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A review by lisashelves
Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan
5.0
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 5 stars
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!
Daughter of the Moon Goddess is the debut novel of Sue Lynn Tan. It is a take on the Chinese Mythology story about Chang’er, the Chinese moon goddess.
This book has been on my most anticipated releases for 2022 from the moment I learned of its existence, and it did not disappoint!
This book is one wild ride and I loved every second of it! The book starts off with Xingyin hiding on the moon together with her mother, but that soon changes when she accidentally uses her powers. From there on, the story takes you on a journey together with Xingyin in a quest to free her mother from the moon.
The plot is very fast-paced, but it fits perfectly with everything that happens. If the plot would’ve been slower, it wouldn’t have reached me and grabbed me as it did now. There is a sense of urgence because of the fast-paced plot and it fits perfectly with Xingyin’s mission of wanting to free her mother.
The attention to details everywhere gives you a cinematic feeling. I’m familiar with c-dramas, so I could perfectly picture the setting, clothing and everything around it. But even if you aren’t familiar, the details given, the world-building, everything makes it very easy to do so. The little bits of information given here and there aren’t disrupting the flow of the story, but adding to it.
Together with the attention to details, the writing is very poetically done. It was beautifully written, in a way that just flows off the pages. It reminded me a bit of music, the way it was written, with build-ups and it slowing down. Even when reading battle scenes, it didn’t take away from the writing style or the battles being harder to understand. It just worked the whole time and it gave me a very satisfying feeling while reading this story.
Xingyin is truly a wonderful character to follow. She is a bit timid and unknowing about the world at the beginning, which is completely understandable. Seeing her grow up and becoming the woman she is at the end was very satisfying to read. I loved how she grew into herself, her power, grew in the relationships she has, in everything. She is strong and relatable. Prince Liwei and captain Wenzhi are both awesome strong male characters that really make you feel a lot of things and both in other ways. While they didn’t really develop as much as Xingyin, they were more rounded as characters already from the very start.
The relationships in this book are just as beautifully written as everything else. The main focus of this book is the journey Xingyin goes on, so I was very happy that the romance didn’t overpower that point or was too much. The mother-daughter relationship between Xingyin and Chang’er was the whole drive of this book, and I loved it. Xingyin would do anything for her mother, and that love was beautiful to see. The many friendships she has were really sweet to read. While I’m usually not a fan of love triangles, the way it was written in this book, with her two love interest, it wasn’t as annoying as I would’ve thought. I did have a favourite I was rooting for, but the way it was written it really made me doubt my own preferences at some points, which is really amazing looking back at it.
Overall, it was a captivating debut book with a beautiful journey and I can’t wait to see what more is going to happen in this world! The cast of characters is just amazing and I'm excited to see what journey they'll take us on in the future.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!
Daughter of the Moon Goddess is the debut novel of Sue Lynn Tan. It is a take on the Chinese Mythology story about Chang’er, the Chinese moon goddess.
This book has been on my most anticipated releases for 2022 from the moment I learned of its existence, and it did not disappoint!
This book is one wild ride and I loved every second of it! The book starts off with Xingyin hiding on the moon together with her mother, but that soon changes when she accidentally uses her powers. From there on, the story takes you on a journey together with Xingyin in a quest to free her mother from the moon.
The plot is very fast-paced, but it fits perfectly with everything that happens. If the plot would’ve been slower, it wouldn’t have reached me and grabbed me as it did now. There is a sense of urgence because of the fast-paced plot and it fits perfectly with Xingyin’s mission of wanting to free her mother.
The attention to details everywhere gives you a cinematic feeling. I’m familiar with c-dramas, so I could perfectly picture the setting, clothing and everything around it. But even if you aren’t familiar, the details given, the world-building, everything makes it very easy to do so. The little bits of information given here and there aren’t disrupting the flow of the story, but adding to it.
Together with the attention to details, the writing is very poetically done. It was beautifully written, in a way that just flows off the pages. It reminded me a bit of music, the way it was written, with build-ups and it slowing down. Even when reading battle scenes, it didn’t take away from the writing style or the battles being harder to understand. It just worked the whole time and it gave me a very satisfying feeling while reading this story.
Xingyin is truly a wonderful character to follow. She is a bit timid and unknowing about the world at the beginning, which is completely understandable. Seeing her grow up and becoming the woman she is at the end was very satisfying to read. I loved how she grew into herself, her power, grew in the relationships she has, in everything. She is strong and relatable. Prince Liwei and captain Wenzhi are both awesome strong male characters that really make you feel a lot of things and both in other ways. While they didn’t really develop as much as Xingyin, they were more rounded as characters already from the very start.
The relationships in this book are just as beautifully written as everything else. The main focus of this book is the journey Xingyin goes on, so I was very happy that the romance didn’t overpower that point or was too much. The mother-daughter relationship between Xingyin and Chang’er was the whole drive of this book, and I loved it. Xingyin would do anything for her mother, and that love was beautiful to see. The many friendships she has were really sweet to read. While I’m usually not a fan of love triangles, the way it was written in this book, with her two love interest, it wasn’t as annoying as I would’ve thought. I did have a favourite I was rooting for, but the way it was written it really made me doubt my own preferences at some points, which is really amazing looking back at it.
Overall, it was a captivating debut book with a beautiful journey and I can’t wait to see what more is going to happen in this world! The cast of characters is just amazing and I'm excited to see what journey they'll take us on in the future.