Extremely satisfying. Finally resolves the romance! This collection of short stories includes background stories and missing scenes. But most importantly, it provides a sweetly satisfying resolution for the Big Romance Questions that were not (entirely) resolved in the first two books. I mean, yes, at the end of the second book we got a very philosophically sound speech about looking forward to the future whatever it might bring. A+ for good life advice. I kinda liked that the end of the novel was not tied up a neat little bow like Heroine's life / adventures are over now. (Because they're not.) However, it is still very nice to see the big romantic finish. So I was glad that we got that, in this collection. If you liked the first two, read this. If you haven't read the first two, do NOT read this first. You'll ruin the ending for yourself. ( )

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

Tales of the Celestial Kingdom is a compilation of short stories set before, during, and after the first two books in the Celestial Kingdom series. Separated into three parts, Dusk – prequel, Twilight – expands relationships in first book, and Dawn – set after second book, the short stories re-imagine myths and are from different character point-of-views. As I've not read the series yet, I only read the Dusk prequel section to begin my journey into this world. I plan on coming back and updating this review as I read each section as I make my way through the series.

Dusk

He was a hero of the people, a legend of our realm...but for today, I just wanted him to be my husband.

If you have already read the first book in the series, Daughter of the Moon Goddess, you'll soon realize that this is the re-imaging of the Chinese myth the ten Sunbirds and is about the parents of Xingyin, the female lead character of DOTMG. Switching from both Chang'e and Houyi's povs, readers learn that the land is on fire and dying because all ten of the Sunbirds have decided to stay risen in the sky. Houyi is the Emperor's General and thus, taxed with getting the Sunbirds to set. Chang'e is pregnant and not wanting Houyi to leave her and possibly die.

Houyi was visited in a dream and given an amulet to protect himself but he still is leery of taking on the gods. We travel with him as he confronts the Sunbirds, who at first come off as unruly adolescents. Things don't quite go as Houyi wanted but the land is given reprieve and returns to one Sunbird that rises and falls. He returns home a hero and is gifted an elixir of immortality.

Months later we return to a Chang'e who's about to give birth a month early and all alone at the moment. Panicking she ends up taking the elixir, giving herself and her daughter immortality while leaving behind a betrayed look on his face Houyi, as she ascends to the heavens to be with the other immortals.

There were three illustrations that complimented the story and helped readers to visualize the world. For a story only around forty pages, the emotions, the love between Chang'e and Houyi, was intensely felt. I was drawn into this mythological world and after reading about Xingyin's origins, I can't wait to start her book. ( )

This is a compilation of short stories from before, during and after the Celestial Kingdom duology. I really enjoyed the duology and was interested to see more from this author. As always, the cover and illustrations are fantastic. I found that this collection of stories wasn't bad but it did not really add much to the original books.

The first few stories form a prequel to Daughter of the Moon Goddess by expanding on the Chinese mythology that formed the basis for the series. These were probably the strongest, featuring the parents of Xingyin. Other stories focused on different characters in various scenes from the books, often expanding on sequences from other points of view. The final story in this collection is an epilogue which was fine but I was satisfied with the ending of the book already so it felt unnecessary.

I would definitely not recommend reading this before the original two books as there is little explanation provided on who the characters are if you have no context. The stories were fine but I did not think they expanded on much that we did not already know. I look forward to future books from this author in a new setting.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager in exchange for honest feedback. ( )