The cover is so beautiful, and I love a mythical/legend re-telling, and I loved that this was a Chinese myth. The themes of family, striving for freedom, loneliness and honour—are very well explored in the book.

This is one of the most jam-packed books I've ever read, there felt like there was enough here for two books on their own but this is part of a duology.

Despite loving the theme/story, I felt that the pacing was off, and at times the story felt a bit repetitive. It's a solid debut, and I'm glad to have read it and look forward to seeing how to sequel is handled.

This story was beautiful. I loved it I can't wait for the next book. The audio book was very well read. I was completely drawn into the story.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Pubishers for an advance copy of this book.

Regardless of the form I cosume it in, this story owns my whole heart and refuses to leave my head. DAUGHTER OF THE MOON GODDESS is a glorious fantasy story drawing from Chinese legends, featuring a protagonist persevering through adversity, filial devotion, capricious royals, lush immortal realms, monsters of legend, realms at war and the single best love triangle since THE INFERNAL DEVICES. I loved experiencing the story again throug the audiobook and through it was a wonderful way of bringing the novel to life.
I AM SIMPLY DYING TO GET MY HANDS ON THE SEQUEL AND WILL NOT STOP UNTIL EVERYONE READS THIS BOOK!
I might also simply pitch it as CIRCE meets SHE WHO BECAME THE SUN

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan is a fantasy novel inspired by the legend of the Chinese moon goddess Chang'e and her daughter Xingyin, served with a healthy dose of romance.

Xingyin grows up in exile with her mother on the moon, accustomed to being alone. But when Xingyin's magic starts to flare, the time has come to learn the truth about her father and mother's past. Hidden from the feared Celestial Emperor, Xingyin is forced to flee and leave her mother behind when they come looking for her. Disguised, she enters the Celestial Kingdom and befriends the emperor's son, mastering archery and magic in order to save her mother from her exile. To do so, she embarks on a dangerous quest, confronting creatures and enemies across the heavenly and earthly realms.

Listening to this in the audiobook format was a delightful experience. If you're familiar with the Xianxia/Xuanhuan genre, and perhaps especially if you've watched some fantasy C-dramas, you'll recognise many of the tropes and motifs in this one. But I think that's part of its charm - and it's done really well. In conversation with these traditions, this first novel in Sue Lynn Tan's planned dualogy contains everything you could possibly wish for: love, betrayal, friendship, a "strong female lead" and high stakes.

I would say that it leans quite heavily towards the YA-side even though it's not always marketed as such, and even though the romance is perhaps on the more mature end of YA. The romance is also, as mentioned, a large part of the plot and as such, I wished it would have been developed better. As it stands, it was a bit too insta-love and unsubstantiated for my taste, and failed to engage me. And because it is so central, that also meant that I wasn't as invested in the overall story as I would have wanted to be. Additionally, I always end up rooting for the second male lead, despite knowing what that usually gets me...

The real strength of the novel is the world building, how it builds on other story-telling traditions, and the female lead, Xingyin. She's fierce, determined, clever and capable. And we love to see it. If you're looking for exactly the vibes that the cover delivers, adventure, and a bit of mystery, this is definitely a book for you.

Props to the narrator, Natalie Naudus, who delivers and excellent performance.

I read The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea last month and this book has a very similar vibe, so of course I loved it too. I might love it more. This might actually be my favorite read of the year so far.

I listened to the audiobook and, even though I'm a big fan of audiobooks, this is the first time I listen to a fantasy story. I've always thought fantasies require more attention and understanding of the world, so listening to one instead of physically reading it may make it harder to get into the story. But it didn't. The narration was absolutely flawless. Other than taking me longer to distinguish the different Chinese names, I was 100% invested in the story. It is true that the beginning is a little slow, but once it got going, I couldn't put it down.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess is a retelling of the Chinese legend of the Moon Goddess and, let me add, it also reminded me of Mulan. I was picturing the Captain as Li Shang from Mulan all the time and saw that love triangle happening the moment he stepped into the picture. Then things went the way they did but I still liked him better.

Anyways, we all know by now that I have a soft spot for: retellings or anything that reads like a fairy tale, mythology, dragons, romance, archers and magic. Well, this story had all of that; mixed with legend, quests, bargains, adventure, honor, betrayal, and high stakes.

I truly can't believe this is a debut novel. It was beautiful, I absolutely loved it and can't wait for the sequel to come out.

