Book: Daughter of the Moon Goddess
Author: Sue Lynn Tan
Released: 11th January 2022
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 5 stars
From the moment I heard the premise of Sue Lynn Tan’s debut novel, I was intrigued and desperate to get a copy of the book to read it as soon as I could. The premise of the book is as follows:
“A captivating debut fantasy inspired by the legend of Chang’e, the Chinese moon goddess, in which a young woman’s quest to free her mother pits her against the most powerful immortal in the realm.
Growing up on the moon, Xingyin is accustomed to solitude, unaware that she is being hidden from the feared Celestial Emperor who exiled her mother for stealing his 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. 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 learn alongside the emperor’s son, mastering archery and magic, even as passion flames between her and the prince. To save her mother, Xingyin embarks on a perilous quest, confronting legendary creatures and vicious enemies across the earth and skies. But when treachery looms and forbidden magic threatens the kingdom, she must challenge the ruthless Celestial Emperor for her dream—striking a dangerous bargain in which she is torn between losing all she loves or plunging the realm into chaos.
Daughter of the Moon Goddess begins an enchanting, romantic duology which weaves ancient Chinese mythology into a sweeping adventure of immortals and magic—where love vies with honour, dreams are fraught with betrayal, and hope emerges triumphant.“
I got my copy of the book at the start of March and instantly started to read it; I found it hard to put down and from start to finish it more than captured my attention. It was more than worth the time I’d waited for it to be released and I am glad of my early intrigue in the book, as that got me to start reading it so quickly! So, here are my thoughts on this epic debut novel.
One of the big things I love about this book so much is the writing style. The way Sue Lynn Tan writes is so beautiful and poetic; this lyrical language used in such vivid descriptions does everything to bring the world and all its intricate details to life so you as a reader feel truly immersed in the story. This same writing style brings the characters to life and makes the emotions within the book palpable, so it was impossible for me when reading to not get swept up in these characters’ journeys and share their joy and sorrow with them. And what a journey these characters do go on.
The book is a fairly long one, at just over 500 pages, but it is worth every page. There is nothing this book doesn’t have. We follow Xingyin across a period of many years. We meet her contentedly living on the moon with her mother, before seeing her change and grow up before our very eyes as she is forced to flee her home and go on many an adventure, with joy, sorrow, heartbreak – a whole rollercoaster of emotions. It is because of the many adventures Xingyin encounters that make this book is the length it is. We read of so many events and a few subplots all come into play, but the ending is neatly tied up and all the events of the book come together and fit into place in a way that feels natural. The book may be long but the pacing is perfect. It never felt like it was dragging, nor did it feel like any part of the book was being rushed. A mixture of strong character development, the ongoing plot with sub-plots interwoven, and twists here and there, the book kept me interested the whole time I was reading.
The characters are stunning. With a range of characters, there’s bound to be someone you like. What I liked about Xingyin is how real she was. She had moments of strength and determination, she had moments where she had to heal, moments where she couldn’t be in battles. There was heartbreak, there were mistakes she made and had to own up to and learn from, there were highs and lows – just like every normal person goes through. In fact, those points where Xingyin was conflicted, when she broke down, when she had enjoyment like any other young girl, or when she had to admit defeat that she couldn’t battle etc are what really won me over to liking her. It was the moments like that which I think are crucially important to include in books to make the characters that much more real. It shows that girls don’t need to be on their A-game all the time. That it’s okay to go through all these things, it doesn’t make you weak, it just makes you a normal person (I’d say it makes you human but that would be poor wording here given that Xingyin is literally immortal).
The relationships between characters within the book felt real and believable. I, the person who detests romance, even found I didn’t totally hate the romantic love theme in the book. I mean, it wasn’t my favourite part of the story, but that is a personal preference due to my disdain for love elements in fiction. But even I can admit that the love in the book fits in well with the plot and felt genuine. Above all this though, what I especially loved in this book is Xingyin’s motivation for all she does – her mother. The strongest and most beautiful love and kind of relationship there is – that of family. At times it did feel like Xungyin had digressed off her plan to help her mother, but as the book panned out, it became clear that every single decision, everything Xyingyin did – no matter how big or small – all led back to her helping her mother in some way or another. It was cleverly done and very effective, and the whole way through the book I found myself rooting for Xingyin and hoping she succeeded in her ongoing quest.
The length of the book may sound intimidating, but it is worth it. The good thing about the book being this long is that it means you have that time to get attached to the characters, to get invested in the story. And with 500 pages of the book to sink your teeth into, it feels like you’ve been on this journey with everyone, from the first to the last page. I found when I finished the book, I actually felt a bit lost – I had to take some time to recover from what I’d just read and let myself bring mentally come out of the fictional world I’d just spent so much time in, before I could jump into a new book.
I also think this is a really good fantasy book for people to start with if they’ve never read fantasy before, or don’t think they’d enjoy it. I know some people can be put off by the genre and think it’s not for them but I personally think this would be a good book to start with. It’s set in a world different to ours, so less chance of getting confused between the fictional and real-world, but still the world the book is set in whilst being fictional, felt real enough I could get invested in and I didn’t spend the entire time struggling to make myself believe. The magic, royal and political systems within the book were written in a way that is easy to understand and none of these systems nor the language was overly complex. In fact, the best way to describe this fantasy book I think, would be to say it’s like a fairy story for adults. A bit more plot and more depth, but that is exactly what I felt this book was.
For me, Daughter of the Moon Goddess is just everything a book should be, and it has everything that I personally look for in a fantasy book. It is a story from a far off place, it has magic and adventure, twists and turns, love and heartbreak and hope; it made me laugh and it made me cry – which is all that reading a book is all about.
Given that this is the debut novel from Sue Lynn Tan, and the first in a duology, I cannot ait to see what books she produces in the future – and I really can’t wait to see what is coming in the Daughter of the Moon Goddess universe next!
One Show at a Time 