This was a DNF for me. While I enjoyed the first book, I found it slow and the writing to be not overly engaging. I thought the second book might pick up but unfortunately it did not. It did not hold my attention.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This sequel accomplished what few do and matched, if not outshone, its predecessor.

"Love is a privilege, not a possession. We can't control our own feelings, much less those of others. Sometimes love means letting go - for yourself, if not for them."

It's so hard to get in to fantasy sometimes because the author stays at surface level in world building and the magic doesn't make sense or isn't fully explained. That is *not* a problem with Sue Lynn Tan. Her world is immersive and fully constructed, the magic is meticulously and beautifully explained, and the story is emotionally evocative and wrenching. This author isn't just going on my guaranteed to read anything new that comes out TBR, they're going on my immediately stop what I'm reading and read any newest work list. Astronomically talented, I'm so very grateful I found their work, and hope we get to revisit these characters and this world in future novels.

I am sad and hollow

First, thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for an advanced copy of this spectacular and gut-wrenching book.

The writing is excellent. The plot is intricate. The characters are engaging. It is everything I wanted from this book. The cover is beautiful, bright, full of hope and perfectly reflects all of the emotions I had coming out of the first book. I was deceived. Not only did this book call me out on some obvious deep rooted issues within myself; I have never cried this much over a book. I feel absolutely wrecked.

The art in all of this is how the author laces the deeper meaning of everything with the action and adventure. I want to say it was overwhelming but ultimately, I am still left wanting more. I also feel like maybe I need a therapist.

Overall, this duology was a spectacular reading experience. One I wish I could have for the first time again.

Holy love triangle. And the fact that it lasted for 96% of the book is impressive. When I tell you I screamed, I cackled, I choked on my water… this book has the kind of salacious crack in it that is hard to describe, but you know it when you encounter it. I realized by chapter 3 that Heart of the Sun Warrior would not be the same kind of experience as Daughter of the Moon Goddess, and I was skeptical of it at first. Where DOTMG is much more of a slow burn where we get to spend lots of time just vibing with the characters for the first act, HOTSW is immediate chaos and drama. By part 2 of HOTSW I decided to just roll with it and not let my expectations of what it would be like put a damper on what it actually is, and I really enjoyed the wild ride that is Heart of the Sun Warrior.

This book is extremely plot driven, especially compared to its predecessor. There is no more character growth for Xingyin or anyone else. She actually does a lot of really dumb, annoying things that seem to contradict the kind of person she was in DOTMG. Liwei and Whenzi are insufferable. They’re about to fight! Oh wait, now we’re on the next page and they’re getting along and working together. He’s gonna dump Xingyin! Oh wait, she’s melting into his arms in the next paragraph. We’ve got zombies and reanimating… is anyone actually dead? And it’s the bendiest plot I’ve read in a long time. You will need to apply suspension of belief to enjoy this. Don’t ask too many questions or be too critical. I’m giving this book 4 stars because even though it has a lot of technical issues, I had a ton of fun with it.

I’m really excited for Sue Lynn Tan’s future projects. But please have mercy on us readers… I don’t think I can handle another love triangle like this.

This piece of art blew me away. I enjoyed every second of it as it only improved upon the first book. I wish I could read it again for the first time.

3.5 stars.
This book was one of my most anticipated books of 2022, and I was unfortunately pretty disappointed by it. Maybe my expectations were too high, but there was very little plot, way too much emphasis on the love triangle (which I am rarely a fan of), and it just felt very slow. I think the book could have been edited down to 3/4 of the length at least. Just like with the first book, the writing is very beautiful and I love the world and the characters but I am honestly not sure this book needed to be written—I was very satisfied with the first one, which was one of my favorite books of 2021. I definitely recommend everyone still reads Daughter of the Moon Goddess, but maybe pass on this one.

I'm writing this as I'm wiping tears from my eyes and face. This was an absolute beautifully written part two of the story and exactly what we needed to pick up after Daughter of the Moon Goddess and gave us the ending we needed.

The love-triangle romance was not overwhelming at all to the plot and action of the story and in my opinion, it complimented it so well. The trickery, betrayal, unexpected allies we get to learn of was not predictable; there were times I caught myself reeling because the story was going a different way than I was thinking. The sacrifices and heartaches I read tugged on my heartstrings, hence the tears streaming down my face (although luckily Im not an immortal!).

I give this a 4.5 out of 5, I only wish we have an epilogue or some idea of how the two characters will reunite in the end. Not going to name names to spoil, but you need to read to find out who!

Thank you NetGalley and @Avonbooks and @HarperVoyagerUS for this eARC. Super excited I have a hardcover preordered!