2.75/5 stars (and that is being very generous)

I was very excited to read this book and learn about this Chinese folklore/mythology, but was severely disappointed. The beginning of the book captivated me with amazing writing, when the main character is at the moon living with her mother. But due to certain plot developments, she is forced to come to earth and live among royals.
I fail to understand why would the emperor make the MC the prince's maid/valet, it feels inappropriate. Don't they have male servants for that!? Unless he wanted her to be the prince's concubine but the prince was too kind.
From this point on the book becomes just like any other cliched YA fantasy; a girl is taken from her family, is thrown to live among royals, fall in love with a prince, perhaps there is a love triangle (ofc there is), a good guy turns out to be villain. Like Shadow and Bone or Red Queen.
It's written in first person of the MC and she is so annoying. Keep in mind that she is basically the prince's maid (goes onto become a soldier/archer), but acts like she's the prince's girlfriend. She acts so flip-flopy when it's revealed the prince is betrothed to a princess. One second she's like "it's okay he's a prince he's doing his duty etc" and next second she's all possessive of him. I'm like chill girl he's not even your boyfriend y'all kissed like 2 times. I don't understand this plot point in so many YA fantasy books when historically throughout the world royals had multiple wives. So what's the issue!? Oh LOVE.
The love triangle was very forced and unnecessary. And there isn't even much focus on the folklore/mythology part. There's isn't much world-building until the last 30%. Literally nothing happens in the first 50-60% of the book. There was no need for this book to be over 500 pages.

In a Nutshell: Loved the plot. Loved the Fantasy world and everything out-worldly. Liked the characters. Hated the writing style.

Story:
Inspired by the Chinese legend of the moon goddess, this story tells of a young girl Xingyin accustomed to living alone on the moon with her mother Chang’e. What she doesn’t know is that Chang’e has been exiled for stealing the elixir of immortality from the Celestial Emperor. Due to her presence coming to light, Xingyin is forced to escape from the moon and somehow lands up in the Celestial Kingdom, working as a maid for a local wealthy family. When there’s an opportunity to train alongside Crown Prince Liwei, she grabs at it, not knowing that her life will change from that moment. What follows is an interesting story of secrets and scandals, battles with strange and scary monsters, and even forbidden romantic entanglements.
The story comes to us in the first person perspective of Xingyin.

Where the book worked well for me:
😍 The book has a distinctly episodic feel to it. Each segment of the story can be compartmentalised, and each has its own appeal. Some segments work better than others, but most were pretty good. I enjoyed the action sequences most of all, what with dragons and mind magic and octopuses and what not, each fight sequence was astounding to read.

😍 The author’s world building is exquisite. The story had a genuine feel of a Chinese legend, even though it is only partially based on Chang’e’s story. The Celestial Kingdom, the various creatures, the magical weaponry, everything was enjoyable.

😍 The characters are going to leave their marks on your mind, though you may not like them all. Xingyin is outspoken, impetuous and rude. She thinks only about herself and hardly ever learns from her mistakes. As such, she makes for quite an irritating protagonist. I suppose it’s a YA thing because many YA books seem to have such unlikeable leading characters. It works for the story, and that’s the most important thing. The two male leads have well-sketched characters too, though both go through drastic behavioural changes as the story proceeds. Nevertheless, the characters shoulder the story well.

😍 The female representation in the story is amazing. I loved how many of the soldiers in the Celestial army and other key characters were women and the plot uses them well. This is unlike usual legendary fantasies.

😍 The book is volume one of an intended duology, but it has no cliffhanger ending. The story sets the foundation well for whatever is to come and at the same time, satisfies its readers with proper closure.


Where the book could have worked better for me:
😒 The only but biggest factor against the book: its writing style. God, how I hated it! As it comes to us from Xingyin‘s 1st person pov, I expected a certain amount of rambling, What I didn’t expect was for almost every paragraph to contain at least 3-4 sentence on her personal thoughts, even in between dialogues. It became so irritating after a while. A typical example of a scene in the book went as follows:
Some character mouthing sentence 1 of his dialogue.
↳ Xingyin with her thoughts: My heart thudded. My mind was in tremor. My hands shook… Blah blah blah medley of body parts and their reactions…..
↳ Some character mouthing sentence 2 of his dialogue.
↳ Xingyin with some more thoughts; I couldn’t believe what he said. I felt like … insert descriptive simile here… Heat rushed into my cheeks … more body parts mentioned….
↳ Some character mouthing sentence 3 of his dialogue.
↳ You guessed it. Xingyin coming up again…. Sigh.
This is even worse in audio because you feel like you are listening to the most egotistical person on earth who wants to talk about EVERY SINGLE DAMN THING!!!!
There are also too many similes and metaphors. While most of them were apt and beautiful, it was an overkill. All this adds too much of clutter to the proceedings. The story would have worked even better had it been crisper by chopping out such needless flourishes.


