OVERVIEW:
A captivating debut fantasy inspired by the legend of the Chinese moon goddess, Chang’e , in which a young woman’s quest to free her mother pits her against the most powerful immortal in the realm and sets her on a dangerous path—where choices come with deadly consequences, and she risks losing more than her heart.Growing up on the moon, Xingyin is accustomed to solitude, unaware that she is being hidden from the powerful Celestial Emperor who exiled her mother for stealing his elixir of immortality. But when Xingyin’s magic flares and her existence is discovered, she is forced to flee her home, leaving her mother behind.
Alone, untrained, and afraid, she makes her way to the Celestial Kingdom, a land of wonder and secrets. Disguising her identity, she seizes an opportunity to learn alongside the Crown Prince, mastering archery and magic, even as passion flames between her and the emperor’s son.
To save her mother, Xingyin embarks on a perilous quest, confronting legendary creatures and vicious enemies across the earth and skies. When treachery looms and forbidden magic threatens the kingdom, however, she must challenge the ruthless Celestial Emperor for her dream—striking a dangerous bargain in which she is torn between losing all she loves or plunging the realm into chaos.
Daughter of the Moon Goddess begins an enchanting, romantic duology which weaves ancient Chinese mythology into a sweeping adventure of immortals and magic, of loss and sacrifice—where love vies with honor, dreams are fraught with betrayal, and hope emerges triumphant.
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© Sue Lynn Tan, Author of DAUGHTER OF THE MOON GODDESS
Man, was this such an amazing debut novel. *sigh* ??I had two main moods while reading this novel: “It’s such a beautiful storyyyy, I TOTALLY loved this book???” and “
WTF MEN ARE ABSOLUTE SC*M!” ??
I’m not sure if this is YA, because technically the characters are ancient. Lol! They’ve pretty much lived for centuries. Plus there’s violence and bloodshed so maybe this is NA??? Also, I can’t really say that it’s xianxia (since all the characters are immortals and celestials), but it’s definitely wuxia.
So yeah. This book was… I can’t even begin to describe it. It’s beautiful. Breathtaking. Hard to put down. This author writes beautiful prose, and lets us bear witness to the life of the daughter of the moon goddess, Xingyin, in her own eyes and voice. The world-building is just so… *chef’s kiss* This really took me places, in various parts of the celestial world and in the mortal realm.
All, and I mean ALL the characters here are intriguing. The only reason I’m not giving this a solid 5-star is that sometimes, Xingyin’s decisions in life are frustrating. But don’t get me wrong. She’s not the whiny, woe-is-me-I’m-weak-and-can’t-help-myself type of female MC. She’s in fact the opposite: A touch cookie to crack, so defiant and often filled with rage to the point she ends up making rash decisions because she lets her emotions get the better of her. ? But while some of her actions were frustrating, it all led her to make those final decisions that brought her in a much more favorable situation at the end, so…all is well that ends well. At least in Book 1. Lol.
© Sue Lynn Tan, Author of DAUGHTER OF THE MOON GODDESS
Aaaaaaand the story involves a love triangle, which sadly isn’t everyone’s cuppa tea. But trust me when I say you’ll end up getting invested in Prince Liwei, Xingyin, and Wenzhi’s relationship. Their story is mildly angsty, so you should prepare your heart for the pain because someone’s inevitably gonna get their heart broken.
Romance aside, this story covered a LOT of bases. Familial love, romantic love, all sorts of love! It’s also about betrayal, deceit, and treachery. Of corruption and greed. Life and death. It’s the story of how one’s ambitions can easily corrupt them, and the things a person would sacrifice and compromise just to get what they want. This was an excellent blend of fantasy and romance. I liked the way the author focused on Xingyin’s life, how she’d grown and changed over the years, revealed her strengths and weaknesses, and on her developing feelings for two very special men (who sometimes end up just as frustrating as Xingyin but yeah, I’m cool with Liwei and Wenzhi ??), all while paying equal attention to the fantasy aspect of many Chinese myths and folklore. Sue Lynn Tan was able to combine and weave all of these into one intricate story, dashed with her own rendition of Chinese fantasy.
This was such an amazing, AMAZING debut novel. Also, the ending wasn’t such a nasty cliffhanger, and I couldn’t be more thankful for that. Whew!
And with that, I am so looking forward to Book 2!!!
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