Daughter of the Moon Goddess: A Fantasy Romance Novel

The book in 3 sentences:A touch of mythology, a river of magic.Battles of faith, love, and inner demons.A world of unreal beauty from a different perspective.My impressions:This was one of my most anticipated book releases of 2022, but did it live up to the hype?Daughter of the Moon Goddess is a retelling inspired by the legend of Chang'e, the Chinese moon goddess. The story follows Xingyin as she discovers her growing powers and has to leave home to avoid being discovered by the Celestial Emperor. As she does so, she’s forced to leave her mother behind.She travels to the Celestial kingdom in disguise, trains alongside the unsuspecting emperor’s son, and attempts to save her mother.This book blends together mythology, adventure, and fantasy. If you’re a fan of this combination, you won’t be disappointed by Sue Lynn Tan’s writing. The book starts off a little slow, but once the story begins to unfold, we’re gifted with a sweeping plot and endearing character development.The book doesn’t focus on the story of Xingyin’s mother, the moon goddess. Instead, we’re invited into the world of her daughter, as she manages the twists, turns, and dangers of hiding who she is. Sue Lynn Tan has a way with words. Her descriptions of the celestial world are sweeping and beautiful. Although I did have to re-read them a few times to get an accurate picture in my mind. This is not the fault of the author, rather my own lack of specific Chinese cultural knowledge. Especially when it comes to certain items, artefacts, fashion, materials etc. Regardless, dialogue and action scenes were expertly written. I found myself turning pages fast in these moments and slowing right down when they weren’t there. If this was the intention of the author, they did an excellent job.Daughter of the Moon Goddess is filled with magic, fantasy and romance. Perfect for anyone who loves a combination of all those things.