This incredible debut novel from Sue Lynn Tan is a mix of mythology, spirituality, magic and Bildungsroman- that wonderful and almost untranslatable genre that focuses on a young person growing up. Our heroine is Xingyin a young woman who has grown up on the moon, hidden from a powerful Celestial Emperor who placed her mother in exile as revenge for her mother Chang’e’s theft of his elixir of mortality. Xinying’s life has been a lonely one and as she grows she longs for new experiences and places. Now Xinying is grown, she’s coming into her power and as her magic increases, she is discovered. Now she must flee the moon and leave her mother behind, knowing that she’s pitted against the most powerful immortal meaning both her and her mother’s lives are at risk. Alone, powerless, and afraid, she makes her way to the Celestial Kingdom, a land of wonder and secrets. Disguising her identity she works as a servant, but then seizes an opportunity to train in the Crown Prince’s service, learning to master archery, magic, and a strange attraction between her and the emperor’s son. I loved being back in a world within the clouds. The author’s beautifully lyrical language is so vibrant and she really does bring this stunning world to life. This is a magical realm and the layers of description from the clothing all the way through the food, the buildings and magical elements combine to build this unique world. These are the Immortal Realms and the setting and atmosphere were suitably awe inspiring.

I found Xinying’s inner journey interesting too, because she develops so much from the naïve young girl at the beginning. I loved that she is following a path to be a warrior, something that seems rare for women in Western mythologies. I learned so much about Chinese culture through her obligations to family, particularly the mother/daughter relationship and the concept of honour and how it informs her ambitions. Her focus is to free her mother from exile and this brings out an incredible determination in Xinying. She starts out unable to fend for herself and she shows both patience and grit, achieving each goal on the way to her destiny. She has to learn the history of these Immortal Realms in order to negotiate her way. She also has to practice her magic and the find best way to utilise it in her quest. I loved how the author kept a steady pace in these early sections, the slower pace echoing Xinying’s place in her quest and the emotions we feel when our goals are still so far away. The pace really speeds up when Xinying has undergone her initial training and the army leaves to test it’s recruits in battle. I really enjoyed the extraordinary monsters from Chinese legend who they must defeat. It’s on the battlefield where Xinying really fulfils her potential as a battle-hardened warrior. The author describes beautifully that uncertainty and fear soldiers must feel before a battle, the self-doubt that creeps in and takes hold. Yet she manages to feel this, but still maintain her warrior-like demeanour. She isn’t a killing machine though, she has her own deep seated sense of morality and a self-awareness that allows her to set boundaries.

Aside from Xinying’s quest there is also an element of romance in the novel; a love triangle that does dominate in parts and take up an enormous amount of her head space. I wasn’t sure I needed the romance for the book to work, but I guess it’s part of a young girl’s journey into womanhood. She is torn between two men and seems on a rollercoaster of trying to understand her feelings for both men, berating her own fickleness in wanting one and then the other, and anger that whatever they do she can’t let either one of them go. I think this is largely trying to capture the immaturity of relationships at this age and would be better suited to a YA audience who would understand the angst better than this middle-aged woman. I didn’t want the romance to take over the storyline and distract her from her own journey. I don’t read a enormous amount of fantasy, but this was a complete escape from normal everyday life and I found myself lost in it’s imagery and those wonderful mythical creatures. The author has a boundless imagination, shown in the sheer scale of this work and how she paints her world with words so that it’s beautifully rich, evocative and ultimately, enchanting. I’m looking forward to diving into her world again for the sequel to this incredible debut novel.

A DNF unfortunately as I fully expected to love this one to can not get through it despite multiple attempts with book the physical book and an audiobook.

For me this book lacked a lot of depth, yes the writing was beautiful but I didn’t feel like i was really being shown the world or even the characters, I was just being told extensively about surface level details. This really lead to a disconnect for me which ultimately is why I put the book down.

This was a captivating read blending the best aspects of a quest narrative, a coming of age story and an enchanting romance. The prose was really lyrical without veering too far into poetic, which I appreciated and the plot was really intricate, with lots happening throughout. I enjoyed the magical elements of the story and the political machinations of the various courts was well done. My only criticism really is that I felt the characters were a little bit flat at times and I'm not sure whether this was because so much was happening that it was a bit difficult to connect to them. Overall though, I really enjoyed this book and will be picking up the sequel soon.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This was just magnificent! I feel as though I read an entire trilogy in one book, which might sound very overwhelming usually but somehow Sue Lynn Tan made it work. I'm so excited to read the sequel and dive back into this world. Everything was explained and described in such beautiful detail, this story definitely matches the stunning exterior of the physical book.

Thank You to HarperCollins, and Natgalley for the free ARC in return for an honest review.

“I hated him now because I loved him then.”

