Title: Tales of the Celestial Kingdom
Author: Sue Lynn Tan
Source: DRC via NetGalley (Avon and Harper Voyager, Harper Voyager) in exchange for a honest review
Publication Date: February 6, 2024
Synopsis: Goodreads
Purchase Link: Amazon

Other books in this series: Daughter of the Moon Goddess (TCK #1), Heart of the Sun Warrior (TCK #2)

Why did I choose to read this book?

I will read anything Sue Lynn Tan writes. I mean anything. Each of her books is a feast for the senses. Read my reviews of her other two works if you want to know what I mean. This book popped up on Goodreads for me last year, at which point I stalked its arrival on NetGalley, then I requested it and waited very patiently until it was granted to me this past week. At a cool 165 pages I couldn’t be mad that I only had 2 weeks to complete it, and then proceeded to read it all in one day.

What is this book about?

This small collection of individual character POVs that were absent from the original duology are about the feelings and experiences of the characters that interacted with Xingyin. It introduces her mother (Chang’e) and father (Houyi) in a more detailed way as well as how they came to be separated. Her three closest male companions: the Celestial prince Liwei, and her fellow soldiers Wenzhi and Shuxiao are seen, and their own thoughts and feelings related to Xingyin are made more clear. And finally we get a true epilogue to the duology from Xingyin’s POV.

What is notable about this story?

This collection should be treated like a companion book to the original duology and I would even suggest reading the stories alongside them. Each of the stories says when it occurs, so you can wait until the events happen before delving in for more information. I wish other series did this in such a well organized way.

Was anything not so great?

I didn’t feel like I needed the Twilight collection (Liwei, Wenzhi, and Shuxiao). Everyone’s feelings were very clear in the original books and the ambiguity that was left there encouraged investment on the part of the reader.

I think that, rather than publish this as a separate collection, I would have liked to have seen these inserted into the original books and then released those as special editions or something (now with new points of view!). It’s been so long since I read them that understanding the context of these separate stories made me want to re-read the duology, so might as well just put these in there.

What’s the verdict?

4 stars on Goodreads – gorgeous writing, amazing storytelling, I just wish it had been a part of the originals. Just feels a little late is all. If you haven’t already read the other two books and are planning to pick them up, get this one too. You’re gonna want it.

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