Content Warnings: violence, gore, body horror, murder

A big thank you to Kate @ Your Tita Kate for hosting this blog tour. I received an advanced e-copy of this book; this is no way impacts my opinions for this review.

I first heard of THE BONE SHARD DAUGHTER in April when the cover art and an excerpt was revealed, and it quickly became one of my most anticipated releases of 2020. When I saw that Kate was hosting a blog tour, I jumped at the opportunity to sign up at the chance of being chosen. I am so glad I am a part of this tour and that this book was so much more than I could have expected; such a satisfying read!

Told from five (5) perspectives, we see the beginnings of the story of an empire on its last tethers. Lin, a daughter desperate to prove herself and take claim her rights to the throne, Jovis, a smuggler searching for a lost love who gets roped into a situation bigger than himself, Phalue, a governor’s daughter who has to reckon with her place in history, Ramani, a young woman who wants to play her part in changing the empire, and Sand, an island worker who realises the world is far bigger than she could have ever imagined. What I really liked about THE BONE SHARD DAUGHTER is how, despite being a story of a failing empire, it also focuses on the smaller journeys of the characters within it (I’m a sucker for that sweet sweet character development). There was also so much more that I was not expecting – from feeling actual horror and disbelief to falling for the world’s best funky little sea furry. THE BONE SHARD DAUGHTER delivered on a tight story, interesting characters, touching moments, and left me haunted by the unknown of what is yet to come.

Andrea Stewart has a fairly interesting writing style: out of the five perspectives, two were told in first person, and the others in third. I thought this was cool, as it helped me distinguish the tones of voices between the different perspective characters, while also allowing a deeper sense of connection to the two bigger characters of the cast. The writing style was fluid, and at times absolutely bone chilling in the way that some of the more horrific things were described.

I really enjoyed the worldbuilding in THE BONE SHARD DAUGHTER. We have just barely scratched the surface of the world’s history and magic system and it’s already enticing. The world isn’t built from the bottom up, but rather we are dropped into a fully actualised world and soon see all of its cracks and failings, how easily it can break apart. The magic system is one in which bone shards are extracted from each citizen when they reach age 8, and these shards are used to power the emperor’s magical Constructs (amalgamations of various animal parts), siphoning the life force of those the shards belong to. What I love about this, a magic system that takes from the people it swears to protect, is that in any other context it would be considered seriously Dark Magic but, as we are told, it is the only thing protecting the citizens from the mysterious villains of the past.

The general plot is a story of a failing empire, with a dark history that enables those in power to keep the citizens in line due to fear. The abuse in power is clear by the class systems in place, and is amplified by having characters who come from different backgrounds. Ranami and Phalue are two of the POV characters who are in an established f/f relationship. Ranami grew up an orphan, and despite having a good job knows all too well the atrocities the poor in the empire face. Phalue, on the other hand, is the governor’s daughter. While she doesn’t indulge in excess, a result of having a commoner mother, it is undeniable that she lives a life of comfort, and this privilege clouds her views on the power systems present between the noble class and the poor. Their storyline is focused on Ranami trying to get Phalue to confront her privilege and ignorance, and I thought it was so well done. We see this contrast again through Lin’s chapteres as she interacts with her city’s blacksmith. All the storylines in THE BONE SHARD DAUGHTER contribute to the bigger plot, however, even when characters’ paths cross, we do not see much interaction between them (outside of Phalue and Ranami) – I thought this was an interesting choice that worked out well as the story is never bogged down or made stagnant.

There is also a running theme of memory and fear throughout, and how much control those who know the history of the world, and themselves, have over the narrative. I won’t delve much more into this because I think it’s spoiler territory, but it was very interesting to see how far the theme ran throughout.

I loved the characters of this story. Jovis’ chapters were my favourite, mostly because of Mephi, his companion animal, and because I love a good disgruntled character who keeps straying from his path because he feels compelled to be better than he lets on. I wish we had more of Ramani and Phalue’s chapters but overall I thought their arc was just enough and left room for more in any upcoming books. Lin, who I would consider the main character of the story, also had some really great moments. I loved how ambitious she was, and yet also just longed for the acceptance and love of her father, the emperor. I thought all the characters were well-developed, and their interactions with others all felt fluid and genuine. I also really loved the supporting characters, who ranged from big gentle blacksmith, to revolutionary leader who I simply will not trust. There were no flat characters for me, which is something I am always keenly aware of, and this was definitely one of the book’s strongsuits.

Overall, this book was an intensely enjoyable journey. It does have a slow build, but with such incredible payoff: the final chapters were so so good. It wrapped up so nicely for a first book but I KNOW that shit is about to kick off and I for one am EXCITED! The book had darker tones than I was expecting but it delivered them so well!! I don’t want to get too much into any one aspect because I think the journey of noticing all the small details and watching pieces fall into place adds to the experience, but yes, I strongly recommend this book.

With dark magic, lovers radicalising lovers, Mephi the best boy to ever grace Fantasy, and determined young princesses, the story of the THE DROWNING EMPIRE is only just beginning. I thoroughly enjoyed THE BONE SHARD DAUGHTER and am anxiously waiting for the days where we can continue this story and see more this world has to offer (and boy, does it have a lot).

