The Heavenly Sword

The cover was the first thing that drew me in, the story afterwards kept me reading until the very last page!

4 stars from me. I loved to read this book so much. What I loved the most was the plot and the characters. Do good. So well built. So entertaining.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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!

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

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!

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.

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.