I forgot to leave a review for this, but I really enjoyed it! It's been out for ages, so I won't say much more than I need to for my star rating. <3

dnf @ p 104 / 21%


I was really, really looking forward to this book, but it didn't end up working for me. :/

It's clear that the author is drawing from traditional Chinese literature -- not just in terms of subject matter, but style as well. The writing is rather formal and a lot seems to be based on telling rather than showing. Which, imo, is fine when you're trying to channel that writing style! So I don't find that a failure at all, rather a quality that would have made this book really interesting & compelling if it had fallen together better.

However, with that writing style, we barely get any emotion. I felt like I was watching Xingyin's emotions through a pane of glass, even as she was narrating them to us. This made it hard to form an emotional connection to her as a character. If the author had done this over the course of a short story, I think it could have worked because then the reader would not be expected to have a sustained investment in the characters. Beyond that, at 20% in I know as much about the secondary characters (all two of them ://) as I do about a cardboard cutout of them.

That being said, I do really want to try more from this author in the future. Just because this one didn't work for me doesn't mean I have given up!

Absolutely fabulous fantasy novel set in a Chinese mythological world. I enjoyed so much learning about Chinese mythology. The author did a fabulous job with her character development and the plot. I'm definitely downloading book number two in this series. Fantastic read.

Have you ever wanted a behind-the-scenes look at some of your favorite novels? In Tales of the Celestial Kingdom, author Sue Lynn Tan moves through time with nine short stories that take place before, during, and after her novels Daughter of the Moon Goddess and Heart of the Sun Warrior. The novels focus on the journey of Xingyin, the daughter of Chang’e, the moon goddess, and the mortal archer, Houyi. Raised on the moon, away from the wrath of the Celestial Emperor, Xingyin has to flee her home when her magic reveals her to the ruthless ruler. But it’s not just her own fate at stake, and over the course of the two books, Xingyin must vie for her mother’s freedom—as well as face a power that threatens everything she loves.

While readers might be able to pick this up without reading the first two, be wary of spoilers! Fans of the first two books will be excited to see new stories from multiple points of view, giving them deeper insight into these stories of immortals and quests, of immortality elixirs and heavenly vengeance.

This book is so enchanting and I just loved this incredible retelling. I really love fantasy retellings and myths all rolled into one. Daughter of the moon goddess is beautifully written and richly whimsical. It's easy to follow and I enjoyed getting lost in the story. I can't wait to read the next book because there are so many unanswered questions.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this as an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!

this was so enchanting, an incredible retelling of a fairytale. I love love love East Asian retellings, myths, and stories and Sue Lynn Tan delivers a story just as beautiful as the cover

Wow, this was easily one of my favorite reads. It was utterly breath taking and I could not put it down. Daughter of the moon goddess has an amazing story about a daughter finding her place and searching for her mother. Just wow, can't wait to read book two.

What a beautiful story. Beautiful. Heartbreaking. Whimsical. Fantastical. This book had so much loveliness and depth. I highly recommend this one.

I really wanted to love this more than I did, but it just really came down to my personal preferences on writing & storytelling.

This wasn’t a bad read by any means. I think a lot of readers will love this, especially if you’re intrigued by Asian folklore & legends. It’s a retelling of the Chinese Moon Goddess, a story I grew up with as a child. So I was very excited to read this one.

Unfortunately, for me, it felt like a really long read. I mean, yes. It’s about 500 pages, so of course it’s going to be a longer read. But what I mean is, the writing felt wordy and a bit heavy handed. Making it a much longer read (for me), and a bit of a slog to get through. I like my fantasies to be faster paced and lighter.

Overall, the story itself was good. Just not my style, or one that I could binge read.

A beautiful telling of the Chinese myth about the moon goddess daughter. Xingyin is a wonderfully written character and I loved reading her beginnings. I can't wait to read book 2!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess" by Sue Lynn Tan is an enjoyable fantasy romance novel with a love triangle that kept me invested in the story. While it didn't leave a lasting impression on me, I still found it to be an entertaining read that I would recommend to fans of the genre.

