Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for this Arc.
Ever since hearing about this book I have been so excited to read it. I adore books based on mythology and this one was even more special as it is based on Chinese mythology. I absolutely adored the lyrical writing, the world building and the relationships that were portrayed. My favourite being the relationship between Xingyin and her mother, they had such a special bond that was beautiful to read about. Whilst I was reading I could vividly imagine everything and it really played out like my favourite c-dramas in my head! The only thing I can say that I midly disliked was how addicted I was when reading this! I spent a whole day devouring it, when as a final year university student I probably shouldn't be doing that!
This is a fantastic debut and I cannot wait to hold my pre orders of this beautiful book in my hands!

Tan's debut novel is brilliantly written, with breathtaking world-building and a strong main character who is easy to sympathise with. This book felt like two and so much happened within around 500 pages. The story at the beginning is a bit slow but the pace quickened to my liking. High fantasy is always a treat to read, but this one was exceptional. Thank you Harper Collins UK for that ARC!

Let me preface this review by saying: if you want to read Daughter of the Moon Goddess, or if this review has simply brought it to your attention and you’re on the fence, please don’t let it put you off reading it. I say this a lot, but really, me not liking something doesn’t mean you won’t, and so on and so forth.

So. Why didn’t I like this one? Primarily I just thought it was boring. I think this was down to the pacing of it, and not in the way you might think. A lot happens in part one, in terms of setting up the world, establishing characters, and also moving the plot along just enough. And this all takes place in about 140 pages. So here’s the sticking point: it speeds along so fast, everything is skimmed over really. I ended the part with no real sense of the characters or relationships (of which, there was one which developed very fast). About the only thing I did have a handle on was the worldbuilding.

But okay, I thought. Perhaps this is just the set-up. After all, in a 500+ book, you can’t spend too much time on the less interesting things. You need to get the plot moving to keep readers hooked. So, I set aside any feelings I had about part one, and continued.

It did not get better for me. The one positive I’ve been able to dig out at this point is that things were allowed to take longer happening. That is, I didn’t feel like events were skimmed over quite so much (the only skimming being done was me, in an effort to get to the end of the book). There was a little more time spent on the events at least.

But, and this is a big but, the characters never became more vibrant. Each of them is very easily summed up by a few descriptors and nothing more. They do not jump off the page, they do not even feel materially different a lot of the time. Liwei and Wenzhi are probably the worst sufferers of this latter point, and it doesn’t help that they both become Xingyin’s love interest. But neither is compelling enough a relationship for me to care about any of it.

And then we come to Xingyin herself, a woman who can do no wrong! Who excels in everything she puts her mind to! A woman who almost every man falls in love with! Whom almost every woman hates! She feels very bland to read about, in all. She never feels distinct as a character and I think that, in part, is why I found the book so boring. She is a character without flaws. Whatever she does comes up trumps for her. And that, despite all that happens within the plot, makes for a boring read.

I pushed myself through all 512 pages of this book in the end—no I do not know why either—and all I have to say is: how do you get a sequel out of this? Hasn’t it all happened in book one?

Daughter of the Moon Goddess is the first book in the Celestial Kingdom duology. I have to admit that the gorgeous cover is what drew me towards this book but the contents live up to the cover. The characters are well written, the world is an interesting one and the plot is compelling throughout. I cannot wait to see what happens in the next book. I definitely recommend checking this one out.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess is the incredible tale of Xingyin, the forbidden child of an exiled immortal. The world building is incredible, and the twists completely blew my mind!

Jam packed with a plot that doesn't stop delivering, this is definitely a book to grab as soon as you can. I can't wait to see what the author writes next!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Please take in mind it’s my opinion, and everyone is allowed to have one.

How to tell everyone that I loved this book and that you all have to read it?

This book was so incredible, ever since the first page I was hooked! The story got better and better each chapter. It was so good written.

The characters were so amazing, I loved Xingyin’s character so much, she honestly grew so much. To see her bloom into such a strong and fierce character was so great.

I honestly can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next!

Sadly I didn't love Daughter of the Moon Goddess as much as I thought I would.
I did like it enough and I will be picking up the sequel.
I think many people will love this book it just wasn't really for me.
Thank you netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 50%.

