What a debut! This definitely took me by surprise! To be honest, the cover is what draw me to this book the most and the synopsis sounded interesting enough for me to give it a chance. I expected it to be a generic fantasy with overused same tropes as lot of fantasy books have, but boy was I wrong! I loved it so much. It’s not the new favorite book, but it’s pretty awesome and I can’t wait to see what Andrea does next.

The story is told through a few POV, five to be precise. Firstly we have Lin, an emperor’s daughter that lost all of her memories that she’s trying to get back in order to inherit the throne while also trying to learn the skill of making bone constructs. Then there’s Jovis, a smuggler with the cutest (at least in my head) animal companion called Mephi, who is in search of his long lost wife. The other three POVs are of Phalue, the daughter of one of the island's governors, her girlfriend Ranami and a mysterious woman called Sand.

Everything is set in a very imaginative world divided into small traveling islands. The worldbuilding is very well done, it’s not done in a way that is too confusing and just a bunch of info dumping, but on the other hand it’s not simple and boring. I think you get just the right amount of information for a first book in a series, it’s not overwhelming or confusing, but it still leaves you wanting to know more. As I said in the beginning, if this is Andrea’s first book, I’m so excited to see what she does in the future.

When I started reading the book, I expected to connect and feel for Lin the most, but surprisingly that was Jovis. Maybe it’s because his parts in the book are the longest or maybe it’s because of his companion Mephi and their bond, but I couldn’t wait to get back to his POV. He has great character growth and the most interesting storyline.

Even in spite of some pacing issues and lack of connection to the characters (I don’t think one out of five characters is enough), I still enjoyed this book immensely. I haven’t been invested so much in a book for a long time! And I also haven’t been so excited for a sequel in ages! I just can’t wait for The Bone Shard Emperor!

disclaimer: I received this free from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

rep: 2 sapphic m/c's, f/f romance, east-asian coded characters

content warnings: violence and death

The Bone Shard Daughter is an epic fantasy, slow-paced but compelling, with a slow-burn mystery, plenty of magic, a cute animal companion, and a brewing rebellion.

The Bone Shard Daughter follows numerous different character from their perspectives. We have Lin, who is heir to the empire. She feels as though her father doesn't think her worthy enough to learn what they call 'bone-shard magic', magic that uses shards of bones from the empire's people to create constructs - animal-like creatures with orders given using magic on the bones within them. Tired of waiting, she sets out to learn these secrets on her own. Then we have Jovis, a smuggler, who is searching for his missing wife taken from him years ago. He searches the endless sea looking for a ship with blue sails. He's soon dragged into something bigger - a sinking island, a strange creature, and a resistance wanting to tear down the empire. Then we have Phalue and her partner Ranami. Phalue is the daughter and heir to Nephilanu Island's governor. Phalue and Ranami clash repeatedly over their beliefs. Ranami believes that Phalue should do more to help the people of her island, rather than avoid it. When Phalue discovers that Ranami is conspiring with the Shardless Few to take down the empire, Phalue has to confront her privilege. Finally, we have Sand, lost on an island with forgotten memories.

I think one of the things I really loved about The Bone Shard Daughter was how all of these threads and separate storylines all come together.

The Bone Shard Daughter also features some really great worldbuilding and a really intriguing magic system using people's bones. I really enjoyed reading Lin discovering how to use this magic in secret, and using her father's creations for her own agenda, and the mystery surrounding this magic, and how it is being used. I enjoyed Phalue and Ranami's storyline, but I felt like this got pushed to the background a little bit which was a shame.

If you are looking for a magical fantasy with intricate worldbuilding, and a mystery brimming with secrets then The Bone Shard Daughter is a book for you.

Sadly this book did not work for me. I only read 50% before I DNFed it. Just the writing style and the changing POVs were not a good fit for me. I loved the ideas and the magic system but I had trouble with the execution

The Bone Shard Daughter might fool you with its generic YA sounding title, but there's nothing to worry about: at its heart you'll find a captivating tale of dark magic, power, oppression and rebellion. Usually when I'm busy with work I find it difficult to find time to read, leading me to read books in bits and pieces which usually reduces my enjoyment of the book. But even though I only read little chunks of it each time, I never felt disconnected from the characters. One of my favourite things about this book was not only the main characters, but also the side characters (shout out to Mephi. I love youuuu)

It took a long time for me to get into The Bone Shard Daughter, but when it all clicked into place for me, I devoured it.