Looking for a magnificent epic fantasy with a strong female protagonist? This is the book for you. An edge of your seat reading that will leave you breathless which obviously makes it a must read. Not to be missed. Thrown in the plot that flows seamlessly and you have a winner. Happy reading!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity on approving this amazing first book of the series. I am in love with the characters through and through. Amazing narrative by the author all through out the story. There are no time in the book that you feel you have to stop reading instead you keep reading and reading until you know what happens next either to the story or the characters. It has the feel of Mulan-esque in the beginning of the story but it changes dramatically into something you don't expect. The story is a very fast pace and has a multiple POV, With that said even with multiple POV, it doesn't feel like confusing or you'll get lost after a few pages after you read a couple of the character's journey. The narrative stays where it should be following each and every characters adventure. I can't wait for the next book/s in the series and I will give this a five star rating. Can't wait for Jovis and Lin's adventure and where they are headed next.

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for the ARC.
Actual rating: 4.5

This book was so good. I literally devoured it in a day. I thought with the multi point of view chapters I was going to have a rough time following along but I was actually so into the story that I hardly noticed.

The magical system is so unique. The constructs were super weird but also very interesting. The characters were enjoyable. I didn't have any issues with their development. This was overall a really good book and I cannot wait to see what the sequel brings! I need more of little Mephi!

The Bone Shards Daughter has a super unique magic system. The Emperor collect bones shards from every citizen at a certain age. With those shards he can carve specific instruction on them and place them into different animal bodies that he has sewen together. They are called constructs and are the emperors spies.
Lin is the emperors daughter. She is trying to learn the bone shard magic to prove to her father that she is a worthy heir to the throne. She has so sneak around learn things on her own.
Jovis is a smuggler. He is on a mission to find the woman he loves. Somehow he gets roped into saving a boy from the bone harvesting festival. He ends up with the child, and a small animal that looks kind of like an otter but its the size of a kitten. He is called Malphy and I cant tell you how much I want one of whatever he is to be my sidekick...
We follow 3 other perspectives Phalue and Ranami, they are a couple. Phalue is the governors daughter and Ranami is an orphan who wants to change the world. Sand lives on an island with others and non of them seems to have any memories except of collecting different food items everyday until one day Shade falls out of a tree and starts to remember random things.
At first I did have some trouble with all the different characters. However after a bit it didn't bother me at all and was a very smooth transition. All of the different characters had unique voices and while all the different chapters were labeled with the character names. I didn't have any trouble telling them apart.
.
Lin and Jovis were my favorite characters, I think they were the ones that showed the most growth as the book went on. They both proved that they were more that what others thought they could be.. and Malphy was honestly the coolest little dude..
With the way things play out and the twists that we learned about towards the end I definitely will be checking out what comes next.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this ARC.. All opinions are my own.

The Bone Shard Daughter // by Andrea Stewart

Pub Day: September 08, 2020

Publisher: Orbit Books

Synopsis:

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.

My Thoughts:

I have a lot of thoughts about this book but as it happens often with these kinds of books that are making me think a lot, I struggle to put those thoughts down in writing. First off though I want to say that this is a fantastic fantasy debut novel! While there are some things I would have liked to have differently, overall Andrea Stewart is off to a great start in this genre!

I am a big fan of multiple point of views, especially with first person narration, because it gives you insights and details you would not otherwise get. While at first, I felt like there were too many narrators in this book and I kept having to re-orient myself to each new location and thought pattern, eventually it started to make a lot more sense. Once you realize that each person really does bring their own unique and important story to this book and you start connecting the different pieces, you get excited to see what happens next for each one of them. It turned out that she chose just the right amount of narrators to keep you updated on each part of her world and story.

While I enjoyed reading all of the characters, I did love Lin the most. She was just such an interesting person to follow, which is not surprising though since that is where you learn most of the things about bone shard magic. You could really see the transformation in her as she was learning more about the magic herself and as she learned more about her father, the emperor. While it sometimes felt like she was learning the magic too quickly like it was not very difficult, I wonder if maybe the passage of time was not as obvious as it could have been. That’s a rather small downside though. Maybe it also was not as obvious how much she knew previous to the start of the novel. I love how throughout the book, she starts to realize the consequences of the magic she wields but that she still is not this perfect character that the chooses to give it all up. You get to watch her way the pros and cons, and then sometimes take the darker path instead because she believes that to be a necessary means to an end. Despite her inner ethical struggles though, she comes across as a very strong person with confidence and conviction. She knows her place and knows what she deserves and acts accordingly. She also has a great sense of humor sprinkled in every once in a while.

One aspect that I really enjoyed was that I had certain suspicions about the plot and motivations of certain characters soon after I started reading. Generally that is not a good thing obviously because you don’t want to already know everything that happens in a book. What is the point of reading it then? But Stewart writes in a way that does not actually give too much away and ruins the suspense for you. I found myself wanting to find out everything more quickly because I wanted to see if I was right. It was just as fun to see what I predicted correctly as finding out when I was wrong when she threw in some really unexpected twists.

Something that stood out by not standing out is that there were gay and lesbian couples everywhere but it was not something that was specifically pointed out. This is a society where this is just as normal as straight couples, whether it’s the lower class, middle class, or ruling people. Not once did I notice a negative comment about this or anybody even talking about it at all in the book. Wouldn’t it be nice if real life was that way too? There also was no stigma to women as leaders, which was refreshing as well. Male and female characters were represented equally as rulers, heirs, and in professions that in our society are generally male-dominated.

I was impressed by the the way she included PTSD in her story. While she never actually said the words out loud or described its symptoms, the way Jovis remembered a tragic event in this book clearly is that. You can tell how it throws him off balance sometimes when he remembers it but it does not consume his life either.

