I'm really looking forward to the second book, because this one has some good elements. The world building and the mythology and folkloric elements are just great and if you like c-dramas you will definitely find this book intriguing. BUT it also has some very irritating points, like that her fighting power is only preserved if she stays a virgin, but I guess we will see where this goes and the main character is somewhat annoying, I really hope it gets better in the second book.

This is a debut novel, so for that alone I'd like to say it wasn't disappointing and I think the author will show us their full potential in the future.

Review:
✨This review is tough to write because I really need to articulate my thoughts.
✨Truthfully, I nearly DNF this story several times but I persevered until the end.
✨By the way, this is an adult fantasy novel but the cover for me, seems like a YA novel. But I guess the main story started during Sai’er’s teen years so the cover does suit the story a little bit.
✨From what I see, this story told a lot of worldbuilding details such as about people, the rulers, the history, and the martial art skills. So, it could be quite heavy to get into the story sometimes.
✨Personally, I do not agree with the main martial art skills in this story which is better performed by a virgin but because it is related to yin and yang, I just go on with the story.
✨But it really irritates me when the enemies want to take her virginity in order to diminish her special skills. I know it is understandable for conflict but it still makes me annoyed.
✨However, the one who annoyed me the most is Tang Sai’er. I’m sorry.
✨For me she is a kind-hearted person, but she’s not really the brightest in my opinion. Luckily, she has good friends, family and allies with her.
✨For me, if you are an avid watcher of wuxia and xianxia C-dramas or movies, it is easier to get into the story because of the familiarity with the story’s environment.
✨I actually want to know what happened in the next book because the plot is interesting to me.
✨Thank you to Earnshaw Books Ltd. and NetGalley for this ARC! This review was voluntarily written by me.

Rating: 2.75-3 /5 ⭐

In this incredible fantasy novel, readers explore the world of Alice Poon’s debut novel where martial arts, magic, and the conflicts of humans and gods all reside. Reborn as mortal girl and martial artist Tang Sai’er, the goddess Chang’e returns to the mortal world to stop Zhu Di, the Sky Wolf, from becoming a tyrant over the mortal world. However, Zhu Di begins a war that threatens her village and the White Lotus Sect, Sai’er must lead her people to safety, navigate the feuds of these immortals, and fight her feelings for Ma Sanbao, a member of Zhu Di’s court. With its mix of fantasy and Chinese mythology, Poon’s debut novel is magical, immersive, and fascinatingly complex. The conflict at the heart of the novel is complicated and spans immortal lifetimes, and having these immortals reborn as mortals entangles them in other equally important conflicts. Sai’er is a complex, powerful protagonist with flaws and emotions readers will find relatable. Bringing her relationships with her peers, her family, Zhu Di, and Ma Sanbao to the center of the story, this is a powerful, detailed, and exciting debut novel that brings magic, family, and change to the forefront of Sai’er’s village and community.

The Heavenly Sword is the first part of a spellbinding duology weaving Chinese mythical folklore and speculative history, set in the world of human conflicts, fantastical martial arts, sorcery and celestial magic.
The goddess Chang’e is sent to the mortal world to stop the Sky Wolf Zhu Di’s plans to usurp the throne. Reborn as Tang Sai’er, a simple village girl, her celestial mission requires her to learn special martial arts skills, but in order to achieve unrivaled mastery, she must battle against her growing feelings for a member of the evil tyrant’s court. - You have to admit it sounds good.
Unfortunately this book was not my favourite.
The writing felt flat, the dialogue too modern at times, too robotic in few instences. Like I said not for me.
The romance....well, it could be better (I don't have energy to get into it).
The stranges thing for me was that Sai'er's magic is tied to her virginity (I don't have idia how to feel about it) and (just so you know tw.) that results in multiple SA attempts.
And so you know - this is and adult fantasy novel!

The Heavenly Sword is a really enjoyable blend of Chinese mythology and history.

Alice Poon has created something special with her solid, immersive world building. The magic system is well developed and I thoroughly enjoyed the process of Sai’er developing her qi use, martial arts and qinggong abilities. The dialogue could be quite poor and impacted believability of character interactions at times, however there was an interesting cast of characters that kept me engaged. Sai’er is a really strong main character and I am heavily invested in her journey. I can’t wait to see how this story progresses!

