Enjoyable 2nd book. I’ve marked book three as a to be read title. You definitely need to read book one to enjoy this one. The new empress Lin has succeeded in deposing her father and is trying to attract Allie’s to her cause. Not being kind of evil like her father she’s returning the bone shards to each governor she visits to try to win friends and influence people. I do feel this empire is really a string of villages with each island really being small enough it’s one village with surrounding farms versus a really developed empire. Also, if being a decent emperor one wonders why the first thing you would do wouldn’t be send proclamations to every governor And every village square the second you realized why island were sinking…. It’s time to learn to sail folks! It might take a bit longer to go from island to island but wouldn’t avoiding horrible mass death be worth it?
Despite some flaws the book was a fun read and I d look forward to the next book (this feels like a middle book in a trilogy) and whatever the author writes n the future so I’m calling it four stars instead of three, it deserves rounding up.
( I’ll beg forgiveness for any incoherence in my review. I’m visiting a relative whose bedrooms, despite it being November, are a bit sauna like and I’m sitting in the middle of the night writing this waiting for the room to cool off enough from.opening a window to go back to sleep. But at least I had something fun to read on my tablet!)

This one was slow to start, which was a surprise after how much I adored Bone Shard Daughter, but then it found its groove and sucked me in and I loved it.

We found out some things that really expanded the world and lore of the first book, while still leaving plenty of questions to be answered in the third. I loved learning more about the mysterious Alanga and I definitely still have a LOT of questions about the Ossana and witstone and the sinking islands.

I also loved that we got a much stronger sense of Jovis and Lin's personalities and loyalties. They both care so deeply that when they can get on the same page, they're perfect together.

I had to go back and reread Phalue's chapters in Bone Shard Daughter when I encountered the first one here because I will admit to have completely forgotten about her (though I vaguely remembered Ranami). Again, in this book we get a much stronger sense of her personality and loyalties.

I also really loved that Mephi and Thrana had such a big role in this book because I love them and they are a joy to read about. They've matured, as well, and it was so good to see their bonds with Jovis and Lin strengthening.

I think in the end this book was really about finding yourself and your boundaries and your loyalties and what you will do to protect those you care about. This was a theme with each of the characters, even Nisong, and it was really interesting to explore from opposing sides of a conflict.

There were some big revelations near the end that made me really excited about the third book, so I can't wait for that.

I also just need to reiterate how intrigued I am by the unique magic system in these books! The bone shard magic is just so cool, and its relationship to Alanga magic makes it even cooler. I can't wait to learn more.

Overall a fantastic read and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for providing an e-arc for review.

Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  Though I try to post no spoilers, this be for book two so proceed at yer own peril.  Here be me honest musings . . .

It was lovely to dive back into this world.  Lin, the bone shard emperor of the title, remains me favourite character by far.  Her life has been upended and trouble is on the horizon.  Lin decides to travel the islands to consolidate power while trying to overcome her father's horrible legacy.

With her is Jovis the smuggler.  While I loved him in book one, I kinda hated him in book two.  He makes bad choices, lies, and doesn't communicate.  I quickly disliked reading his points of view.  I do not appreciate how Lin and Jovis relate to one another.  I also hated Sand's points of view because her theme of vengeance at all cost got old real quick.  While I didn't like those two, I enjoyed Phalue and Ranami more than in the first book.

This book really did feel like a middle book with the set up for the big conflict to come.  That said, I still love the world building and there were some surprises in store.  Mephi remains a highlight especially with his teenager attitude.  Thrana rocks too.  I ended up finding Gio's backstory excellent.  Ayesh was a fun addition.

While I have gripes, the book was engaging and good entertainment.  I am very much looking forward to how the politics will resolve.  But mostly I just want more Mephi, Thrana, and their new friends.  Arrr!

So lastly . . .

Thank you Orbit Books!

You know that feeling when you give a series a chance and the first book is actually a fairly solid outing? So you're willing to give the second book a chance and it doesn't measure up?

That feeling is why I'm always hesitant to give series a try and unfortunately this book fell right into the whole "book two kind of bites" pit.

Why?

Pacing, too many POVs, a romance that has no business, in my opinion, being there, weak conflict due to lack of communication.