What a book, what a story!! I absolutely loved it. Inspired by the legend of Chang’e, the moon goddess, it follows Xingyin in her quest to free her mother. Forced to flee her home after her magic is discovered, Xingyin immerses herself in the immortal realm, under the nose of the Celestial Emperor of who she must hide from. This book is action packed and full of magic, myth and legend, action and romance. The character depth and story development is magnificent and I am so pleased this is one of a duology because I cannot wait to get back into this world.

An amazing debut novel from Sue Lynn Tan.

Follow Xingyin as she embarks on her adventurous journey to change her mother’s fate, befriending the handsome imperial crown prince and fighting alongside the celestial kingdoms best warrior on her way…
A must read title!

This was a great debut and first novel in a series. I loved the lush descriptions and characters that build on known Asian myth. I very much look forward to the next instalment!

thank you to NetGalley for providing me an arc of this book
THIs WAS A MASTERPIECE.
I’m in love with the concept. The magic system was just phenomenal. This is everything I wanted in a fantasy book and more,

What I loved:

The beautiful descriptions of this imaginary world where there are dragons, magic and fictional realms where people ride on clouds. Every time we would get to dive a bit more into this world, I was hooked back into the book. I wish there was more world-building involved.

Now, what I didn't really enjoy:

All tropes, pretty cliche.

Our main heroine - forever confused, forever lost her feelings, her thoughts, her opinions. No growth whatsoever. Just goes back and forth throughout the entire book until she settles on one thing.

There's quite a bit of romance in here, which was fine, I love romance intertwined into my fantasy, but this felt so predictable and so superficial. I felt as if I had no clue how these characters were even in love with each other and how we got to this point. There was no buildup to it, just a very unnatural ''Oh hey, we're madly, deeply in love with each other, and two pages later, we are over and we are suffering like we have been in love for decades.'' I felt the same about both of her love interests. I don't want to spoil a thing for you, but my GOD, it made me NOT be invested at all.

I also constantly got flashbacks to reading Throne of Glass, especially when she was going back and forth between the two love interests.

Somehow, this book manages to make you feel like you're flying through it, but at the same time hovering in one place. We would zoom in from one event to the other unexpectedly, so at times, I wasn't really sure how much time has passed by between certain events.

Overall, I was very disappointed, which is always sad.

I've binge read Daughter of the Moon Goddess. The story has a popular ya trope but by adding Chinese folklore elements, it felt fresh. It's fast paced, full of action and consists of a complicated triangle romance, intriguing world and good plot twist.

Xingyin yields her way to free her moon goddess mother who has been a prisoner of the fearful Celestial kingdom. She trains with the prince and then serves the loyal army and faces the quests to gain her wish granted by the emperor.

This book reminded me of the live action Mulan film a lot. The main character is a badass cool girl, but I felt she became super strong in the blink of an eye and I was like how?😂

This is a fun read and really good fantasy with Asian culture. I highly recommend it.

My thanks to HarperCollins U.K. Voyager for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Daughter of the Moon Goddess’ by Sue Lynn Tan. It was originally published in January 2022. My apologies for the late feedback.

I complemented my reading with its unabridged audiobook edition.

This was a rich fantasy, the first in the author’s Celestial Kingdoms Duology. It is inspired by ancient Chinese mythology and the legend of Chang'e, the Moon Goddess.

Xingyin is the daughter of the Moon Goddess raised in secret by her mother, Chang'e, to avoid the wrath of the Celestial Emperor. When the Celestial Empress makes a surprise visit due to the detection of an unexpected energy in the Moon, it appears that Xingyin is developing her own powers. She has to flee her home and vows to find a way to free her mother.

Xingyin becomes an attendant to Lady Meiling of the Golden Lotus Mansion and initially sees no opportunity to develop her powers. Then she accidentally meets the Crown Prince, who is seeking among the noble houses for a companion to train with him. Despite her current situation Xingyin is determined to win this position. No further details to avoid spoilers though the pages are bursting with adventures, quests, battles, romance and betrayal.

The author describes her debut novel as a crossover between Adult and older YA. I would agree with her. With respect to the romantic elements there is a sweetness and charm, as well as a great deal of angst and longing.

Overall, I enjoyed ‘Daughter of the Moon Goddess’ very much. Sue Lynn Tan’s writing is lyrical and highly descriptive. I felt completely transported to a mythical land of immortal celestial beings, clouds used as a means of transportation, demons and dragons.

After this wonderful experience I am counting the days until the November release of the conclusion,‘Heart of the Sun Warrior’.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

3.75 ⭐️

This book follows Xingyin, the immortal daughter of the Moon Goddess Chang’e who has been imprisoned and exiled for eternity by the Celestial Kingdom for stealing the elixir of immortality. After accidentally allowing her magic to flare, Xingyin has to flee her home on the moon and is forced to disguise her identity and hide her parentage within the Celestial Kingdom whilst she tries to figure out a way to free her mother.