I gave this book a fair shot and really tried to enjoy it. Tan has major potential as an author and has the ability to create beautiful atmosphere, but I personally couldn't get into the slow, meandering plot, superfluous descriptions (especially of everyone's clothes), and tepid romance. I also couldn't reconcile the book at the 40% mark, where not only do we undergo a massive time skip but also an abrupt change in setting and supporting characters.

Not a bad book, but not for me.

WILL I READ ON? No. But I wouldn't mind looking into Tan's next series.

Oh how I wanted to love this book. I've been anticipating it for a while and was so happy to get the chance to read an arc of "Daughter of the Moon Goddess".
Before I get into the things that I didn't like, let's start with the positive aspects. Sue Lynn Tan definitely has so so much potential as a writer. Her writing is beautiful and I absolutely loved the first few chapters of her work. She has the kind of lyrical prose that just goes perfectly with fantasy in general and mythological retellings specifically. I also very much loved the setting and the tone of the world the story takes place in. I don't know that much about Chinese mythology and this book made me want to learn more and more and more, which is definitely a big plus. The world has enough potential and space for more stories to be told in it, which is good considering this is, apparently, part one of a duology. There are some action sequences that are really really exciting and I liked the way they were handled.

Now, to the things I sadly didn't like that much. While the writing is beautiful, it is also kind of... static. Detached. Void of the actual emotions that make me feel for the world and the characters. I never felt like I was in the middle of a story, but more like I was reading a tale about something that happened ages ago. Xingyin does talk about her feelings, but they just never leave the page. I felt nothing. I didn't care about anything or anyone.
And everything just felt so... flat? So lifeless. So many things are happening yet they are told in a way that didn't allow me to feel actually involved.

A big part of why this felt like such a detached experience is the character writing. It's basically nonexistent, sadly. While yes, Xingyin is a complex, fleshed out character, the entire world around her is not. I couldn't tell you anything about the actual personalities of her two love interests, and even worse, I couldn't tell you anything about the few women that have a more or less important role in Xingyin's life. These characters exist as words on a page but they never come alive. Which makes the relationships, especially the big love triangle, just boring and uninspiring. Why would I feel anything for characters that are barely characters?
There is a lot of potential here, but it's never used. Instead, they are as flat as the world around them, and I didn't care about a single one of them. Not even really Xingyin.
Xingyin is a pretty typical ya heroine, too, complete with that annoying "I don't even look so pretty I'm actually kind of plain but somehow every man I ever meet falls in love with me at first sight" trope. Literally every prince she meets is ten seconds away from proposing marriage after talking to her once. Why this trope is still so prevalent in fantasy fiction with female protagonists is beyond me.
The villains are caricatures with no complexity whatsoever, too.

The world building is intriguing, but in the end we don't really learn much about anything. It's a lot of beautiful set pieces, of magical places, of mythological names and creatures - but really, that's it. There's no meat, there's no complexity. I kept hoping for the Demon Realm to blow my mind, to break some of the very black and white structures that make up this world, but sadly, it was just not meant to be. The Big Plot Twist was admittedly an actual surprise for me, but I'm not even sure if I only didn't see it coming because I missed all the hints throughout the story considering I kept skimming at times and had difficulties focusing on the book. It just dragged and dragged and dragged until about 80%.
There is quiiiiite a lot of telling in this book, too, which added to me getting bored. There are entire chapters full of people telling other people things we as readers already know and experienced in earlier chapters. And some of the plot points are just way too convenient - I still can't quite fathom why the prince of the Celestial Kingdom would actually cheat in an official competition to help a girl he met once.

In general, this does read like a debut but one with lots of potential. It definitely needs some more editing because it drags way too much, and I couldn't feel a thing for the characters nor did I root for the heroine, and the world building isn't dense and thought out enough to make me want to dive right back into this world for a sequel.
It's an okay book, but the only reason I didn't dnf it was the mythology aspect of it all.

Thank you HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for providing me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. My review is my own and not influenced by others.

