Gorgeous tale, so rich in detail and beautifully narrated, I found this audio far more engaging than many other audiobooks, the narrator makes a huge difference. Would be interested to read the book to see how it compares in its ability to captivate.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan is set in a world of magic, mythology, love and betrayal.

Xingjin's mother is hiding her from everyone, including the Celestial Emperor, after her mother was exiled for stealing the potion of immortality.

Xingjin is bored with a very quiet life, but knows no other.  All is safe and well until Xingjin's magic flares and attracts attention.  She has to leave, and disguised, she trains alongside the Emperor's son.

Xingjin hears of something that cold mean the Emperor would grant her wish, and she plans to ask for her mother to be freed.  

I listened to this audiobook, and enjoyed the narrator.  It's a fantastical story that I really liked listening to the story.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess was published on 20th January 2022, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Sue Lynn Tan on Twitter and her website.

“We will do things for our family—our loved ones—that we would not for ourselves.”

This is no princess or fairy tales, This is the story of Xingyin, her father slew the suns and her mother lights the moon.

Moon Goddess is an imprisoner of the empress of the Celestial Kingdom, She hides her daughter from the life below, but now the empress sens more power from the Moon Kingdom, the danger is upon them, Xingyin has to RUN!

Xingyin serves the household of the emperor and is a friend to Crown Prince Liwei, She learns to fight and become part of the Celestial Kingdom for only one task, no matter what its cost, her mother’s freedom.

“Nothing is more important than family.”

This is a story of love, betrayal, war, anger, jealousy and sacrificing in the Realm of magic, Dragons and demons!

“If I had learned anything over these years, it was that no one won in a war, not even those who thought they did.”

Amazing fantasy world, lovely characters, engaging story and great narrator! I fall in love with this Chinese mythology, where is the second book Heart of the Sun Warrior, I want it, no I need it!

“Some scars are carved into our bones—a part of who we are, shaping what we become.”

My huge thanks to HarperCollins UK Audio via NetGalley for the ARC, I have given my honest review.
Daughter of the Moon Goddess (The Celestial Kingdom Duology #1)
by Sue Lynn Tan
Narrated by Natalie Naudus

There has really been a surge of Asian mythology inspired young adult fantasy books as of lately which I find quite refreshing. It’s always interesting to learn more about myths and fairytales from other parts of the world, especially in the form of retellings.

However, when it comes to Daughter of the Moon Goddess I’m more than a little conflicted. While I found the lyrical and melodious way of writing to be beautiful and perfect for the story itself, I just couldn’t handle the main character(s) which is quite rare for me. Maybe it’s me getting older or something but I found the MC Xingyin to be annoyingly naive and her actions more than a little predictable from time to time. I tend to like books with plot twists that I didn’t quite see coming and characters with a bit more action in them.

I can definitely understand why some people like this book, it just wasn’t for me.

Since I’m reviewing the audiobook edition, I want to say that Natalie Naudus was the perfect narrator for this book in my opinion. She voiced Xingyin perfectly and really brought forward the lyrical writing in a beautiful way. Having a talented narrator who fits with the character description is really important if I’m to listen to a book instead of reading it.

So, all in all, I can definitely recommend the audio book edition of this book although the book itself isn’t really my cup of tea.

Thank you to HarperCollins UK Audio for providing me with a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Some of the pronunciations were difficulty had it not been for the audiobook but the story was brilliant. I will admit I'm not sure what the second book in the duology is going to be about but I felt that this could have been a brilliant stand-alone. The narrator was brilliant and really helped to immerse you into the story.

The action scenes were perfect, just the right amount of detail to action and pace. It did feel a little lengthy in places but all in all the pace of the story was brilliant. I loved the twists and how morally confused our Main Character came across, though it was amazing and refreshing that she always stuck to her honor.

The characters were brilliantly detailed and very vibrant. All in all a very well thought out book that was thoroughly enjoyable.

Real Rating: 1.5
Plot/story: 1
Setting/worldbuilding: 1.5
Characters: 1
Writing/ prose: 2
Unputdownable: 1

Short review: I have never been so bored of a book in my entire life. I’ve read a lot, there were annoying books, offensive books, books I didn’t click with, but none put me to sleep like this one. My Goddess, people, I know the cover is beautiful and everyone falls head-over-heels for a Chinese retelling, but this was bland, unoriginal and predictable. The only reason it gets 2 stars instead of 1 is because the technical writing, while occasionally pretentious, was objectively fine and there wasn’t anything that offended me.

My advice: Skip skip skip. Or read Six Crimson Cranes for YA Chinese myth retelling, or City of Brass for an outstanding fantasy debut.