The audiobook experience:
The audiobook, clocking at 15 hours, is narrated by Natalie Naudus. I appreciate the decision to take an Asian-American narrator for the story. She performs remarkably, and her voices and her emotions are good. The problem was, her accent is strongly American. While I am okay with this usually, the word that bugged me the most was her pronunciation of “duty” as “doody”. I understand this is quite common in some American accents, but it sounded very odd to my ears! Thus, in a book where Liwei was constantly struggling with his “doody”, I just ended up rolling my eyes multiple times.

I was pretty torn over my rating for this one because I loved the story so much and I hated the writing style almost equally. But what it boils down to is: do I want to read the second part of this duology? Turns out, in spite of all my complaints, I do! And that’s a big positive.

4 stars from me. (5 stars for the plot, world-building, fantastical elements and action sequences. 3 stars for the character sketching. 2 stars for the writing style.)


My thanks to HarperCollins UK Audio and NetGalley for the ALC of “Daughter of the Moon Goddess”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook.

“Never did I imagine such luminous joy existed, and never again would I be content to remain in the shadows.”

Daughter of the Moon Goddess was an enchanting tale, full of magic, love and bravery. After hearing so many people sing its praises, I wanted to get to it straight away - it was as beautiful as everyone promised.
Xingyin will become one of my favourite main characters, I think. She was fiercely loyal, but also just fierce (but still feminine). I really liked how she fit into the Royal Army, accepted as the best archer, rather than the best female archer. She wasn’t boastful of her skills, nor her magic, it just simply was.
Her entire story is driven by love, but more for family than for romance. No matter what else happened, you could tell she was still thinking about getting home. That said, I really enjoyed the romance(s) in this. The two halves of the love triangle/love arrow didn’t feel forced or predictable, Xingyin genuinely loved them both and for good reason.
The world was enchanting. It was so rich and vast, full of monsters and magic. You could really picture yourself in this world of dragons and beautiful flowers. I really enjoyed the mythology it retold too, the tale being one I’m vaguely but not completely familiar with. The story seamlessly wove together history with mythology within its own world, so seamlessly that even the characters did not always know the distinction.
I really enjoyed the plot. It was easy to get drawn into it and I was amazed at how much was squeezed into 500 pages - there were so many times I thought ‘we must be near the end’ but I never wanted it to end sooner. There were a lot of twists I did not expect and it just kept getting better.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will return to it, I am sure.

I feel bad for giving this two stars but this is more of a case that the book simply isn't for me than it being a technically bad book. I was so excited to read this book after seeing authors like Shelley Parker-Chan rave about it and I leapt at the chance to check out the audiobook proof. But I've DNFed it at 30%, I just can't find any interest to keep going.

First I just don't get along with the writing style, I had the same issue with The Wolf and the Woodsman, so many internal monologues that tend to repeat information I already know and not enough time spent on developing relationships with the other characters. The moment that had me DNFing was when the main character suddenly falls in love with the prince. It came out of nowhere for me. I knew they were friends for a long time but the two years they spent together are glossed over and I felt like they hadn't spent much meaningful time with each other. I can buy that the prince might have been in love with her for a while given that I have no access to his pov so I didn't know his feelings but the main character never seemed to see him that way and then is full-on in love with him. I can forgive some books for intsa love but with the other issues, I had with the book this was the straw that broke the camels back.

I also felt that once she had escaped from the empress at the start the stakes were so low and the plot meandering. Again this is just not for me, I prefer a tight fast-paced plot over this. I would say that if you enjoy some insta love romance with a soft boy prince, a slow plot and a beautiful setting then you might enjoy this. I might come back to this later but right now I want something that grabs me from the get-go.

Audio review: Great narrator who brought plenty of nuance to the narrative and variety to the character voices.



