Beautiful sequel to the first book. The story was beautifully written and the action scenes were fun to read .I love the love triangle as well but I'm rooting for Wenzhi.This book didn't disappoint me at all !!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc.

I was so excited receiving this arc, trying to rush through my current read in order to get to it. I adored the first book, and this one did not disappoint. I’m even more excited to buy the Fairyloot edition when it goes on sale. I wish I could also buy the US jackets just to have them. The cover art is beyond stunning. This story had everything I hoped. The ending was more than I could’ve hoped for. Although I want a bonus story with the date and elixir. I would 100% recommend these books to all.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5

𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙧𝙚: Fantasy duology (book 2)
𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙩: eARC

𝙁𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙌𝙪𝙤𝙩𝙚:
“For the fools do not fear the odds, the reckless do not care—and only the truly brave proceed regardless.”

“Live. Be happy.”

“As long as you are mine as I am yours, we have all the time in the world.”

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙:
Absolutely perfect conclusion to the duology
Wenzhi and Liwei have my heart ❤️
Fearless MC who stays true to herself
Themes of honor, family, love, sacrifice
Plot resolutions for many of my favorite characters
Emotional, perfect, unexpected ending

𝙁𝙪𝙡𝙡 𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬:
When I say I adored this book, I mean I am OBSESSED with it. It’s the kind of book that I just couldn’t put down, and was still thinking about in the days after I finished it and just wishing I could read it again for the first time. I’m absolutely going to be revisiting this entire duology.

So many of my favorite characters from the first book reappear in this one, and have really phenomenal character arcs. The author does a great job of developing characters besides just the MCs, and while not every character has a perfect happy ending, it still all felt like the RIGHT ending. I enjoyed the new characters and parts of Asian folklore that were introduced; it was a good extension of what was introduced in book 1, while also feeling new enough to keep things exciting.

There’s a good balance of action scenes filled with elemental magic, political maneuverings and a new evil villain, and plenty of romance and swoony scenes. It is definitely a bit of a love triangle, but I LOVED how both of the MMCs pulled at my heartstrings and I found myself switching back and forth between Team Liewei and Team Wenzhi (and if you think you’ve guessed how it all ends… you haven’t 😊)

Xingyin is a strong, independent, and resolute FMC, who does a great job of staying true to her own personal moral compass, even when it is difficult. I love that she doesn’t give in and change herself on a whim, but sticks to her strong belief in family and doing what is best for the greater good.

I think sometimes it’s easy for the second book in a duology to fall flat compared to the first, but this book two made the series even better. It took the story in a new direction, while still staying true to the amazing characters I fell in love with in book 1. I HIGHLY recommend these two books, and if you’ve already read and loved The Daughter of the Moon Goddess, then you definitely will NOT be disappointed by The Heart of the Sun Warrior!

A beautiful sequel. The world is still gorgeous, and I love Xingyin and her growth by the end of the novel. This was a very good end to the duology, and I think that it can be hard to wrap up a duology well as was done with this.

Sometimes improvement matters...

How much though? I'm not sure.

This time around I had a better time more consistently. I think it helped that we dropped the triangle. It was very clear the entire book where the reader was supposed to care about in terms of the romance arc, and the narrative was focused on building that up and so those beats just felt a lot more close to home.

As for the arcs that weren't romance related. I felt that one of the arcs related to Xingyin's family wasn't quite as strong this time around. It had to compete with a different plot and so it didn't get quite the same level of care and attention that a similar plot in the first book got and that felt pretty unfortunate given how little these characters really knew each other. The other non romance arc, this government coup situation... that... that really didn't need to be here. I see why it was, because aside from what will happen with the romance it was the only part of the story that had any firm footing in the first book, it makes this feel more like a direct sequel than just a companion to the first book. Still though, with how the family plot was sort of used as a parallel it really took away from some of the time spent with the larger plot... It also didn't help that the larger plot was spearheaded by a character that had pretty valid reasons to be doing what they were doing... and like... the government was already questionable so I'm not sure what this little plot really had going for it?