I found the character list at the beginning really helpful and loved the inclusion of a glossary at the end to help deepen my knowledge of this world. I would highly recommend this to lovers of Asian mythology retellings and immersive fantasy worlds!

I love a good wuxia novel and it’s rare to find a female-led one, so I was really excited for this book! And parts of it were really great, but key plot points were extremely frustrating and that really ruined parts of it for me.

Right away, the cover is amazing and draws you in immediately. I also really liked the main character Sai’er. For the most part I also thought the book was very well written and I enjoyed a lot of the overall plot.

Unfortunately I couldn’t look past the virgin magic and that largely ruined a lot of the book for me. Of course this implies (and is shown) to cause SA to be used to control and limit other people’s use of magic. I hated this so much and really there wasn’t much the book could have done at that point to make me overlook this.

Was a wonderful book. I loved how the main character was able to push through most of her struggles.

this took me so long to get into that it took me nearly a month to read. I loved the characters however was not as invested in the plot lines as I initially thought i would be as I love Moon Goddess stories. I am so annoyed with myself that I didn't enjoy this however I think this is a me issue not a book issue.

Tang Sai'er has lived a relatively simple life with her Ba and her adopted brother Baihong studying martial arts. And while she hopes to eventually become a student of Master Zhang, she knows she has a lot of work to do before that's even a consideration. Unfortunately for her fate comes crashing into her life when she discovers that she actually the reincarnation of the Goddess Chang'e and she now must face off against Zhu Di the reincarnation of a Sky Wolf who was banished from the heavens due to his behavior. To make matters worse, she still has to fully her destiny as Hou Yi's wife!! Will Sai'er be able to master her martial ability in time to stop Zhu Di's tyranny? And, just as importantly, how does she get out of this marriage!?

Honestly, it's just a solid wuxia. Like literally one of the most solid, it stands up to any others I've read solid. The pacing, the plot line, everything is just as good as any book, TV show, or movie I've read, and I'm definitely stoked that I've got the second book already to read.

There are just a couple of notes that I think are important for Western readers: This isn't written for our sensibilities, in the least, which I applaud Poon for this. Like genuinely love her for that. Once we decide to write another cultures genre for our lens, it loses so much of its meaning and, quite frankly, what makes it amazing to begin with. That means some of this may not make sense if you aren't familiar with certain terms and Chinese mythology. And it's not a crash course into it either. This also means there will be cultural differences that are pretty standard in a wuxia novel that may seem unfamiliar or even outdated to a Western reader.

Other than that, I have zero complaints here. And that's not even really a complaint, just a heads up.

Overall, as an avid fan of wuxia and just Chinese fantasy in general while there are some rough patches here I am chalking those up to this being the author's first book, I have a feeling whatever small complaints I may have had will work themselves out as the author continues to write.

As always, thanks to NetGalley and Earnshaw Books!

Thanks to Netgalley and Earnshaw books for approving this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 62%

This book starts out strong, Sai'er is an interesting character to follow, and I was really entertained by her early adventures!

I sadly found myself losing interest though as the book went on, I might come back to this series one day as I love a good wuxia story!

If this story sounds like something you might enjoy, make sure to check it out!

The Heavenly Sword by Alice Poon drew me in with its stunning cover and held my attention with its fun premise.
This story had excellent pacing and prose though individual character arcs got very muddy. Over all I had a really good time reading this book and I will be continuing with the series.

I really enjoyed this book! Loved the Worldbuilding, the setting and the plot. Would recommend reading it!

Overall I was drawn in by the cover and the Chinese mythology/folklore that was used in the story and which I liked. But the characters were all over the place and the love interests more than problematic.

“The Heavenly Sword” by Alice Poon is a fun and fast-paced read, blending Chinese folklore with a thrilling story of martial arts and magic. Tang Sai’er, a village girl who is actually the reincarnation of the goddess Chang’e, has to stop the evil Prince of Yan. The fight scenes are well-described and the characters are interesting, though the dialogue can be a bit off at times.

