The Bone Shard Daughter Drowning Empire #1 by Andrea Stewart
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Web ID: 12620241Run, Don't Walk, To Read This!
If you're looking for a multi-POV fantasy with an unique (and tbh creepy) magic system, I highly suggest Andrea Stewart's THE BONE SHARD DAUGHTER. This engaging fantasy novel explores the idea of freewill and consists of an assorted cast of characters that help creature a fuller picture of the plot. THE BONE SHARD DAUGTHER has a steady pace and deep intrigue. I immediately picked up the second book, The Bone Shard Emperor. Also, the character of Jovis is giving Flynn Rider from Tangled vibes lol.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
A gripping blend of sci-fi/fantasy from the 1st pg
I really enjoyed this read. It’s a blend of sci-fi and fantasy that gripped me from the beginning. I’m giving this one 5 stars - I could not put this one down and the different POVs throughout this world kept me turning the pages - ending on one cliffhanger after another, with mysteries slowly being revealed. In this world, Lin, the daughter of the Emperor is struggling to obtain her father’s approval and competes for his affection. The bone shard magic is a closely held secret that the Emperor has refused to teach her. We also follow Jovis, a wanted smuggler traveling the seas to find his missing wife, and other characters throughout this realm. Full of twists, turns, and whisperings of an even older magic this is a gripping story of love, lies, betrayal, cruelty and the lengths we go to for power and our own agendas. Bonus - There is also the cutest animal companion that you will fall in love with!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Perfect for Older YA and Adult SFF readers
The Bone Shard Daughter is a page-turning multi-POV fantasy read perfect for YA, adult, and sci-fi readers. It has gods, necromancy/android elements, and cute companion creatures. This book has been on my TBR for a while, and I regret that. It has the same addictive qualities as some big-name SFF books, like The Daevabad and The Poppy War series. But going in, I was a little skeptical. The first few chapters were a bit dry, since they're trying to establish the world and characters. But by the end of chapter three, I was hooked. I guess world-shattering fictional disasters will do that for me. Weird. The Bone Shard Daughter has five POVs, but really two main characters. Lin is the emperor's daughter who's jealous of her father's ward and how her father is teaching him the art of creating constructs (basically using people's life sources to animate dead animals, so very sci-fi but in a fantasy way). Jovis, the second major character, is a smuggler. His POV was my favorite. He's kind of like Aladdin with Abu, but on a mission. Both main characters' narration is in first-person, whereas the other three characters are in third-person. Phalue, a warrior and governor's daughter, reminds me of Brienne of Tarth; and her partner Ranami, another POV character, is trying to persuade Phalue to step up and stop the injustices her father allows. As for the final character, well, that's a secret. But honestly, I don't think I had a least-favorite POV. The characters were very well-written and their secrets were interesting to discover. As for the plot of the book, all of the characters have their own stories going and it's hard to see how they may connect, but the author gets there eventually. Obviously there's rebellion ensuing, and that always brings a team of unlikely "heroes" together at some point. I did figure out Lin's secrets and storyline a little bit earlier than some of the others' though. However, her chapters were a little wilder than I expected. There were some twists I didn't see coming. And for one particular creature, well, I'd give him the world. He deserves it, and the author put him through too much. Because of all the twists and turns for the two major characters, I read most of this book in less than two days. The ending went by rather fast, and while it wasn't super rushed, I feel like it could've taken a little time to recuperate with a couple of the characters. I think the last few chapters could've been doubled to make the pacing more realistic. It's not a major thing, since I still definitely plan on picking up book two very soon, it was just something I noticed as the book was winding down. All in all, I think this story is perfect for adult SFF fans of the two series mentioned earlier as well as YA fans of Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes and Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao. It's a great crossover book with the potential to be a really great series. 4 stara *Note: I received a copy of this book from a friend. This in no way affected my opinion/review.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Grotesque Magic and Plot Twists Galore
I bought this book about a year ago and put off reading it and I wish I hadn't! The plot and characters were lush and every changing. Every plot twist caught me off guard and had me running to the other room to tell my friend about it! I absolutely can't wait for the next one to come out
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
A Fun Adult Fantasy
“I was Lin. I was the Emperor’s daughter. And I would show him that even broken daughters could wield power.” This was just a super fun story and exactly what I think a lot of people are looking for in adult fantasy. The most fun part of this world is the magic system. It uses bone and certain people are able to use bone shard magic to create these creatures who they can make follow their every command. I am a sucker for a cool magic system and that’s exactly what this book has. The author did a good job of breaking it down and explaining how it works. You don’t get all the details upfront. As the story progresses more and more things about the magic are revealed. Now Lin is the main character and I really liked her. She is a protagonist who is very easy to root for, which is something I know a lot of readers need. Her father is essentially keeping her locked away and she hates it. She is so smart and very determined. Her strength is her mind and her ability to solve complex puzzles and problems, which is becoming one of my favorite types of female protagonists. She is not the only character we follow though, this is a multi POV book. “I didn’t live in a palace. I lived in a dollhouse of my father’s making, a living graveyard.” Jovis is one of those other characters. I adored him. He is a smuggler and he is on a mission finding someone who he was close to that was kidnapped. He is traveling all over the empire to do this, so in his chapters, you see a lot of the world. He is also mixed and he is still dealing with some of the trauma he experienced in school because he was different. Honestly though, the best part of his chapters were Mephi, his mysterious pet. We then have Phalue and her lover Ranami. Phalue is the governor’s daughter and she is dating Ranami, who wants to see the governor and his wicked policies go down, so that is a huge problem in their relationship. In fact as the story progresses, you see how different they are and it’s questionable whether they can make it because of those huge differences. While I liked Ranami for the most part and I understood where she was coming from, there were times she annoyed me because I felt like she was a little selfish. At times, she seemed to not understand why Phalue would have conflicting feelings about taking down the governor, who is also her father. But their love was sweet and I like seeing them together. “I would drink a thousand lies just to see your face again.” The last main character is Sand. Sand’s story was strange because I had no idea of who she was and what was going on with her. However, by the end, everything clicked into place and you see the importance of her character and what’s happening. I kind of wish we got more time with her because she was the character I connected with the least just because you don’t see much of her until the end. I love some politics and this book had a good amount. I kind of wish there was a little more, but with a rebellion possibly on the horizon, that may be something we get more of in book two. There were a lot of good twists and turns at the end that set up some interesting things that I can’t wait to see play out as the series progresses. I think this is a great book for people looking to transition from YA fantasy to Adult or even someone just looking for a good time.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com