All that leads to a pretty big lump of a book. I feel like the extra POVs could have been trimmed down, they really bogged things down, plus the plotting was a bit weak.

I really feel like the romance was forced, just be friends, it felt like it made more sense? And with a story with so many secrets and lies, I got bored.

Does the book pick up? Yes, but at that point, I was just finishing the book. I cannot stand bad pacing and this book was bloated with it for the first 2/3.

There is also animal injury so be wary of that.

Also, scale is an issue. How big are things? The size of dogs but what size because descriptions of events afterwards don't make it clear. And the Empire itself is hard to get a great feel for size wise. It doesn't feel big to me.

It was nice to see more of the queer characters.

Maybe book 3 will be stronger. I hope so. I'm giving this a 3 star rating and it just barely eked into that.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This series is really frustrating. I really like the world and the magic, Mephi and Thrana are so much fun, and Jovis and Lin's stories are interesting. But I can't get over the slow pace and other POVs that I don't care about at all. There is absolutely no need for this book to be over 500 pages to have 4 points of view. All Nisong and Phalue/Ranami accomplish is slowing down the plot. In some places, not only do they slow down the plot but they actually take away from the main Lin/Jovis storyline. No spoilers but in one specific instance, because we saw Nisong do something, it was a lot less impressive watching Lin figure out that thing. The timeline also jumped around rather than being continuous in jumping from one POV to another which is really weird and made the slowness even more. In one particular really big thing, first we see Nisong initiate it, then Lin sees it, then Phalue sees it, then Jovis sees it. And for all of them, it's the end of their chapters so in 4 chapters, we got absolutely nowhere. This all led to a really slow read because I was so tempted to but the book down every time I got to a chapter that wasn't Lin or Jovis.

Not only do these POVs slow everything down, I don't think they added anything to the plot, especially Nisong. The point of having a POV for someone on the other side of a conflict is to show their side of things, maybe gain some shades of gray or get some sympathy for their side. But Nisong has no motivation except anger and just isn't explained well enough to make me want to like her at all. An unknown villain out there that I only heard about through the other characters would have actually been more suspenseful and just moved the story along. If I'm supposed to hate a villain, I don't need their POV and if I wasn't supposed to just hate Nisong, the author failed at getting that across.

I almost went with 2 stars because the POVs are so frustrating but I really do like Lin and Jovis' storyline and the overall world when that's stripped away. Told properly, this could be a book I loved but this writing style makes me want to throw my Kindle at a wall every time there's a cliffhanger at the end of a chapter and then the next chapter has me reading about a character on the other side of the empire doing something totally different and unimportant to the story. I'll probably still read the last one when it comes out but need to remind myself to go in knowing it's going to be painfully slow to read. So let's say 2.5 stars.

Again, the world is great and 2/4 of the POVs are great. So if you're ok with really slow fantasy or want to try it skipping every chapter that isn't Lin or Jovis, go for it!

* I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed the second book in what is going to be a fantastic trilogy. Luckily, this book did not fall prey to the second book slump, which is common in these fantastical epics.

The author continued to maintain the pace and the intrigue of the first book. Still offering many plot twists and story development. The only thing I did not care for was the new romance that was introduced in this installment. It did not feel necessary and somewhat forced.

Thank you Netgalley and Orbit Books for allowing me to review this arc.

Summary:
Book 2 in the ‘Drowning Empire’ series. This book starts a few months after the ending of the last book.

Characters:
The story follows multiple points of view (5).

Positives:
+ One of the magic systems feels a lot like ‘Avatar the Last Airbender’; or at least that's what I am imagining while the elemental magics are being used during the story. I actually enjoyed the bone shard magic much more just because it seemed less like a ‘standard magic’ type. That being said, we get much more of the elemental magics in this book.
+ SO MANY SECRETS. Secrets between characters. Secrets of places, things and magics. So many slowly revealed secrets as well. It certainly makes for a lot of suspense. So many lies too… not a fan of those, but I was impressed that there were very real consequences for the breaking of trust.
+ I loved that the stakes in this book are steadily rising. Book one was great in this aspect, but now the scope of ALL OF THE THINGS that can go wrong and that hang in the balance are so much more.
+ oooo all the twisty twists; especially at the end~!