<img src="https://i.ibb.co/2k43gzb/liked.png.png" width="235" height=“30 alt=“Things I Liked”/>
♥ Mephi. That’s it. I could write about Mephi all day because OH MY GOD, what an amazing little thing.
♥ The world and magic building were incredibly rich in this book. Considering the book is on the shorter end of adult fantasy, I didn’t expect it to be so detailed but it was really well done and very immersive. I had a great understanding of not only the magic but of the political structure and history of the world.
♥ The character development throughout the book was really impressive. Especially with Phalue and Lin, and I really enjoyed watching them come into their own as the story progressed.

<img src="https://i.ibb.co/P4Rx68J/disliked.png" width="235" height=“30 alt=“Things I Disliked”/>
♡ It took a long time for me to connect with any of the characters enough to care a ton about what was happening to them. It wasn’t until about the 50-60% mark that I became really invested in them. By the end, I was desperate for more so I’m sure I’ll be head over heels for the next book, but it was just a bit slow to start for me.
♡ I didn’t feel like this book had enough in the way of relationships. Not necessarily romantic relationships, but friendships and families, etc. We knew Jovis had parents and a brother, but there wasn’t much of a familiar connection to build the stakes, and though his entire objective was to get to the woman he loved, it was quite a forgettable thread of plot for me when the other things going on were more interesting. Lin’s connections with her family were quite weak, and there wasn’t enough of Phalue and Ranami together for me to really get to grips with their relationship.

<img src="https://i.ibb.co/Sy1V6Dq/Overall.png" width="235" height=“30 alt=“Overall Thoughts”/>
I think The Bone Shard Daughter is setting up for an incredible series, and I’m eager to continue, but book one didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I would absolutely still recommend this to anyone and everyone, as I expect we’re all in for a treat with The Bone Shard Emperor.

Content warnings: Blood, death, child death, animal death, bones, drowning, experimentation on humans and animals, murder, abuse, violence, overthrowing a government.

Daring characters, complicated friendships, a quest for justice, what more could you want. I loved this book, the story blew me away and eagerly await the next installment.

I'm very late with this review and it's a DNF one so I feel terrible.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this eARC.

Unfortunately, TBSD didn't work for me as a book. I got only about 120 pages into it before I realised that it really isn't for me.

I couldn't connect to the story or the characters. I couldn't even get a Hint of what the book is about and didn't know where either of the storylines were going.

It switches POVs way too often for me to have time to get invested in the characters' story let alone actually connect with them.

I really wanted to like this book but I just couldn't.

I read this book a while back, but thanks to my writing rut, I am just getting around to reviewing it.
The book is a quick read for its size. This came as a surprise and therefore beat other information about the story to the top of this review. The magic in the story was quite entertaining, as was the worldbuilding. I am a little apprehensive about what the 'witstone' is going to turn out to be. At this point, it is veering too close to another series that I read (the concept of wizardwood).
We have an empire in turmoil. It is too vast for humans to hold together, so the Emperor uses something called Bone Shard magic to create minions who do his bidding. We have multiple views, with three prominent people spearheading the narrative. The first being the titular Emperor's daughter, another is a daughter of a governor of another island, and finally, the last is a heroic smuggler who is actually more than he gives himself credit for. Intermittently we also have a sort-of unnamed woman on a remote island who is recovering memories, a lot of which comes to her by the end. This revelation was the most unexpected of the lot. I thought it would have gone a whole other way. It will be hard to tie up all the loose ends, and I look forward to seeing what the author does next.
The writing was straightforward and fast-paced, lending a simplistic quality to an otherwise complicated world.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience of this and other fantasy books of empires in peril.

