kingdom, churned on by her previous actions. With her home on the moon threatened by old enemies and new magic, Xingyin must once again take up her bow and fight for the ones she loves. And maybe even the ones she thought she gave up loving.

Thoughts
The first book of this series was largely an adventure punctuated with romance. This one is definitely a romance punctuated with adventure. Xingyin is already an accomplished fighter, and so we see very little by way of her development in that area, with more time spent on her growing emotionally and learning how to process different kinds of grief. There's a lot more at stake here, with several deaths, and the loss of potential lives lived, with no one coming out entirely faultless in the process. The moral depth and complexity definitely outshines the first book in this space. The romantic triangle from the first book takes front and center here, with Wenzhi, Liwei, and eventually Xingyin all being way more honest about their feelings than the first go-around. There's a clear endgame this time around, and your enjoyment will probably hang entirely on who you cheered for in the first book. Action scenes move quickly, with fewer "epic" set pieces and more subdued fights (on average). There's also more time spent on Chinese lore, which I really enjoyed. Overall, I feel like it's a really good conclusion to the previous book, and it ties up all the loose ends really well.

Also, I am aware there wasn't really time for it, but I am devastated that

the entire enemies-to-lovers romance between Shuxiao and Menqi

happened off screen. I would have loved to see that develop.

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