Negatives:
- There were a few new characters (not their points of view) added to the story and I wasn't the biggest fan of any of them. Not that they might not play an important role or anything, I just didn't connect or care about any of them.
- Sizing seemed a little confusing in the book. Things were described as ‘the size of a dog’ but then later on it was ‘propping them up by the shoulder’; WHAT SIZED DOG IS THIS? Or alternately.. my word, the character is petite, which is glorious, but then wasn’t another character also looking up tilting their head to look in their eyes? This happened multiple times. While it isn’t a deal breaker it made fight scenes very difficult to visualize; the last big fight scene in the book comes to mind specifically.

Final Thoughts:
I enjoyed this book. I loved Mephi, Thrana, and Shark; especially their relationships with their partners and the growth of character/power. I’ll be blunt, I didn't particularly resonate with any of the characters and their points of views. Too secretive, manipulative, self-righteous, in some cases entitled, and holy heck the amount of lying to each other. That being said, I don't have to LOVE any particular character to enjoy a book. I did hate a specific character a whole bunch; I'm looking at you monk. The pacing was pretty stable the entire time (speeding up for battles). All in all, I think I enjoyed the first book more. I have many questions that i hope will be answered in book 3, that i have every intention of snatching up when it's out.

I knew I wanted to continue on with this series after Book 1, The Bone Shard Daughter -- and Book 2, The Bone Shard Emperor was even better!

Fantasy lovers, this series is a must-add to your lists!

Everything you love about The Bone Shard Daughter is enhanced in this book. The characters who were all battling different journeys in Book 1, now begin to cross paths. There is more intrigue, more magical mystery and of course...more Mephi!

The action sequences in this book, particularly towards the end are masterfully written. Bravo, Andrea Stewart!

Thank you to Orbit Books and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This ended up being a 5-star read for me!

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

In the months following her father's death, Lin Sukai has ended the Empire-wide Tithing Festival, banned the use of Constructs, and put great effort into introducing herself to the people she is now tasked with ruling, all with one important motivation: to prove that she will not be the Emperor her father was. Now Lin, Jovis, and their adorable talking animal companions (Mephi!!) are on a quest to fix what the late Emperor Sukai broke.

The Bone Shard Daughter was the book that helped get me out of a year long reading slump, reinvigorated my love for fantasy, and got me into book reviews. I'll admit that I have a soft spot for the series, but The Bone Shard Emperor didn't make as much of an impact on me as the first book did. The beginning of the book was rocky, with inconsistent character voices and some strange, almost cheesy dialogue. After the first few chapters I began to enjoy it more, and it wasn't a book that I had to struggle to finish as much as I did to get into it. In fact, by the end I was pretty well enthralled in the story and lore behind the world.

There was one thing that bothered me throughout the book, that took me a while to put into words but I think I've finally figured it out. The book is written in the voice of a middle grade novel, in a series that to my knowledge is marketed as YA/NA. I'm not a person who believes that you should only read in your own "age bracket", but I think it can be disorienting in the same way that taking a sip from a cup of milk and realizing they gave you soda instead is.

I am definitely going to be reading The Bone Shard War when it comes out. I'm excited to learn more about the Alanga and their companions, whitstone, and the true history of the Sukai family. If you enjoyed the first Drowning Empire book, or are looking ahead to see if the series is worth getting into, I'd recommend it with the stipulation that the first few chapters aren't indicative of how much you'll enjoy the rest of the book.

If you loved book one - you're going to love this one too!

"The Emperor is Dead. Long live the Emperor.

Lin Sukai finally sits on the throne she won at so much cost, but her struggles are only just beginning. Her people don’t trust her. Her political alliances are weak. And in the north-east of the Empire, a rebel army of constructs is gathering, its leader determined to take the throne by force."

I enjoyed The Bone Shard Daughter but wanted something a little more from it. I thought that maybe book two would help me understand what I was keeping me from falling absolutely in love with the book. While I still cannot put my finger on it, I can comfortable say if you loved book on this one is more of the same.

This was an enjoyable fantasy that branches between young adult and adult - with adventures on the high seas and multiple povs there's something in here that you will enjoy.


Thanks to Netgalley and Orbit Books for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Emperor has died, long live the Emperor.

