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I enjoyed the character dynamics, even though I didn't really like a certain prince being "Damsel in Distress" at one point instead of doing something heroic for his lover. But as I finished the book, I LOVED each one of the main characters. The sacrifices they had to make gave me all kinds of emotions. The last 10% was hurting me SO MUCH I couldn’t stop sobbing until hours after I finished reading it. Everything was beautiful. Wouldn’t ask for anything to be done differently. No criticism from me. Absolutely epic. But I’d like to have an extended epilogue please… I didn’t want the story to end:( R.I.P. Xingyin's character development and all the stuff in Book 1 she did to prove that anyone can be a hero despite not coming from an overpowered immortal family. R.I.P. any chance of seeing Chang'e learn to overcome her grief over his death and be her own character after twenty years of mourning. Authors, if you are a member of the Goodreads Author Program, you can edit information about your own books. Find out how in this guide.
Heart of the Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan | Goodreads
We go through so many cycles in our lives. School to school. College to work. Job to job. Love to love. Life to death. There is always change, there is always a grace period, there is always learning and loving and experiencing, and it all revolves around how we choose to live our lives. Yes the writing is still very nice, lyrical and beautiful but it had hardly any action and the little it had was mediocre. This is essence is just a romance with a hint of fantasy. I did like the setting and the different magic types and the different rulers. It was fun seeing the ride on clouds and seeing Xingyin use a bow again. The writing is still beautiful. I love the setting, food, and magic. It’s just not what I was expecting after having read the first book. Just as, "A life without love was a night without stars" a world without books is a dream without words. That said, there were some things that I didn’t love about this. Some of which I will put in spoilers.This book is not for the light-hearted, nor the hopeful. It's a book testing your ability to withstand anything the world throws at you. Every time my heart felt like it had a break, every time I relaxed, I lost someone new. Someone I didn't think I could ever lose. Tan plays with every emotion, and she doesn't try to heal it. She doesn't make it better. This time around I had a better time more consistently. I think it helped that we dropped the triangle. It was very clear the entire book where the reader was supposed to care about in terms of the romance arc, and the narrative was focused on building that up and so those beats just felt a lot more close to home. Heart of the Sun Warrior is the second book in Sue Lynn Tan’s Celestial Kingdom duology, following up on The Daughter of the Moon Goddess (see our review of the first book here). This follows Xingyin’s story a time after the events of the first book, and has quite a different feel to it. Where The Daughter of the Moon Goddess was focused on Xingyin growing up, maturing and finding out who she is as a person, wrapped in a quest story, this second part of the story is far less plot-driven and more concerned with politics and relationships than quests. Xingyin, as the daughter of a goddess, comes with inherent longevity, so this does continue the personal growth arc and she matures further, which I appreciated in many ways. This is a very hard review to write. The Daughter of the Moon Goddess was one of my favorite books of the year, maybe of all time. When I found out about the sequel I was beyond happy. However, I almost wish I hadn’t read this book. Next is this goddamn love triangle. I love morally grey bad boys, so I completely understand the draw to Wenzhi. Personally, he was my favorite. I appreciated how he recognized his feelings early on and didn’t shy from them like Liwei did. He truly embodied the “I will burn down this entire world for you” energy that I love. Overall, I felt Xingyin and Liwei were a better match. Even the title of this book has you believeing the same thing, so we didn’t need 80% of this book focusing on who she was going to choose. Ultimately, I think Wenzhi and Liwei deserved better than Xingyin. She was totally in love with Liwei, but she didn’t want to deal with palace life and empress responsibilities, so she took every out she could to avoid it namely breaking Liwei’s heart. While I don’t agree with what Wenzhi did in DOTMG, the way Xingyin prosecuted him throughout this ENTIRE book was just overkill. While the book wants you to believe, it took Wenzhi literally dying for her to realize this; I think it was her first tasting her life as an empress. Do I believe she has love for both? Yes, but I also strongly believes she’s not IN love with either. I think they’re both better without her.
Heart of the Sun Warrior: The SUNDAY TIMES bestselling sequel Heart of the Sun Warrior: The SUNDAY TIMES bestselling sequel
Action is all that matters, in the end. Action and follow through. While they both do all they can to do both, only one is there every step of the way. I told myself I wouldn't choose, but by the end I think it was impossible not to admit I was swaying one way over the other. Sun Warrior broke me, several times over. The heartbreak in this book is real, and I was not prepared. The romantic threads at the end of book one appeared tied off, giving Xingyin an opportunity to heal and pursue a relationship on better footing. But, unfortunately for my poor soul, Tan has other plans. She really came out swinging. I can barely hold my own through this intense adventure and on top of that I’m served a heaping of heartache. Tan expertly crafts Xingyin’s feelings which adds an extra layer of suffering throughout the entire story. It was an incredible experience and the culmination solidified the book’s perfect rating. I had the highest of hopes for this book, and after finishing it I can safely say that I wholeheartedly trust Sue Lynn Tan to continue writing beautiful stories that make me connect to the characters so much that I cry my eyes out. The epic conclusion to her sweeping Celestial Kingdom series, Sue Lynn Tan’s tale of Xingyin, the daughter of the moon goddess, delves deeper into beloved Chinese myths, weaving them into a wholly new and magical story. Review Xingyin needs to stop this evil raising in expanse of sacrificing her life as Liwei and Wenzhi fight beside her!Liwei had no choice in his engagement. He was forced to accept it for the good of the realm and for his parents. Unlike Wenzhi, who wasn't forced to do anything. He just wanted power. Alone, powerless, and afraid, she makes her way to the Celestial Kingdom, a land of wonder and secrets. Disguising her identity, she seizes an opportunity to train alongside the emperor’s son, mastering archery and magic, even as passion flames between her and the prince. Because power has the ability to corrupt and favors transform into something else. So who is telling the story becomes even more important. Heart of the Sun Warrior tells a story about the cost of revenge and price of forgiveness. Additionally, I adored the love triangle in Heart of the Sun Warrior. How these characters represent futures and possibilities to Xingyin. Not only that, but it also delves into the kind of person she would be, could become, with these characters. To say I am surprised by the depth of my feelings for this story would be a lie. I could feel the under currents of talent in every word Sue Lynn Tan wrote in Daughter of the Moon Goddess. To still be sitting in awe over what I experienced, that's what I am surprised by.
