As expected, this book was a joy to read. Unexpectedly, we aren’t done with Wenzhi! First I’d like to say I’m not a fan of love triangles, but this was very well done. Second, the romance isn’t where these books shine. Xingyin’s journey takes front and center in this book and I really appreciate that. There is so much heartbreak throughout this book. Between her family and the celestial kingdom and the human realm she already has her hands full. But she also travels under the sea and back to Wenzhi’s land. The dragons do make another appearance. We get the full history of her parents and we get to see the sun bird. This book is jam packed with adventure. But through it all Xingyin is able to grow so much. It’s clear how much she’s matured and realized even since book 1. While the ending does contain one of my biggest pet peeves (I won’t say what because spoilers), I’m going to let it go because it does wrap up quite nice.

Picking up where Daughter of the Moon Goddess left off, Heart of the Sun Warrior tells of Xingyin's story as she navigates the ramifications of the changes that took place in the first book. In an amazing and moving conclusion to this duology, Xingyin once again faces seemingly insurmountable odds to try and protect her family and the ones she loves. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, possibly more than the first one. This is absolutely a duology that is worth reading.

AMAZING!!!! This was so good! This story was so action packed. I definitely couldn’t put this book down.

REVIEW: Though I failed to read the first book in this duology, it did not prevent me from enjoying this book. Yes, I lacked some understanding— the animosity Xingyin had towards the Celestial Emperor/Empress, why she no longer trusted Wenzhi, and why both her mother and father were shunned— but the author did a wonderful job providing enough information to give me a broad idea as to what happened in book 1, that I didn’t feel lost. This story is full of love, loss, betrayal, self-discovery, and healing/forgiveness; I literally had tears in my eyes on two separate occasions.

*** SPOILERS ***

The story starts off with Xingyin on the moon, and some surprise visitors— Wenzhi (seeking forgiveness), Wugang (ulterior motives), and a few other random people. What seems like a strange visitor (Wugang) turns out to be a mortal turned immortal, who has a plot to overthrow the emperor, and take over the Celestial kingdom. What’s worse, is he needs Xingyin’s mother’s (Moon Godess) blood to do it— for her blood alone affects the laurel tree.

While all of this is unraveling, Wenzhi is trying to protect and seek forgiveness from Xingyin, who wants nothing to do with him, as she cannot forgive his treachery , and she has feelings for the Prince— Liwei. Meanwhile, Xingyin discovers that her father is alive in the mortal realm, and seeks to aid her father by stealing the elixir or immortality. Eventually, Wugang is successful in overthrowing the Emperor, and the Empress and Xingyin devise a plan to steal away the Prince to safety. Soon after, Wugang comes for the Moon Goddess; death and mayhem ensue, and soon the family is on the run.

Thanks to the bloodshed, Wugang got what he needed from the laurel tree to create an army of spirits. Throughout the rest of the story, Xingyin experiences more loss of her friends, betrayal, blackmail, seeks forgiveness, and realizes all too late that the one she loves most has died. At this point, tears were streaming down my face, and I empathized with the infinite grief Xingyin is experiencing. The heartache she experiences is palpable, and I wasn’t happy the way the book was ending, but all stories can’t have happy endings— right? I’m happy to say that I was wrong. Even though Lewei’s love for Xingyin wasn’t enough to make her join Court and become his Empress, he still wants her to find happiness; so he sends Wenzhi back to the mortal realm, and promises to give her an elixir of immortality for him. The book ends with both of them in the mortal realm, with Xingyin and Wenzhi getting to know one another again (because he lost his memories). It has a very sweet ending, and made up for all the grief she endured.

RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

This book is incredible. Emotional, thoughtful, action packed, and beautiful. Such a wonderful and satisfying conclusion to the duology! Reading about Xingyin, Wenzhi, Liwei, Chang'e and others again was filling for my heart and soul. The perfect YA Fantasy!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my e-arc of this book. All opinions here are my own.

This was my most anticipated read of the year, and in no way did it disappoint.

While some readers of the first book, Daughter of the Moon Goddess, may have seen it as a completed story, Heart of the Sun Warrior not only shows why a sequel was necessary, but manages to exceed expectations and be better than the first book.

At the beginning of this story, we, along with Xingyin, are lulled into a false sense of security. The initial conflict arises suddenly, opening up the need for further quests taken on by Xingyin, Liwei, and Wengzhi. After events of the previous book, tensions are high, and the three must find away to work together to protect those they love, or lose everything.