Speaking of Jovis, maybe I need to take back that my favorite character was Lin. Because Jovis’ little buddy, Mephy, is actually the real favorite character of probably every reader. I wish we had an image of what Mephy looks like so we can all picture ourselves more easily with that adorable little familiar. I have not read a book in a while that includes a character like Mephy and I really loved that part of the book.

The Bone Shard Daughter is Stewart’s debut novel and I do think that is obvious in some aspects. While overall, she did a fantastic job coming up with a new magical system that I was not familiar with yet, I would have loved to see more character development as well as more world building. One of my favorite things about starting a new fantasy series is learning about an entirely new world and there was a lot of room where Stewart could have added in more detail about hers. This is one of the reasons I love books like Paolini’s To Sleep in a Sea of Stars or Rothfuss’ The Name of the Wind. There is not much doubt about what their worlds look like because they put so much effort into the details. Stewart is off to a great start though and I admire this debut novel a lot. I can see her doing big things with the future installations in this series if she puts her focus on some of these details a little more. She has a great mind for plot and interesting characters so I know she has the talent for this. I am really looking forward to the next book and will be reading it as soon as it hits the shelves (or NetGalley if I am lucky enough to receive an ARC again). This is definitely one of my favorite reads this year!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I am looking forward to following Andrea Stewart as she comes out with other interesting and beautiful works in the future.

Daughter has been one of my most anticipated debuts of the year and I'm so excited! I've come across too many books that have been hyped up (or that I've been hyped for) that have been tremendous let downs. This however...has such awesome characters, the world is awesome, the magic is awesome, and may I just say I love animal companions?

The synopsis introduces us to Lin, daughter of the Emperor, who is secretly learning her father’s bone shard magic. She competes with Bayan (a boy her father has fostered) to earn his favor, but it seems that Bayan is winning for he is being instructed in the bone shard magic while she is endlessly quizzed about her memory. Lin begins to sneak about and steal keys to enter forbidden areas of the palace while trying to avoid the spy constructs her father has created.

Another main POV is Jovis, a smuggler, who is just trying to outrun this world’s equivalent of the mafia and find his wife who went missing seven years ago. He’s chasing down a little boat with blue sails that was seen sailing away after she went missing. During his journeys he begins helping children escape the ceremony where shards of their skulls are taken for the emperor’s collection and he becomes a bit of a hero to the people. He also picks up Mephi, a weird little creature that reminded me of a magical mink or otter when described. Mephi quickly became one of my favorite parts of this book. I just LOVE animal companions! 

There’s also Phalue, who is the daughter to the governor of one of the islands. Phalue’s lover Ranami is mixed up with the resistance soon Phalue is too. Well, not that soon because it takes quite a bit of convincing and effort for Phalue to come around to the idea. Phalue took awhile to grow on me as she isn’t as immediately likable as Jovis and Lin but I ended up liking her fairly well. 

Lastly, there’s Sand, who is a bit of a mystery. She’s on an island with a group of others who cannot remember ever living anywhere else. They have certain tasks they complete and sort of mindlessly go about their lives… until Sand falls out of a tree and begins to question everything.

The characters are the biggest part of what makes The Bone Shard Daughter a delight to read, but the world building is pretty fantastic as well. The magic is way cool and well thought out, the islands seem to move about the sea and the weather changes between dry and wet years. One of the islands also sinks into the sea pretty early on, which is kind of terrifying and makes you wonder what could be in store for later books. There’s also some mysterious beings that the Emperor is supposedly protecting his people from by using his life draining bone magic.On top of all this, the rebels are trying to find ways to destabilize the island governors and the emperor.

If all of this somehow doesn’t totally sell this book to you, I guess nothing will. It’s absolutely fantastic and I was honestly a little skeptical prior to starting it. I thought it would be like so many other things I’ve read this year (and in previous years) but it has memorable content and characters. This really, truly deserves the sense of hype and anticipation it’s gotten leading up to it’s release this week! I’ll be eagerly awaiting the next book in the series because, WOW THAT ENDING!!!!

An aging emperor must choose an heir while he still can: his daughter or his foster son, both of which have lost their memories as a result of some vague illness. Only one of these individuals will become emperor and learn the secrets of bone shard magic.

The Bone Shard Daughter flips between five different narratives. The aforementioned Lin fights to regain her memories in the hopes of ascending to the throne. A man sails all over the empire in search of his wife. The daughter of a governor is forced to decide between her lover and the status quo. And an entire island of people suddenly awaken from a stupor and begin to question where they are and how they got there. They each have their own story arcs, and despite the fantasy setting, have surprisingly relatable human experiences.

Most fascinating of all is the eponymous bone shard magic, which seems similar to a modern-day programming language. Practitioners of this dark art etch commands onto bone shards and embed them in constructs (entities made of Frankensteined animal parts). The commands are simple, things like "go here," and "tell this person what you see." But just like HTML or Actionscript, skilled users can string many commands together to create brilliant, nuanced programs.

Unfortunately, another thing bone shard magic shares with a real programming language is that writing faulty or buggy code can have horrifying consequences. Keep a nightlight handy.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, but I liked The Bone Shard Daughter so much that I still pre-ordered a physical copy at my local bookstore, just so I can put it on my shelf. I can't think of a higher recommendation than that. This is a good one, and you should definitely read it.

