Heart of the Sun Warrior

I'm appalled at myself that I waited so long to read this sequel despite having an arc and absolutely adoring Daughter of the Moon Goddess. But what can I say, I fell into a bad slump around the time of the release of this book last year and I'm just trying to get back on track recently. I'm just glad I finally got around to it and it was everything I expected it to be and more.

The writing in this book is ofcourse stunning but that's not new. The author wowed me with her talent in her debut and I can say she has only improved. Every line is gorgeous, the descriptions are a feast for the imagination, and the way she manages to capture every single emotion with so much depth is just stunning. More than just reading, I can say that I felt this book. There's just so much pain and turmoil and sadness permeating the story this time, with some sweet moments in between, that I was completely swept away in those sad currents. And ofcourse having someone like Natalie Naudus narrate the audiobook helps immensely because she makes any book even better with her voice.

What I can say about the characters which I haven't already said in the first book's review. Xingyin, Liwei and Wenzhi are my favorite trio now and I just loved every charged moment between them. Xingyin goes through so much in this book and it was heartbreaking to see her having to make life altering decisions all the time for the purpose of saving her world, even though the world has never shown that compassion towards her.

Liwei has always been a sweetheart and even when things go bad, he is ever faithful in Xingyin's capabilities and their love. Wenzhi on the other hand has a lot to make up for after his betrayal but the change in his character is definitely one of the best parts of this duology and every interaction between him and Xingyin was fraught with deep emotion and conflict, which made for excellent reading.

We also get more development of a new villain, some unexpected heart wrenching troubles, and new characters who made the proceedings even better with their presence - but I don't wanna give out those details. All I can say is that all characters play important and well written roles in getting the story to its conclusion which left me a sobbing mess, but it's our trio who will leave a lasting impression on any reader. The yearning that Xingyin feels, the love and companionship that she desires, and the love she feels for both makes for a very emotional love triangle, leading to a finale which I absolutely did not see coming.

In the end, all I feel is that I haven't written a good review because this book deserves more. It's a stunning, heartbreaking but immensely satisfying conclusion to one of my all time favorite duologies, and if you are someone who loves either YA fantasies or cdramas and haven't checked these books yet, you are absolutely missing out. Also, if you like the audiobook format, you can never go wrong with picking up one narrated by the spectacular Natalie Naudus. Now that it's over, I can only eagerly wait to see what the author writes next.