ARC Review: Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan

A fantasy inspired by the legend of the Chinese moon goddess, Chang’e , in which a young woman’s quest to free her mother pits her against the most powerful immortal in the realm and sets her on a dangerous path—where choices come with deadly consequences, and she risks losing more than her heart.

Growing up on the moon, Xingyin is accustomed to solitude, unaware that she is being hidden from the powerful 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, untrained, 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 Crown Prince, mastering archery and magic, even as passion flames between her and the emperor’s son.

To save her mother, Xingyin embarks on a perilous quest, confronting legendary creatures and vicious enemies across the earth and skies. When treachery looms and forbidden magic threatens the kingdom, however, 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.

• Title: Daughter of the Moon Goddess
• Author:  Sue Lynn Tann
• Publisher: Harper Voyager
• Publication Date: January 11, 2022
• Genre: Fantasy, Retelling, Young Adult 
• Source: Digital ARC received via Netgalley
• Targeted Age Range: Young Adult
• Content Warnings: Death, gore, violence, blood, fire, confinement, torture, kidnapping, grief, sexual harrassment
• Rating: ★★★★.5

I’ve always loved the legend of Chang’e, and Mid-Autumn Festival is one of my favorite celebrations, so you can only imagine how excited I was to receive an ARC of Daughter of the Moon Goddess. In fact, I specifically timed it so I would be reading it around this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival.

Inspired by the legend of Chang’e, Daughter of the Moon Goddess follows Xingyin, who has spent the majority of her life in solitude, only living with her mom, Chang’e, and Ping’er. As the daughter of Chang’e and Houyi, Xingyin’s existence has been kept hidden from the Celestial Emperor, who exiled Chang’e for stealing the elixir of immortality. But when Xingyin’s magic flares, alerting the Celestial Goddess, Xingyin is forced to flee to protect the ones she loves. With nothing else on her, Xingyin finds her way to the Celestial Kingdom, and ends up learning magic and archery alongside the Crown Prince.

One of my favorite things about Daughter of the Moon Goddess was how lyrical, and breathtaking Sue Lynn-Tan’s writing was. With easy to understand world-building, and xianxia-inspired fantasy, I truly felt like I was transported into Xingyin’s world. It was so easy to picture myself in her shoes, as she went through her quest, learning different skills, fighting alongside her friends, and interacting with dragons (any other words would be too much of a spoiler), and I absolutely adored it. I loved reading the world through Xingyen’s eyes. As our main character, I found her unwavering strength and love for her family to be inspiring, and reminiscent of xianxia. She thinks with her heart, she’s brave, clever, determined, and never loses sight of where her priorities lie. I loved her character arc, and watching her grow and develop. 

While I’m not the biggest fan of love triangles, I will say that I absolutely loved Prince Liwei. He was so soft-hearted, kind, and so sweet, and I couldn’t help but root for him! In a sense, he reminded me of Takkan from Elizabeth Lim’s Six Crimson Cranes. Xingyin and Liwei’s friendship turned romance was endearing, and I enjoyed how their relationship progressed. 

The majority of this story hinges on miscommunication, and for Xingyin to have a secret identity. And while miscommunication in books is one of my most hated tropes, I wasn’t bothered by this in Daughter of the Moon Goddess at all, as it served a purpose and helped move the plot forward. I also really appreciated that all miscommunication was addressed, and worked through. 
Sitting at 512 pages, Daughter of the Moon Goddess is a little longer than what I usually prefer in a book, but I didn’t find that to detract from my overall enjoyment of the book. I normally read books all in one sitting, but I knew with this one that I’d have to pace myself. Since Daughter of the Moon Goddess is broken down into three parts, I read one part each night for three nights in a row. That being said, I found part one to be the hardest to get through, as there was a lot of world-building, and background that we were given. Even still, I’m relieved to say that Daughter of the Moon Goddess is the length it is for a reason, and by the end, I found myself wanting more. I didn’t want to say goodbye to Xingyin, and our lovely cast of characters just yet. Fortunately for me, it looks like it’s the first in a duology, although I’m not exactly sure what to expect from the second book yet, as most storylines seemed neatly tied up in Daughter of the Moon Goddess.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess: Goodreads | TheStorygraph | Bookshop | IndieBound