This book features quests, a heist, unexpected character reveals, twists, turns, tricks, and every emotion under the sun. This book is a mastery of character development, where you feel connected to each and every character, along with the complex emotions those relationships bring.

Sue Lynn Tan is a master of words, weaving together the most beautiful stories I can remember experiencing. Her exploration of grief was especially beautiful, causing me to sob uncontrollably.

I think a lot of people will dislike the ending of this book, but I found it to be a perfect resolution, showing incredible growth in the character of Xingyin. I also thought it was the most character-accurate way to end the story - any other ending would have ignored all of the growth and learning Xingyin had done throughout the duology.

To sum it up, one of the best books I've ever read and EASILY the best book I've read in 2022. I will be recommending this to so many people and can't wait to see what else this author has in store next!

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and Netgalley for the advanced review copy.

A lyrically written conclusion to the Daughter of the Moon Goddess. Tan has a way with descriptions, particularly when it comes to setting the scene and describing food. This sequel introduces an important new character but also loses a few key characters from the first book. The romance aspect in this one was a little tedious as it felt like Xingyin just kept going back and forth between Liwei and Wenzhi. However, the overall plot keeps things moving and makes for a great conclusion to the duology.

Absolutely had a blast reading Heart of the Sun Warrior! As a big fan of Chinese dramas, the nightly television joy of my childhood into adulthood, this book was the perfect read for my already prepped imagination yet also a total twist on expectations.

I read Heart of the Sun Warrior shortly after completing Daughter of the Moon Goddess so everything was still quite fresh on my mind. The author quickly plops you back into the world of the main characters after some time has passed. You quickly get a sense of where Xingyin is emotionally and mentally after all the events of the first book and how her relationships with the two male leads are after the conflict. I enjoyed that you could read how much more mature she has gotten after everything and her relationship with the former adult authority figures in her life has evolved as well. All of that has also lent an increased vigilance and decisiveness to Xingyin's actions and choices on how to meet conflict. This is quickly displayed when the first inkling of conflict reveals itself within the story. The action starts unfolding quickly, much faster than in Daughter of the Moon Goddess. No complaints there! The pace in Heart of the Sun Warrior clicked away and I really liked how fast things began to unfold in front of the reader's eyes. We start to learn more about our known cast of characters, meet some new people (with some really heartwarming moments), and the development of many of the main heroes and villains to our story was fantastic to watch. One of my main cons of the first book was feeling like I was being told rather than shown the environment, feelings, thoughts but Heart of the Sun Warrior turned it around for me. Perhaps it was that and a mix of just having a lot more action and internal/external conflict to focus on, but the writing was much more compelling in the second book (not saying the first wasn't good! Gave it four stars on my read through!).

My favorite part was probably the stab in the heart that came out of nowhere later in the novel. I can't write too much without spoiling, but wow... what a surprise! The resulting cascade of turmoil and grief felt exactly human and made me want to cry a bit even though I was in a public place reading the book. There was no quick resolution, no easy time skip. The reader had to experience the whole thing with her and everyone else. We got to see the consequences too, even if not "in-person" in the book. The world has changed after the curtain finally fell on all the warring and bloodshed, and we got to see it all play out. But what was even more surprising and bittersweet was the way the love in Xingyin's life turned out and how much impact it made to the final ending. I was pleasantly surprised by what she ultimately turned away from and what she decided to pursue. Then the final twist hits you right in the gut! I can see in my mind's eye how it would look in a television series and wow, I loved it. I wish there would be a third book just to see what happens but honestly, this was the best way to end the tale.

Overall, I thoroughly loved reading Heart of the Sun Warrior and have already recommended my friends pick it up upon release. There were a few typos in the galley but nothing my brain or heart cared about. This was an entertaining and heart felt read.

I received an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Oh my goodness!

You're not going to believe HEART OF THE SUN WARRIOR. It's amazing! In ways, I might even love it more than the first because I was already so vested in the characters. And they're so multidimensional.

It maintains the same fairy tale quality as DAUGHTER OF THE MOON GODDESS with flying clouds, monsters, immortals, humans, jealousy, trickery, and even love. But as the story progressed with Xingyin, I kept checking with myself to see why I felt different about her decisions and worries—my conclusion is the masterful writing. Xingyin has so much pressure on her as she has to flee her home. And everything keeps getting worse.

