Daughter of the Moon Goddess follows Xingyin, who is on a quest to free her mother from exile. Her mother, Chang'e, also known as the Moon Goddess, has been exiled by the Celestial Emperor after taking an elixir of immortality.

Xingyin disguises her true identity while trying to figure out how to release her mother from her captivity. She stumbles upon the Crown Prince, and a friendship begins. She becomes his companion and works her way into the kingdom. While there, she learns archery and how to improve her magic. Although a close friendship is developing between her and the Prince, Xingyin never forgets her mother and is determined to help. The question is, will the secrets about her identity catch up to her? What will the Prince say when she finally reveals herself? Will he help or turn her away?

This book was fantastic! The story was told beautifully. Xingyin showed such bravery and willpower throughout the novel. I didn't see anything coming and was shocked by how everything played out. Daughter of the Moon Goddess is a remarkable debut by Sue Lynn Tan, and I can't wait to see what's next.

I am so thankful to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for this eARC of Daughter if the Moon Goddess. This is my honest review of the book.

So, I’m just going to say right now I’m going to gush and gush about this book. I’ve been reading fantasy books since forever. Lately, many fantasy books have felt the same. They all have been good, don’t get me wrong, just they have all had the same feeling and formulas. However, when I read the synopsis of Daughter of the Moon Goddess, I had the feeling I was in for something very different in the best possible way.

Xingyin is the Daughter of the Moon Goddess Chang’e. She has spent her life alone on the moon save for her mother and their attendant. Though in solitude, she has been mostly content, unaware she is actually being hidden from the Celestial Emperor. That is, until one fateful day when her power alerts the Celestial Kingdom there is more to the moon than just her mother. She is forced to flee the only home she has ever known leaving her mother behind ending up alone, no friends, no money, no training in a completely new world. However, she manages to hide her identity and win a spot next to the crown prince where she will train by his side. Xingyin has one goal, to free her mother and be reunited. Though, she will face many trials on her way.

Right from the beginning of the book I was emotionally invested in the lives of these characters. I really began to feel as if Xingyin was my person friend and I wanted to jump into the book to protect her with everything I had.

For the few days I spent reading this book I felt fully transported to the world Sue Lynn Tan has created. Everything was so vivid in my mind that I actually dreamt about the Celestial Kingdom. This world was so exhilarating and so magical. I truly appreciate the storytelling in this book, the story moved quicker in a very well paced manner. I was never bogged down with “info dumps” the reader is given just the right amount of details as the story goes to keep the story moving and keep the reader engaged yet knowledgeable about the world and characters.

Xingyin is my new favorite MC. I fell in love with her as she struggled alone being harassed by people who had no idea who she was. She grows and earns the respect of the crown prince. But, nothing is as it seems and the twists and turns kept me glued to the pages. Xingyin faces many trails and sometimes it feel like the hits just keep coming. The book had the perfect balance between being intense and whimsical: a good character driven story and a good plot driven story.

One reason I really was so involved in this story was the quest of Xingyin to save her mother. I’m so tired of mother’s either being killed off or being flat, overbearing, or evil in ya fantasy books. It’s so rare to see the love of a mother and daughter being so highlighted and treated as the special relationship to is. While I’m a fan of Disney, I am tired of women being represented as being so willing to throw over their family for a man they just met.

I really appreciate the relationships in this book, be it friends, romance, or family. We see many layers and complications. The romance is so well done. I don’t want to say too much, but the struggle, tension, and build up is chef’s kiss!

This was defiantly a 5 star read fo me. I’ve already preordered two copies of this book. I already want to re-read it and experience this world again. I am not ready for it to be over.

I didn’t grow up on a ton of Chinese folktales, but I’ve always been fascinated by them. And as someone who loves retellings and Asian rep, I’m so excited Asian mythology is starting to get some love in the YA Fantasy world. As you’ve probably noticed from my blog/socials, I’ve been hyped about Daughter of the Moon Goddess since I’ve heard about it and even more hyped since both of the cover reveals. I was a little nervous that it wouldn’t live up to my expectations, but overall, Daughter of the Moon Goddess was a solid debut.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess is reminiscent of those historical Chinese dramas that have been in the background of so much of my childhood. I personally was never a fan of them (I like the aesthetics though,) but maybe that’ll change with my new obsession with xianxia-inspired fantasy?

There’s a dreamlike, almost lyrical quality to the storytelling, and Tan manages to capture the tone of old Chinese folktales so well. The story has a little of everything: adventure, betrayal, romance, and heartbreak; there are heroic feats, fierce battles, magical creatures, and perilous journeys. It’s almost as if the essence of an epic tale has been distilled into a single book.

