Title: Daughter of the Moon Goddess (The Celestial Kingdom Duology #1)
Author: Sue Lynn Tan
Genre: Fantasy, fantasy romance
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Publication Date: 2022
Format: Paperback Print
Length: 498 pages

Rating:

I picked up Daughter of the Moon Goddess on a great sale at Homesense partly because I thought the cover was gorgeous and partly because of the excellent reviews I’d seen on Instagram from reviewers with similar reading preferences. It sounded like a promising premise, but I was utterly unprepared for how all-consuming this book would become for me. It was so epic in so many regards that by about halfway, I found I couldn’t put it down.

Looking back, it’s astonishing that this was just one book because the amount of plot and action weaved in is staggering. The writing felt a touch more formal than a lot of the books I read, but I found the nature of the tone lent really well to the ancient, majestic qualities of the story. If you’re looking for a blend of high fantasy, ancient Chinese mythology, romance, and magical creatures, I can’t recommend Daughter of the Moon Goddess enough. It was a compelling novel and I can’t wait to pick up the second book in the duology.

Fair warning: spoilers ahead for anyone who hasn’t read this book.

The Book: Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan

Daughter of the Moon Goddess follows Xingyin, an immortal and the daughter of the goddess responsible for the moon. Her mother was exiled to the moon before she was born for stealing the elixir of immortality from her mortal father, who had been gifted the elixir for service to the Celestial Kingdom. Ever since, Xingyin has been raised in secret in the palace on the moon where her mother is destined to spend eternity.

Xingyin, who is just a child at the beginning of the story, doesn’t realize that her mother has asked her to swear not to use her powers to protect her. In fact, until she accidentally uses her power in such a manner that she summons the reigning Empress of the Celestial Kingdom, she doesn’t even know that her mother is a prisoner. After a visit from the Empress, Xingyin learns that if the Empress finds that her mother has done anything uncouth, she’ll be punished severely, which helps her to understand the true nature of why she and her mother live in solitude on the moon. As it turns out, no one is aware that Xingyin exists, and the only reason her mother stole the elixir was to save both of their lives when she went into premature childbirth. Unfortunately, Xingyin has now drawn the attention of the Celestial Kingdom, who promise to return to check in on the moon goddess regularly. As a result, Xingyin is forced to flee with her mother’s aide, Ping’er, who promises to bring Xingyin to her family in the southern reaches of the Celestial Kingdom.

When Xingyin and Ping’er attempt to escape, they are thwarted by soldiers from the Celestial Kingdom and Xingyin falls from their reach and lands directly in the heart of the enemy’s territory. Knowing that she cannot return to the moon without risking severe consequences for those she loves, she instead chooses to remain in the Celestial Kingdom and vows to find a way to one day free her mother.

With no belongings, no family, and no standing, the only position she can take is as a servant to a wealthy family, where she is treated as though she’s dirt on the shoe of her mistress. Despite her misery though, she serves diligently, knowing that this is her only option for survival.

While Xingyin struggles to find a place among the servants in her household, a chance run-in with a man who turns out to be Prince Liwei of the Celestial Kingdom allows her to compete to be his companion in education and military training. While Xingyin is behind the other noble ladies who have trained for such an opportunity their entire lives, combining her own skill and the prince’s affection for her allows her to win the competition, saving her from having to remain a servant to an ungrateful mistress for all eternity. She moves into the palace and begins her education and training alongside the prince, with whom she quickly forms a deep bond of friendship.

While training with Liwei, Xingyin eventually learns that if she can provide significant service to the Emperor of the Celestial Kingdom, she may be able to win an award that would allow her to ask for any favour she wishes. Once she learns this, she trains even harder than before, knowing that this award may be her only opportunity to save her mother from an eternity of punishment.

From here, Xingyin and Liwei embark on many adventures, including falling in love and having their hearts crushed time and again. Liwei is sworn to another and to his kingdom, and Xingyin will stop at nothing to save her mother, even if it means sacrificing the life she’s built and all she holds dear. They quickly find themselves swept into nefarious plans and people with ulterior motives and before the book is finished, they will need to face their largest demons (both real and imagined) and take on the Celestial Kingdom itself if they wish to find any hope of lasting freedom or happiness.

The Review

This was such an epic fantasy that as I’ve already said, I almost can’t believe it all happened in just one book. It was such a wonderful experience getting to see Xingyin grow from what was essentially a child into a full-grown adult, handling issues and conflict far beyond anything she’d ever been prepared for. Her conviction to free her mother came before anything or anyone else, and the grit and determination that she exhibited were so fierce I couldn’t help but admire it.

I also loved the slow burn on the romance and the way it almost always took Xingyin by surprise. It felt so authentic to how love often comes about, how it suddenly sweeps in and becomes so all-consuming. It made her heartbreak feel all the more authentic like she’d only just barely grasped how sweet it could be before it was swiped away from her.

The world-building was also top-notch. It was an extensive and elaborate world, but never felt too overwhelming at any given time, and I loved the ancient, mythical feel to everything. Also, the incorporation of magical creatures (particularly dragons) is always a favourite for me, and Tan weaved them in masterfully.

As a whole, this was an incredibly solid fantasy novel. It was well balanced between action and character development, had a fantastic setting, and had enough tension that I couldn’t put it down. I can’t say enough good things about this book, I absolutely loved it and can’t wait to read the next installment.