The story moves quickly, which might be a bit too fast for some readers, and it ends quite abruptly, cutting off right before a big battle. Despite that, it’s an engaging tale and I’m looking forward to the next book.

Thank you NetGalley and Earnshaw Books LTD for sending this eARC for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The Heavenly Sword by Alice Poon is a multi-POV historical Chinese fantasy blending elements from the xianxia and wuxia genres. Sai’er is young woman from Putai in the Shangdong Province and the reincarnation of the goddess of the moon, Chang’e. When she meets Sanbao, a war orphan serving the future emperor, she starts on the path to fighting for love despite the obstacles between them and the safety of her people.

What I really liked was the use of Chinese mythology. It's always nice to see Chang’e and the Jade Rabbit appear and this version of a Chang’e incarnate who also was raised as a warrior was a new spot for me. I wasn't super familiar with the Sky Wolves or the Yellow and Green Dragons but I thought the terminology was fairly accessible and got easier to piece together the more I read.

There is a glossary and a cast of characters provided, which is very helpful. The novel does have a large cast as many xianxia I've seen do and it can take time for individual relationships and connections to solidify if you're reading in chunks like I did. The writing feels quite grounded in the time period and the terminology used really assist in that, such as using the Hour of the Ox instead of the times we would use today in many places.

The martial arts and familial connections take more of a center stage than the romance as the impending struggle with Prince Zhu Di, who covets Sai’er for himself, builds up. When they were Chang’e and the Sky Wolf, he declared his love for her, creating a bit of a love triangle between Sai’er, Zhudi, and Sanbao that none of them really want. While I normally prefer romance and am a big fan of Romantasy, I do think it was the right call to let the martial aspects intertwine more with Sai’er’s family as it added a lot of depth to why Sai’er needs to be the one to fight.

Content warning for depictions of sexual assault, brief depictions of castration, and mentions of child abuse

I would recommend this to fans of the wuxia and xianxia genres, readers who prefer less romance in their historical fantasy, and those looking for a historical fantasy with a large cast

Genuinely what the hell did I even read? One of the love interests is literally a r*pist if not at least a sexual assaulter and the MC questions if he is while he is assaulting her?? She's also "half heartedly" trying to get away from him because she's "drowning in his lustrous eyes"???? One of her other (of multiple) love interests is her adoptive brother?? And the magic system?? Screamed purity culture. Why on earth is it tied to the MCs virginity so she had to remain a virgin? And why did that mean there had to be attempted sexual assaults MULTIPLE TIMES?? Why would you make the choice to put a female character in a role that's typically male dominated and then just totally reduce her to some weird purity virgin symbol? To make her a sexual target? This had so much potential but ew just ew all around I hated this

This book had some excellent world building and even better characters. The story in parts was slightly confusing in parts but overall it worked well for the story. I need to pick up book two soon.

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for an earc of this book in exchange for a review.

DNF. Multiple love interests, one being a sexual assaulter and one being her adoptive brother who pines over her, and her magic is tied to her virginity, meaning people try to defeat her by taking care of her virginity and that she'sonly strong if she's a virgin. No thanks, I'm out.

This book was so interesting.. I love Asian mythologyy and the cover, moon and dragons?? Win Win for me.. Chinese mentions and Mulan vibes? It was very interesting.. Do I think it could be better?? Yes definitly, can't wait for the second one

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

While I love a good epic fantasy with twisty plot and breath-taking romance as much as the next girl, there was something slightly missing from this one for me. I think if you're a fan of wuxia as well as Chinese historical dramas then this will tick a lot of boxes for you - but be prepared to find some of the potential love interests infuriating!

One thing that knocked a half a star off for me is a little spoilery:

the FMC Tang Sai’er, who is the reincarnation of the moon goddess Chang'e, has magic which seemingly depends on her staying 'virtuous' and is tied to her virginity. This was uncomfortable for me to read and soured the story a bit. It also meant that a lot of opponents were trying to, well, rid her of her virginity throughout.

Readers also be aware that this is firmly an adult fantasy, regardless of the very pretty cover!