Andrea Stewart, you are incredible. Your writing, your plotting, your pacing, your characters. I adored this book. The growth the characters had throughout this book was amazing. No one feels like they exist just to fill space, to offer comedic relief, or to make sure there's a romantic presence. Every one has a PURPOSE and their own individual voice. The plotting has to be my favorite aspect of this book, though. I devoured this book, sitting on the edge of my seat, yet not being overwhelmed by information. Cannot wait for the third book.

The excitement doesn't stop in this book, a continuation of Bone Shard Daughter. Now that Lin is emperor, she must try to unite the islands and stop a bunch of warring constructs lead by Nisong. There was not much time to enjoy the fine things that the different islands have but I did enjoy learning more about the Alanga and what happened to them. I think the Ossalens are so cute and wish I had one too as it seems that they are popping up again in the islands too. This was a good book, like the first and I am excited for the next one so I can find out about Mephi! (He better not die!)

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this sequel and am now highly anticipating the third and final book in this epic trilogy.

Stewart is a solid writer and I'm still blown away by the world building and magic system, but it's such a slow burn that I had to force myself to keep going. I need a little more oomph throughout to keep me engaged and I just didn't find that in this sequel.

The Bone Shard Emperor is the sequel to The Bone Shard's daughter, and I am reading this one right after the other they are that good. We have a daughter who is now the Emperor; we have a smuggler who is now her head of the empire guards; we have other players who Lin is trying to get on her side as her father's constructs are beginning to tear apart the world. First, islands are sinking, and Lin can only grasp at guesses as to why this is happening; then you have an army of constructs on the way to destroy the world, and Alagans, who are magicians and wait, tell you to find who is who and who to trust. Wow, this is mind-blowing craftiness right here. The author has a unique magic system, uncovered secrets, and a possible love interest; no one is who we thought they were. Eager for book three.

I rarely enjoy a sequel as much as the first book in a series. I don't know exactly why. Maybe it's because first books are often focused and contain great stories that the author spent years developing with a lot of grit, free-flowing creativity, and a tangible love for the concept. Second books are sometimes a product of the first book's success, where the author didn't originally know where to take the story, where they feel like they must tack on a lot of worldbuilding and introduce new characters that are never as compelling as the original cast. While this is somewhat common for second books, I can confidently say that's not a problem here. Andrea Stewart absolutely nailed it with her sequel to The Bone Shard Daughter!

The Bone Shard Emperor picks up right where its predecessor left off. The Emperor is dead and Lin Sukai must take the throne and bring peace and unification to an empire on the verge of collapse. She recruits the smuggler turned folk hero, Jovis, to her cause, granting him the lofty position of Captain of the Guard. Together, they go on a tour of the islands scattered about the Endless Sea, meeting with governors and vying for their support. Rebel groups rumble, a construct army gathers, and an ancient magical people are returning. Who can Lin trust? Will she be able to unite the islands in time? And at what cost?

Sure, there is a lot more politics and a lot less bone shard magic in this one. Yeah, the pace is a bit slower too. But the characters and their evolution are just so good! I felt a bit of a lull around the 25% mark. Seriously, the majority of the book is just island hopping. There is a different leader complete with different drama at each of the stops along the tour, but after a while, it kind of felt samey. However, none of these island visits ever felt like they were happening without purpose. Stewart did a phenomenal job keeping every event tethered to character motivation and development. By the book's end, I really felt like not a page was wasted.

Lin and Jovis were the focus characters in Emperor and I'm glad for that. Not that I don't like Phalue and Ranami, but they can kind of get on my nerves. While I don't love Sand, I absolutely love getting a POV from one of the story's villains. I understand her motivations and am fearful of her ever-threatening abilities. Ragan was another truly intriguing character to add to the mix. Not only did it provide for another interesting companion, but his presence built out the world a bit more and gave us more insight on magical people of the past.

I'll say one last thing that's really two last things. The final battle scene spanned multiple chapters and multiple POVs and...It. Was. Awesome! Sure, the sword swinging and magic casting is cool and all, but what made it so good was what was happening with the characters during it all. Incredibly important conversations were taking place, reveals were revealing, tension was tensioning, and people were actually dying. It was so riveting that I read the last ten or so chapters in one sitting. Which brings me to part two of my last things. All of Stewart's worldbuilding felt purposeful. Nothing seemed like it was just thrown in for added fluff. It really does seem like Stewart knows where she's going with the story and what she wants to accomplish with the characters, so she's built a competent and complete sandbox for her characters to play in. It all just makes sense and feels so right. And that is incredibly difficult to do as an author.