This debut drew my attention right after I saw the cover which is beautiful. Sue Lynn Tan wrote a Chines mythology fantasy book with a solid and well developed characters and world building. The writing style drew me into this world and I enjoyed reading it.
The reason why I decided to give it 3* is because it has too many words for telling this story. It was for me to wordy with more than 500 pages instead of the 300 which would also be fine for telling this story.

what a solid debut!

atmosphere - i like the Chinese drama vibes. the visuals are rich and beautiful, the scenes appeared as watercolor paintings in my mind. the worldbuilding is lush and imaginative.

writing - admittedly it took a while to get used to the writing style because it can be awkward and disjointed sometimes, but it carried the fairytale-esque atmosphere and magical setting. i never really understood what people meant by "lyrical prose" until i read this. i especially love the metaphors and similes Tan used. i also noticed that the writing improved and flowed more elegantly as the story went on, and i think maybe it's because we follow the protagonist develop and mature. either that, or i got used to the writing.

plot - the plot is alright and the adventures are charming. i struggled through the first two acts but the last act really stepped it up. the story is well-executed. the ending is satisfying, but i detected some plot holes that really left me a bit confused.

characters - sweet and charming characters. i like seeing the protagonist's internal conflict, even though she can be fickle and hypocritical sometimes, it was realistic and necessary.

MISTAKES:
1. "Several months into my training" (p. 95) but then time backtracks into "It's been 3 months" (p. 101)
2. Xiangliu is referred to usually as "it" but then is referred to as "he" one time (p. 186)
3. "Was there was a festival tonight?" (p. 353)

Thank you so much NetGalley and Harper Collins U.K. for the arc of Daughter of the Moon Goddess in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Xingyin, daughter of Chang'E, legendary goddess banished to the Moon after drinking an immortality elixir meant for her husband to save her unborn daughter, is forced to flee her home on the Moon and travel to the Celestial Realm.

Her journey is beautifully told in an enchanting coming of age story, accompanying Xingyin through the trials to become the prince's companion and growing up alongside him. All whilst she is trying to find a way to rescue her mother and keep her identity secret.

Xingyin is a wonderful protagonist, her character is multi-faceted and it is a joy to see her growth as a character, from naive and vulnerable to willing to face up and make her own fate. Yes, there are times when she is a little silly, but I don’t know anyone, myself included, who hasn’t made the wrong choice, particularly at a young age.

The range of characters is wide, and there isn’t a lack in definition or description, Liwei - the prince becomes her best friend, isn’t Teo dimensional. He has his own challenges and wishes. Wenzhi, The star army captain is charmingly opaque, yet fully supportive of Xingyin, and the love triangle between the three is brilliantly managed. I was jumping back and forth for and against both relationships!

A huge positive factor in this book are the female friendships that Xingyin makes. It was so good to see mutually supportive female relationships and of course the loving relationship between Xingyin and her mother made my heart melt.

Overall, this book is beautiful, enchanting, delightful and captivating, with a healthy dose of tropes written and managed well, a layer of mystery, a healthy dose of adventure and a vivid and imaginative world. If you are looking for a read that transports you away from the mundanities of life to a world of enchantment, beauty, mystery, elegance and drama, filled with tales of growing up, finding love, family ties, claiming your own fate and I nearly forgot DRAGONS!!!! GRAB THIS BOOK!

Daughter of the Moon Goddess follows the tale of Xingyin, daughter of Chang'E, legendary goddess banished to the moon after imbibing an immortality elixir meant for her husband in order to save her unborn daughter. It is an absolutely enchanting tale, a beautiful coming of age story for Xingyin told through stunning imagery, gorgeous prose and compelling characters.

We start the story with Xingyin having to flee from the moon where she has been raised by her mother in secret. She travels to the celestial realm where she undergoes trials to become the prince's companion and we follow her as she grows up amongst the court drama and her journey to try and save her mother from her imprisonment on the moon by getting into the celestial emperor and empress' good graces.

Xingyin as a character was a great protaganist, she had a perfect balance of taking her fate into her own hands and slight naiveity/vunerablity to being manipulated by others to make the story very interesting. However sometimes I find with super flowery prose I lose some emotional connection to the characters which I did find a little here, I felt like sometimes the emotional stakes got a bit lost in layers of description. She also annoyed me a bit sometimes as she could occasionally be hypocritical but this also felt very realistic to how humans actually behave.

Additionally I really liked the other characaters; Liwei - the prince who has grown up with Xingyin and they have the best friends to maybe lovers angst going on which is very adorable to read (but also painful and frustating at times). We also have Wenzhi, an up and coming captain in the army who takes Xingyin under his wing and was possibly my favoruite character in the book. I thought the love triangle was very well done and I was geniuely rooting for both relationships and it wasn't clear who she would ultimately end up with (like it normally is lol) - I think even if you are not typically a fan of love triangles this one is worth trying!!