Plot:

Just another YA romance masquerading as Adult high fantasy. As many others, I have nothing against the former, but this was just a huge let down. The premise promised to be something exciting and unique – a retelling of the Chinese myth of Chang'e, the daughter of the Mood Goddess who is fighting to save her mother from being trapped on the moon.
While the very beginning was quite sweet and whimsical, with tender interactions between mother and daughter, this quickly became just another typical bland Mary Sue story, with a ridiculous love triangle.
There’s no point to tell you about the plot because it’s the same as everything else you have already read.

Characters:
The Characters were bland, one-dimensional and had barely any development.
Xingyin is our typical not like other girls, Mary Sue who can do no wrong, and everybody falls in love with her. How exactly she managed to master many weapon skills and magic in only 2 years while all the other people who were IMMORTAL, took ages to master. Speaking of immortals, nobody behaved as such, everyone was mean, petty and led by their base emotions, sounds pretty mortal to me, no?
The only time I felt any emotion was when the prince, Liwei, made a bold decision and unapologetically owned up to it and I was happy to see him not simper and try to justify what was 100% the correct move.
I don’t even remember the name of the other guys in this love triangle because him and the prince were literally interchangeable as characters. Same speech pattern, same behaviour, same actions. Like no.

Writing style / prose:
It was fine, some phrases were very pretty while the majority of it was so unengaging and the dialogue especially cringy and repetitive it put me to sleep.
The pacing was also off, there are huge time jumps between pages skipping the most exciting parts of this story: how the main character, Xingyin, learns to train and develop s relationship with the prince. This should have either been a trilogy or one book. I cannot imagine what the author can further ramble on about in a sequel, but I’ll be skipping it.

Worldbuilding/ magic system:
Was neither developed, nor did it have a sense of whimsy. There are Gods with not very amazing powers, magical animals that don’t do much, inner powers that conveniently increase or decrease to serve the plot and some magical hair pins? All over the place.

Overall, I wish I had DNF-ed this by 20%. If you’re not hooked by then, it’s not gonna be for you.

I was drawn to this due to the it being based on chinese mythology. I loved the story telling, the twists, love triangle, danger adventure.

I got lost in the story feeling the emotions, the turmoil on making certain decisions. It was quick moving, with magic, dragons, demon's, immortals, beasts.

The narration was engaging and made it really enjoyable to listen and feeling the emotions, expressions in the narrators voice.

Although this is part of a duology it could easierly be a standalone with no cliff hanger and nicely wrapped up. I really can't wait for the 2nd book.

This book was very very intriguing, from the cover to the premise I was absolutely dying to read this book. It did not disappoint actually, I really enjoyed it.
I enjoyed the setting of a completely different world with multiple kingdoms, enjoyed the descriptions and the magical feel of the places but also enjoyed the characters.
My only criticism of this entire book was that some parts felt massively drawn out and others felt so rushed. But it was still an easy four star for me that I would definitely recommend to others!

A truly enchanting book, and I can't wait the second part!

The author has created a fascinating world with vividly depicted realms, warriors, beasts and magical forces, and the story like a spider weaving its web around you will not let you. Adventures are coming one after the other, and you suddenly realize that you forgot to eat, drink, breath... this is a dangerous book!

Some novels you need to read, and some you must listen to. This is of the latter type. Natalie Naudus sounds like a natural born immortal sharing this story with us. Her narration adds so much to the experience - and helps with the pronunciation of Chinese names too.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK Audio for an Advance Review Copy.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess is a story inspired by a Chinese legend. It tells the story of Xingyin, who has lived on the moon her entire life before having to run for her life since no one knew of her existence.
She finds herself on enemy territory and has to learn to fight while making connections.

This book was so well written and beautiful. I found a beautiful lyricism in it and the main character was pretty captivating. I also really enjoyed her overall journey and how it was paced.
However, I had some trouble getting into the romances in this book, and since they're an integral part of the plot, it kind of took me out of the story. i just couldn't see what Xingyin saw in them and found myself annoyed at them when she was not which was disconcerting.
Other than that though, this was truly beautiful and I loved the word building and the magic system in this book and I do think this is a really good debut and would without a doubt recommend this book. The audiobook had a really good narrator and I enjoyed listening to it. I'll most likely listen to its sequel as well.

This is a beautiful story with an enemies to lovers vibe. Secrets upon secrets are kept in a tale of the Goddess f the moon being bound to the moon and secretly having a child. To protect her daughter she has told her to not use her magic. Everything changes when she leaves the moon and has to fend for herself. This is a fantastic story with a strong and brave female protagonist.

The narrator was expressive and made it and enjoyable listening experience.

I loved this book - it was full of beautiful writing and the story was so well told. Would recommend to anyone who loves a fairytale.

5 Word Review: Family, magic, power, loyalty, love.

I didn't want to put this book down, so whenever I had to close the actual book I picked up the audiobook.