The world, the aesthetics, the vibes are all reminiscent of Asian myths. The descriptions of the immortal realm are vibrant, and I was instantly transported to the world of The Celestial Kingdom. The elaborate descriptions of the clothing, the detailed pictures of the palaces, and the vivid depictions of the creatures made it so easy to imagine the breathtaking world Tan created. Seriously, I want to live in the Celestial Kingdom. I can totally picture how stunning an adaptation would look. And the food! There’s just something about seeing the food you’ve grown up eating represented in a YA Fantasy without being strange or exotic 🥺 . My only complaint in relation to the worldbuilding is that I wish the magic had been explained and developed more.

I wish Xingyin’s relationship with her mother were developed more, especially given the title of the book, but I enjoyed this variation on the legend of Chang’e. At its heart, Daughter of the Moon Goddess is a story about relationships–familial, platonic, romantic. It’s a tale of sacrifice, loyalty, duty and honor and explores the themes in a nuanced way. I’m particularly impressed by how Tan balances the romance. It’s an integral part of the story but it never feels like it’s taking over the plot. It’s a story about love but never feels like its just a love story, if that makes any sense. There is a love triangle, but it’s actually handled pretty well. I actually cringed when I spotted the second love interest and realized where this was headed but surprisingly didn’t find it grating or unnecessarily dramatic. The dreaded trope never feels clichéd or over-the-top and manages to avoid being a focal point of the story despite playing a pretty big role in the plot. I recently came to the realization that my love for angsty romance might be because I’m Chinese.

I just love a good tragic romance, and Daughter of the Moon Goddess has the kind of yearning and heartache I love in a love story. It’s full of melancholy and heartache, with forbidden romances, betrayal and despair. It’s everything I love in a sad romance.

I don’t think Tan utilized the romance to its full potential, though. I liked Xingyin as a protagonist but had a hard time relating to her on an emotional level. I wish I’d been able to connect with the characters more which would’ve made the angst even more heartbreaking. (I just wanted more feels, okay?) I also think deeper character development would make the relationships–platonic and romantic–that much better.

There are a few loose ends that need to be tied up, but Daughter of the Moon Goddess stands on its own as a complete story. Even though it’s part of a duology, the story is perfectly contained in a single book. No giant cliffhangers here! It’s so refreshing to finish a YA fantasy with a satisfactory ending. That being said, I can’t wait for the sequel and hope it’ll bring richer character development and more feels.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess has one of the most stunning book covers that I've seen in a long time. Once the cover was released, I knew that I had to read this book. If the prose and story were anything like the beauty of the cover, I knew it would be worth it, and it did not disappoint at all. This beautiful story magically draws us into the Celestial Kingdom and the vivid world of Chinese immortals. An absolute delight for anyone who loves fantasy, fairy tales, and beautiful prose.

I found myself wrapped up in the Celestial Kingdom but yearning for her to save her mother along with Xingyin. To me, this story shines so bright in the balance of emotions of Xingyin wanting to save her mom and living in the kingdom that tore them apart. How do you live in country that is responsible for tearing you away from your mother? How do you deal with yourself when this country becomes important to you? When we live somewhere, that place slowly becomes part of your home. But how do you balance the deep desire to stay true to your family while knowing that your home and the people that you are close to are the very thing that tore you apart? This book doesn't answer these questions, as there is no right or wrong answer to any of them, but it does really spotlight the complexities of that situation.

The beautiful writing of Daughter of the Moon Goddess whisks you away into the land of magic and wonder. The writing is as luscious and as vivid as the magic and it is purely stunning. It helps ease us into the complicated situation that Xingyin finds herself in by flowing from one conflicting feeling to the next. Figuring out what is the right thing to do is more complicated than we ever know and this gorgeous story uses the writing to pull you from one side to the other trying to decide with character. The ebb and flow of the prose is a constant reminder of each side of the internal conflict, and that reminder is showing us that there is no one single way to bring honor to your family.

Sue Lynn Tan does a beautiful job giving us the simplicity of life alongside epic stories. We get the delight of living in the palace, caring for the prince, and falling in love. But we also get the big, epic, magical tale of retrieving pearls from a dragon. The balance and seamlessness between the simple beauty of life and the epic adventures is a wonderful reminder that even the simple things in life are grand as long as they are lived.

This is apparently the first in a duology, which is great, because I want to read the next book right now.

