Heart of the Sun Warrior: A Novel (Celestial Kingdom, 2)

Heart of the Sun Warrior is the thrilling conclusion to the duology, rarely boring and the only reason I had to put it down was because of how long the chapters are. The characters are well developed and almost every important one appeared in the first book. The descriptions are in-depth, magical and immersive, making it easy to get lost in the world. The romance is messy and feels realistic; Xingyin’s heart has been broken but that doesn’t mean she’s stopped loving either of the love interests, even after everything one of them did to her. Unfortunately, it turns into more of a love triangle and starts to take over the plot.

Then there’s the end. At first glance it was heartbreaking but fitting; the impossible choice Xingyin was forced to face is cruelly solved, Liwei will wait for her forever if he has to and she begins to heal. But then Xingyin can’t let go of her love and move on and someone is brought back to life. Maybe why I didn’t like this end is because it played on quite a few tropes I hate. It’s an end where I would rather it be different, yet it still works and wraps up both the duology and Xingyin’s story.