But Lin’s path to government is not quick or easy—her father’s secrets and his self-isolation on Imperial island have strained the bonds between emperor and governors to the breaking point, and without the use of constructs, the Tithe or bone shard magic, Lin has nothing but simple persuasion to hold her empire together. With trouble brewing all around her and problems popping up faster than she can fix them, her rule promises to be a troubled—if not very short—one.

She has an empire. Now she just has to try to keep it.

“Is there a sliding scale of good? And if so, where do my actions fall? I’m trying to do better, but I don’t quite know what that looks like.”

I AM SCREAMING.

The build-up. The scope. The reveals. THAT ENDING.

Whew, this is going to be a very hard review to write without having (too) many spoilers from the first book. The Bone Shard Daughter was one of my top reads of 2020, and while I adored the sequel, I don’t know that I loved it just as much. It had its own arc and plot, but the pacing was a little off—there was a lot of build to a very long battle scene where I felt very few emotions, and the entire thing felt like a bridge to the third book (which promises to be incredible because where the fuck do we go from here besides the obvious, which I cannot say because it’s a major spoiler).

However, despite my gripes, this was still an incredible read.

The Alanga continue to be mysterious and weird and awakeningy, with more truth-bombs dropped about them here and there, the islands are still sinking but maybe the cause has been discovered (and of course people aren’t going to listen to common sense stuff when there’s money to be had—this would have been a ridiculous notion except we’ve all lived through the pandemic and the amount of sheer dumbassery is mind-boggling), Sand and her fellows are on the warpath and doing quite well thank you, Jovis has a crisis of conscious…kinda, and Lin and Phalue struggle with the legacies of their parents and the ways to correct them and move forward.

It’s really, really hard to write a story about what happens when the person is on top and in charge. The sheer minutia of everything piles up, and in-charge often means riding a desk and bureaucracy, which is often far less exciting than the previous non-stop action of getting to the top and defeating the big bad.

However, Stewart did a really great job of making ruling interesting, and answering the question of what happens when your character who struggled to change the system becomes the system…and what that looks like to change, especially when meaningful change is really hard, actually, and hard to be instantaneous because of how engrained and interconnected everything is. And how difficult it is to be responsible for things that aren’t you.

And also, how hard it is to teach others to be responsible when they learned from your sort-immoral, smuggerly previous way of life (#parenting). Yes that was a slight dig on Jovis, and also I really needed at least 100 more pages of Mephi.

Laws tell us what we can and cannot do; they do not tell us what we should and should not do.”

Despite the seeming seriousness, the humor is still there, even if it felt a little more forced (unless it dealt with Mephi), but that makes sense because Jovis is grappling with a life of rules and structure and possible betrayals and the idea that doing the right thing could very well depend on him and what the fuck is up with that crap?

But, here are my initial thoughts from my rough draft review, which really sum up this book in its entirety with non-spoilerly spoilers.

Thrana

SHARK!

MEPHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Oh hey Gio.

“They’re harmless,” I told her.

“We are very good,” Mephi added as Thrana nodded her assent.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review

The Bone Shard Emperor was about what I expected for a middle book. Going in, knowing that this is at trilogy and not a duology really helped set expectations up correctly. As such, what should be expected is..

Its a journey book. But its not boring. Yes there's a lot of travel, but you get small subplot points in between that build towards the overall climax and to the individual characters. While the first.. mm, arguably 60%, of the book is slower paced I think it was needed. There was a lot needed for both Jovis and Lin to get to where they were at the end of the book. Without that slower build up, the decisions and actions that happened would have had a lot less meaning. Additionally, we get to see Thrana and Mephi really come into their personalities. Mephi especially is insanely loveable and.. well such the troublemaker.

Phalue and Ranami don't get as much book time here, I'm a bit saddened by that, as I really did enjoy their arc, but it made sense to me. They didn't need as much growth, character wise, as Lin and Jovis.. and I do think we'll see more of them in book 3.

Nisong... oof I .. want to slap her at times haha. Even more so than Gio. Her string of stubbornness is quite amazing. She makes for a good yin to Lin's yang.

