“We crossed winding corridors and large pleasure gardens, golden pavilions and lotus filled ponds before emerging in a courtyard teeming with immortals.” An enchanted Chinese story with embroidered dragons, peonies and lotus’s on rich silk or brocade robes surrounded by vermillion walls, gold pavilions filled with magic and peachy sweet love.

As daughter of the moon goddess, Xingyin, is raised in solitude. She’s her hidden secret as Chang’e fears for her daughters life if she will be discovered by the emperor. The one who condemned her for imprisonment on the moon after stealing the elixer of mortality from her love Hiouyi. But when Xingyin gets older her powers grow stronger and thus it’s unsafe to stay any longer. She flees the moon as her mother is forced to stay. Xingyin makes a solemn promise: she will free her mother by any means necessary.

What a wonderful book. It is such a lush and vivid story. It felt like I stepped out of my world into a Wuxia movie. I could envision every detail, every stich on each magnificent robe. I could taste all the delicious steaming buns, I could experience the warming love and could feel the sting of betrayal. Reading this book felt like flying through it on a cloud from one intimate moment to an action packed chapter with magical creatures. I loved every bit of it. The only downside for me was the ending. It swung from one side to the next and it did feel a bit rushed. Despite that minor detail, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves magic, love stories, magical creatures and Chinese mythology.