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A review by pineconek
Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This book had me, lost me, and then charmed me back to itself at the end.
The Moon Goddess is made prisoner and cannot leave the moon, as decreed by the emperor. But no one knows that she has a daughter. Her daughter is eventually old enough to leave, enter the realms of the immortals and mortals, and to start devising a strategy to free her mother.
There were portions of the book that I found quite trope-y and uninteresting. This happened most towards the 30% mark, which felt a lot like many "ok time for you to get your special education and weapons training so you can be a hero in the later part of the ye book" scenes that I read before. I felt similarly about the first battles, but this is more of a reflection of my own disinterest in fantasy battles than a reflection of the book.
I was worried that the rest of the book would be an alternation between battle and fetch quest with a side of love triangle, and I considered DNFing the book. While the above things did happen, they were done in less predictable ways that I had anticipated and kept my interest through to the end of the book. I'm a tough crowd to please when I read fantasy, largely because I'm more interested in character study than plot, but I ended up enjoying my time with this one.
Recommended if you generally enjoy mythological retellings centered on women (see the early 2020s publishing trend), don't mind a main character who is super good at most of the things she attempts, and don't mind a slow plot with a few gentle twists and turns. 3.5 stars on SG rounded down to 3 on GR.
The Moon Goddess is made prisoner and cannot leave the moon, as decreed by the emperor. But no one knows that she has a daughter. Her daughter is eventually old enough to leave, enter the realms of the immortals and mortals, and to start devising a strategy to free her mother.
There were portions of the book that I found quite trope-y and uninteresting. This happened most towards the 30% mark, which felt a lot like many "ok time for you to get your special education and weapons training so you can be a hero in the later part of the ye book" scenes that I read before. I felt similarly about the first battles, but this is more of a reflection of my own disinterest in fantasy battles than a reflection of the book.
I was worried that the rest of the book would be an alternation between battle and fetch quest with a side of love triangle, and I considered DNFing the book. While the above things did happen, they were done in less predictable ways that I had anticipated and kept my interest through to the end of the book. I'm a tough crowd to please when I read fantasy, largely because I'm more interested in character study than plot, but I ended up enjoying my time with this one.
Recommended if you generally enjoy mythological retellings centered on women (see the early 2020s publishing trend), don't mind a main character who is super good at most of the things she attempts, and don't mind a slow plot with a few gentle twists and turns. 3.5 stars on SG rounded down to 3 on GR.