The last 30-40% of the book really pick up and while its some what conclusive, it does leave you hanging.. which I kind of expected. Around the 80% point I realized there was absolutely no way all of my questions were gonna get answered. There's just too much.. but we do get some really great reveals/answers at the end.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for the e-Arc. I really enjoyed The Bone Shard Emperor.

~
“I want you to suffer….You never cared about us until we made ourselves heard in blood and fire. To you we were just made things to be disposed of. We were your mistakes, to be crumpled and burned like so many ink blotted pages. Give me your Empire or give me your deaths.”
~


One thing I absolutely adored about the Bone Shard Daughter were the twists! So many delicious story tidbits kept me on my toes and I had such a great time.

And the Bone Shard Emperor has done it’s predecessor proud!

Following the events of the first book, Lin has become the Emperor of the Phoenix Emperor and Jovis has been assigned as the Captain of the Imperial Guard. Lin must balance a new rule while politics shift dangerously under her feet and a strengthening construct force begins to gain control over the islands. While, Jovis must come to terms with who he truly serves…

With the reader’s knowledge of the world expanding and the stakes being pushed higher and higher, I did worry that The Bone Shard Emperor would not be able to deliver the same impacts as The Bone Shard Daughter - but oh yes it does! Fans of the first book are in for a treat with the plot twists and creatures and moral dilemmas abound, and even more epic battle scenes!

My one qualm was the addition of a new romance subplot part way through the book. It truly didn’t feel necessary, but that’s just my personal taste. I’m sure many readers may get a fun kick out of shipping this new pairing.

The Bone Shard Emperor is a superb sequel and I cannot wait to see how Stewart will bring this series to a close in the third installment!
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*Thank‌ ‌you‌ Orbit Books ‌and‌ ‌NetGalley‌ ‌for‌ ‌the‌ ‌ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Thank you netgalley and publishers for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is likely the best sequel I've read, and that is not a dramatized response. It is perfect for fans of Lord of the Rings and The Poppy War! I was interested in book one, but my own personal preferences made it a slightly slower read because of pacing and world building (but I still think it's perfect for frequent fantasy fans)!! In book 2, we jump straight into the action!

This book is a fantasy dream, with more epic creatures, a continued development of this unique magic system, and epic battles. Along with the fantasy intrigue, we see the development of our morally grey characters who have to face new challenges with their newfound power. The focus is more heavily on Jovis and Lin, which I definitely enjoyed.

If you were left with questions about the magic and world of the empire, you'll absolutely get those answers here. And most importantly, you'll get more plot twists, betrayals, and Mephi content!

4/5 stars.

I wasn’t expecting to love this series as much as I do.
Slower than the Bone Shard Daughter, but it builds the whole way through. The last 25% of the book just flies by and has a lot of fun twists and turns in the plot.
The secrets Lin and Jovis keep from each other STRESSES me out. I think their friendship could be so strong and they could be a family without the romance. Their budding romance is probably my least favorite part of the book. I think the story could have gone without them having feelings for each other especially since Jovis thinks Lin actually has his dead wife’s eyeballs.


Phalue and Ranami are a bad ass couple. I love their strength and intelligence. The way women are portrayed in these books as being as strong or stronger than men is awesome. I love it.

I love Thrana and Mephi. Talking animal companions are chef’s kiss.

Mephi better be okay.
And I can’t wait to see more of Shark in the next book!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

Complicated decisions are par for the course in Andrea Stewart’s Drowning Empire series, a richly developed world with lots of secrets & turns & the feeling that danger lurks around every corner but all’s not yet lost.

Like in book 1, book 2 The Bone Shard Emperor focuses on several different people, many of whom have different visions for the future of the Empire & who should be leading it & how.

This is a personally important question for Lin, whose father was Emperor & whom she deposed. Now, she’s picking up the pieces with Jovis, a man she doesn’t entirely trust—even as she never suspects his real intentions.

The writing is bold & invigorating & routinely pulls at my heartstrings. The plot itself feels inventive & distinctive & somewhat complicated but I’m on mostly board with that…except there is one revelation shared between Lin and Jovis that feels too easily and quickly resolved.

Beyond that I’m curious to see how things are resolved because there are lots of threats in this book, lots of pieces to tie together.