I loved how the story grew. Xingyin still has a personal stake in every event and the threats go beyond her and her family. The plot is done in an excellent fashion so I still cared what happened to the main characters. And that climax! It's called the climax for a reason—and this is one that will grab you and won't let go. What a great duology!

YES! I recommend this story to all fantasy lovers. It's going to get lots of love.

This was a beautiful conclusion to a spectacular duology. The writing is just so beautiful, it is so seeped with mythology and folklore. I truly felt immersed into this magical and whimsical world. I loved that we got to see more character development and explored the main characters’ relationships in this novel.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.

2.5 ish. Interesting enough conclusion to the duology but I found it a bit to dramatic and love triangle-y for my taste (even more than the first book if possible.). Overall not exactly to my taste but I’m sure fans of romance and fantasy both will love it.

I’m not sure about the ending there at all. I’ll have to think about it some more but I’m leaning towards ambivalence or disbelief.

Thanks to Netgalley and publishers for the e-arc for a review, sorry it took me so long to wrap this one up!

I absolutely loved the sequel! It took a little while for me to get back into the world, but I loved the end! Beautiful writing as always!

Daughter of the Moon Goddess was my favorite book of the year....until I met this one. This is the perfect sequel, the perfect wrapup to this duology, the perfect everything.

I adore this world and these characters with my whole heart. I love the intensity of the emotions, the love and the heartbreak wound through every page, and the complexity of each relationship. It feels real in every way. And the descriptions of each place, each dish, each magical realm is so spot on and so well executed that I can picture then all clear as day in my head. It is a gorgeous world filled with so much imagination and well thought out details.

Seriously, please read this duology. It is so unbelievably good. Definitely my favorite duology. Thank you, Sue Lynn Tan, for writing such a stunning story and giving us the most beautiful place to lose ourselves in. This was such a magical and emotional adventure and I loved every moment.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the eARC! All thoughts are my own.

Glad to see as much adventure as I had hoped + the return of fav characters in this sequel. Sue Lynn has continued to create a captivating immortal world that’s as enchanting as it is sinister.

She wastes no time hooking you in this 2nd installment, by the time I was 25% in I didn’t want to stop reading. Good for my love of books, not great for my social life. One of my favorite lines >>> “You reek of recklessness, Xingyin.” She does though 😂, but her combination of warrior strength, innocence, compassion and recklessness is what makes her so endearing. Thoroughly enjoyable.

After absolutely adoring Daughter of the Moon Goddess earlier in the year, I was eager to read its sequel and the conclusion to the Celestial Kingdom duology— Heart of the Sun Warrior.

Picking up not long after where DOTMG lets off, the story follows Xingyin as she reconnects with someone she thought lost to her and seeks to navigate the shifting alliances, romance, fantastical creatures and tense political climate laid out in DOTMG.

My favourite part of this duology was easily Sue Lynn Tan’s gorgeous atmospheric prose. If you’re as big of fan of books that lean heavily on the “vibes” as I am, you’ll enjoy the writing style. Flowery and ornate in the best way, it lent a very dreamlike mood to the tense and fast paced story. While a lot happens in both books and the reader gets through more major events than your average 400 page book contains, the prose keeps you from getting too bogged down with the details.

I loved the mythological aspect to the story— from the dragons to the magical plants to the politics, it snagged my interest off the bat and held it to the end. I’m not hugely familiar with Chinese mythology and think this duology is a great starting point if you’d like to learn more in that realm.

While I think this was a great ending and I was overall satisfied, I did find myself wishing Xingyin was a little more fleshed out as a character. At times, she felt a little flat as an MC and I found it difficult to emphasise with her emotions or see any real connection between her and the two love interests. There were a few instances near the end that rounded her character a little more, but overall I would have liked to learn more about her motivations and feelings, especially since the book covers such a wide range of life changing events for her.

Overall, I loved the Celestial Kingdoms duology and Heart of the Sun Warrior as a finale and think it will appeal to fans of folklore based story, beautiful writing and richly fleshed out worlds.

I liked this one more than the first one, but still didn't quite love it. I don't even know how to fully explain it, but the story just doesn't feel developed enough for me. The plot and character development move really quickly, but I feel like i'm being told what's happening instead of seeing changes and development. These issues were less noticeable in this book and I feel like the plot didn't move quite as fast and I found the pacing much better. I think ultimately, I just prefer longer, more detailed fantasy series and generally duologies aren't for me. I wanted more character development/world development than this book gave me.