The Bone Shard Daughter is such a unique and intriguing start to a new fantasy series. And it managed to get me out of my reading slump with physical books.
This was one of the new releases this year that I just knew I would love. And I was not mistaken! I mean, the synopsis sounds already incredible, the emperors daughter determined and desperate to learn the magic her father refuses to teach her to save the empire.
But that’s not all! The Bone Shard Daughter is written with multiple POV, two written in first person and 3 others in third person. You’d think that would be jarring, but it all flowed together seamlessly. They are all very unique in tone and it’s easy to keep them all seperate.

The magic system and the world building in general are masterfully done. I loved exploring this world alongside the different characters, loved how each of them showed me a unique view of the people around them, lived in a different part of the empire.

The magic in this world works through bone shards. And every tithing ceremony the children of the empire have to give a bone shard to power the constructs, constructs that are dangerous and terrifying, but are needed to ward off the empires enemies. At least that’s what the emperor says.
But having your bone shard used can have some horrible consequences. I loved how dark and cruel this magic is, how it takes so much when used.

Through its main characters The Bone Shard Daughter explores themes of power and how far people are willing to go to obtain it. The side characters Phalue and Ranami we get to see corruption and revolution.

Characters

Lin

Only a few sentences in and I already fell in love with Lin. We immediately get to see her relationship with her father and why it’s so strained right now. She’s desperate and broken, but also so determined and I really liked her strong will and stubbornness. When no one wants to teach her what she needs to know, she’s just gonna do it herself.
I empathized so much with her, she’s alone and doesn’T even have the comfort of her past wit her memories all gone.

Jovis

Jovis is the second character we follow in first person. I was really surprised when he first appeared as the synopsis didn’t sound like it would be multiple POV, but he immediately charmed his way into my heart. He might even be my favourite character off them all. He, too, is very determined. He’s searching all over for his lost wife and runs into a lot of trouble on the way. It’s been 7 years since she disappeared but he can’t let go.
I adored the way he coped with it all.

And a definite bonus of his chapters is Mephi! You’ll know when you read it and all I say now is: awwwww!!

Phalue & Ranami

We get to see scenes from both their perspectives and it’s perfectly done. They both love each other dearly but come from very different lifes. Phalue is the governor’s daughter, and while she is not as corrupt as he is, she hasn’t lived through the struggles most other people on her island have. She believes still that with enough work and determination everyone can work their way up. Ranami on the other hand is a bookseller and she wants Phalue to understand why the system cannot continue this way. I really appreciated how she refuses to simply tell Phalue what to do and instead is trying to get her to truly understand. Their storyline is really interesting, to see how their relationship grows and changes, how they grow and change.

Sand

And lastly, we have Sand. I was intrigued with her the moment I read her first chapter. She is living on an island and starts to question why she is where she is and does what she does. I’m really curious so see where the story leads her in the coming books.

Recommended for:

Everyone! Everyone who is looking for an asian fantasy with a dark and unique magic system, great and complex characters on their own missions and with amazing character arcs and a magical animal companion (who can say no to that?!)

It’s not the most fast-paced fantasy but it’s rich in it’s descriptions and intrigues with well-written unique characters. Also, sapphic couple!

I really can’t wait to read more of this!

Rating: 9/10

An astonishingly gripping start to a grand, new epic fantasy series that clutches its mysteries right until the end, and still doesn’t relent it all; this is one reader who frantically tapped his kindle at the end of the book searching for more, finding nothing but the need to read on.

“The Emperor’s sworn duty – to protect us from their magic with his own – is looking more and more like we’ve set an old dog to guard a pair of unworn slippers.”

The Alanga, beings of immense magical power, are long gone – supposedly only held at bay by the Emperor, but their artifacts are coming alive, seemingly moving, while the Imperial Empire looses its faith in the Emperor and its belief that there is any threat left to guard them from; the entire book had me on the edge of my seat wondering if the old threat was relevant as Stewart weaved mystery and intrigue relating to the Alanga throughout. In all but one character’s story they are reference cleverly, sitting in the back of the story as a constant pressure, a thought in the back of the mind, while the rest of the story unfolded. This lore, this type of storytelling is what I love the most. The world feels incredibly lived in and that’s just what is happening around the main story-line.

Within this, we’ve got Lin, the Emperor’s daughter trying to earn her father’s favour, and with it the keys to rooms in the palace that will aide her in learning his Bone Shard magic; Jovis, a smuggler and his strange animal companion, on a mission to find his kidnapped wife and escape the Ioph Carn; Ranami and Phalue, lovers split by class who are both trying to make the Empire a better place and Sand, who doesn’t know who she is, why she is on the island, or what is keeping her there – a story that truy spans the known isles of the Empire, across the Endless Sea. From seafaring adventures, to palace intrigue and godly, inhuman magic, this has everything an epic fantasy fan needs and wants; a story of divided factions, of infighting death and murder, of magical beasts, seated in a wealth of history.

The plot seems to sail by; there’s not a dull page, each telling a story of its own which slowly weaves into one clear image where the different POVs get entangled in each other. Towards the end, I was hoping for some huge pay-off, some massive event that all the foreboding led me to, but instead we’re still left with hints, mystery. Stewart masterfully keeps some cards still close to her chest and rather than disappoint, I’m left with a yearning for the next book. Within the pages, she paints a picture with vivid, clean prose that forms pictures in the mind rather than a sum of words on the page. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this read, if you hadn’t already noticed, and it is with despair a heavy heart that I’m writing this so far away from the sequel.

I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book quickly hooks you with complex, imperfect characters, a unique magic system, and a rich, immersive world. There are five POV characters, who begin to interweave as the book progresses. The two main characters, Lin and Jovis, are written in the first person, and the three secondary characters, are written in the third person.