It took me a while to get to The Bone Shard Daughter but I am so glad I persisted with this debut. The Bone Shard Daughter was excellent, a solid start to the Drowning Empire series.

For me, it was the world-building and magic system that Andrea has created that brought this book to life. The magic that powers the constructs comes from bone shards which are removed from the skulls of every citizen when they turn eight. This is done so that the Emperor can defend the Empire from the threat of the Alanga.

Except they haven't been seen for centuries and the people are sick of seeing their children die or their lives ended too soon. I love magic systems that have limits and consequences, and particularly watching Lin grapple with the consequences of using bone shard magic to achieve her goals made for great storytelling. Systems like this rather than magic systems that have zero consequences, tend to make for better stories and character growth I think.

The writing is slick and lyrical and pulled me in from the first page. The reason I have given The Bone Shard Daughter 4 stars rather than 5 is because I did struggle to get into the book. I kept putting it down reading something else and then making myself come back to it. However, by halfway I was enthralled and finally understood and found my place in this world. Overall a wonderful debut and I am looking forward to book two.

I've been looking forward to reading this novel because the concept was really intriguing. Despite it being a debut novel, I had rather high expectation which, unfortunately, weren't met.
Right at the beginning I was optimistic that I would love the book, but I quickly started having problems with the pacing of the story and the often changing point of views. I like books with multiple point of views, but here they proved to be difficult for me because they changed rather quickly and rather often without there being a connection between the POV's. That really made it hard to care for any of the characters. The only character I cared for by the end of the story was Jovis and his beast Mephi.
The pacing was also too slow for my liking. Especially the first half of the book was too slow for me, though during the second half the pace picked up which was more to my taste. The pace picking up was also probably the result of the POV's finally connecting. But until that happened, it was a little too late because I had grown rather bored of the book and just wanted it to be over.
The Bone Shard Daughter definitely has a very interesting and unique concept and I do believe that I might've liked it better if my expectations hadn't been so high. The ending of the novel was intriguing, and despite my low rating, I'm still interested in picking up the sequel when it comes out.

2.5 stars

It is actually hard to believe that The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart is her debut - Inspired by multiple Asian-cultures, the first book of the Drowning Empire trilogy reads like a seasoned, epic fantasy that features a vast and fascinating world, a well thought-out magic system - all of this headlined by well rounded interesting characters, whose motivations, flaws and inspirations drive the narrative forwards in fluent confident prose, that never takes the foot off the pedal.

The broad contours of the narrative in this first of a series goes like this: Lin Sukai is the heir to the The Phoenix Empire ruled by a reclusive Emperor, who unfortunately isn't willing to accept Lin as his successor until she proves herself worthy enough to take on the reins. Lin is obviously frustrated by this but more importantly, by the fact that she has no memory of her last four years before she woke up, supposedly from a coma recovering from a disease. And the Emperor sets her on a task to solve little puzzles, like a locked-room mystery. Except this time, the whole castle itself is the locked room, with its myriad locked rooms and underground lairs.

Then there is Jovis - the most successful smuggler on the seas of the empire, who is on a mission to find his missing wife, Emahla. She was kidnapped by this mysterious person who took her off on a boat with blue sails and he has been chasing that ghost forever now. But a chance opportunity to make money makes him rescue this child from being sacrificed as part of the "tithing festival" ( more on this, in just a little while!) and becomes the un-intended folk hero of songs, with a lot of parents around the set of islands coming forward with money to do similar acts. But Jovis is no-one's hero. But his greatest rescue act may not be the small children but this mysterious kitten-like creature he plucks off the sea, to save him. A 'pet' he names Mephi after one of the folk heroes.

While the main narrative is propelled forward by these two characters, there are quite a few other secondary characters who fill in the missing details about this drowning empire. There is Ranami, an idealist who longs to bring economic reforms to her countrymen and thinks the fastest way to get there is the help of this anarchist group of rebels known as the Shardless - a revolution is under way. But the sacrifices they all need to make is greater than what they have bargained for. And the most mysterious part of the story is the story of Sand - a lady on a far-off island whose memories have been "fogged" - and she knows she is a different person, tasked with something far greater than just picking off the mangoes on this island.