Lately, YA and I have been on a break, but, beguiled by the beautiful cover and my love of Chinese myth and folklore, I decided to give this one a try. I'm so glad I did. I think this would appeal to fans of Tamora Pearce since it follows a similar structure to here books. That is a heroine who goes from comparative helplessness to assured competence, through exercising her own agency, will and morality. It's a series of smaller adventures making up a greater one - in that it also echoes Chinese epics like the tale of Monkey - and you get plenty of variety and interest along the way. I have long been dissatisfied with the latest trend of very linear plots in YA, usually thinly disguised romance even if they are supposed to be SFF. <i>Daughter of the Moon Goddess</i> manages multiple subplots, which the author moves forward and back on centre stage with deft skill. The romance is very definitely kept as subplot, with the MC's true character arc being one of rejection to acceptance on many levels as she grows in skill and seeks to free her mother. Best of all, while she has flashes of plausible natural talent in some areas, it is her gumption, grit, determination and candour which repeatedly win the day. She is not to-good-to-be-true, she has flaws, and her journey incorporates her learning to control them. Perhaps the quality I appreciate most about the MC is her unflagging sense of honour. I love seeing this in characters - it's so rarely explored and even more rarely in female YA MCs. (Ok so it's in line with my own moral alignment but it's a breath of fresh air all the same.)



The prose itself moves from dreamlike and water colour-esque, to plain and clear. The story itself is satisfying - a saga of adventures which each shape the characters. There are plenty of fabulous beasts, magical artefacts and dangerous intrigues, not to mention epic battles to satisfy the most died in the wool fantasy fan.



I really enjoyed this book. It works very well as a standalone (although I suspect there will be more to come.) Highly recommend.

First thanks to Netgalley and the published for giving me access to this book.

I was pretty excited from the beginning because this was one of my most anticipated releases for this year. And I will say it didn't disappoint.

First, let's tal about the best parts of this one. Of course, the world. It felt so rich at every page, probably Sue Lynn Tan's writing help a lot, cause it flows beautifully. But no matter in what of the realms we were, you could always picture it, and I still think about the waterfall (if you have read it, you know what I'm talking about).
Mark my words because I don't think this is going to happen often but I actually really liked the love story and the fact that there is a GOOD love triangle. (are love triangles making a come back?). Because this one at its core is a fantasy romance, and if it not your jam you might not enjoyed it as much.
I think about The Daughter of the Moon Goddess as a confort read that you can enjoy any time.

Now for the only part that I quite didn't like. The plot is a bit all over the place, with a lot of meandering around, which is very hit or miss for me. Because even though I really liked exploring the world, sometimes it felt like we jumped into a different location and objective (or plot point) too fast and without much continuity.

Having said that I would recommend this book to anyone that is looking to get lost in a magical world.

Rating: 4 stars.

3.75 stars

I received a copy of this audiobook from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

This is a debut novel inspired by the legend of Chang’e, the Chinese moon goddess. Xingyin has grown up on the moon, her mother having been exiled by the Celestial Emperor 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.

This book is full of political intrigue, romance and magic. Parts of the book (mainly in the middle) were boring, I think this was mainly due to the pacing which felt all over the place, and sometimes there was just too much happening.

Overall this was a very enjoyable read and excellent for a debut novel, and I'm looking forward to the sequel to this duology.

The audiobook narrator 5/5 voice actions. I also felt that the book was a strong Kristin Hannah the four winds meets the over used trope of the chosen one, enemies to lovers etc, the book lacked originality and uniqueness, even though it was a re-telling it was super boring. I of course did not finish it and only the narrator had me till about 67% of the book then my patience level gave up. There needs to be new and original writing in the publishing world rather than over used tropes for writing. The part about mortals , immortals was interesting at first but then it just gave a Percy Jackson kinda vibe.

I’ve been hearing such good things about this book and I can so understand why! It was effortless to slip into. Immediately I knew it was going to be a 5 star read and I loved it. I loved it all!

It has such a great set up to such a great story. An amazing plot that is bound to enrapture and capture you into a world of myths, magic, immortals and romance.

I loved the main character and following her story. Her attempts to free her mother from her imprisonment whilst remaining under the radar from those who would kill her if they knew her deceptions certainly made for a suspenseful read. Watching her character grow and face her challenges too was lovely and I was so rooting for her along the way.

It was so fast paced too and it felt like there was enough content in here for several books all rolled into one. It flowed perfectly and so much happened, I just wanted to keep reading to find out how it was all going to unfold. It’s one of those books that you can’t read fast enough, whilst also wanting to slow it down so you don’t read it too quickly as you’re enjoying it so much!!