This book has if not it all, darn near close.

Strong female protagonist. Check.
Chinese mythology as the basis for the story. Check.
Great adventures, with more twists and turns than you can anticipate. Check and check.

The original myth is that the moon goddess was born a mortal, but stole the potion that made her immortal from the great archer that shot the sun birds.

In this telling, the reason for why she did so was not from greed or spite, but because she was told she would die in childbirth, and she wanted to save herself and her unborn child.

For that offence, she was sentenced to the moon, never to see any of the other immortals again. But they didn’t know about her child, and so she hid with her mother on the moon, until she came into her power, and the Celesia beings sensed her, and she had to flee.

And the story that follows is the adventures she had while being incognito, and yet trying to rise in the ranks enough to free her mother with a boon from the Celesian Emperor.

What I love of this story is that Xingyin doesn’t let a little ting like being with parents or a name to get into her way, and trains hard, first with the prince, and then with the army. She suffers, and tries harder.

There are dragons, there are demons, there are mortals, the whole thing. It was such a good story that when I was done, after of course staying up until 2:30 in the morning to finish it, that I couldn't’ read another fantasy, even though I had one lined up. The next book I am reading is a romance, just so I can get the taste of this amazing fantasy adventure out of my mouth, and then go back to another fantasy.

You should definitely put it on your tbr list.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. </em>

First off, let me just say that one of the things that drew me to this title in the first place was the beautiful cover. Secondly, I really loved the premise of reimagining an old folk tale. Before reading this novel I had a really limited novel of the myth of Chang'e, but this novel did a great job of expanding on the original myth in an interesting way. I loved how detail-oriented Tan was when creating the Celestial Kingdom. Tan's writing had a lyrical quality to it and I enjoyed the main character Xingyin. I could have done with a bit less focus on the love triangle in the novel as I felt that it did get a bit repetitive and distracting at times. I also agree with some other reviewers in the fact that the pacing threw me for a loop at times. The novel seemed to go extremely fast-paced in certain areas (almost too fast-paced in my opinion), and then in others it seemed to creep along. Overall, though, I really enjoyed this novel and I am really looking forward to what Tan is going to bring in the sequel.

This book is slow in some places, but would make a great drama series or a movie. Well done! I hope to see more stories from this author.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3
Reading this book felt like slogging through a quagmire of tropes and cliches. It's a miracle I finished it.

In the first couple of chapters, I was intrigued because the writing style reminded me a lot of Madeline Miller's Circe. However, that effect wore off pretty soon and there was no improvement in the storytelling after that. The writing is draggy and fairly unremarkable. The plot is weak, and a lot of it seems a bit too convenient. The prince just happens to find Xingyin crying by the river and immediately takes a liking to her, even helping her win the competition, despite knowing nothing about her. The book seems to be a disjointed mess of more than stories jumbled together. So much happens but it feels like nothing at all happened.

The characterization is weak and I couldn't give a rat's ass about what happened to them. The love triangle just annoyed me endlessly and I didn't find the appeal of any of the love interests. It was super duper straight. No to mention the book just barely passes the Bechdel Test. Xingyin has a palace servant she talks to sometimes but the servant exists just as a medium for Xingyin to talk about her love life. Similarly, Shuxiao had soo much potential as a hot warrior but she was just a one-dimensional character introduced to develop Xingyin. They both served in the army together, but they barely have any meaningful interaction except when Shuxiao tells Xingyin her sad family history.

The villains were cartoonishly evil. Because the worldbuilding is so flimsy, we have no clue why the bad guys are bad or why the good guys are good. The seemingly 'good' guys have caused the most pain for our mc yet we are supposed to still side with them over the 'bad' guys trying to overthrow them. The internalized misogyny was disgusting when it came to one of the villains, Lady Hualing. Her entire arc is about overthrowing the slutty patriarchial men, just to get back at a man...

So there wasn't anything that I really liked about this book. I guess Chang'e, the Moon Goddess' story was interesting but it was such a small part that it seems like I am grasping at straws. If you are an avid reader of mainstream YA and dig love triangles and cliched tropes, you might enjoy Daughter of the Moon Goddess. This book was just not for me sadly.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins for providing me this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

As a debut novel, fairly solid first person pov Chinese mythology inspired fantasy. It kind of feels like a novelization of an anime series at times while reading it, very YA Protagonist female lead feel to our lead. It manages to wrap itself in one book, but is billed as a duology - Id pick up the second book, honestly. I don’t know how long this book’s details will stick, but not as bad as it could be.