Lin, the Emperor's daughter, lives in a palace filled with locked doors and secrets. Grotesque, and sometimes adorable, constructs guard the palace, and fill a variety of roles across the Empire. She is entrenched in an endless rivalry against her foster brother, always disadvantaged because of the loss of her memories.

Jovis is a navigator turned smuggler with an endless dry wit. His optimism and luck constantly get him out of trouble as he searches the Endless Sea for his kidnapped wife. Wanted posters with a close likeness of his face pepper all of the ever-moving islands that make up the Empire. He tries his best to avoid do-gooding, but it always seems to find him.

This is always the clincher for me - this book is a page turner. The pace clipped along, and I found myself flipping faster and faster in the final chapters, which caught me unawares with multiple unforeseen plot twists. This novel is the kind you keep on your bookshelf for decades.

Bone Shard Daughter is told from the perspective of multiple characters, with the bulk of the story alternating between the emperor’s daughter Lin and smuggler Jovis. Having suffered from a sickness that erased her memories, the emperor is unwilling to give Lin the throne and has her compete against her foster brother instead. Lagging behind her foster brother in the competition, she takes things into her own hands to prove to her father she is the rightful heir. In a different part of the country, Jovis, a wanted smuggler, searches for his missing wife but his search is delayed when the people being asking him to smuggle their children away before bone shards can be taken. As Lin struggles to retain her title and Jovis tries to find his wife, rebel forces gather to overthrow the emperor.

The book immediately pulls the reader into its world and into Lin’s current problem—trying to convince her dad that she does remember things, at least enough to stay competitive against her foster brother. Multiple questions formed as soon as I began reading. What is shard magic? How does it work? What exactly is going on here? Why can’t Lin remember anything? Answers to these questions are slowly given in here and there, which frustrated me mostly because I wanted them right away but worked well to keep me moving forward. Even when the book ends, there will be many questions that remain unanswered along with new questions that arise, leaving readers aching for the next book—unfortunately that won’t be for a while.

Bone Shard Daughter adds novel elements to make the old new again. Stewart’s twist on creating creatures from parts is the bone shards that make up these constructs, particularly how they are collected and how the constructs receive their instructions. There isn’t very much information given about how these creatures are animated though. How does it work? Is it just magic or is something else powering them to give them life?

I loved that sex was not an issue to ascend the throne nor was one's gender viewed as a setback for occupations. Women were not set into the traditional gender roles here and are not seen as pawns to only garner alliances with other nations or families. Lin can become the emperor and it is unlikely that this would be called into question simply because she is a woman.

I did expect the book to be more about Lin and told from her point of view so I was a bit disappointed when there were multiple perspectives, five to be exact—Lin and Jovis in first person and the rest in third person. While I eventually settled into this structure, I still would have appreciated more insight into and through Lin. She is the more interesting character in all of this for me.

I liked the book a lot and thought it to be an excellent debut. The book touches on themes of class inequality and agency. The novel kept me engrossed and I am ready for the next installment.

The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea G Stewart, a debut adult fantasy. It’s the start of a new series from Orbit Books, one of the biggest publishers of SFF and I gotta say, I am impressed. There's huge anticipation for this not just because every early review that has come out for it have been glorifying, but the hype, the concept, the cover, even book boxes doing exclusive editions, we are all excited.

On a sea of fantasy books everywhere, this story still manages to feel kinda unique and not just another fantasy. The uniqueness I am talking about is a the magic system and it definitely gives me similar vibes to Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennet where in that book, you can insert magic so that objects have commands and can even speak. But the systematic changes here that Andrea makes is even cooler.
We have what are called constructs which are basically animals hodgepodged together so different animal parts sewn together to create these absurd creatures. It’s basically the emperors army, in fact even his council is made up of constructs. How does this work? Bone shard magic.

You quickly learn at the beginning the emperors entire existence seems to be about collecting bone shards from citizens actual skulls for these constructs. Oh yeah. it’s creepy as hell.

At a certain age, as a citizen of this empire, your forced to attend what is called a tithing festival where they remove a small shard from your skull, and eventually it may be used to power these constructs. Well when this happens, your life is drained from you. you could be perfectly healthy and maybe one day, your back starts to ache, you develop a small limp, you get a cold, and that’s a sign your shard is now being used and that’s just the sacrifice you have to make.

I do not want to get any more into the plot. I think what I’ve told you is enough information to peak your interest. It’s a story you need to learn, and discover yourself. A lot of this book is pretty sweet you know, the presentation, and certain scenes, and for the most part fairly reserved. There are good character moments.
The action and big set pieces only ramp up for when it’s really necessary and makes sense.

One perspective your just exploring a pretty castle, another perspective is being chased and theres life or death sequences. A third perspective is having relationship problems, the fourth is stranded on an island with no memory. So there are slower contemplative moments in the story and then you get those special holy crap, I am quaking moments. The skill with which the author brings the intersecting story lines to a resounding ending that was both healing and fraught with pain. It’s one hell of a feat especially with how mind bending the mystery actually is. The characters are infused with wit, spark, and depth, Andrea captures the nuances of their personalities, so that they unfold along with their gradually changing perspective. You just want them so badly to achieve what they set out to do. Is it easy to predict some of it. I personally did but that’s different from person to person. Even some of the biggest plot twists I easily saw coming but that could just mean the author perfectly managed to spread bread crumbs throughout the story to uncover.