Xingyin's friend at the place Shaxaoi I also really liked, she didn't have a big part but we love women supporting women!!! Chang'E as well was a great character, even though she is only in it right at the beginning and end you can feel Xingyin's connection with her mother throughout the story, how those bonds of love echo through all her actions and are the driving force for so many of her actions. Love in all its forms is a major theme of the book and I really liked that element to it.

The whole vibe of the book was just very enchanting and atmospheric. Everything is so vividly imagined and described - you feel so immersed in the world and it creates an amazing reading experience. I'm very impressed this is a debut book - the writing and storytelling feel very confident. The magic added an extra layer of beauty and enchantment to the novel - it was just vague enough to be mysterious but also explained well enough to understand it and I think this fit the tone of the story perfectly. I really liked the court politics and drama parts of the book, as well as the magical adventures our characters go on - it was a great balance between action and intrigue.

Around 75% this book takes a turn and when I tell you I was absolutely screaming. Up until that point I was enjoying what I thought was a beautifully written slow paced story following Xingyin's journey to rescue her mother but then the drama ESCALATED and featured one of my favourite tropes (and what is probably one of the best betrayals I've seen executed in YA) and my enjoyment of the book definitely stepped up a notch. The climax of the book is very well balanced and I was left very satisfied by how events played out. Honestly I just love a good bit of backstabbing lol.

In conclusion if you are a fan of lush lyrical tales of growing up, finding love, familial ties and claiming your own fate this is a book you won't want to miss!

Hello. This is Yaalni speaking from her grave. She has self-combusted due to the beauty that was this book.

God, this book was amazing. I loved everything about it and I'm so glad that this is the first of two because it is so, so, so, out of this world. The Chinese Mythology aspect was wonderful and my friend, who, unlike me is familiar with the tale this book is based on kindly summarised it for me (you are a gem, she-who-does-not-wish-to-be-named). The setting was vivid, vibrant and immersive. I also absolutely loved Chang'e. She was such a strong female lead. The relationships were so well-crafted and dynamic. I just love everything about this and am confident that you will too!

This book was beautiful. The story, the writing, the characters, everything about is simply stunning.I loved the elemnts of Chinese mythology infused throughout the book as it made me want to learn more about this. I adored this book

A beautiful retelling of the legend of the Chinese Moon God .I was fascinated by this retelling it has a magical feel to it and the writing was lyrical.I wil be recommending gifting to friends and look forward to reading more by this author.#netgalley #harpercollinsuk

I have so many thoughts and feelings right now and if you don't want to read all of them, here's the summary - this is a damn near perfect debut, in my humble opinion, and I haven't felt this deeply connected to or impressed by a high fantasy all year. The plot is fast-paced, the characters and their relationships had me weeping, the writing is lyrical, and the worldbuilding is lush - this book literally has it all. Add it to your TBRs, preorder it, request it at your library - do what you need to do because you NEED this book.

The c-drama vibes in this book are absolutely immaculate. I don't know if everyone will love all the tropes as much as I did, but it honestly feels like this book was tailor-made to my personal tastes:
- inner court drama/politics, civil unrest/political intrigue in the world at large, friends to lovers, forbidden love, lovers to enemies, mutual pining/yearning, training montages, back-to-back battle scenes, betrayals, mentor-mentee relationship, and more

I literally cannot believe this is a debut because of how polished and absolutely stunning Sue Lynn Tan's writing is. It's lyrical and beautiful, but so easy to read. I also was incredibly impressed at how well written the action scenes were. I often find that with more lyrical writing styles, action and battle scenes can be hard to pin down sometimes, but this just wasn't an issue here. The flow of the scenes worked really well for me, and I never really felt lost in a scene as I sometimes do with big battle scenes.

The world is incredibly lush, and in a sense, a little nostalgic for me. Perhaps it's because I grew up watching c-dramas that featured a lot of these mythological creatures and settings, but this world just felt so vivid to me. I loved Tan's attention to detail in her worldbuilding - there's so many moments where she just throws in little tidbits of information that the average reader might not notice or care about, but that I appreciated a lot, such as the brief mention of Xingyin's first calligraphy lesson and the proper pu'er brewing method. These are probably things that a non-Chinese reader (or even one that is simply not a pu'er tea purist that took Chinese calligraphy lessons as a child) wouldn't think twice about, but were little things that just made me feel instantly connected to the world and the characters.