The best part about Bone Shard Daughter is the wondrous world building and of course the, pacing - that never flags even for a moment as we are taken on a headlong adventure set in these mysterious set of islands that are drowning one after the other. A world where the heft of a bloody history hangs heavy, there is the threat of long-dead creatures known as the Alanga returning back. While the Sukai emperors were the ones to have vanquished these creatures, the current emperor lives his life, hiding behind the tall walls of his own castle - content to rule with the help of his "constructs". What constructs, you say? Clever little creatures made up of different animal body parts, each serving a purpose - and the purpose "written" into it through little bone-shards inserted into them. This, I thought, was bloody genius.

The bone-shard magic is complicated, and only passed on from one generation of the rulers to the next. And this is what Lin is struggling to unravel. Another deft touch of genius from Andrea, as she takes us into the depths of what constitutes bone-shard magic as Lin struggles to uncover the workings. By setting off Lin's struggle to uncover the truth about herself and also her father, an Emperor whose secrets are hidden behind locked doors and in the complex workings of the constructs, Andrea shapes an interesting struggle. Jovis, with his own personal agenda that gets trumped up in the cause of something greater as his legend grows bigger than his dreams is also a very nuanced character. His relationship with Mephi - 'more-friend-than-pet' is one of the most refreshing aspects of the whole story and I just loved-loved Mephi.

The first book solves for the biggest conflict presented - namely Lin's focus on discovering herself and the secrets of this empire - on the brink of ruin and revolution but there are definitely more epic ground-shaking stuff to come. It's a great set up and I cannot wait to get back, to see where the journeys of Lin and the others are going to take them. A world inspired by multiple Asian cultures, wholly fascinating, rich and vibrant with lots more stories to come, the Drowning Empire definitely establishes Andrea as a brilliant new voice of epic fantasy to watch out for. Highly recommended, possibly the debut of the year for me and one of the best books I have read as well, this year.

A gorgeous fantasy world, one which I'm jealous I didnt write. Andrea Stewart's writing has a special edge to it that makes it feel just that little bit more exciting than many of the great fantasy series out there. I accompanied reading this with the audiobook and it is also brilliant!

I tried reading this one several times, however a book with more than two POVs has me confused and makes me lose interest.

It's been a while since I last picked it up and, sadly, I can't really remember what it was about. I'm sure it's an awesome book, but it's just not the book for me. I really wanted to love it because it both sounded and looked really good - such a gorgeous cover - but alas, it wasn't meant to be.

I voluntarily agreed to read a copy via Netgalley. My rating is 2.5 stars.

3.5 stars

Lin is the daughter of the ageing, reclusive Emperor who uses bone shard magic to create constructs (animal-like creatures) that he uses in the place of humans to maintain his rule.
Despite being the Emperor's daughter, she has to prove that she is worthy to be named his heir, but a childhood illness that resulted in Lin losing her memories keeps the Emperor from choosing her.
As islands begin to fall to revolution and the Emperor's hold slips, will Lin be able to claim her rightful place of heir?
How far is Lin willing to go to become Emperor?

I love a good fantasy book and the premise of The Bone Shard Daughter instantly caught my attention.
The book is told from the perspectives of five characters, but the main two are Lin, the Emperor's daughter, and Jovis, a smuggler-turned-reluctant-hero. There weren't any perspectives that I didn't enjoy, but I did find Lin and Jovis's chapters the most interesting. I really liked both Lin and Jovis and it was enjoyable to read how they coped in different situations.
My favourite character was Mephi, a kind of otter/cat-like creature who was so adorable.
The setting of the islands of the Empire was interesting and I thought it was unique that the islands migrated. The mystery of the Alanga, the previous rulers of the Empire, was very intriguing.
The bone shard magic was really intriguing and I enjoyed finding out more about it. The constructs were quite a horrifying concept, as were the festivals where people had shards of bone taken from their skulls.
There weren't any parts of the book that I didn't enjoy, but the last third or so was definitely my favourite bit. This was due to the plot coming together and the action starting to happen, and this was also the only part of the book where I started to feel gripped. There were some good twists, although I did guess one, but only a few chapters before it was revealed.
The writing style was easy to follow and I'm definitely interested in reading more books by the author.
I am very much looking forward to the sequel, which I will certainly be reading.