Let’s talk environment. This entire story is very ocean side. Tropical everything. Mango trees, sandy beaches, lot’s of sailing in the ocean, seaside caves, a seal weasel companion one of our characters have. it’s very assassins creed black flag. There’s so many discoveries to make and it really feels like your on a bunch of side quests like an RPG. And with all those progression things, yes it’s a lot but it’s very manageable and smart and I like it. It really makes me like the multiple perspective, almost tropical world more especially because a lot of it is given kind of a chill out, ancient Asian vibe. There's an underlying mystery here when it comes to the stories culture and history and Andrea does a fantastic job distracting you from all of the pretty surface and showing you the true horror show underneath.

So the bone shard daughter, it’s a beautiful book, a pretty fun story line, some slower moments but eventually turn into great progression and a very nice explorable world for the characters to interact with for the reader.
It’s a satisfying fantasy

If you like lovable animal sidekicks, family secrets, and complex worlds and characters, this book is for you.
In an Empire made up of migrating islands and magically altered creatures called constructs that do the Empire's bidding, the Emperor's daughter Lin struggles with her identity and for her father's acceptance. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Empire, islands are sinking, rebellion is brewing, and a smuggler named Jovis is trying to find his wife that vanished without a trace 7 years ago, despite the many side quests that seem to be placed in his path.
This was one of the best fantasy books I have ever read, without any exaggeration. The beautiful writing, the complex world and characters, the seamless way the plot flowed, everything just came together so perfectly in this novel. I flew through this book in 2 days.
The prose is descriptive and captivating without being overly wordy, and you can taste the tension, heartbreak, and magic that drips from every page. I will say I'm not sure how I feel about two of the POVs being in first-person, and the two others being in third-person; the two in first-person are our main characters, so I guess I understand that we need more insight into their thoughts which is easier with a first-person perspective, but that stylistic choice does confuse me. Beyond that, however, the writing was flawless. The themes in the book and the author's intent were clear and complex, and for one of them even unexpected. Class disparities and trauma are big themes, but I enjoyed the smaller, more subtle exploration of free will and AI (AI might be the wrong word for it, but it's all I could think of. The constructs I previously mentioned are powered with bone shard magic, which is essentially magical coding on pieces of bone containing commands that are placed inside magically altered creatures, which reminded me of AI. The commands given to these creatures, and how they behave, opened doors for discussions of free will that I hope to see even further explored in the subsequent books.)
The characters were another strong suit. Jovis and his sidekick Mephi are absolute angels and I would go to the ends of the earth for them. Having an animal sidekick was something I thought I wouldn't enjoy, but Mephi was written in a positively charming way that wasn't cheesy or forced, and I grew to love him completely. Romances between the characters were also not at all the focus, aside from an established romance in one of the secondary POVs; personally, I'd rather see characters take shape and form an attachment to them before a love interest is introduced, so this was a refreshing reading experience.
The plot and pacing of this were also phenomenal. It felt like any book from the A Song of Ice and Fire series (don't get out your knives just yet!) in the sense that you get a bird's-eye view of the world and some key characters and are able to see the little threads linking everything for yourself. It feels expansive and personal all at once. And the intrigue is set up spectacularly; Stewart feeds you just enough crumbs to keep you guessing, just enough so that when you get to the end of one chapter, you tell yourself "just one more."
I also appreciated that while this is the first book in a series, it didn't feel like just set-up for better books to come. Some character arcs weren't wrapped up, and new dynamics were introduced towards the end, but it felt natural and not forced in a "I want you to keep buying my books so here, have some random plot twist" sort of way.
Overall this was one of the most spectacular books I've read all year, and I hate that I have to wait so long to see where the story goes from here!

Epic fantasy with a fantastic magic system, strong characters, and fabulous world building! After being disinherited by her father, the emperor, Lin will stop at nothing to claim her throne and save her people. You don't want to miss this must read novel. Intriguing and engaging from start to finish! Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to review this ARC.

This is a sprawling fantasy with a unique magic system, strong, charming characters and a terrifying mystery that unravels beautifully by the end. This story explores family, memories, romance and revolution and the consequences of empire building. The magic system was inventive and horrifying. I don’t read much body horror but the creatures in this book were mesmerizing and creepy. I have never taken so much time to pause and consider the anatomical workings of the plethora of creatures featured in this story. Like any good science fiction, this story made me cringe at tragic moments, tense up at the danger our heroines and hero encounter and swoon when they were in love and of course sweat after hard fought victories and catastrophic events. I am officially a part of the Jovis and Mephi fan club and Phalue and Ranami have my heart, they had a very touching sapphic love story. Lin's story made me tear up the most. And Sand is who I am most curious about in the next installment! (5/5 stars).

The Bone Shard Daughter shares with us an expansive world filled with magic and politics. There is a rebellion brewing in the air, a disgruntled princess, a smuggler, a governor’s heir and her love who grew up on the streets, a person with no memories of her past, and echoes of impending return of long gone empire. How all of these lives intertwined and worked as the roots of an enormous banyan tree that created the big picture was really interesting to see.

I really liked how every single character has a very distinct voice in this story. They are all very different and fun to read. Although, all of them do not get the same amount of space in the book, I found myself looking forward to each of POVs. I never felt like I was drudging through one POV to get to another character’s whose I liked more. I also like that there are no clear divides of good and evil when it comes to these characters. It is a complicated world and so are these characters as they live through it. I found myself completely engrossed in the stories of each of these characters.