I have surprised myself with how much I am enjoying this series. There is one more book in the trilogy. It comes out in April. But...guess who has an ARC and is going to read it right now!?!?!

Notes on the Audiobook:
Multicast narration often scares me. You tend to get a good narrator followed by a few mid to distracting narrators. Not here. Natalie Naudus, Feodor Chin, and Emily Woo Zeller each gave an outstanding performance that worked seamlessly together, absolutely bringing the characters to life.

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher, Orbit, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The first book was one of my absolute favorite reads of 2020. (A rough year in many respects, but an absolutely boon to my reading time. That was a 100 book year for sure.)

I was so excited for this book, but at first had a little trouble getting started. I went into the first with No Expectations and into this one with absolutely towering ones, mixed with a teeny tiny fear of disappointment. I wanted to sit with the potential a little longer before diving in to see what was in store.

No need to worry though, because this is an extremely strong sequel, continuing the “flesh” out the world and build it up to even more solid heights.

The first book in the series was promising, but this one fell short for me.

The magic system in the trilogy is incredibly unique and captivating on its own. I was drawn to the characters and the world building that surrounded them as they navigated the story, but the pacing, romance, and overall plot just was missing something, The multiple POVs was insightful and I love seeing through their eyes, but it occasionally felt like they were only there to add to the main characters or there were too many POVs.

However, the last 25%+ had me completely hooked. I love action, battles, scheming and, of course, the twists. Some of them I had seen coming but there were a few that definitely caught me off guard.

I am peeved that this series has another book. Really cool idea. I don’t think I like the series enough to buy it but if I have time I’ll look for book 3 at my library.
My slight dislike comes from personal preference. This normally wouldn’t be a book I pick up on my own- high fantasy fiction. I do enjoy the story while I’m reading though. Plus the world building is easy to understand and follow.

Lots of action plus different directions of this story kept my attention. Multiple POV. Not a lot of recap from book 1. I didn’t remember everything at first but as the story continued I remembered a lot more. Might want to read these close together or find a recap of book 1.

Finally get multiple POV’s interacting with each other! Plus a little romance.

No cliffhanger.

Check content warnings.

There was always a way to fix things. There was always a way to come back.
ARC provided by the publisher Orbit Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

An excellent follow up to a solid debut. The Bone Shard Emperor by Andrea Stewart is the drip feed epic fantasy that will keep you guessing.

As I said in the previous reviews of books I’ve picked up it is #NetGalleyNovember and the #1 book that I target myself to finish is the second book of The Drowning Empire series, The Bone Shard Emperor by Andrea Stewart. I read The Bone Shard Daughter around a couple of months ago and I liked it. The book is a solid debut and first book to a refreshing new series. Going into this second book, I have worries because second book syndrome is one of my biggest fears and it can make or break a series for me personally. As you can see from my rating there is nothing to worry about, because it slightly exceeded it’s predecessor in terms of quality. Before I dive into the review, I would like to gush about the cover of this book done by Sasha Vinogradova and designed by Lauren Panepinto. The amount of detail that goes into the cover is absolutely stunning and every time I look at it I see a something new to appreciate.

The Bone Shard Emperor is the second book of The Drowning Empire series and sequel to The Bone Shard Daughter that was released back in 2020 by Andrea Stewart. It is a multi POV epic fantasy centered in the Phoenix Empire, an empire with a vast archipelago, ruled for centuries by the Sukai family. The recluse and tyrannical Emperor has closed himself of from the world letting the constructs he created run the Empire. The people fear the Emperor and is suffering under his rule. A rebellion, earthquakes, and an uprising of a construct army threatens Lin’s rule as she sits on her father’s throne. There is also the ever mysterious awakening of Alanga artifacts across the Empire. In this sequel the stakes are higher and the focus of the story is centered around Lin trying to stabilize an already crumbling empire faced with a variety of challenges. The story takes on a more political narrative filled with negotiations, alliances, and whole deal of rallying to unite the Empire clouded in doubt towards their newly crowned ruler.

But this was the truth I could not escape from : if I stood against the tyranny of the Empire, then I had to stand against all tyranny.