There is still a love triangle in this book and honestly, I didn't hate it. I usually really hate love triangles but it worked in this one and had a very satisfying ending for me. The action in this book was interesting and there didn't seem to be too much happening like in the first one. There were also several gut wrenching moments that I was not at all expecting, but whew they killed me. The book might have wrapped up a little too nicely,,,but i'm a sucker for a happy ending so I was into it.

Overall, this isn't my favorite series at all, but I did enjoy this second book more than the first. If you're looking for fantasy books with different vibes and origins that most epic fantasy I would definitely recommend this one!

Heart of the Sun Warrior is the second book in the Celestial Kingdom Duology by Sue Lynn Tan. The first book follows Xingyin, the daughter of the exiled moon goddess who has to escape the moon following the Celestial Emperor's discovery of her existence. This takes her on an epic adventure as she tries to find a way to free her mother.

Heart of the Sun Warrior picks up where Daughter of the Moon Goddess left off, and I was immediately immersed back into Xingyin's story, where the first book had a slow start. However, I found the story a bit stilted for the first 50%, as Xingyin was going on seemingly unnrelated smaller missions, all of which seemed to resolve a little to easily and conveniently.

Around the halfway mark, the story picked up a bit and started to focus on the love triangle that was present in the first book, and the story started to feel more high-stakes. The second half of the book definitely had me on edge of my seat, and took several turns that were unexpected and made me more emotional than expected given my detachment when reading the first half.

Ultimately, I found the ending really wholesome and heartwarming, and the final message of the book/duology was flawless. The writing is beautiful (just like in the first book) and in the end I was so happy that I read this book.

Goodreads says there will be another book in this series at some point, and I will definitely continue with that installment if/when it comes out.

**Thank you to Avon, Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for providing me with a free e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review**

Note: I will be posting a dedicated reading vlog for this book on 11/13, and will also review it in my November wrap up, which will go up on 12/4.

I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review, all opinions are my own.

Things i Loved:
Xingyin's personal journey
Wenzhi's character arc
The world building and Mythology

Dislikes:
Felt Liwei's character fell flat
Wish there was a more battle scenes, Tan writes them beautifully.

Rating 5/5

Heart of the Sun Warrior is one of my most anticipated reads of 2022, I devoured The Daughter of the Moon Goddess and disappeared into the story. The way Tan rights is very atmospheric as well as visual, it feels as if i am dropped directly into the story and can feel the emotions that Xingyin.

The Daughter of the Moon Goddess ended beautifully with the ability to finish Xingyin's story. Brining you easily back into her story. Xingyin grows, makes mistakes, learns and grows throughout this story. The Love Arrow ( because its not really a triangle because Wenzhi and Liwei are not in love with each other) was realistically written understanding how Xingyin was feeling as she was fighting with her heart and her logical brain on who she loved.

In short, if you love mythology, and beautiful writing read Daughter of the Moon Goddess than immediately pick up Heart of the Sun Warrior. I'm excited to read more of Tan's books in the future

4.5 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

Heart of the Sun Warrior perfectly complements and completes the story begun in Daughter of the Moon Goddess. I loved exploring more the world and the mythos, as well as seeing more of the characters’ journey. The Celestial Kingdom and the Immortal Realm are so well drawn, especially as the characters begin exploring new aspects of these places, especially the latter.

I love the growth on Xingyin’s part, as she goes on her journey, makes mistakes, and even faces complex moral dilemmas. And the romance/love triangle is well-done, with their relationships with Xingyin playing pivotal roles as well, as both of them have their own reasons for pledging loyalty to her. The romance also feels much more prominent, as their feelings are much more well-drawn, and you feel a real sense of intimacy there.

The story isn’t massively action packed, although there are action scenes where it suits the narrative. The pacing overall is also fairly consistent, without many dull moments, even in parts that are a little slower.

This is a stunning conclusion to a wonderful debut duology, and I can’t wait to see what Sue Lynn Tan writes next! If you enjoyed the first, or are a fan of Chinese-inspired fantasy, I recommend you check this out!

This book was my top read of 2022. I laughed, smiled, and cried so much while reading. I wanted to throw the book out the window at some points, but that ending made it 100% worth it. Sue Lynn Tan knows how to capture your attention until you devour the whole book. Daughter of the Moon Goddess was a phenomenal story, but I can honestly say that this book was even better. I hate seeing the story end, but it was so beautiful. I never reread books, but I can honestly say I will be reading this one again in the future. I highly recommend everyone read this book!