In some ways I don't think that there was nice payoff in the end. Sure the last 15% of the book is a wild time, we had some really high highs followed by whiplashing lows, but we also hit a brick wall. The last few chapters felt like we spent a lot of time dealing with the same thing and not really getting on with it. They definitely felt like they could have been condensed into one chapter... but yeah. I don't regret having picked this one up.

For someone that had a spotty record with the first book, I think this was still a good time. For fans of the first installment I think there is a lot to like here and they'll be happy. I'm excited to see what the next book in this world is going to be, because the vibes of this setting are definitely immaculate and I will be keeping an eye on what Tan puts out next that isn't in this world.

I really, really enjoyed reading this book! It was beautiful and magical, and it hooked me from the beginning.

An absolutely stunning sequel to one of my favorite fantasies of 2022. I was once again captivated by the mystical world in which Xingyin lives, especially as we got to see more of what lies beyond the moon and the Jade Palace.

Through war, love and loss, all of the characters I grew to love in the first book developed so much more as they were forced to take a stand and rise above their assigned stations in life.

Although the love triangle lives on, I appreciate how Xingyin did not make decisions for the sake of the men she loves. To the very end, she stays true to her own heart and does what she believes is right, no matter the risk. Did she lead both Liwei and Wenzhi on for awhile? Perhaps, but she never denied she had feelings for both, and I respect that.

My one minor complaint is that I felt many of the conflicts in this book both came about and were resolved extremely quickly.. While I did appreciate the fast pace for the most part, sometimes it felt like there wasn’t enough time for the suspense to settle in before a big moment.

Still, I absolutely adored this story. I’m so sad this duology has already come to an end, but I am so so excited to read whatever Sue Lynn Tan gifts us next.

Will post on Instagram about this book closer to release date!!

With any duology, you have to wonder if the sequel will be able to maintain the same excitement and wonder of the first book, especially when many major plot points seem resolved. I can promise you that Heart of the Sun Warrior is exactly the beautiful and epic sequel to The Daughter of the Moon Goddess you were waiting for!

The story picks up a year after the first book ends, with Xingyin back home with her mother on the Moon. Immediately the action starts with new threats, new adventures, and answers to your remaining questions from the first book. And of course the love triangle between Xingyin, Liwei, and Wenzhi continues as a secondary plot to the overall narrative.

I don’t want to spoil anything for readers, but Sue Lynn Tan’s lyrical prose coupled with the characters, their arcs, the relationships, the subtle romance plot, the action, and the world building is seriously everything you could want in a fantasy novel.

I highly recommend picking up The Daughter of the Moon Goddess if you haven’t already because this sequel is one you don’t want to miss!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess is my favorite book so far this year, and after reading several disappointing arc sequels in the past few weeks I was a bit scared for this. Happy to say I finally have a sequel that did not disappoint! Tan's writing is so beautiful and lyrical, the battle scenes are so easy to picture in my head and fun to read. All our fav characters are back, although I felt like Shuxiao barely had a role in this book but I am super happy with where this book ended for her. The love triangle with Xingyin, Liwei, and Wenzhi frustrated me at times, but I'm at peace with the way it was resolved for the most part. I recommend if you liked the first book!

Daughter of the Moon Goddess was a wonderful read, so when I saw that a sequel was being worked on I was looking forward to reading it. Once I started reading Heart of the Sun Warrior I couldn't stop reading til I finished. It was beautifully done with the Chinese mythology weaved into it. I loved the characters and their world, it was a beautifully done fantasy elements and I enjoyed going through this book.

“You will not go,” the empress repeated vehemently. “I would rather destroy the key than leave you at Xihe’s mercy. Xihe hates me. Vengeance runs thick in her blood. She will spend her rage upon you, my son, in repayment for what she believes are my offenses. In her mind, I failed to protect her children. She blames me for their deaths.”