Tag: bone magic

Review: The Bone Shard War by Andrea Stewart

Anna and Alexis1 Comment
A stack of all three books in the Drowned Empire trilogy sit on a black bookshelf.

Alexis:

The Bone Shard Daughter, the first book in the Drowned Empire trilogy, is one of my favorite books. The magic system and world are really cool and interesting, and I love the characters, including a talking otter-like creature named Mephi.

I finally got around to reading the last book in the trilogy, The Bone Shard War. I tried reading it on my Kindle, but for thick fantasy books, I really need a physical copy.

To be honest, I struggled to get through the first half of this book. Well I actually liked the multiple POVs in the first two books, I felt like I was drowning in the different perspectives. Jovis and Lin are really the main two characters, and their chapters got a little lost in the middle of the other ones, especially Nisong’s, who I didn’t really care about.

I also thought this entire book would be a war. And while there technically was a war, there really weren’t that many battles. A lot of the chapters focused on traveling between places.

I also find myself frustrated by some of the character arcs. Well I did enjoy the second half of the book, and the ending wrapped up well, the character arc of Jovis, my favorite character, went backwards. But, as always, Stewarts’ worldbuilding and the magic system are still awesome, and there was yet another great reveal.

Regardless, I still love the series. I think if you only want to read the first book, you can. Each of the books in the trilogy has amazing plot twists and reveals, but if that doesn’t make you want to read it, Mephi definitely should!

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐/5 


Check out my review of The Bone Shard Daughter and The Bone Shard Emperor!

Review: The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart

Anna and Alexis1 Comment
Alexis holds a library copy of The Bone Shard Daughter in front of a fence and trees.

Alexis:

At first, I wasn’t sure this book would be for me. I was unaware that it has a total of five POVs, some in first person and some in third person, something I’m usually not a fan of. The writing style is slightly more “tell” rather than “show,” and the book takes a while to set up the scene for each character.

However, I found myself drawn into this story. All of the characters have very interesting backstories and motivations, and I found their stories engaging, and the world itself to be fascinating. While Jovis’ perspective was my favorite, as he seemed to have the most personality (and more page time than the other characters, besides Lin) I never found myself bored by any of the perspectives. 

While the pacing remains fairly slow throughout the book, I hardly noticed it, because there was such an atmosphere of mystery and suspense; there were so many mysterious things working in the background that I found myself endlessly curious about, and I kept wanting to know what was going to happen!

While I sometimes struggle with the accessibility and writing style of adult fantasy, I found this book to be a great segway from my usual YA fantasy. It was also nice to see a fellow twenty-something in a book, as Lin is twenty-three.

So here’s what you need to know before going into this book:

Lin, the Emperor’s Daughter, is trying her best to get her memories back after an illness. She’s also trying to figure out what her father, who can wield bone shards, is keeping from her. 

Jovis, the Empire’s best smuggler, is on a mission to find his long-ago kidnapped wife. He finds a mysterious little otter-like creature, Mephi, who becomes his sidekick, and who quickly became my favorite!

Phalue is the daughter of Nephilanu Island’s governor. She’s a fighter who’s trying to win the hand of her girlfriend. 

Ranami, Phalue’s girlfriend, is a woman with a heart of gold who’s doing her best to make a difference in the world. 

And finally, Sand is a woman stuck on a remote island, whose job is harvesting mangoes. But she doesn’t remember why she, or the other island inhabitants, are there, how she arrived, or who she really is.

The Bone Shard Daughter is one heck of a debut, filled with political intrigue, creatures created from bone shards called constructs, and a chilling yet thrilling ending filled with twists and turns.

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