Before Reading:
I’m extremely excited for this— and I’m glad that this book is my first ARC. I have high expectations for this book; I really liked the first one despite the flaws. The first novel had issues with pacing that really impacted my opinion of the book and I’m hoping that’s changed in this one.

30%:
So I’m not entirely sure about the pacing again. It does seem like important events don’t take enough time and other scenes are dragged out. I could be wrong, but it’s shaping up to be similar to the first book.

60%:
I have officially changed my mind; I rather like the pacing in this book. Some moments were meant to be less drawn out for a valid reason. Also, side note, I viciously hate the empress.

Finished:
Uh. Oh, my GOD. This is so good? The ending is mind blowing and awful and both very satisfying and unsatisfying. Yeah, I do think there were some pacing issues, but I did read most of it on a flight so my perception of time (in general) was very screwed. I am definitely happy with the sequel as someone who LOVED the first book and even bought a physical copy to fully read it after the first chapter. I can’t wait to see everyone react to this stunning sequel.

So thankful to receive this as an ARC from NetGalley!! Daughter of the Moon Goddess was stunning in its beautiful writing and retelling of Chang’e as the Moon Goddess.
Heart of the Sun Warrior primarily focuses on Xingyin and while she is the daughter of Chang’e she also has her father’s traits. There were lots of new adventures and trials that Xingyin faced, while also having her heart split between two princes. We meet a few new characters and revisit many favorites from DOMG #1 and go more in depth to the complex characters in the Celestial Kingdom.
I loved how it ended with a note of hope, but from my perspective this is definitely a Duology!

I was scared to read this book because I love Daughter of the Moon Goddess so much. This one did not disappoint. The plot and characters were just as mesmerizing as the first book. The writing is beautiful and heartfelt. I can’t wait to see what Sue Lynn Tan writes next. 🤩🥰

Heart of the Sun Warrior takes place a year after the conclusion of Daughter of the Moon Goddess. This story follows Xingyin, along with her family and friends, as she fights to save the Celestial Kingdom.

Much like the first book in the duology, I was immediately captivated by Tan’s writing and storytelling. She does such a great job with world building, and she is able to create such beautiful imagery within her story.

Xingyin’s character development and growth within this story is amazing to read, and she’s definitely not the same character that starts at the beginning of the first book.

Throughout the story there were times were I felt like there was too much happening and the plot got lost. I never felt confused but sometimes it seemed like there were unnecessary things happening within the story.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and I think it provided a really satisfying conclusion to the duology!

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon/Harper Voyager, and Sue Lynn Tan for an eARC of this book!

4.5 ⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for an ARC of this book! This was an amazing sequel, I liked it even more than the first book. Xingyin is one of my favorite FMC’s of all time, and I loved how her character grew even more in this book. This story took me on an emotional rollercoaster in the best way, and I loved all the action and politics. I was slightly disappointed by the ending, but overall I still highly recommend!

An absolutely thrilling and riveting end to one of my newest favorite duologies! Heart of the Sun Warrior works so well because the characters we already knew and loved get FLESHED OUT so much more. This was such an adventure. Somehow these two books feel like a 5+ book series.

An amazing conclusion to the duology! I am so glad we got to see a lot more of our characters and needless to say I love them even more than book 1!

When I found an email in my inbox from NetGalley, my breath caught in my throat. As soon as I opened it, I had to suppress a scream while my body starting shaking - I had been approved for an ARC of the second book in Sue Lynn Tan's Celestial Kingdom duology, Heart of the Sun Warrior. I read the first book (and her debut novel!) Daughter of the Moon Goddess at the beginning of the year and have been anxiously awaiting this release ever since.

All thoughts contained in this review are my own.
Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for this advanced copy!

As this is a sequel, this review may contain spoilers for book one in the duology, Daughter of the Moon Goddess.

In this breathtaking conclusion to the Celestial Kingdom duology, Xingyin has won the freedom of her mother and is able to return to her home on the moon where all she wishes for is quiet and peaceful existence away from the animosity of the Celestial Kingdom. When strangers arrive at their home and a strange new magic is discovered, Xingyin is again forced to flee her home, this time with her mother (and other loved ones) by her side. With a new terror threatening both the Immortal and Mortal Realms, Xingyin must work through her complicated feelings and find allies in places that she never imagined she would.

Myths and legends have always felt like stale, old, and dusty, but Sue Lynn Tan brought life, elegance, and a sense of modernity to Chinese mythology that took my breath away. Diving back into this world after an approximately seven month break felt just as magical as the first time around.

After the events of book one, Xingyin's reactions and motivations are incredibly relatable. She holds grudges, she's suspicious, and she just wants to be left alone. But when a battle comes for her, she falls back into her warrior training and once again does what she has to in order to protect those she loves.