Actual rating: 3.5

A huge thank you to the publisher and netgalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Let's discuss the pluses, shall we? Because they are plentiful. The book begins with a whimsical type of storytelling that is reminiscent of fairytale and myths and folklore. Which is fitting, considering that the story of Chang'e is a long told tale of a Chinese goddess. The story is about the daughter of Chang'e, and spans several years of the daughter's life. Fittingly, as the years pass and the story progresses, the writing shifts to that of an epic or an adventure story. The shift is subtly and nothing offbalancing.

The world-building was fantastic in the sense that it was well fleshed out, yet not overbearing in the descriptions. Which is something I appreciate. I like to know and see where I am, but do not need five pages of description for one item/location.

The fault in this novel, for my personal taste, lies with the lack of connection I felt with the characters. There were none that I found myself looking forward to reading about. Not only that, but I felt the relationships between themselves also lacked connection, which left a hollow sort of feeling while reading. It left me not caring about what happened to who and who went where. Not to mention the unnecessary romance dramatics that drove me bonkers through the entire book. It broke of the motion of the story.

I received a free eArc version of this work in exchange for an honest review; thanks to Avon Books, Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for the opportunity. All opinions are my own.

This story is absolutely lovely and a must read for fans of fairy tale reimaginings, strong female protagonists, and anyone interested in proper fantasy adventure stories.

This review will contain minor spoilers.

The legend of Chang’e and Houyi has always been one of my favorite romantic myths, and I loved the clever idea that the reason for their separation and Chang'e's immortality was not selfishness or foolishness, but from a desire to protect herself and for the love of a child. Our main character Xinyin grows up on the moon with only her mother and one other Celestial (disappointingly not Jade Rabbit) as a companion. She is a sheltered, strong-willed, and curious child who is separated from her home and her mother as a result of a childish mistake. The main journey in this story follows Xinyin as she explores other parts of the Celestial Realms and Earth in a somewhat classic hero's journey. And it was great!

The worldbuilding is spectacular with many different cultures, creatures, and settings explained in vivid and lush language. I think even readers who aren't as familiar with Chinese or other Asian mythologies there is enough her to provide appropriate context. There is definitely a fairy tale aspect to some of the encounters and experiences that Xinyin has, but I really appreciate that we are shown her making mistakes, getting stronger, and making reasonable decisions. The relationships feel organic and authentic, and I definitely appreciated the twists and turns of all the attachments formed and broken in this story. The inevitable love triangle was also very well set up and handled with a minimum of saccharine. We end up caring deeply about these characters and the realms. There was set up for future books and I would absolutely love to see more in this world.

The pacing of this book was a wonderful surprise. There was so much that happened in a single book and I very much appreciate that the story was told in one comprehensive tale - there were absolutely arcs in the story that could have been stretched over multiple books but the language and story were so tightly woven and there wasn't the word bloat or convenient skip that I was expecting. We get all the details, they are well told, and the story is complete.

Fans of Tamora Pierce and Mercedes Lackey will absolutely love this book. I would say you'll probably also like this if you also enjoyed Thorn by Intisar Khanani or Shielded by KayLynn Flanders. This is the kind of fantasy adventure where the protagonist is strong, and clever, has reasonable challenges, the villains are indeed villainous and also there are DRAGONS!

I absolutely am adding this one to my shelf.

This was a fantastic and melodic read. Not only was it incredibly vivid in imagery, it was completely engaging in every sense. Beyond enjoying the writing style the actual story was amazing and plentiful in twists. It had elements of adventure, romance, betrayal, and best of all fantasy and folklore. I really enjoyed the strong moral character in the main protagonist and her ability to understand she had an obligation to her own personal growth. I really loved reading about the Celestial kingdom and uncover the lore of the dragons. I cannot wait to see what the second part of this duology will cover.

thank you to netgalley, avon and harper voyager for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

daughter of the moon goddess is a retelling of the legend of chang'e the moon goddess but it follows her daughter xingyin as she discovers herself outside of the life she's always known.

the writing of this book was very beautiful, it was lyrical and descriptive without being over the top, and while there is romance in this book, it is not necessarily the main focus which i enjoyed.

the focus was on the main character xingyin, an interesting protagonist who is determined to do anything to save her mother but she doesn't lack empathy and is always trying to do the right thing. this was more of a plot driven book and the author managed to do that so well and it was definitely my favorite part of the book.

my main issue was the pacing of this book, while the last 35-40% of it were so action packed and intriguing the pacing of the first half fluctuated a bit, at times it felt like everything was happening at once and other times it dragged on a bit. also some side characters also fell a bit short for me but other than that this was an incredible debut novel and i can't wait to read the next part of this series!

