Today’s review is about THE BONE SHARD DAUGHTER by Andrea Stewart. It’s the first book in the The Drowning Empire trilogy.
Author: Andrea Stewart
Series: The Drowning Empire, #1
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Orbit
Publish Date: September 08, 2020
Print Length: 448
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The Bone Shard Daughter Synopsis
Synopsis
The Bone Shard Daughter is an unmissable debut from a major new voice in epic fantasy — a stunning tale of magic, mystery, and revolution in which the former heir to the emperor will fight to reclaim her power and her place on the throne.
The emperor’s reign has lasted for decades, his mastery of bone shard magic powering the animal-like constructs that maintain law and order. But now his rule is failing, and revolution is sweeping across the Empire’s many islands.
Lin is the emperor’s daughter and spends her days trapped in a palace of locked doors and dark secrets. When her father refuses to recognize her as heir to the throne, she vows to prove her worth by mastering the forbidden art of bone shard magic.
Yet such power carries a great cost, and when the revolution reaches the gates of the palace, Lin must decide how far she is willing to go to claim her birthright – and save her people.
The Bone Shard Daughter Review
I saw a lot of praise about Andrea Stewart’s The Bone Shard Daughter by fellow book reviewers. So, I was excited when it finally arrived on hold at the library. I loved the intrigue of the first line of the book. Stewarts writes with just enough detail in the early chapters to paint a picture and build the reader’s curiosity. I admit I was a little confused at first while reading the first chapter about Lin. What is bone shard magic? What’s a construct? But keep reading and I promise you’ll find out.
Generally I prefer a single point of view narrative. But books like The Bone Shard Daughter make me change my mind. I enjoyed reading about each of these character’s stories, particularly Jovis’s. I’ll be honest: I think I enjoyed reading about Jovis the most because of the entangled storyline he has with Mephi, the strange creature Jovis rescued from the sea. (This isn’t a spoiler–the rescue occurs in the first couple segments of the book.) Who doesn’t like a cute, albeit unknown, animal with a pleasant and helpful disposition?
My only critique is that I found Phalue’s storyline to be a little slow. I found myself frustrated with Phalue’s closed-mindedness when Ranami repeatedly tries to explain her political beliefs.
However, another thing I enjoyed about this story is the concept of rotating islands. From what I gathered, the islands rotate based off of some seasonal schedule and also have rainy and dry seasons. In order to sail to another island, one must take into account the time of year to plot the correct direction. This concept is unique to me and I thought it was brilliant.
I also feel that Stewart did a great job leaving breadcrumbs that carry the reader to the big reveal. Admittedly, I did correctly guess at one of the plot reveals, but I was definitely surprised by the others. Suffice it to say, I’m looking forward to the second book in the series, The Bone Shard Emperor, which comes out on November 9, 2021 in the U.S.
Rating: 4
Content warnings: fighting, death
Reading format: Library hardback
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