The world of The Bone Shard Daughter is also extremely interesting because rather than having large swaths of land, it is covered in floating islands; some of which are being engulfed by the sea. I think, it added a very riveting element to the world in comparison to having continents or different countries because it presented certain challenges when it came to how an empire is sustained and governed.

It was very appealing to me, the way that different POVs in the book explore different aspects of human society and emotions. Lin is focused on her birthright and how that affects the lives of people in her empire, Jovis is drowning in grief and yet holding onto grief, Phalue and Ranami explore the distinctions of class, privilege and the ignorance that comes along with it, and Sand dissects the feelings of being lost in more ways than one and trying to find oneself.

To someone who sticks to YA because I find adult fantasies to be dense and have very flowery writing, this book was a swift ride with its beautiful writing that never feels suffocating or unnecessary. I also liked that rather than relying on exposition heavy chapters, the book disperses its very fascinating lore, history and magic all over the book.

However, the book does suffer from a slow pace, especially in the beginning. Although, I found those chapters to be beguiling, I was also consistently waiting for something to happen that would kick the entire book into gear rather than just certain characters. Apart from that, the book feels like a setup for the next installments of the series which left me wanting more explanations. I had seen many people call this a sapphic book (though it wasn’t the author or the publisher), it was kind of disappointing to find very less focus on the relationship between Phalue and Ranami; more so because I found their dynamic and conversations to be extremely compelling.

After finishing this book, I am certainly hungry for more. This book is a smashing adult fantasy debut that certainly filled my fantasy loving heart to the brim. I can’t wait to see more of these characters in the next book and ardently await its release. Would highly recommend this book if you are used to reading YA Fantasy and are intimidated by Adult ones. If you do not lie in that category, I would highly recommend it nonetheless.

This is the story of Lin, who is the daughter of the Emperor of a vast empire. In this empire, there is magic that allows shards of bone, engraved with commands, to power constructs made of various parts of animals and other things. The Emperor is the only person who has this magic, and every person in his empire is expected to give a shard of bone to him as a child so that he can use them to power his constructs, to keep his people safe, or so they're told. Lin is the Emperor's heir, but has lost her memories of everything before the last five years, due to a disease. The Emperor is slowly allowing her into the secrets of bone shard magic, as long as she can show that her memories are coming back.

Meanwhile, there is a rebellion taking place among the people who really don't want to give up shards of themselves, and wish to save their children from having to take on that burden. Jovis is the best smuggler in the empire, and one day, his decision to smuggle a child out of the empire before they could have a shard taken makes him rather infamous. Everyone wants his help to do the same for their kids. When he befriends a strange creature on his adventures, his whole life changes even more.

I really enjoyed this one. It has such an interesting premise, and the bone shard magic is quite well described and has rules that make sense, but the magic in this one takes a backseat to all the other shenanigans that are going on.

I thought it was plotted really well, and it flowed nicely. We see the story from several points of view, not just those of Lin and Jovis, but the multiple points of view, after a few chapters of getting used to it, was never jarring and never took me out of the moment, so to speak, as sometimes happens with multiple points of view.

I really liked Jovis as a character, and Mephi, his little otter-dog-thing friend. Their friendship held a mystery that I was always striving for the answer to, and that was a great way to keep me invested in the story, even during slower parts.

All told, I thought this was a fantastic debut that wrapped up everything nicely while still leaving me with enough questions that I will be certain to dive into the sequel as well. I can't wait to see what happens next!

Included as a top pick in bimonthly September New Releases post, which highlights and promotes upcoming releases of the month (link attached).


My first reaction to THE BONE SHARD DAUGHTER was, "This book is a mindfuck, and I ended up really enjoying it despite some quibbles." I say that still holds true now that I'm writing a proper review. "Mindfuck" means different things to different people, and in this case THE BONE SHARD DAUGHTER was so eerily creepy at times that I squirmed and gasped in horror. This review will be spoiler-free because half the fun is discovering the twists and turns for yourself.

If I were smart enough, if I were clever enough, if I were careful enough, I could rewrite the commands embedded into their shards. I could make them mine. Father didn’t think I was enough. My memory was lacking. But I knew who I was now. I was Lin. I was the Emperor’s daughter.

And I would show him that even broken daughters could wield power.

A simplified premise of the East Asian-inspired worldbuilding: only the emperor can utilize a forbidden power called the bone shard magic. Centuries ago, a magical enemy named the Alanga nearly destroyed the Empire, but the emperor's ancestors protected their territory. After the Alanga vanished, the emperor's family demanded that every individual in the kingdom give up a bone shard (a small bone in the head) in a tithing ceremony. The collected bone shards power the mysterious bone shard magic, and only the emperor's family can create creepy magical constructs (the bones fuse together to become talking, sentient creatures). The constructs govern the empire and the practice of tithing continues to this day.

The catch? Some children die in the process of tithing. Depending on how strenuously a bone shard is used, citizens catch shard-sickness and die. The emperor insists that the tithing is necessary for the protection of the kingdom and as a preemptive defense (what if the Alanga comes back?). But citizens are scared of dying from shard-sickness. Some, like the Shardless Few, actively rebel against the empire but most are resigned to a dystopian existence. These are the helpless circumstances in which our novel begins.

THE BONE SHARD DAUGHTER switches back and forth between four storylines:

1) Lin, the emperor's daughter. Lin lost most of her memory to a sickness five years ago and is unable to remember her previous life, much to her father's disappointment. Competing with her rival and father's foster son Bayan, Lin wants to learn the secrets of the bone shard magic and help the empire by overthrowing her father's rule.