Xingyin goes through so so much. At times I was exhausted for her, she really doesn't get much of a break. I loved her drive, and how she constantly pushed herself, even as her heart was tested. I loved her loyalty and love for her mother, and how that was her motivation to keep going and pushing harder. Seeing Xingyin grow into herself and realise her power was wonderful.

I loved how the story weaved through political intrigue and dangerous battles. This book is such an adventure, and a real ride to read. There are plots everywhere and from the people you least expect it. One of the twists had me completely thrown and my head is still spinning.

The writing is beautiful, and I could (and did) read it all day. I loved the imagery and how the world came to life, I loved the danger and how the unpleasant things were not shied away from. The writing style is my favourite kind of style and I can't wait to see what Sue Lynn Tan writes next.

As an audiobook, it was amazing. I thought that Natalie Naudus did an excellent job narrating the story and I loved the emotion she put into the characters.

My Fairyloot edition was gorgeous. From the cover changes to the sprayed edges, I was blown away by the beauty of it.

This was an excellent start to the duology, and I loved how it wrapped up enough for me to be fine about the wait for the next one. Although as much as I am satisfied by the story on its own, I definitely want the next part!

I'm going to need more of you to read it though, because there are Things I Need To Talk About.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess was a mesmerising listen, each section keeping the listener enthralled. It reminded me of Piranesi in a way, with it's other worldliness and vivid descriptions. It was a captivating love triangle beyond anything I've read before and would thoroughly recommend! 5 celestial stars from me!

"Some scars are carved into our bones - a part of who we are, shaping what we become."

Daughter of the Moon Goddess was my favourite read of March!

Long story short, I absolutely loved it. This was such a beautiful story! I really did get lost in this story and the narratortold really transported me to another world. What a magical and dreamy story this was!

It is a retelling of the legend of the Chinese moon goddess Chang'e. This is fantasy, it has a love triangle, its friends to lovers and there's DRAGONS!! My first five star read of the year and I look forward to the sequal!!

This was lovely! The writing style was whimsical and I loved the mythology. The audiobook was well narrated. I can only recommend it.

Sue Lynn Tan’s retelling of the legend of Chang’e was beautiful, thrilling and incredibly well written. I was captivated by Xingyin and her quest to free her mother, the Moon Goddess from eternal imprisonment on the moon after she stole an elixir to provide immortality. On Xingyin’s journey she meets Prince Lewei and Captain Wenzhi, among others who help and guide her along her way. The relationships she forms and the care she has for those she loves is simply breathtaking. This was a beautiful debut novel and I am absolutely itching to get my hands on the second part of this duology!

Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for my gifted copy and audiobook of this title in exchange for an honest review!

Thank You Sue Lynn Tan, NetGalley and HarperVoyager for providing me with this free audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

This book is beautifully written and even more beautifully narrated. The first half of the book was a little slow for me but the other half made it up for that, keeping me on the edge of my seat.

This was a buddy read I did and I'm glad we chose this one because I NEEDED to go shout about all the unfairness and twists and betrayals or even just the well deserved happy moments.

Xingyin's story is overwhelming, she has had to go through a lot and it broke my heart seeing her go through heartbreak after heartbreak. No wonder in the end she could not believe everything IS fine days and weeks after the storm had passed.

Even though there were places where Crown Prince Liwei proves himself loyal AND smitten, I still feel a twinge of sadness by Captain Wenzhi's betrayal. I was rooting for them right up till the twist.

Xingyin's journey from the moon to the Celestial Kingdom, from being a lady's attendant to becoming the first archer, from doubts and just trying to survive to self-preservation and finally getting back to her family; was full of emotions and turmoil. I loved the journey and I loved how even though the love stories were important to the plot, they weren't the main plot.

I would recommend this book to just about everyone and can't thank NetGalley and the publishers for approving this for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was beautifully written, Sue Lynn Tan had me captivated with her lyrical writing and celestial aesthetic that took inspiration from Chinese mythology.


The story is fast paced, which I felt was appropriate as the characters are all immortal, it's a wild ride and I enjoyed every second of it.

Xingyin is a wonderful protagonist, I admired her commitment and determination that she had throughout the book.

A wonderful debut, I wait patiently for the second book.

While eloquently and beautifully written, this Chinese myth inspired coming of age story failed to grip me, which is why I stopped reading at 21%.
The story moved pretty fast despite giving the impression of a slow-paced narrative, most likely due to the lyrical writing style. It utilised some tired YA genre tropes not in a particular interesting or innovative way which turned the story into just another generic YA book with a special snowflake of a heroine. I also wasn't a fan of the instalove and heavily foregrounded romance subplot.
However, it might appeal to a younger audience or people looking for whimsical fairytale-esque stories. This really shouldn't be advertised as adult fantasy.
Thank you to HarperVoyager and Netgalley for the ARC of this book!