I'm notoriously not the biggest fan of romance, but I loved the way romance and relationships really were the driving force behind this book. You have Xingyin's relationship with her mother, and the fact that everything she's doing is for her mother, her many friendships in the palace, her mentor, and of course, her two love interests. I was extremely invested in the love triangle situation. I won't say too much, but honestly, this book is love triangle perfection. I know love triangles aren't everyone's cup of tea, but I really liked the way this one was handled and it didn't feel like the author was just putting it in there for the sake of having one - I was genuinely so conflicted between which relationship I rooted for more.

If it wasn't clear already, I love this book so much. It's been one of my most anticipated 2022 releases since last year, and despite all the build-up, it truly exceeded every expectation. While I feel like this first book wrapped up quite well, to the point where I would say if you wanted to read it as a standalone, you probably could (though why would you not want to read more?), there's just enough to be able to see where book 2 might be headed. I love this cast of characters so much, and cannot wait to spend more time with them and hopefully get to explore some of the side characters even more. If you are a fan of high fantasies, especially ones with heavy mythological elements and a whimsical fairytale vibe, I think you will love this one. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for anything else Sue Lynn Tan comes out with because this book was phenomenal.

"Yet as much as I loved him, I loved myself more. And as I was discovering, there was no finite end to love- it was something which grew and renewed endlessly, expanding to encompass each new horizon."

'Daughter of the Moon Goddess' is an absolutely perfect fantasy retelling. The fast paced storytelling combined with such consistently beautiful prose, meant that I never wanted to put it down, and I'm already dreaming of the sequel. It has absolutely everything I could want from this genre- beautifully crafted romances, plot twists and turns, gorgeous depictions of magic, and a strong female protagonist. Here, Xingyin's character really shone. Tan's characterisation and development was perfect, presenting a refreshing heroine that isn't afraid to put herself first, whilst also keeping her loved ones and their needs close. It was lovely to see, and I loved her as a character.
Everything felt completely dreamy and wonderful, and I cannot recommend this book enough. (I already can't stop talking about it.)

(Thank you so much to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for this beautiful eARC!)

Do you know those books that just creep their way into your heart and take up a permanent space, yup Daughter of the Moon Goddess was one of those reads 😭♥️

I barely even know how to write a proper review for this wonderful book because to put it simply I am very much obsessed😂

DAUGHTER OF THE MOON GODDESS is inspired by the legend of Chang’e, the Chinese moon goddess, an enchanting and romantic fantasy of immortals, magic, and love with:
🐉 Chinese mythology & legendary creatures
🏹 Fierce female warrior fighting for her family
⚔️ A gentle prince & a ruthless soldier
💔 Friends—Lovers—Enemies...

This is everything you need in a fantasy and I had the best time reading it. The characters where absolutely everything! Xingyin was such a enjoyable main character to read about! The writing was so beautifully descriptive and lyrical I too felt apart of The Celestial Empire (the 36372828 highlighted lines I have in the book prove just that) 😂 Now how do I get my hands on the sequel 🤔

A big thank you to @harlervogueruk for the e-Arc and @suelynntan for this absolutely phenomenal read!!!

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for the arc !!!
The book started off really well, it was intriguing and the writing was beautiful!! This is an amazing debut book and there were some things I really liked; the writing was detailed and lyrical whilst only being a few sentences long! Another thing I liked was how I was sucked right into the story. I have been surrounded by the tales of the moon goddess all my life but this book really brought awareness to it ! The plot has so much potential which I love, it’s really good

Now for the cons; this is just for me but although the writing was beautiful and expressive, I personally felt a little awkward reading it at certain points (mostly dialogues). The love triangle was another issue for me, mostly because I felt like Xingyin did not have a lot of chemistry with her love interests. The plot could have done without it. Lastly the pacing is another issue that made the story awkward to read. It was not evenly spread out and I ended up skipping a good amount of pages 😭

Nonetheless it was an amazing debut!!! I look forward to more of Sue Lynn Tan’s writing!!! If your a fan of Spin the Dawn , definitely check this out !!!