I never felt safe reading this book. There were times where I felt like I knew where the story would go and other moments that shocked me to my core. Tan weaved a story that felt grounded in reality and human emotions with elements that felt larger than life.

Most of the characters, whether new or old, felt fully fleshed out and it was easy to understand where each person was coming from. The main antagonist of the book surprised me when first revealed but felt very logical as the story progressed. The book is separated into three parts and each part ended in a way that made me bawl my eyes out (in joy or sadness? You'll have to see for yourself!).

There were a couple new characters introduced that I would have liked to see more of (I wouldn't mind a spin-off story following them, if I'm being honest). But that might be my only complaint about this book, other than wishing there would be more.

If you enjoyed Tan's debut Daughter of the Moon Goddess, buckle up. Her sophomore novel lives up to the high expectations of the first novel while elevating expectations for future projects (from Tan as well as others who choose to incorporate mythology into their novels).

Heart of the Sun Warrior hits shelves November 15, 2022 and is available to preorder now wherever books are sold. An exclusive edition is available at Waterstones now with another coming to FairyLoot later this month.

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC. This is the follow-up to Daughter of the Moon Goddess, which I really loved.

I think I liked Daughter of the Moon Goddess more than this sequel, but it's a pretty solid sequel. I cried a lot (there are some tragic deaths that will be spoiled below so read at your own risk). I felt frustrated often by Xingyin and her decisions, wanting so badly for her to have a happy ending and to choose the right Prince. Tan's writing is still lush, deliciously detailed and vivid. Reading this is like stepping into some sort of beautifully animated film.

*the following contains spoilers*

We start where we left off and things get crazy fast. Xingyin is recovering on the moon when a mysterious visitor is caught red handed chopping up the laurel tree. Then when she visits the Celestial Kingdom is is obvious that Wu is doing shady things to gain the emperor's trust and it's very obvious that he was the one harvesting the tree and also set's up her mom for failure, letting her know that Xingyin's father is still alive. Xingyin then decides to steel the immortal elixer to reunite her parents but Wu and a bunch of soldiers arrive to imprison them. Wu kills their beloved helper P (I cried) and they flee to the sea kingdom to return P to her home. That Queen is crazy and decides to hand them over to Wu even though it's apparent he is doing crazy things. He wanted those seeds from the tree to reanimate corpses and create a huge army to take over every single land and make himself emperor.

The young sea prince is killed (this made me cry too). They flee again with the help of the dragons. They go to W's home at the Cloud Wall (he's been visiting and making stupid apologies for you know betraying her and locking her up and trying to kill the people she cares about). She is supposed to marry W to get some scrolls from his father but it's like not going to be a legitimate marriage. Oh also, she had to save Liwei who was imprisoned by his father/Wu. But W's dad is killed by his brother, W becomes King. They concoct a plan to fool Wu into thinking Xingyin is her mother and taking her to the moon so she can finally destroy that tree.

Before this we have a brief trip to some Phoenix lady who mourns the loss of her sunbirds, honestly this was sad too. Like why can't more of these birds be born?

Anyway, in order to destroy the tree Xingyin uses the feather she got from the bird but is tied to the tree so she basically has to kind of burn through herself to burn the tree. She nearly kind of does die as does W who was connected to her and refuses to let go so the fire raged through him as well. But her mother/the tree saves her with the last of its magic.

Xingyin is heartbroken that W died to save her/protect her. She decides to break up with Liwei because she "doesn't want to be empress" or live in the celestial kingdom, which is SO DISSAPOINTING. The people who don't want to rule often make the best rulers and seeing her come into herself and have the confidence to realize she can help change things and help others in that kind of position should have happened because it makes sense and I generally want stories with women being in charge. And Liwei was always the better match. He never took from her, didn't really lie or ever betray her, never locked her up, he was always there to offer support and kind words and together they could have been exactly what the kingdom needed. I don't see why they couldn't be together and she could still be on the moon sometimes (like a hades/persephone arrangement if you get my drift).

Here's the thing, I know people love a tragic hero, a reformed bad boy. I am one of those people, most of the time. But having Xingyin end up with W feels very much like a Beauty and the Beast kind of situation. Like is he sorry? Kind of but mostly because his plan didn't work. Does he love her? Yes. Is that love healthy, is how he demonstrates it healthy? No. He saves her in this book, helps her a lot, yes, but that doesn't make up for what he did in book one or the fact he keeps showing up and invading her privacy even though she keeps saying no. We do not like a boy who doesn't listen.

Anyway, Xingyin becomes super emo and leaves Liwei (mistake) and returns to the moon. She often leaves to visit other realms and the Cloud Wall, feeling a connection still with W. Then she learns Liwei (who is literally so kind and further proof that he loves her in a good way) says he returned W's spirit to the mortal realm so that they can be together, eventually he will give Xingyin the immortality drink to return W to his former self (and return his memories). She is grateful. Apparently, the laurel tree was also able to save his spirit in a way just not his body.