Overall, this was an enjoyable, unique read.

unfortunately this book wasn't for me. It was too slow and i just couldn't get invested in the story.

We started this Buddyread of the The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart in late December. All of us were really hyped for this book, and all of us were really underwhelmed by what we actually got. The book is marketed as an adult epic fantasy, which is simply the wrong stamp to put on it. We picked it up based on a twitter recommendation by a much loved author of us, and somehow we expected something glorious in the veins of Robin Hobb, Brandon Sanderson, or V.E. Schwab. Well, those expectations were disappointed for sure.

The magic system is incredibly mellow. So mellow, in fact, that it even breaks the few rules it sets itself. There are necromantic constructs defined by rules engraved into tiny boneshards that are contained within these constructs. The engraving idea is stolen straight out of Foundryside by the way. The constructs, the only barrier between the Island Empire and an ancient evil, can, of course, be outsmarted by anyone with half a brain. We nearly sprained our eyes while rolling them at that blunder.

The worldbuilding is full of holes, too. There are a ton of why’s, and they are not addressed at all. If you can swallow it all down, it might work for you. But what the fuck is Witstone? Not explained at all – personally, I figure it will be revealed in book II, but you get NO info whatsoever about this absolutely essential thing running the empire.

The above aside, it could all make an action-packed fantasy page-turner, except for two things: The multiple character PoV narration breaks up the action. Some of the characters feel forced, maybe they were added at a later editing point of the book. The thing that ruined my enjoyment though were the incredibly foreseeable plot twists. Seriously, not one “twist” was in any way something to gasp about. The biggest twist is literally spoiled in the title of the book. I always wonder if we read a different book from everyone else, because anyone who uses about 25% of their brain capacity would have seen everything that happened coming.

So… yeah. Disappointing. If you want a book where you don’t have to think, this could be for you, but for us it was the wrong decision. Can’t understand the hype at all.

I absolutely loved this book, it was just so good and honestly one of the best books I've read maybe ever! For a debut, this is just fantastic you would believe it was written by a seasoned author. I was completely blown away and its definitely a new favourite.

I really loved the multiple points of view and how each character really shone through with their personalities and motives. The plot was just amazing, I love how complex it was and how it all came together so well in the end! The bone shard magic was really interesting, it reminded me a lot of programming but with more consequences. The idea of constructs was a bit grotesque but it was really fascinating. The writing style was fantastic and flowed really well, the pacing was really good and I was hooked really quickly. The three major plot points blended into one effortlessly and the ending was jaw-dropping.

This is one of those books that just stuck for me, I know it will be one of those few books that I love and will recommend to anyone and everyone. I can't wait to see how the series progresses!

The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart

Paul's review highlights The Bone Shard Daughter as one of the most interesting debuts of 2020, and I can't help but agree: in a year with more big-name queer necromancy adventures than one might expect, Andrea Stewart's book stands out for its interesting character arcs and for being sheer good fun. Set in an archipelago empire where order is maintained against mysterious supernatural threat through the harvesting and use of "bone shards", a sliver of skull taken from citizens and called upon to power constructs when needed, Bone Shard Daughter opens, in true epic fantasy fashion, at a point where things are on the precipice of change. Entire islands are sinking, the emperor seems to be increasingly reliant on complex constructs and intricate schemes, and both the bone shard system (which kills a small number of youths at the point their shards are taken, and also leads to anyone whose shard is used in a magical way to become chronically ill and eventually die) and the overall social organisation of the empire are being questioned by forces of rebellion.