Tan's writing is engaging and easy to follow, with a focus on character development and romantic tension. The love triangle, while tropey, is well-executed and kept me invested in the story. I am interested in continuing the series to see where the story goes next.

I don't even know where to start with this book. It was everything I wanted it to be. The characters were amazing. The author did a wonderful job with character development and really made us readers get attached to them. This book was the authors debut novel and it was just about perfect. I loved the story and I cant wait to see what is going to happen in book two.

This was a whimsical gorgeously written novel. It was romantic and atmospheric and the main character was exceptional.

I’m ashamed to admit I’ve had this sitting in my Kindle for over a year. I’m always reluctant to start unfinished series, so I pushed it off. Big mistake. This book was absolutely magical!

Xingyin is the daughter of the exiled moon goddess, who, decades earlier, had grievously offended the Celestial Emperor and Empress. As Xingyin’s magic develops, she is forced to flee the only home and family she knows, and ends up in the Celestial Kingdom. Through a series of surprising turns, she becomes the companion to Crown Prince Liwei, who is nothing like his parents. But betrayal and danger lie ahead, as Xingyin learns to forge her own path, with the ultimate goal of ending her mother’s imprisonment.

This lyrical, gorgeously written fairytale packs a punch. Despite having a baby permanently attached to me, I devoured this in two days. Ms Tan is an incredibly talented author, and I cannot fathom that this is a debut!🤩

Although this ends in a good place, there are so many unanswered questions and loose ends, and I am incredibly thankful I can jump right into the next book!

Thank you to @netgalley and @harpervoyager for the e-ARC! As you can see, I splurged on the paperback as well!

If you haven’t read this yet, what are you waiting for!?

I’m really happy that I finally had the chance to read Daughter of the Moon Goddess, as it was a novel I’d been highly anticipating ever since I first heard about it and saw that beautiful US cover designed by Kuri Huang. I was drawn to the way that it pulled from Chinese myths, legends and culture, and how the plot sounded straight out of the kinds of shojo anime I love – and it did deliver on those fronts, but we’ll get to that in a second.

The truth is, I genuinely thought this was going to be a new favorite, an elusive 5 star read. But my experience didn’t exactly go down as I’d anticipated. Part 1, while understandably written to set everything up, felt slow and underdeveloped with all the time jumps we experience alongside our characters. Even though I was enamored with the descriptions Tan wove into the narrative, it still wasn’t enough to distract from the jarring, abrupt jaggedness of the initial pacing.

Luckily, from Part 2 onwards, Tan managed to course correct (in my humble opinion) the pacing; the plot felt like it unfolded more naturally (though there were more time skips) while the descriptions still stayed consistently excellent. It really improved my overall reading experience, and resulted in my landing on my final rating as it stands. The only thing that could have improved my experience further would have been to feel a stronger personal investment in the characters, particularly our main character Xingyin. This, in turn, would likely have resulted in stronger feelings about the relationships (particularly those of a romantic nature and, in case you’re not a fan, there is 100% a love triangle in this one).

I couldn’t particularly predict where the story was going to go all the time, though there were certainly moments that I knew were likely going to happen. There is a lot of plot crammed into one book, that’s for sure, and the excitement and action of the latter two parts just barely makes up for the slower start. Still, I finished off this book feeling curious about how Tan would choose to wrap it all up in the sequel finale to this duology, so that can certainly be considered a credit to her.

(I’m not sure I’m looking forward to the love triangle angst that is bound to ensue though.)

I tried really hard to get into this book but I couldn't do it! I think it had a lot to do with it being YA. I am not the best when it comes to YA! I think lots of people would love this book but it just wasn't for me!

I love strong female characters. This was such an awesome telling of the Moon Goddess' daughter. Her life, trials and tribulations. I really love the way this story was told.

This book was BEAUTIFULLY written and very magical. I loved the relationship between Xingyin and her mother. It was real and she is a wonderful protaginist. My biggest issue is the love aspect. It was too much for me (I am picky), but I know many people would enjoy it a lot. As a teen librarian, I would recommend this to teens who are looking to start reading adult fantasy. Great for beginners and has similar tropes and beats that YA novels have.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me a copy of this book for my honest review.