A wonderful treat after the first two books. It was a delight to return back into the world and the characters that are beloved. The illustrations were beautiful and this was an absolute delight to read.

The book was a great collection of stories from the Daughter of The Moon Goddess universe! I enjoyed the first two books and was excited when she came out with a novella. My favorites were the stories about Chang’e and Houyi. I loved returning and reading more stories from these characters! If you enjoyed the Daughter of The Moon Goddess duology, I would highly recommend picking up this novella! I hope Sue Lynn Tan decides to write more stories in this universe in the future!

I will never get over how beautiful this series is. The author has such a lyrical writing style and it truly creates such an immersive world that leaves readers wanting more. Tales of the Celestial Kingdom consists of nine short stories that take place before, during, and after the events of Daughter of the Moon Goddess and Heart of the Sun Warrior. I love that we get further insight on how everything started in the first place, with what happened between Chang'e and Houyi. There was definitely a greater emotional impact after having read the other two books in this series.

Liwei and Wenzhi are two characters that will always have a place in my heart. It was almost bittersweet reading Liwei's chapter but the author does such a great job showing how Liwei still genuinely loves and cares for Xingyin despite everything. I would love to see Liwei get his own happy ending but even in such a short book, we can see how much his character has grown and how he has grown into his new role as the Celestial Emperor. I'm very happy that we get an epilogue that highlights Wenzhi and Xingyin's happy ending. Between Liwei and Wenzhi, I'm still not confident I would be able to choose between them but both of them are such well-developed characters and I'm just relieved they both have their happy ending. Also, the illustrations are absolutely stunning and they add to how sweet each chapter is. This book is truly a great gift from the author!

I really enjoyed this short story collection. This is definitely a book that you have to read AFTER you have read the duology though because it contains major spoilers for the other two books.

There are 8 short stories, broken up into sections. The first three stories are essentially prequels to book one (so that would be the only exception to not reading this before finishing the duology). They center around the main characters' (Xingyin) parents and some of the history.

Story 4 & 5 are set during book 1 and are sidestories.

Story 6 & 7 is set during book 2, one gives background to a quest and the other you hear about what's happening with another POV character.

Story 8 is an epilogue for book 2 with a new story telling you what's happening 20 years in the future and gives some closure to the previous ending.

A lovely addition to the original duology, beautiful drawings throughout the book and the author states she is giving her proceeds to charity (not named).

I'm so happy I read this prequel to DOTMG! The pictures inside are amazing. Sue Lynn Tan did a great job developing Changé and Houyi's story. I learned so much and felt so much love.

A lovely little collection of stories set around The Celestial Kingdom duology. There's insights to stories and characters we already know and love. It's a nice dip back into this world. Sue Lynn Tan has such a way of writing, especially romance, I can't wait to see what she releases next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I honestly have very mixed feelings about this series as a whole. I absolutely love Tan's writing; it's beautiful and luscious and completely deserving of the artwork on the covers. However, the plot is a bit wishy washy in both books and I just didn't like book two as a whole.

Moving on to this book in particular - I loved the artwork throughout the book! Even the small black and white images on my e-ARC were amazing, but I'm sure the art in the finished copies will be absolutely stunning! I'm considering buying a physical copy just so l can stare at it more and in more vivid detail.

I also really enjoyed the stories themselves! My previous issues with plot don't really apply since these stories are so short, so I didn't have any major qualms about this collection as a whole. My favorite stories were from the POVs of Liwei and Shuxiao (my faves ). I also enjoyed the first section, which retells the story of Chang'e becoming the Moon Goddess.

I didn't really enjoy Wenzhi's stories, but this is mostly due to my personal issues with him and not Tan's writing. I normally roll my eyes every time he speaks, but I will admit he's very pretty.

Overall - I recommend to anyone who enjoyed this series! It's a perfect companion novella/story collection and I hope more authors do this in the future.

I really enjoyed this addition the the duology. We get to see scenes from other peoples perspectives and see what they might have been feeling at certain times. We get stories that happen before, during, and after the duology took place. If you enjoyed the Celestial Kingdom books you will definitely love this book. I would highly recommend this to anyone who has read the series.

Sue Lynn Tan did it again! Daughter of the Moon Goddess and Heart of the Sun Warrior are my favorite reads of last year so I might be a little bit biased. This book is a collection of stories from before, during, and after the original duology timeline. I was so happy to be back in this world and didn’t realize how much I missed the story and all its characters!!! If there is anything I could criticize, it would be that it is not long enough. What I would give for a spin-off series! The writing, the story, the characters … it's all gorgeous and I enjoyed reading it so much! I appreciated how each story gave me a little more background and meaning behind some of the events mentioned in the main series. Overall, love it!

Sue Lynn Tan takes us back to the Celestial Kingdom. This is basically a series of shorts separated into three parts. Those that take place before Daughter of the Moon Goddess (from the perspectives of our heroine's parents). Then those during our duology (from Liwei, Wenzhi, and Shuxiao's perspectives). The third and final part looks at events after Heart of the Sun Warrior (from Wenzhi and our heroine's POVs). I loved getting to revisit these characters and this world. It was nice to see more of Xingyin's parent's love story and the events that transpired that set our tale into motion. And of course, what I really came for, a conclusion to our epic love story unfolding on the page, not just vaguely in my mind, after the allusion to it at the end of Heart of the Sun Warrior. And I was not disappointed.

P.S. That Shuxiao scene is a tease. And if Tan ever wants to revisit this world again, I want to hear more about her and this Cloud Wall warrior.

