Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan
ISBN: 9780063031326
Series: The Celestial Kingdom Duology #1
Published by HarperCollins on January 11, 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Mythology, Young Adult
Pages: 512
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The acclaimed national and international bestseller

“Epic, romantic, and enthralling from start to finish.”—Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Caraval series

“An all-consuming work of literary fantasy that is breathtaking both for its beauty and its suspense."—BookPage, starred review

A captivating and romantic debut epic fantasy inspired by the legend of the Chinese moon goddess, Chang’e, in which a young woman’s quest to free her mother pits her against the most powerful immortal in the realm.

Growing up on the moon, Xingyin is accustomed to solitude, unaware that she is being hidden from the feared Celestial Emperor who exiled her mother 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.

Alone, powerless, and afraid, she makes her way to the Celestial Kingdom, a land of wonder and secrets. Disguising her identity, she seizes an opportunity to learn alongside the emperor’s son, mastering archery and magic, even as passion flames between her and the prince.

To save her mother, Xingyin embarks on a perilous quest, confronting legendary creatures and vicious enemies. But when treachery looms and forbidden magic threatens the kingdom, she must challenge the ruthless Celestial Emperor for her dream—striking a dangerous bargain in which she is torn between losing all she loves or plunging the realm into chaos.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess begins an enchanting duology which weaves ancient Chinese mythology into a sweeping adventure of immortals and magic, of loss and sacrifice—where love vies with honor, dreams are fraught with betrayal, and hope emerges triumphant.

Characters: 5, up until page 300 or so, I liked them and felt like I knew them. And then they were all either ignored or undermined.

Atmosphere: 7, an interesting concept! I love the folklore inclusion and the concept of an immortal realm just as divisive and perilous as the mortal realm. Elemental magic, an absolute-power monarchy, fantastical creatures…the scene was well-painted.

Writing: 5, a bit florid- I assumed that was part of the Asian cultural aesthetic focus, but when we started having adjectives used incorrectly, it really turned me off.

Plot: 4, way too much of it. I wasn’t lost on what was happening, but there was a lot and the emphasis on what to care about (based on the MC’s own emotional reactions and concerns) kept swinging around such that I couldn’t tell what actually mattered and what was filler…and it all started to feel like filler.

Intrigue: 4, the political intrigue is rather one-note and takes awhile to be set up. There were things strongly hinted at, for the MC to uncover and be a reluctant hero, that never came to pass.

Logic: 5, some acting out of character to suit a plot point, demonizing a character, and undermining of previous character development.

Enjoyment: 4, this was so disheartening. I liked it up until about page 300. Then the author undermined her MC’s strengths, villainized a character in a very overdone and tropish plot twist, threw way too many things at the reader (with no emotional base note for any of it), and rather annoyingly combined a bunch of deus ex machina plot cheats with the MC agonizing over something for three paragraphs, doing the thing in two sentences, then agonizing again on the next page, then doing the thing again…basically going from a developed character who knows her own strength to a puddle of insecurities.

I will not be continuing with this duology.

*Many thanks to Book Roast for creating and sharing this book rating system!

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