The world building is much more expansive and broader compared to the first book. The already good foundation that is established in the first book is slowly built up by showing a lot of interesting lore and secrets through Lin and Jovis’s discoveries. The way Stewart revealed these bits of lore throughout the story is well intentioned and strategically clever with the timing to keep readers guessing at the edge of their seat. Before it took me a while to read through the first book because of it’s slow pacing in this sequel the pacing improved exponentially. The story is more stream lined as the story picks up it’s pace and stakes building up to a climax that got me shaking with excitement while reading. The world exploration that I was craving in The Bone Shard Daughter is answered as Lin’s travels around the Empire trying to repair the relationship with the other islands. We get to see more of the people on the other islands as they interact with the main characters. The convergence of plot connecting all the characters together is smooth and masterfully done. Stewart weaved everything together consistently throughout the story and it is satisfying to see the tapestry taking form on an epic scale, all the while still treating readers to more threads to chase.

The bone shard magic isn’t shown more in this sequel compared to the first book as the story takes on a different approach in it’s magic trajectory. Though we’ll get to see more bone shard magic in the action scenes it’s presence is lowkey. By lowkey I mean there isn’t anything new that Lin learns as she focuses her duties more as the Emperor. Have no fear because Stewart shows a new kind of magic that is previously shown can be done by Jovis in the first book. The magic is deeply connected with the lore of the world as a whole and it is also the root that started the ripples that is felt in the present. The magic is connected with Mephi, Jovis’ animal companion, that I can’t wait to know more about in the third book. To avoid spoilers I’ll stop here. Though I would like to gush about the explosive, avatar-esque, and vivid action scenes that is executed marvelously. Especially the last battle! I’d say compared to the first book The Bone Shard Emperor exceeded my expectations in terms of action.

“A coward is not a man who feels fear. A coward is one who would volunteer others for the suffering he would not take on himself.”

In The Bone Shard Emperor we follow the same cast of characters such as : Lin, the Emperor’s daughter, that can do bone shard magic and only heir of the Phoenix Empire; Jovis, a reluctant hero and smuggler that travels with his companion Mephi, a creature that can grant him powers; Phalue, daughter and heir of the governor of the island of Nephilanu; Ranami, Phalue’s partner and rebel that is working with The Shardless Few; Sand, a mysterious woman that is determined to take back what was hers. Adding to these pre existing characters is the introduction of more characters that will play a major role in this sequel and future instalment. The characterization in The Bone Shard Emperor is consistent and believable in terms of development. Each of them have something they are working on in this sequel as Stewart layers more seeds of growth in their characterization. The way Stewart balanced between character arcs and the major plot line is neatly done. Everything is written clearly and articulate that doesn’t falter from the crisp quality of the previous book. There are many themes explored in The Bone Shard Emperor but the major them I found weaved into it’s characters is trust and all the complexities related to it such as : betrayal, loyalty, promises, etc. What’s interesting is readers can find the various manifestations of trust in each of the characters, both in main and side characters. Some characters are trying to trust again, some are trying to gain trust, some has given up on the idea of trusting someone, some are going through the fresh pains of betrayal—a breaking of trust, and many more. It is so fascinating seeing this across all Stewart’s characters that I can’t help just think in awe the grip they have on me.

“I don’t care where you came from. I don’t care about your heritage. Come back to me.” I didn’t ask, but he offered it anyway.

“I promise,” He took my hand and held it over his heart. It beat, strong and steady, beneath my palm. “And I’ll never break a promise to you again.”

Even though it is a multi POV story, in my opinion, Lin and Jovis carried the story in this sequel. They both play a big part in progressing the plot as they spearheads the movement in uniting the empire. Lin is now the emperor and she is under a lot of pressure from all sides of the empire. The determination that we got to see in her from the first book is stronger as she makes it her mission to be better than her father. Conflicted by her own sense of identity and place in the world Lin is grappled with issues that plagues her thoughts with loneliness, distrust, and imposter syndrome. Jovis now a former smuggler is deeply involved with the on goings of the empire. He is struggling to root himself into the position that is bestowed upon him as he questions his loyalty and intentions. Jovis’ reluctant demeanor is still a big part of his character which led to him projecting his worries and insecurities to Lin. They are both tied together by strands of fate; seeing their interaction as they bounce off each other with ideas and banter is the relationship development that surprised me. Even with the difference in station they both actively challenge each other. Their overall character development is thanks to each other as they are each other’s catalyst.