Heart of the Sun Warrior - Sue Lynn Tan Book Review Heart of the Sun Warrior - Sue Lynn Tan Book Review
But second book of the duology exceeded my expectations and it’s even better than the first book. There are so many epic moments including surprising family reunions, dragons’ cameo, bloodthirsty fight against the phoenix and eerie, frightening war against the army of death. Liwei is pushy, impatient and ignorant to Xingyin's feelings, especially where his parents are concerned. Wenzhi is a creep and stalker who chases Xingyin around begging for forgiveness while she reprimands him but doesn't do anything to stop him. I think that Sue Lynn Tan's writing is absolutely stunning - it's lyrical and descriptive, but if there's one thing that she truly excels at, it's an action scene, which I feel like isn't a combination that you see very often. The pacing of this book is, in my opinion, much faster than the first book - I think a common complaint that I've seen of DOTMG is that the first half the book is too slow, and I think if you were one of those people, you'll be much happier with this book. The pacing is very similar to the second half of DOTMG, and it's just non-stop, which isn't usually my cup of tea, but it works really well here. Liwei was done so wrong in this book! The love triangle felt like what would have happened if Bella chose Jacob instead of Edward. I hated this triangle, the romance between Wenzhi and Xingyin. It felt gross, wrong, and not real at all. I did not feel anything for these two except disappointment. The emotions I had for Xingyin and Liwei went deep and seeing them reunite in DOTMG was so rewarding. Now seeing all of that turn on its head juts makes me sad.As for the arcs that weren't romance related. I felt that one of the arcs related to Xingyin's family wasn't quite as strong this time around. It had to compete with a different plot and so it didn't get quite the same level of care and attention that a similar plot in the first book got and that felt pretty unfortunate given how little these characters really knew each other. The other non romance arc, this government coup situation... that... that really didn't need to be here. I see why it was, because aside from what will happen with the romance it was the only part of the story that had any firm footing in the first book, it makes this feel more like a direct sequel than just a companion to the first book. Still though, with how the family plot was sort of used as a parallel it really took away from some of the time spent with the larger plot... It also didn't help that the larger plot was spearheaded by a character that had pretty valid reasons to be doing what they were doing... and like... the government was already questionable so I'm not sure what this little plot really had going for it? After finishing the first book of the series, I was thinking how the sequel will exceed its perfection. Let’s not forget there was no cliffhanger at the end if you don’t count the unresolved love triangle. As an unspeakable terror sweeps across the realm, Xingyin must uncover the truth of her heart and claw her way through devastation – to rise against this evil before it destroys everything she holds dear, and the worlds she has grown to love… even if doing so demands the greatest price of all. The author should've let him actually die in Book 1 if his character was going to be nerfed this hard in the name of a ship - and this is coming from someone who was rooting for Wenzhi!
Heart of the Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan Book Review: Heart of the Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan
Towards the end of the book Wenzhi sacrifices himself to save Xingyin. This of course emotionally destroys her and she becomes an even angstier clone of her mother (which I wouldn't have thought possible). Growing up on the moon, Xingyin is unaware that she is being hidden from the feared Celestial Emperor who exiled her mother for stealing the elixir of immortality. But when Xingyin’s magic flares and her existence is discovered, she is forced to flee her home, leaving her mother behind. After winning her mother’s freedom from the Celestial Emperor, Xingyin thrives in the enchanting tranquility of her home. But her fragile peace is threatened by the discovery of a strange magic on the moon, and the unsettling changes in the Celestial Kingdom as the emperor tightens his grip on power. The chivalrous mortal who risked his life to save the world from flaming sunbirds. Chang'e's love and Xingyin's father who they left behind in the mortal realm while they ascended to immortality.
On a positive note, I did really enjoy a step into a more grey, ambiguous morality from the noblebright foundation that the first book laid out. The world building and Sue Lynn Tan’s ability to make Chinese mythology real and tangible is very much admired. While on the topic of love, I was hoping for more from Xingyin’s parents. Their return to one another felt like filler where it could’ve been used as a very strong guide for Xingyin to decide on a love. Her mother felt even more weak and more unnecessary in this book which is a huge disappointment. I was really hoping to see a stronger bond between mother and daughter. I also really wanted to see Xingyin’s relationship with her father, his connection to the dragons, and their connections with the jade bow develop into a strong story. The stunning sequel to Daughter of the Moon Goddess delves deeper into beloved Chinese mythology, concluding the epic story of Xingyin—the daughter of Chang’e and the mortal archer, Houyi—as she battles a grave new threat to the realm, in this powerful tale of love, sacrifice, and hope. Her love for stories began with a gift from her father, her first compilation of fairytales from around the world. After devouring every fable she could find in the library, she discovered fantasy books – spending much of her childhood lost in magical worlds. I am so rarely shattered by a story in such an intrinsic way. To find a character like Xingyin: I've only ever found two others before. I didn't just become a part of her world, but a part of her as well. I'll hold her in my heart for the rest of my life, and I can't wait to see what happens in book three.
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