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!