This series has had moments of darkness—including death and suffering—but the ultimate feeling is of hope, resourcefulness, connection, & personal empowerment. I hope it all ends on a high note!

4 ⭐️. Release date: 11/23.

[ID: an ebook rests on top of an open hardback book & a teal scarf which matches the book cover.]

This review will contain spoilers for book 1, The Bone Shard Daughter

Another highly anticipated sequel, Bone Shard Emperor went well beyond my expectations. Between Lin’s character growth as she’s finally brought out of her sheltered world to govern her father’s empire, Jovis’s wavering loyalties between Lin and the Shardless Few, and the slowly unraveling mysteries of the Alanga, there’s so much in here to love.

Perhaps my favorite addition to this the POV of Nisong, a….magical clone? bone shard construct? of Lin’s mother (yes I know we had Sand in the last book but Nisong feels so different she’s almost a new character). Nisong’s vengeful determination to protect those who came from the island with her made paired with the fragmented memories of her time as the ambitious young wife of the emperor pairs to make a deadly and fascinating villain. I enjoyed that she embraced her villainous side, yet you could understand her and sympathize with her viewpoints.

I’m a masochist for drip-feed worldbuilding and Stewart wields that masterfully. Coming out of Daughter, I was most excited to learn more about what the hell is up with the Alanga and what role do they play with the more supernatural aspects of this world. And I got my wish! Kind of. In Emperor, it’s clear that the Alanga and their powers are slowly emerging again, but why? How? What is the history of the Alanga? Those secrets are slowly (partially) revealed through the course of this book and it just makes me want so so much more!

While overall this book is excellent, I did have a couple minor complaints. The main one being that I just did not buy the hinted budding romance between Jovis and Lin. I adore both characters individually but somehow the two just didn’t seem to have chemistry together. Granted, there are plot reasons for all of the above, but it still annoyed me. My other main complaint was that Phalue and Ranami (a pair I felt fairly lukewarm to in book 1) did nothing to relieve that annoyance. They’ve gotten together but they still don’t seem to have gotten past the, “you’re the daughter of the ex-governor and I was raised a gutter orphan and our viewpoints often clash as a result” conflicts of book 1.

Overall, I rate this book a 4/5. The character growth, especially of Lin and Jovis over the course of this book, the tantalizing mysteries of the mysterious Alanga slowly unveiling, and an extremely compelling villain all made this book a delight to read.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

The Bone Shard Emperor is a solid second installment in the Drowning Empire trilogy. Stylistically, it is very similar to the first, so I’d say that, for the most part, your enjoyment of this one hinges on enjoyment of the first book.

I enjoyed continuing to explore the bone shard magic, and so loved getting a deeper sense of the world, especially with things shifting politically.

We continue to follow the same major characters from the first book, and the structure continues to center Lin and Jovis as the central characters. I liked that I knew more what to expect, so the POV and 1st/3rd switching was less jarring.

While not the main focus of the book, Lin and Jovis do develop a romantic relationship. It did feel a bit uneven, given the way their issues with trust are written, but I still enjoyed it for the most part.

I also really liked seeing Phalue and Ranami again, as their relationship is lovely. And seeing things come together in how the distinct perspectives all relate to one another is definitely a plus. Sand/Nisong is used very sparingly as a POV character, but like the others, it felt intentional, to further center Lin and Jovis.

The main weakness is pacing, and my feelings on this are odd. I think the focus on Lin and Jovis does help to move the story along, but at the same time, it also feels rather slow for the bulk of the book, with most of the action coming in towards the end.

I am enjoying this series, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a fantasy with a unique world and magic system.

I feel like I’ve been saying this so often lately, but The Bone Shard Emperor was another of my most anticipated releases/sequels of the year! It was a satisfying sequel, though I did find myself more excited to read about Ranami and Phalue than Lin and Jovis this time around. Lin and Jovis ended up having so many secrets that it made me nervous to switch to their POVs because of the inevitable and untimely reveal of said secrets. I’d literally get to a point where I thought things would start to go badly and have to put the book down for a little break. Authors really be out there traumatizing their readers page by page.

Onward to the meat of the story! The Bone Shard Emperor picks up right after the events of The Bone Shard Daughter, with Lin having just assumed the throne and appointed Jovis her Captain of the Imperial Guard. Little does she know, but Jovis is spying for the Shardless Few and sending them information so that they might depose Lin. However, the longer he spends with Lin the more he begins to both like and understand her and he struggles with his decision. There's a lot going on in The Bone Shard Emperor, not counting the secrets of Lin and Jovis. There's a construct army ravaging the islands that aren't sinking, political upheaval, assassination attempts, and the feared Alanga seem to be appearing more and more. 

I think its clear at this point that I very much enjoy these characters and the world Andrea Stewart has constructed to house their wonderful story. It's full of love, betrayal, action, and you can absolutely feel the tension at times. All in all, it's very well crafted. I do think this installment felt a little slower than the first, mainly due to the switch from  Lin as a rebellious girl trying to overthrow her father to Lin as emperor. She's much more involved in negotiations and politicking rather than running across the rooftops practicing bone shard magic in secret, so it's definitely toned down a bit in that aspect. 

Overall, The Bone Shard Emperor was a solid sequel that perfectly satisfied my need for more Mephi (and Thrana!). I'm thinking a Mephi POV chapter where he's searching for tasty food would be a welcome bit of fun!! This didn't suffer from middle book syndrome (or whatever you choose to call it) but it was definitely a set up for the third book. I can't wait to see where the series goes next!!

The Bone Shard Emperor is the second book in Andrea Stewart's Drowning Empire trilogy, which began with last year's The Bone Shard Daughter. I liked The Bone Shard Daughter a good amount - it had a fun set of characters, particularly its main two, and its magic system, which largely was based upon a programming-esque language, was a lot of fun. It also read incredibly well for a book that was a decent length, of well over 400 pages. Still it read at times more like a prologue than the actual real story, which annoyed me a bit....although that made me curious how the second book would actually take the story, now that the characters are in position to make an impact.

And yeah, I really did like The Bone Shard Emperor, as a very well done piece of epic fantasy, even as it adds about 100 pages to its page-length (Amazon lists it as 561 pages). The characters remain incredibly strong, especially as one character tries to hold together and lead an Empire that had previously been held together through cruel magic, all the while trying not to repeat the cruelties of her predecessor - and the other characters try to figure out whether or not she has crossed the line. Add in a new set of magical powers, and the characters now all having chances to interact with each other, and you have a much stronger novel, even as it does rely at times on a few played out tropes.

Spoiler for book 1 are inevitable below, you have been warned:


--------------------------------------------------Plot Summary----------------------------------------------------
Lin Sukai is now Emperor of the Phoenix Emperor...and she is determined to be a different kind of emperor - a better kind of emperor - than the father that created her and held the Empire together with cruel bone-shard magic that tied the lives of his subjects to the magical constructs who enforced his every edict. But without the power of the constructs what does she have to offer to the governors who rule the islands of her Empire, especially when such local rulers do not know her or have reason to trust a girl they've never seen in their life? And Lin knows those governors will never trust her if they know the truths - that she's not her father's actual blood daughter, but a being created using his own evil magics.

Jovis didn't mean to become a legendary freedom fighting smuggler - and when he agreed to assassinate the emperor for the anti-Empire resistance, the Shardless Few, he had no intention of joining forces with the Emperor's successor. But here he is, along with his strange creature companion Mephi, now acting as the captain of Lin's guard. But can Jovis really trust her? Or should he act as the resistance wants and take her out? And what will happen if she discovers not just his strange powers, but that he has ties to both the resistance and an illicit smuggling group?

But the world will not let Lin and Jovis find these answers without pressure, as signs emerge that the Legendary Alanga, beings used powers like the Jovis' and Lin's to cause great destruction, are starting to arise throughout the Empire. And in the north, an army of constructs - armed with the memories of Lin's "mother" - are waging war on the Empire, and seemingly willing to do anything to destroy the Empire and anyone in their path.....
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Like its predecessor, The Bone Shard Emperor features a quintet of point of view characters, who the story alternates between - Lin and Jovis (see above plot summary), as well as Nisong (the Construct leader previously known as Sand), and Phalue & Ranami. Phalue and Ranami's chapters, on a small island in the Empire, still feel like a bit of a side story even as they finally intersect with the other main characters (previously they only interacted in a small role with Jovis). In fact, Phalue and Ranami disappear for long stretches at at time, which only magnifies this feeling.

Still, this isn't really a problem because the themes and characters involved with the two main characters - as well as with Nisong - are done really well. Lin's whole plot last book was trying to deal with her conflicting desires to prove herself to her father (and to uncover her father's secrets) and her desire to prove she was a better person than her father - now her father is dead, leaving Lin as Emperor....something she has never been prepared for. And so she still sets about proving herself to be better than him....but as the girl hidden away from the world, how can she prove herself when no one knows her and thus no one trusts her? Lin's frustration at it all, and desperate need for both answers as to what her father was actually doing and as to how she can attain respect like Jovis, is very easy to understand and relate to, and it's easy to see how she's clearly trying to be better in basically every way. Smartly, this book doesn't really ever suggest Lin is really being that tempted to turn to the dark side, with her actions always being justified by the context. Instead, Lin's conflict is largely driven by her fears of what she doesn't know about the Alanga, and about her fears of being exposed as not a real person (and an Alanga besides). Lin is driven, but at the same time desperately lonely and afraid of exposing her secrets to anyone else, even as those secrets only contribute to that loneliness.

And then there's Jovis, who spends the entire book at Lin's side. For Jovis, the Emperor was responsible for the capture of his beloved wife, and for the very system that drove him to smuggling and becoming unwillingly a rebel. And so he doesn't know what to do with Lin - who seems to agree about the horrors the last Emperor inflicted, who seems to trust him to be her guard despite not even knowing him, and who has a creature just like Mephi - and undoubtedly similar powers. And then there's the fact that Lin seems creepily to have his own wife's eyes. And so Jovis finds himself torn - between his prior commitment to the Shardless Few rebels, between his commitment to the family he still cares about even without having seen them for years, and towards feelings that he starts having for Lin - as he can tell that she truly means well, even as he constantly fears she's turning towards the very things he hated about her father. It's a plot arc that works really well in his conflict driven by his secret multiple allegiances, for the most part.

Jovis and Lin's plots deal strongly with the issues of power and control and the cost of holding to such power and control - after all by Lin giving up the bone shard magic and the constructs, Lin is losing the power that once stopped the Alanga, who seemingly are coming back, to say nothing of the construct rebellion that is growing...or the fact that several of her islands have now mysteriously sank (perhaps due to the mines of valuable material located on those islands). The power she had given up is cruel and monstrous...but can she actually be a meaningful emperor without it? Or without the cruel knowledge hidden away by her father? What is the cost of holding on to such power? And can one have such power - such as the Alanga power - without becoming what the Alanga legendarily became....people who held themselves above those without it, as if they were better, no matter the costs? Both Lin and Jovis' plots deal heavily with these themes in interesting ways as things go from bad to worse.

These themes are also dealt with in the other 3 characters' chapters. Nisong and her construct army, led by her four construct friends, want to destroy the Empire who cast them aside and who now, under Lin's guidance, has asked for their destruction...but what good is this campaign if it will cost Nisong the beings she cares for most? Phalue has made a full turn towards trying to a ruler FOR her people instead of OF her people like her father, but how can she do so while she's being blackmailed by the shardless few? Without being scared of a little orphan girl who might be spying on her? And for Ranami, now fully on Phalue's side, she finds herself unable to trust a girl who is exactly like how she used to be, a poor orphan desperate for anything, and thus afraid to help. And again with both Phalue and Ranami and the shardless few the conflict comes into play - what good is forcing a change if it will cause harm to so many innocents? All these themes play out interestingly and strongly (along with issues of past grudges and histories), which really makes this book work.

Really the only problem with this book is well, I'm very much tired of the trope of "two characters carry secrets they're afraid to reveal to one another, resulting in one exposing themselves to the other only to be heartbroken when they discover the other's secrets inadvertently" plot point - which you will see coming a mile away. It's done decently well, so it's understandable (especially from Lin's perspective") but it's a very tired trope which just had me waiting for the inevitable to occur, whereas otherwise I had little idea where the plot was going.

Still the themes are strong, the characters are strong, and the prose is super readable, and....well, I can't wait to read the conclusion, given where the cliffhangers come from here. Very worth your time.