I could run as quickly as the sparrow flies, I was as skilled with an abacus as the Empire’s best accountants, and I could name all the known islands in the time it took for tea to finish steeping. But I could not remember my past before the sickness. Sometimes I thought I never would–that the girl from before was lost to me.

2) Jovis, a smuggler and expert navigator of the seas, has been searching for his lost wife for seven years. His mission keeps being interrupted by pleas to rescue children from tithing.

3) Phalue/Ranami, an established f/f couple at odds about how to help the struggling citizens of their island. Phalue is the daughter of a governor while Ranami hails from the lower class.

4) Sand, a woman imprisoned at an island on the edge of the empire. She has no memory of who she is and how she got there. The problem is, no one around her remembers anything either.

I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll stay vague and talk around the plot. This book is creepy as fuck. I wouldn't call it surprising, because the author sets up strong foreshadowing and I predicted a number of revelations before they were officially revealed. But the official reveal is still creepy. That's honestly a sign of how strong the novel is because I was still freaked out despite predicting everything!

The bone shard constructs are terrifying. They help govern every inch of the empire. The emperor has four high-sentient constructs that help him make decisions and oversee the four divisions of the empire (Spies, Trade, War, and Bureaucracy). The Construct of Spies has thousands of little spy constructs that float through the kingdom and spy on everyone. When you leave an island, a construct enforces your right to leave and demands notes down what goods you're transporting. It doesn't matter how many people resent the emperor. He doesn't need an army of men loyal to him, he has the bone shard constructs to keep the populace in check. As I said: terrifying.

I loved Lin's point-of-view. She has so much resilience/confidence despite knowing so little about herself. She desperately wants a family, and doesn't understand why her father shows little-to-no warmth. Her motivations are conflicted and unclear at times: she recognizes the great evil that her father has inflicted on the empire's citizens, but also seeks his approval. The latter doesn't prevent her from sneaking around and secretly teaching herself the forbidden bone shard magic, though. She's wily and kind, even to her rival Bayan.

Jovis is an interesting character. I'm not sure I loved him the way same I loved Lin, but I was sympathetic to his pain and bitterness. I certainly admired him for helping children escape the tithing despite the personal risk. His cynicism is refreshing; he is highly skeptical of any rebel/Shardless Few movement, pointing out that the emperor's family started out as good, too. Jovis adopts a strange magic creature early on in the book; Jovis's relationship with Melphi is adorable Linle and gave me a lot of feels. The reader spends a lot of the book feeling unanchored because Jovis and Lin are desperately lonely. Any human connection they make is temporary and quickly eradicated. Melphi brought a sorely-needed lightheartedness to the book.

I have two complaints about the novel. First, some of Lin's POV in the middle got repetitive and I got bored. Lin has to perform a certain task, and while it was interesting to read about in great detail the first time, the second/third scenes felt repetitive and I wanted to hurry up and get to the next scene. Second, I did not love the Phalue/Ranami storyline. I so wanted to. Established f/f relationship discussing class differences? Yes, please. But their POV was so much less than Lin and Jovis, and a lot of the class differences boiled down to Phalue being like "Yes, the poor people in this island don't need more help" until she sees them suffering with her own eyes. Cringe. I get that the point was to show Phalue being super privileged and unaware of the farmers' suffering, but oof. I didn't love this storyline at all, and it was honestly too short to be properly developed.

Nitpicks aside, THE BONE SHARD DAUGHTER is a thought-provoking fantasy debut and I cannot wait for the next book. THAT ENDING!!!! Gasp. I have no clue how Andrea Stewart is going to resolve this.

Disclaimer: I received a free e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Why The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart is my favorite SFF debut of 2020 ✨

1. Asian-inspired Fantasy - The Bone Shard Daughter is an excellent Asian-Inspired fantasy book. Simply from the characters like Lin and the heavy expectations set by her father, and the setting of the book as an Imperial islands, this lush and chaotic world is surely a gem in the growing repertoire of Fantasy books set in the East.

2. A unique magic system - The Bone Shard magic is alluring, sometimes scary, and interesting. Scribing on a bone and implanting them to patched up animal parts then bringing them to life was such a thrill to learn about! And it was a unique concept that I thoroughly enjoyed.

3. Emphasis on the disparity of class - a perspective of the book was Phalue and Ramani, the sapphic romance wherein Phalue is the daughter of the governor and Ramani is a commoner. Seeing how they clashed in perspectives was so good and interesting. And I really appreciated how Stewart wrote it in and how each character learned and grew with each other.

4. A balance of a thrilling plot and character driven narrative - this book has 5 different perspectives, and it was written very well that I found myself enjoy each section of it. On one hand, we see an overlaying plot about the empire, about the Emperor and his antics, and about the people living in the Empire. Then we also see a wide berth of character layers and development along the book. These two factors are what really drew this book close to my heart.

5. Diversity and representation - The Bone Shard Daughter has a wonderfully diverse set of characters and has great Queer representation. We have a distinct Sapphic romance but also we get other representation sprinkled along the storyline as well. The diverse cast was also very welcoming and felt like open arms for an Asian person like me who has lived in a country that is also composed of several islands apart.

The Bone Shard Daughter was such a marvelous debut, I highly recommend it. So glad to be on the blog tour hosted by Your Tita Kate. Thank you also to Orbit Books for the advance copy of the book and Andrea Stewart for this masterpiece!