Inspired by the legend of Chang’e, Daughter of the Moon Goddess follows Xingyin, who has spent the majority of her life in solitude, only living with her mom, Chang’e, and Ping’er. As the daughter of Chang’e and Houyi, Xingyin’s existence has been kept hidden from the Celestial Emperor, who exiled Chang’e for stealing the elixir of immortality. But when Xingyin’s magic flares, alerting the Celestial Goddess, Xingyin is forced to flee to protect the ones she loves. With nothing else on her, Xingyin finds her way to the Celestial Kingdom, and ends up learning magic and archery alongside the Crown Prince.

One of my favorite things about Daughter of the Moon Goddess was how lyrical, and breathtaking Sue Lynn-Tan’s writing was. With easy to understand world-building, and xianxia-inspired fantasy, I truly felt like I was transported into Xingyin’s world. It was so easy to picture myself in her shoes, as she went through her quest, learning different skills, fighting alongside her friends, and interacting with dragons (any other words would be too much of a spoiler), and I absolutely adored it. I loved reading the world through Xingyen’s eyes. As our main character, I found her unwavering strength and love for her family to be inspiring, and reminiscent of xianxia. She thinks with her heart, she's brave, clever, determined, and never loses sight of where her priorities are. I loved her character arc, and watching her grow and develop.

While I’m not the biggest fan of love triangles, I will say that I absolutely loved Prince Liwei. He was so soft-hearted, kind, and so sweet, and I couldn’t help but root for him! In a sense, he reminded me of Takkan from Elizabeth Lim’s Six Crimson Cranes. Xingyin and Liwei’s friendship turned romance was endearing, and I enjoyed how their relationship progressed.

The majority of this story hinges on miscommunication, and for Xingyin to have a secret identity, and while miscommunication in books is one of my most hated tropes, I wasn’t bothered by this in Daughter of the Moon Goddess at all, as it served a purpose and helped move the plot forward. I also really appreciated that all miscommunication was addressed, and worked through.

Sitting at 512 pages, Daughter of the Moon Goddess is a little longer than what I usually prefer in a book, but I didn’t find that to detract from my overall enjoyment of the book. I normally read books all in one sitting, but I knew with this one that I’d have to pace myself — since Daughter of the Moon Goddess is broken down into three parts, I read one part each night for three nights in a row. That being said, I found part one to be the hardest to get through, as there was a lot of world-building, and background that we were given. Even still, I’m relieved to say that Daughter of the Moon Goddess is the length it is for a reason, and by the end, I found myself wanting more. I didn’t want to say goodbye to Xingyin, and our lovely cast of characters just yet. Fortunately for me, it looks like it’s the first in a duology, although I’m not exactly sure what to expect from the second book yet, as most storylines seemed neatly tied up in Daughter of the Moon Goddess.

XingYin is the daughter of the Moon Goddess, Chang'e. However, Chang'e is trapped in the immortal world for drinking an elixir gifted to her mortal husband, making her an immortal being. The Celestial Emperor believed her actions dishonorable and kept her within a home, making her control the cycle of the moon. One day, when the Celestial Empress checks up on Chang'e, she realizes another person containing power living with the Moon Goddess. Xingyin has to leave her mother immediately, to conceal her mother's deceit and stumbles upon the Celestial Prince, LiWei.

The story revolves around the lengths a person will go to in order to save someone they love. XingYin is such a relatable character, demonstrating feelings of jealousy, judgment, and sadness in a young woman's life. The story shows how relationships can be difficult, and how the people you love will always find you. XingYin is such a powerful, female lead, who shows that hard work will get you where you want in life. I absolutely devoured the feminism in this book.

I enjoyed the Chinese culture embedded within the food, the clothes, and even the characters. It was so diverse and beautiful to see my own culture demonstrated in such a beautiful work of art. I enjoyed every second of this book, and the world-building/plot building was incredible.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess releases on January 11, 2022. Please put this amazing read on your tbr's and preorder a copy!

What a gorgeous retelling! I was totally swept away into the world of the Celestials by Sue Lynn Tan’s sublime prose and descriptions that make the scenes leap off the page. Xingyin is a heroine full of hidden depth, fighting for family and love and herself. The glittering court of the Emperor is full of danger and deception, and the love stories will absolutely wreck you (in the best way!)