The Bone Shard Daughter sets up a deep, intriguing world and sets it in motion with a compelling, cast of characters, including an emperor's daughter trying to prove herself worthy of becoming an heir, a smuggler with a heart of gold who ends up becoming a folk hero after saving a child from a sinking island, and the complacent heir to a governorship who is drawn into the heart of a rebellion. Though some of these viewpoints move faster than others - I spent a long time waiting for Lin, the Emperor's daughter, to pick up the pace a bit in her sections, which revolve around her uncovering her father's secrets and prove her worth while trying to undermine his rule - but by the midpoint, The Bone Shard Daughter had me hooked on all of its twists and turns, even as some ended up more predictable than others. It can only help that many of these mysteries revolve around Mephi, a character who turns out to quite definitely not be a kitten but also to be an extremely cute furry addition to an already stacked cast.

There's a lot to be explored in further books: some central mysteries remain largely unsolved, and there's also deeper ethical questions about this world, and particularly the nature and sentience of constructs, which doesn't really get delved into here but have a lot of implications future volumes. As it is, though, The Bond Shard Daughter has shot very near the top of my best of 2020 list with its blend of adventure and smart characterisation and worldbuilding, and this is a series I will definitely be pressing into peoples' hands when it comes to awards voting in 2021.

The Bone Shard Daughter has been on my radar since it was acquired -- it's book that I just knew I'd love. I'm happy to say that it was worth the wait. The Bone Shard Daughter is easily one of the best books of the year.

Stewart is clearly a master of worldbuilding, despite this being her first published novel. The world of the book is lush, varied, and gorgeous. I really loved the different points of view that showed you different areas of the empire and the way different classes live.

Her characters are particularly fantastic as well. I had initially thought that we'd just follow Lin, the emperor's daughter and possible heir, but was delighted to see a larger cast. My favourites are, as I suspect many will agree, Jovis the reluctant hero and his animal companion Mephi (who steals the show).

I cannot wait to get my hands on book 2!

4.5 out of 5 stars

The Bone Shard Daughter was a strong start to a compelling fantasy series, and though it took a short while to get into, the way that the author wove together an intricate tapestry of plot strands meant that the last two thirds flew by. It's masterfully crafted in so many ways, and such an enjoyable book to read.

Lin and Jovis, the two principal narrators, were both very well developed and I found myself anticipating their next chapters. Lin is the daughter of the Emperor but she doesn't remember anything from before her illness, which I thought brought a lot to her character. We see a lot of growth from her as she learns more about bone shard magic and herself, and what it will be to be in power. Jovis felt like the opposite in that he didn't go searching for the things that made him into a protagonist, but the way he ended up as one made him a very compelling character to follow.

The main issue I have with The Bone Shard Daughter lies in the multiple perspectives. Towards the beginning, the perspectives shift back and forth between quite a few narrators, which meant that it was hard to keep track of things for several chapters. In the end the multiple perspectives did add to the book, as different elements of the plot were brought together to form a solid base, but initially it was definitely a bit of a barrier to being properly sucked into the book. The different characters and their relationships did end up contributing to the story, especially given the different roles they play in the plot, but it did feel quite like a properly dense epic fantasy at times.

The way Andrea Steward masterfully spins an immersive plot together was incredible, with so many moving pieces that fit together to create a story that feels so real and complex. There's a lot going on throughout the book, and it all shifts quite fast at times, but the immense feeling of satisfaction achieved when pieces start falling into place is so worth it. Everything happens for a purpose, and everything fits together so well. This large web can feel slightly unwieldy at times, but once the plot picks up and you start thinking of what could happen next and why it could happen, the book flies so fast.

The world building is rich and detailed and it's definitely something I'm hoping to see built on in the next book. The balance between fleshing out the magical system and the physical world building was excellent, and it was made more natural by the fact that different elements of the world were brought in by different POVs. Because each character had a different perspective of the world, there was greater nuance in the overall picture. The multifaceted appearance of this world is something that is really hard to achieve, but it was done really well and to a level that gave the book a lot of depth.

If you're looking to get stuck into an explosive, complex, juicy fantasy novel, The Bone Shard Daughter should definitely be on your radar. It puts the 'epic' in epic fantasy, and will keep you thinking on your feet as you get lost in the sprawling world.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. This review will be posted on my blog on December 12th 2020.