“We were your mistakes, to be crumpled and burned like so many ink blotted pages. Give me your Empire or give your deaths.”

Another character that stood out to me is Sand. A character that turned to a path of destruction and death as she is motivated by vengeance to reclaim what is rightfully hers. I’ll be honest in the first book Sand’s POVs isn’t as compelling as the other POVs. Piecing together Sand’s position in the grand scheme of things is slightly hard in the first book but now her characterization is much clearer with intent and motivation. Though the end goal is still up to debate to fully understand what she expects to achieve in the long term. For Phalue and Ranami they are the epitome of that IT queer couple that is just so wholesome and heartwarming. Their rocky relationship is now more harmonious, fulfilling, and so full of love. Amongst all the sad and intense conflicts there is fluff that readers can expect from Phalue and Ranami. Personally, I didn’t like Ranami but she did redeem herself in this sequel as she becomes a person of power that grows to expand her tunnel vision view of the world.


I was Lin. And that would have to be enough.

Final thoughts, The Bone Shard Emperor is a consistently good sequel to one of best debuts in 2020 with expansive world building, noteworthy character development, gripping mystery and lore, explosive action, and incredibly well balanced pacing. I can now finally sigh in relief because Andrea Stewart has wrote a story that overcome the second book syndrome proving that The Drowning Empire series is an epic fantasy heavy hitter. This series also has grown to be one of my favorites. I highly recommend for readers who don’t know about The Drowning Empire to pick up a copy and dive right in because it is a book that is perfect for readers who are interested to get into adult fantasy. It checks all the boxes for an incredible story that is adventurous, gripping, and SO MUCH LORE! The Bone Shard Emperor accomplished to get me so hyped for the third book, The Bone Shard War, of the series that will hopefully release in 2022.

The quotes in this review were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

Jovis was one of my favorite characters in book1 and he doesn't disappoint in book2. The juxtaposition of Lin and Jovis was what looked forward to the entirety of book1, so here we finally have them in the same place.
The bone shard magic system and Alanfa are very intriguing as well. All the secondary characters are also well done.

This one was even better than the first book in the series. I can't wait to see what happens in the third book. I do think it could have used some tightening and been shorter, but overall it was decent and I'll be following through to see how it ends, 3 stars.

The thing I really liked about this book and the even the first one is that while it fantasy, has intensity and a magic system which can sometimes be confusing in other books, was anything it slow paced or confusing.
There was some time between the first book and when I read this book. But I didn’t feel like I had a difficult time trying to remember what happened. You’ll get little clues through exposition that triggers a memory and isn’t done in a lengthy backstory or forgotten about completely.

If you’re a fan of fantasy that has a strong magic system and a series that is nearly impossible to put down. It’s this series right here. This series definitely made its way into my top 15 books/series.

It’s hard for me to write a review without spoilers. So here’s my final attempt to get you to read this book. Please, just read this series.

After reading the first book in this series I was really looking forward to continuing in this world. The magic system is super cool and unlike anything I've read before even though I don't quite understand how it works. As someone that's been having a hard time reading fantasy, I found this book and series very easy to get into and not at all dragging. It was great to see the main character's development throughout this book and I'm excited to see where the next book goes.

Sadly... I am disappointed though I will still pick up the third and final book to see how everything ends. Hopefully, this is just "middle-book syndrome" for me because I enjoyed the first one so much. This one simply felt too predictable and repetitive for me. I kept finding myself putting it down, not eager to pick it back up. Still, the ending was nice, ending on just enough of a cliffhanger for me to be somewhat excited for the final book.

I am not okay, and readers shouldn't be either after the conclusion of this novel. Is there another in store? Where are our characters headed? And what lies in store for them? THE BONE SHARD EMPEROR answered many qyetsonis but opened even more cans of worms. Here Be Worms.

This was an amazing 2nd book. I loved all the character growth and of course the animal companions. I also really loved the new romance, I know some people didn't but I do! And we learn so much more about the world, it's history, it's magic and I'm so excited for book 3!

This will be a spoiler free review!

I thought book 1 was good. And then this happened.

Well, I think I’ve found my new favorite series of the year, tied with Fireborne. Yep. This is so darn good.