I seriously can’t wait for more and can’t wait to read further of this authors work. I also adored it so much, I have an immense want and need to have it on my bookshelf to keep forever! The audiobook though was amazing and very immersive; the narrator really bringing the story to life! I’m glad I got to listen to it in his format but it’s also definitely one of those beautiful books you want a physical copy of!

Can’t shout the praises of this book enough. Really really enjoyed!

Loved this! Great narrator with a super relaxing but attentive tone. I could listen to her all day..

Really enjoyed the writing style as well as the story line.

Full of Chinese mythology tales, love and a little bit of action. If you enjoy fantasy you will love this!

I heard great things about this book and was excited to listen to it. The narrator was really good and i enjoyed listening to her read the story. The story overall was well written and it kept me listening, to find out what would happen. The main character was likeable and i enjoyed how she developed throughout the story and learnt to cope with the challenges she was given.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess is the debut novel from Sue Lynn Tan that i had the pleasure of listening to via audiobook. This is the story of Xingyin, an archer who saved the world but has never met her father and is the daughter of Chang'e, the immortal moon goddess. Xingyin is hidden in her mother's sky prison but when she accesses her own powers and flees the Emperor, she is thrust into roles and practices beyond her imagination.

There is no doubt that Sue Lynn Tan has filled this with intricate world building, romantic intrigue and heart-breaking characters but has created a mythically personal story. The prose is close and well-received whilst pulling us into a fear-filled desire. This shocks us into a breath-taking fantasy journey filled with beauty and thrills.

This does start slowly and the first third seems to detract from the rest of the story. We see one adventure followed by another through Xingyin as she fights for freeom however the pacing seems to be easy. As we progress to the final third, most plot-points are tied up and this leaves very little breathing space for a sequel as the groundwork seems to be unnecessary. Once the action started we were treated to brilliant plot and character development that lifted this novel up in its ambition.

Sue Lynn Tan has created a rich and descriptive novel that was immersive and interesting with gorgeous writing style that was full of atmosphere. I enjoyed the character development and the story as a whole and will continue with the series as I am intrigued to where this goes given the books ending.

This is a beautiful opening to a series, rich with Chinese mythology, angst and action. I feel like the characters other than the protagonist could be more fleshed out but other than that I really enjoyed each of the characters, the writing and the story. The narration was also excellent and really helped me to become absorbed into the story.

I was very happy to be sent the audiobook of The Daughter of the Moon Goddess, I listened as I read the physical book and became hooked very quickly. This book is beautifully written and has a story that flows with characters who tug at your heart strings. Xingyin is the daughter of moon goddess brought up by her mum not knowing her heritage or the reason why her mum lights up the moon with lanterns every evening.

Xingyin embarks on a journey of discovery learning all the tales she had as a child were in fact true and her eyes opened to a new world. She encounters bullying and mistreatment, but also the draw and excitement of love.
Crown Prince Liewi, General Wenzhi, Minister Wu along with the Empress of the Celestial Kingdom all people who will step in her way.

An adorable easy to read fantasy story that is action packed with all the sprinkles of anticipation and intrigue.  A must read for all fantasy lovers and a brilliant entry level fantasy for those who want to try fantasy genre for first time.

A pleasure to give both the book and audiobook 4 stars.  The audiobook brought the story alive, a solo narrator who used a wide range of voices to present the story well. I really enjoyedy journey with Sue Lynn Tan.

#Netgalley #DaughterOfTheMoonGoddess #Books2022 #NewIn2022 #BookReviews

This book took me on a magical adventure. Following Xingyin on her journey to free her mother and the obstacles she faces along the way felt like something straight out of a fairytale. I loved the mythology behind this book and the worldbuilding. It wasn't too complicated and it was easy to follow.

There is a lot happening in this book and it takes place across more years, but this really allowed the characters to grow and their relationships to develop. From everything Xingyin endures to free her mother, to her falling in love while trying to still reach her goal and hide her identity to betrayals you never saw coming (I have to admit that I partially did see that one twist coming), every aspect of this book fell into place the more pages I read. This is not just one story, it's more stories woven together to make one grand adventure. The way the author wove the preexisting Chinese mythology was absolutely superb! The writing style really reflected the themes of the book and it all made for a wonderful experience reading it.

The ending and the structure of this book did surprise me in a way, since this is supposed to be a duology, but I'm interested in seeing where Sue Lynn Tan takes us and Xingyin in the sequel!