3.5 stars

to be honest, my feelings regarding daughter of the moon goddess are mixed. on one hand, this is one of my highly anticipated releases of 2022 and i was so excited to read it that i might’ve raised my expectations too high. on the other hand, this book didn’t move me at all – i didn’t connect with any of the characters and i didn’t quite care about what happened to them.

i have to say i did enjoy the writing quite a lot. it’s lyrical and flowery without turning into purple prose. the detail sue lynn tan adds to each scene, the carefully placed descriptions of clothing and other small features add a certain liveliness to the novel. the author took her time with the worldbuilding – one can definitely tell the setting is a well thought-out one, but this unfortunately slowed down the pacing quite a lot.

the first part is almost in its entirety just a way to explain the world and how its magic, but it dragged a lot. there was barely any character or plot development and i was bored for a good 30-40%. it does pick up after that and the last 30% was phenomenal – and yet the book could’ve been better with a shorter first part as it considerably messed up the pace.

xingyin was an interesting character, but i didn’t understand some of her actions at all. especially in the context of her relationships – i truly hated the back and forth she did between the two love interests and the love triangle truly brought the book down for me. i loved how fierce she was at some points of the novel. however, i feel like she was a bit over-powered because she manages to master the bow in just three months, while she never picked up a bow before those three months. there are other cases like that when she’s amazing at something after the minimal amount of training.

the side characters were interesting, but i didn’t really care for them. besides the love triangle, it felt like everyone else appeared in the book whenever xingyin needed help and promptly disappeared afterwards.

the plot itself was interesting, but the book was weirdly paced and disjointed. the scenes didn’t really flow into each other – it read as if we were just skipping from one quest to another. the book focused more on the relationships between liwei/xingyin/wenzhi than xingyin’s development as a character, and i truly wished that wasn’t the main focus of the novel as i was really interested in the myth and her attempts at freeing the moon goddess. it’s why i really enjoyed the last part a lot more than the first two – the twist was fun, even though i expected it and i loved reading about the dragons and the story behind them.

all in all, this is an impressive debut novel and i’ll definitely check out the next book in the series and the author’s future works. while the book wasn’t perfect, it was an enjoyable read + the world is such an interesting, detailed one.

This is a tough review for me because the beginning of this book felt like a magical fairytale reminiscent of Tamara Pierce’s writing style. I thoroughly enjoyed the myth and culture of this world that the author built. I think this book probably could have been condensed as it had too many expositions and climaxes. At first I thoroughly enjoyed the love interest especially when Xingyin recognized that the prince couldn’t be hers and she needed to be stronger outside of his protection to become a soldier. By The time I got to part three of this book I was so frustrated with the entire love triangle constantly going back and forth then back again. It was like story whiplash I didn’t know who I was supposed to want her to be with. It was completely ruining the beautiful story that had started so long ago. The entire last third of the book felt rushed and boring. I think the concept was really cool the execution a little lacking.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for the arc preview of this book.

The story takes place in the Celestial Kingdom of gods and goddesses. Xingyin grows up on the moon with her mother, but all is not as it seems. She learns some dark truths and is forced to flee.

She finds herself alone in a world that ranks power and privilege over kindness and compassion. She fights her way into that privileged world, but there is much she must learn and accomplish where not everything is what it appears.

Her growth as a person was an integral part of the story in my opinion. Her ability to see how her actions and mistakes cause her own downfalls made Xingyin a great character. Her flaws gave her something to strive to better despite the same flaws causing her problems that affected other people.

I enjoyed this book. I really wish I could have had it visually unfold on a screen with the beautiful costumes and scenery like many of the Xianxia and Wuxia dramas I've watched.

I didn't know it was part of a duology until after I read it, but the ending made much more sense when I found out. It's actually stated on the description, but I missed it. Oops!

I definitely want to read the next book.

Thanks again NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for allowing me to preview the book.

If you had told me this was a debut after I read it, I would not have believed you. The writing is beautiful, the prose engaging. This story was one I was vaguely family with (mostly due to Netflix's Over The Moon) and to see it in this way was fantastic. Reviewing it is difficult, though, because, from about 30%-60%, the pacing slows to full drag. It then picks up, and you want to rate it five stars.

The world-building, while slow, was necessary for connection to the characters. The story had me wrapped up enough to continue to the end, and I'm really glad I did that. Xingyin is a fantastic main character, who is interesting and consistently true to herself. If you enjoyed Six Crimson Cranes, you're likely to enjoy this book as well, with a similar writing style on a brand new story.