First up, there are more scenes with the cute cat otter. I can’t say much without spoilers, so just know the cuteness pretty much triples whenever Mephi is there.

I read this in 48 hours, despite it being a relatively thick book, because it just flew by. Even if there was one or two boring moments, I was so intrigued by what was happening that I just kept reading and reading and reading…

The characters get lots of awesome development. Lin is learning to be a leader. Jovis learns how to be a good friend. Phalue and Ranami are still learning how to have a relationship, which was absolutely precious.

Sand had some interesting development, which I can’t say because spoilers. All I can say is she infuriated me in the best way possible. I love it when stuff happens that makes me mad, and Sand made me so mad.

What did Mephi learn? Absolutely nothing. Jovis said don’t be a thief, don’t take things that aren’t yours, and then Mephi went out and turned into a crow (metaphorical) again and stole all the shiny things.

The world got explored more, as I expected. Some things that were simply speculated about ended up being important. Some other new things are left open for question. There’s a cool new magic system that was just barely present in book 1 that gets explored.

I will say book 1 did a better job of making it have a mysterious vibe, but that isn’t to say that this book didn’t do that. It was just more plot centered. The new magic system and the history of these ancient people was pretty mysterious, but it was one thing, as compared to book one where everything was new therefore it was mysterious.

I still felt like I was learning things at the same pace as the characters, which helped me get into their heads better. I also had it pointed out that Jovis and Lin’s main perspectives are in first person and the others are in third. SINCE WHEN? SINCE BOOK ONE? WHAT? I did not notice that lol. It was so seamless that I missed it. Don’t worry if you hate one or the other, you honestly won’t notice the difference. You’ll just be so entranced by the characters and the plot that you won’t even see it until someone tells you it happened.

While in book one, Phalue and Ranami were focused on politics, suddenly now Lin is. She has to learn politics, which she knows really nothing about. All she knows is that she doesn’t want to be like her father, and she will do anything to be better than him. I love those kinds of narratives. There’s so much room for growth.

Jovis was a total idiot this book. He’s been alone for so long and now suddenly he has a friend. He has to learn how to be a good friend, but of course he’s dumb and can’t figure it out. I just wanted him and his new friend to be able to trust each other and he kept doing things that made it worse, but he did it all for good reasons. I just wanted to scream at him, except he was right. Jovis in this book made me feel so conflicted and I loved it to death.

Phalue and Ranami were so precious in this book. They’re learning how to have a healthy relationship while also trying to lead the people with love and care. They struggled so much in book one to get to this point, and my heart melted once they started getting it right.

I am so curious how many books are planned for this series. I feel like a trilogy might be too short, but four would be good. Well, there actually might be a way to round it off in three, but I want more. I don’t know what’s best, I just want more of these characters and world.

I want a whole spinoff series with just Mephi. Make it a comic series because I need to see him. He’s just so darn cute. I recommend looking up fanart to see what I mean. He’s just…..he’s the perfect pet. I wanna give him head scratches and hugs and let him lay his head in my lap as I read.

If you did not read my book one review, all you need to know is this series is stunning. I will once again say I think this is perfect for people who read YA fantasy and want to start reading adult fantasy. It has the fast paced, character focused feel of YA, but is a little bit bigger in scope like adult fantasy. If every book I read was exactly like this I’d be so happy.

→ 4.5 / 5

Oh my goodness, I was so nervous going into this because I truly adored The Bone Shard Daughter and was worried about all the moving pieces. But this was such a great continuation, and probably one of the best 'middle books' I've read. I'm so happy we got more of Thrana and Mephi in this and NEED to know what happens after that cliffhanger!

I found that the pacing really picked up around the half-way mark, and it was incredibly hard to put the story down.

This book was fine, but something about the writing style of this series just isn't for me. I made it through Bone Shard Daughter and felt the same, but thought it would improve in book two because Daughter was a debut. Unfortunately, the world-building here just feels too sparse. I'm not sure why; it feels like Stewart needs to add a little bit more description because everything feels so bare bones. I also don't love the changes from first person to third person, but they're not the biggest issue. It just feels...incomplete, which is unfair because it obviously went through editing.

The plot for this one was better than book 1, and I felt invested in more than just Jovis and Mephi, but only barely. Lin's plot in this book was interesting, and her trying to figure out central mysteries of the magic is a big part of what kept me going, but ultimately, this book just completely failed to resonate with me.