This book has it all! Magic, battles, dragons and non-stop action. Whilst the book is 500 pages plus, the pacing allows you to fully immerse yourself and it’s difficult to put it down. I love that this was based on the Chinese legend of Chang’e and her archer husband Houyi, as well as the four dragons which represent China’s largest rivers. The world building was excellent and Tan is a super descriptive and detailed writer which really sets the scene and allowed your imagination to paint a vivid picture.

This wasn’t a 5 star read for me for a few reasons. One of them being that the love triangle just wasn’t believable as there was very little character development and Xingyin treats them both as friends for the most part until we’re almost force fed that that there’s more. Xingyin’s development in general is lacking and she never seems to grow from any of her experiences - she seems to have little regard for safety and she appears to have more lives than a cat.

Whilst I have praised Tan for her descriptive talents, at times she went a little overboard, with eyes constantly being referred to as orbs (why not just use the word eyes, it’s perfectly acceptable) and Xingyin seemed to be constantly choking on stuff…. whether it be tears, bile etc. Not forgetting that there were never any “normal” colour descriptions, it was always vermillion or something equally as pretentious. Some of the verbiage felt very “filler” and unnecessary.

Overall I really did enjoy this book and would recommend it for anyone looking for a beautiful fantasy. There was no cliffhanger ending, but there were definitely lots of questions and openings which left you hungry for more. I will most certainly read the next instalment.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Harper Voyager for the ARC in return for an honest, unbiased review. All opinions are my own.

I loved, loved, loved this book. I'm not someone who wishes books to not end, I'm usually one who binges a book when I love it so I think I've found a new level of book love? I just wanted to savour it. It's also the first book I've tabbed and I basically tab like I highlight - I colour code but highlight everything 🙈

I can't find anything that I didn't love about this book. It did not feel like it was 498 pages (physical book). I would happily spend much more time in Tan's beautiful and lyrical writing, in this setting with these lovely characters. Why do I still like the villain?!

The magic was easy to follow and the setting was magical. There were dragons and other mythical creatures too.

lovely read, just beautiful writing and interesting take on chinese mythology.

- thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with the ARC in exchange for an early review.

In short a beautifully told book based on Chinese mythology.

Covering main themes of immortality and questing this is beautifully told and exquisitely realised. It's good to have some non standard fantasy that doesn't originate in Western mythology.

Enthralling from the off. I got the sense of doing Tai Chi in this book with its yin and Yang elements. Looking forward to more...

I have been reading this book – first in ARC form, then in the beautiful physical copy from FairyLoot – since January. I struggled with this one, folks. Even as a frequent watcher of Asian fantasy and romance dramas, I was having some trouble with the level of special bean our main character turns out to be – everyone falls for her, she is immediately proficient at what she does, she passes tests and challenges with seemingly very little effort or skill – it got a bit tiring to be honest. The relationships I wasn’t sold on, I think due to our time jumps we get told a bond has developed but we don’t get to see it, which means that when some dramatic relationship moments happen, I didn’t feel the same excitement I was meant to feel I think. It picked up for me in the latter half to third of the book, not in the least because our dashing leading lady seemed to acknowledge how she didn’t do as much as she thought in some cases, and how some of her thinking had been extremely simplistic – something I had thought but figured wasn’t going to be addressed. This bumped it up to this rating, but even though this has a sequel – it’s a duology – this book has a good finished ending, so I’m not sure if I’ll carry on – I’m happy with where it ended up.

Beautifully lyrical book, I could picture everything - please make this into a film! can't wait for the second installment.

This was such an engaging and magical book, I was immediatley swept away by Sue Lynn Tan’s beautiful writing. This was the perfect whimsical fantasy I was looking for, sweeping world based around Chinese mythology and a very strong, independent heroine Xingyuin as she embarks on the wildest of adventures.

There’s a reason I normally wait to read books in a series as I’m too impatient to wait but this one was too enticing to wait.

Thank you NetGalley for this e-arc

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

In looooove with this book!!

Thank you @netgalley and @harpercollinsuk for giving me access to Daughter of the Moon Goddess🌙

This book was already very hyped up at the time I started reading it and I do understand why!

This is beautifully written with fabulous descriptions of the buildings, nature and clothing.
It is full of adventures and character development, including a strong plot twist I did not see coming🙈
And the Chinese mythology is all I was hoping for!! This book was an absolute dream and I cannot recommend it enough💕

I usually am not really into love triangles as they can be full of clichés but this book will be my exception☺️

If you haven’t read it yet, get your copy now and let yourself get carried away into this world.

Definitly one of my favourite books of 2022 and I cannot wait to pick up its sequel in November🌙

Daughter of the Moon Goddess is definitely going to be up there as one of my favourite books of 2022, I man possible of the century so far, this is one of the most beautiful pieces of literature I’ve read. It has everything beautiful lyrical writing, intricate world building, Chinese mythology and culture, love triangles, fantastic characters and lush descriptions. This is a debut too, I can’t wait for the next book.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion