I was so freaking excited about this book when I found out about it. First of all, Chang’e is one of my favorite Chinese myths (out of the admittedly small number that I know). Second of all, a female warrior protagonist? And an Ancient Chinese fantasy aesthetic setting? Yes. In reality, I was a bit disappointed. I was expecting something so immersive and exciting, and while this book started out that way, it didn’t last and it wasn’t strong enough for me to really get that experience. The plot follows Xingyin, the daughter of Chang’e, the Moon Goddess. Her mother has been imprisoned by the Celestial Emperor for becoming an immortal, and when the Celestial Army threatens her mother, Xingyin is forced to flee from the palace of the moon. She lands herself - quite literally - in enemy territory, falling into the Celestial Kingdom itself. She earns a position as the Crown Prince Liwei’s companion, training alongside him in all things. From there, she struggles to find a path back to her mother while navigating the romance between herself and the Prince. I was honestly expecting more from the storyline. I wanted something more action-packed, more intense. I wanted to feel more emotions about the events of the book. But I just couldn’t. Too many things in the story were just too obviously rigged. It felt like they were there to keep things going without much real intrigue. There were so many time skips where Xingyin just says something like, “The next two years I spent by his side”, or, “I spent my time training and the months flew by.” I don’t want detailed depictions of every day, but this felt too much like the author trying to get to specific parts of the plot with minimal effort. Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an ARC!
Ah yes, yet another ARC I read after it was released. In my defense, I did actually start it before it came out.
The part where Xingyin enters the competition to become Liwei’s companion should have been so much more tense. A competition that, according to Xingyin, could change the course of her life - but it only took up a few pages?
The events of the competition were so quick and way too easy that it was almost laughable. It was set up for Xingyin to win from the beginning, and that took away any excitement I as a reader had about that scene.
“I was no longer a child willing to drift with the tide - I would steer against the current if I had to. And if I won, by some miraculous stroke of luck, I would never be helpless again.”
Honestly, my main issue was Xingyin. Her decisions were what got her into this mess. “Oh, it’s the energy that my mother told me not to reach for! It can't be that bad, I’m going to reach for it!” I can understand her going into a ~rebellious teenager~ phase, but this one random instance just once again felt set up in order to advance the plot.
Half of her problems were caused by her own stupid decisions. “Oh no, I have to join the Celestial Army now!” But technically she doesn’t because she could have just left at that point if she wanted to, and she only stayed out of a sense of obligation and because she was ~in love.~
She as a character was very compelling, but her narrative wasn’t that exciting. I really enjoyed her development, and I loved the way she grew as a person through the book, but I didn’t feel a strong connection with her and therefore wasn’t as invested in her perspective.
I liked that she was stubborn, and ambitious, and held herself to a high standard, but I feel like she as a person could have been developed so much more. I was fully prepared to enjoy her character and didn’t get to do that as much as I wanted to.
“A glorious future beckoned on the horizon. Yet I still clung to a shred of my past, as a flowering peach blossom tree yearning for its fallen bloom.”
Liwei was an interesting character, but I liked him a lot better when he was first introduced compared to him later on. It felt like, instead of getting more fleshed out as Xingyin got to know him, he just gradually became more and more bland compared to his first impression.
Honestly, he felt like a lot of other characters in a lot of other books. He was the Crown Prince who wasn’t interested in his responsibilities or betrothal arrangements, and all he wanted to do was paint and spend time training, but when it really came down to it he was invested in the good of his kingdom.
“I do care," he ground out. "Despite my sense, my judgement and honor - I cannot help but care.”
Wenzhi was very interesting but felt a little bit cliché as well. He was the famous army man who was known for his skill and had a distaste for the court he served. He was tough but understanding and had a very mentor vibe to him but then had a hidden romantic side. I thought he was interesting when he was introduced, being a powerful captain and seeming important to the story, but I stopped really paying attention after a few chapters.
The romance was okay, but it just didn’t feel interesting. Xingyin and Liwei got along well and their banter was fine, but there wasn’t any of the “passionate romance” that the synopsis was promising.
Also, the love triangle that developed about 40% into the book was completely unnecessary. It added nothing to the plot except for obliviousness on Xingyin’s part (“Why are these two attractive men competing for my attention and getting hostile toward each other whenever they’re in the same room”).
Oh wait, I do know what this added. A healthy dose of not-like-other-girls™ to Xingyin’s character. I was not here for the “I’m not beautiful, why would these two men ever want me, I’m just average and plain - EVEN THOUGH I’M THE BEST ARCHER IN THE WORLD I HAVE THIS ONE TALENT” narrative.
Xingyin was fine at first, but she gradually just became this stereotypical heroine. For example:
“It was only later that I learned the Chamber of Lions was reserved for the army’s most skilled warriors. While most had taken months, a year even to master every trap, it took me a matter of weeks.”
Wow she’s so strong and gifted, it doesn’t matter that she’s not pretty because she can do archery! And archery comes naturally to her!
Honestly, a lot of this book just felt the same as other books I’ve read. The first-impression scene where Xingyin meets Liwei? They have an ~honest conversation™~ because he “just wants honest companionship” and “a break from court” and she doesn’t recognize him until someone calls him by his title. It was honestly the same as so many other stories that I’ve read and none of it felt special pertaining to either of the characters. I don’t see the appeal of this cliché anymore.
What really saved this book for me was the writing and the setting.
The writing came across really nicely, and I liked the lyrical quality there was to the words. I’m a sucker for fantasy writing, and while this wasn’t the most flowery, gorgeous writing in existence, it really didn’t have to be. It melded with the story well and got across without an overuse of metaphors.
“Some scars are carved into our bones - a part of who we are, shaping what we become.”
The setting was beautiful, because I love ancient-Chinese mythology and I love the way mythological Asian settings come across. The intricacies of the world-building and descriptions of the environment were just so enjoyable.
Overall, this book could have been so much better than it was for me. Maybe I just went in with too-high expectations, but can you really blame me?
But still. I really wanted this to be more powerful, intense and immersive, and it just didn’t get there for me. It started out really strong and exciting, and something about it declined as I went.
I enjoyed this book a lot, despite how salty I sound about it. It was beautiful and I liked the narrative, and while it wasn’t my favorite book ever, it was still a good one. I would absolutely recommend it. It just fell short of the hype for me.