In this collection of short stories from the Celestial Kingdom universe, readers will get a sneak peak into the minds of other characters as well as a new epilogue chapter for the duology. The book takes place in the same dreamy period setting with all of our favorite characters. The writing was easy to read, with the stories being split into three parts - with one taking place before, during and after the duology’s events.

If you are into plot and intrigue, I would not recommend this to you. This collection of short stories focuses on the feelings and perspectives of the other characters throughout the story line of the original duology. It is very low stakes as there are plot points - especially since you know how most of it ends (if you have already finished the duology).

I enjoyed revisiting the characters and getting to know their stories a little bit more and how relationships progressed from their perspective. I loved this new ending we get to the duology and thought this was a unique way to expand the readers experience. I would recommend this if you just really loved the world or are looking for a more cozy fantasy read.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperVoyager for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I was very curious to how this book would be, and of course Sue Lynn Tan delivered. If you are a fan of the duology then you will definitely enjoy this. These stories actually elevated the story that we know. Which will a collection of tales this is usually not the case so I was presently surprised.

Thank you very much to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

These stories were a gorgeous addition to the duology we all know and love. Sue Lynn Tan’s writing is rich and full of life, and the world just drips off every page.

An easy 5 star read that I sped through! The conclusion I needed to the Celestial Kingdom…I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH. Sue Lynn Tan is masterful at threading her words into something magical and poetic. She’s one of my top auto-buy authors. Her lyrical writing immediately transported me back to the world of DOTMG. Sue Lynn’s writing is the epitome of book escapism, I just feel myself healed and soothed falling into her writing and becoming completely immersed in the fictional world.

This book is a series of short stories from different timelines: 3 prologues before Daughter of the Moon Goddess, 3 stories that happen during DOTMG, and 3 stories that tell about what happened after Heart of the Sun Warrior ended. They’re told from different POVs than Xingyin which I found refreshing and interesting to learn the different voices. Wenzhi’s POV had me kicking my feet and giggling and I loved getting to know all the characters a bit more.

I adored the duology to pieces but I felt the ending to HOTSW a bit too bittersweet as I wanted to actually see Xingyin get her happy ending :’) Tales of the Celestial Kingdom more than delivered and completely satisfied that last itch. I finally felt ready to say a peaceful good bye to the Celestial Kingdom after finishing book 2.5. I shed happy tears at the end, I love the writing so much. I actually had to spend a couple days after finishing the book to ponder fondly over the story and mull over some highlighted quotes. My heart is so full 🥹 I definitely want to do a reread of the duology now to trace all the short stories in Tales of the Celestial Kingdom. I can’t wait to get my physical copy of this book. All the covers for Sue Lynn’s book are drop dead gorgeous 😍

Thank you so much Sue Lynn Tan for writing and releasing this gem! I can’t wait to read your next books!!! And thank you NetGalley for sending me an ARC to read and review!

In Tales of the Celestial Kingdom I love the idea of continuation of stories, prequels, and the characters we love. It's an easy choice for fans of the series and Sue Lynn Tan. With beautiful illustrations from Kelly Chong, this feels like a piece of art. It takes an already gorgeous, detailed, and vivid world and creates more colors and angles. We can see the characters we know, and the ones we want to know more about, bloom in front of our eyes.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I’ve been in love with these books ever since Daughter of the Moon Goddess came out. I was so excited when I got approved for an earc of Tales of the Celestial Kingdom and I loved the short stories that are included in it. Sue Lynn Tan is one of my favorite authors because of the beautiful way that she writes. It is like a melody honestly. This novella was just wait I needed after finishing Heart of the Sun Warrior. Also the artwork that is included in it….. STUNNING
Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Voyager and Avon Books for sending me this earc!

I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley for review. My opinions are my own.

5/5 stars

I had requested this book so long ago that I had forgotten that I requested it! Imagine my surprise when it popped up in my email inbox that I had been approved. I literally SQUEALED with delight. The “Celestial Kingdom” duology had wrecked me in the best way possible and I have been figuratively (maybe literally) dying for answers.

This book delivers, friends.

A bit of warning. You may not enjoy this if you haven’t read the “Daughter of the Moon Goddess” or “Heart of the Sun Warrior.” The stories and characters probably can read as standalone stories, but they may not punch you in the gut the same.

All this to say… buy all 3. These books are amazing.

Thank you @netgalley for the ARC 💙

Firstly, if you haven't read the original duology (Daughter of the Moon Goddess and Heart of the Sun Warrior) you absolutely should because it's my favorite duology. I love reading about any and all mythology and this duology was my first foray into Chinese mythology. Sue Lynn Tan's writing style made me absolutely fall in love with it.

This was a very cute follow up to the original stories. Sue Lynn Tan takes parts of the original duology and expands on them in these short stories. I LOVED getting different characters POVs. I was so excited to see that we got a little mini story from Shuxiao because she's the actual best.

This was adorable and if you loved the original duology, it's definitely worth a read. Thanks to @netgalley, @avonbooks, and @harpervoyagerus for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I loved being able to see the past and the future for Liwei, Wenzhi, Xingyin, and the others unfurl. I missed the world Tan had created and the celestials in it. I am glad to see the love, loss, and motivations all woven together to make the events of Daughter of the Moon Goddess and Heart of the Sun Warrior all the more impactful. Most of all, I was happy to see two of my favorite characters get their happy ending.
Also the images in this book were amazing! I am honored to have been able to read this ARCH copy!

As the adage goes, "Never trust a book by its cover" but it has never been more wrong than with the Celestial Kingdom series. I am so happy to be back in the Celestial Kingdom with this collection of short stories. If you, like me, finished the Heart of the Sun Warrior and just wanted more, this collection is for us. It also includes beautiful scene illustrations, which was a happy surprise to me and I can't wait for when my pre-order arrives!