The book ends with her meeting his mortal self. He doesn't remember her but he wants to see her again and she agrees.

I will say I was surprised that her father didn't end up being some plot ploy in betrayal (I was expecting it but pleasantly surprised it all worked out). But yeah, my main complaint is that Xingyin ends up with someone who locked her up, who doesn't listen to her and they have an unhealthy relationship. Also she didn't want to be empress so not certain what happens when W returns to his immortal self considering he's supposed to be the King of the Demon Realm. His mother took over after him but seems like she probably won't be having more kids so...I assume once he's back he will be heir again. Will Xingyin want to be Queen this time around?

With the exception of the ending, it's a pretty good book.

So I was very very excited that NetGalley sent me this ARC. I had to read it as soon as they sent it. I adored Daughter of the Moon Goddess and was not so patiently waiting for the Sequel Heat of the Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan! This one drops on November 15, 2022, and is definitely worth a pick-up!

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

Daughter of the moon goddess ended on such a perfect note with no cliffhanger, and I didn't think it could be exceeded, but I wanted MORE!

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 ( hell I'm still thinking about it now!), and just like the Febreze brothers, I want a fresh start so I can read this duology for the first time...again.

There’s a good balance of action scenes filled with elemental magic, political maneuverings, and a new evil villain. It is definitely a bit of a love triangle, but I LOVED how both of the MMCs pulled at my heartstrings. I'm not normally big on love triangles, but it really worked here.

I also adored the Chinese lore that was in the book. I always feel like a lot of fantasy is... eurocentric, and It's been cool seeing a lot of other cultures' fantasy stories surpassing them tenfold.

I think with a lot of duologies you never know if it is going to live up to the first one, and this one was definitely as good, if not better than the first!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Voyager for the e-ARC of this book!

Have you ever had an experience where you’re out to dinner and you have a pretty great meal and then you order dessert and then the dessert was kind of like “Hm. Okay. Not what I anticipated.” That’s my feelings on this sequel. I went into this with such high hopes after Daughter of the Moon Goddess and I think this fell just a little flat for me. In this sequel, a hot mess in brewing in the Celestial Kingdom and poor Xingyin is trying to just live in peace but of course she gets swept into the foolishness the Emperor and his little friends are cooking up. I was really excited to see seasoned Xingyin hop in and really fight back with everything she learned in book one and instead I wound up fussing at my Kindle asking “…Now girl, why would you do that?”. It felt like Xingyin was making some really silly decisions at parts especially in Part 1. I tried to chalk it up to her age but it’s like, don’t we know better after Book 1, sis? I think I wanted more moments of badass mom and daughter duo decision making and fighting but that’s probably more my own fault because of course Chang’e doesn’t have the same skills as Xingyin. I did find the ending very refreshing in that unlike the first book things aren’t wrapped up in a tiny little bow, it’s an ending with complexity and pain. I still enjoyed this one but think I definitely preferred Book 1. Will I still purchase a copy for the gorgeous cover? Of course. Did I still have a good time with this book? Yes. Will I pick up Sue Lynn Tan’s work again. Absolutely.

Heart of the Sun Warrior was a lyrical, wondrous follow up to Daughter of the Moon Goddess. Whereas the first book stuffed a LOT of plot in, Heart of the Sun Warrior spends more time with thoughts and feelings of characters - while not sacrificing plot either! This duology was perfection and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to any Fantasy fans, especially those with interest in Chinese mythology.

Hoooooly cow. Just like Daughter of the Moon Goddess, Tan packs a punch with Heart of the Sun Warrior. My pet peeve with fantasy is when books spend too much detail on things not imperative to the storyline, making them all unnecessarily long. I am now ready to crown Tan the Queen of moving a story along. When she focuses on detail, you know it’s pivotal to the story—I love it!

While the first book left me with wild and thrilling vibes, this one felt more bitter and a little sweet (for good reason & in the name of growth!) The ending reminded me of the last Hunger Games book when everything was broken and Katniss was *not fine* but still trying to find happiness—and yet not everyone agreed with who she found happiness with. I found myself in that bucket with Xingyin. While I recognize all of the growth (and battles & redemption) that brought us to the end, I’m not sure it’s how I would’ve pictured her at the beginning of this story.

Outside of my personal feelings on the ending, I will shout from any rooftop that Tan is wildly underrated. She writes epic stories with moving relationships and characters! This duology is like grown up Mulan in the very best way. Honor, family, and loyalty abound! It left me wanting to start all over again, which is THE BEST feeling.

I am thrilled to have received an eARC of this book from NetGalley so I did not have to wait until November!