I knew as soon as I saw Sarah J Maas on the cover that I was going to be disappointed in this book, and I was right. The Bone Shard series has been an exercise in disappointment: The Bone Shard Daughter was one of my favorite books the year it debuted but the series has been on a steady decline since then. Reading Stewart's authors note, she notes that her debut was years in the making and she struggled more with Book 2, and especially Book 3. I think this is unfortunately very reflective of the story arc. While the first book was clearly the product of many years of revisions and editing, books 2 and 3 are much more rushed and unsatisfying. This is deeply unfortunate, as the essential building blocks of the story are incredible: the Alanga, the ossalen and their evolution, the politics of the empire and the witstone. However, the pacing overall is serious struggle: once again the first half of the book is too slow and the second half is too rushed. I liked the time jump, between this book and the last one, but also felt like it cheated me out of a lot of character development, especially for Jovis. There's also certain character moments that feel oddly juvenile in terms of their emotional level, with the characters sometimes reading more like older teenagers than full adults. My biggest frustration, however, was how the plot continued to feel predictable and reliant on tropes. One of my favorite things about the Bone Shard Daughter was how original it felt, and I just feel as thought the series has lost that spark over time.

When I was given an ARC of this book I could not have been more excited. This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2023. I am very happy to say that this book did not disappoint. This was a beautiful conclusion to a series that I love. The Bone Shard War was both heartbreaking and heartwarming. The explorations of different forms of love, grief, and power were so well done. I will miss being in this world especially the ossalen who I love with my whole heart.

I loved the first book in this series so so much, I feel like this trilogy was super genre bending, and every time i felt like i had a categorization of it, it subverted my expectations. This book, I feel concluded the trilogy really well, and i just love this world and these characters so much

An amazing conclusion to the Bone Shard Trilogy, a finale to remember that doesn't pull its punches.

The Bone Shard War is the third book in the Drowning Empire trilogy. The book picks up two years after the events of The Bone Shard Emperor, and because it had been a long time since I'd read the previous two, I spent the first several chapters trying to remember who everyone was and how the magic system works since it dove right in to the action.

If you loved the first two, you'll like this one -- I will say the pacing in the first half was a bit of a slog; those try/fail cycles were occurring every chapter and the characters we love failing more than winning. It made it hard to keep reading because I wondered if anything good would ever happen to Lin again.

I did enjoy the delving further into the magic system and how it all works, and the battles were very exciting. The characters were very well drawn, but I struggled with the trilogy-long character arc for Lin. As the main character, it felt like we were slowly supposed to be falling out of love with her due to the author wanting to prove a political point about how democracy is the best form of government, but that falling out of love with Lin had nothing to do with her personally.

All in all, I did like the book and am looking forward to more books from Andrea Stewart.

I received an arc of this book from NetGalley but the reviews of this are my own.

The Bone Shard War takes place 2 years after The Bone Shard Emporer and is an amazing conclusion to The Drowning Empire series. As with the 2nd book, this book was a little bit slow in the first half but the switching of the POVs helps keep you drawn in.

I'm still astounded by the creativity of the bone-shard magic concept. In this book that grows and we learn more about it as well as ossalen and the mysterious swords.

While I didn't love the ending, I knew it was inevitable and cried. I won't give any spoilers but it was a great book and I absolutely loved it.

One of my most anticipated books of the year! I reread the first two books in the trilogy right before diving into this, and actually that might not have been a great idea cause I was a little burned out on the characters and the world by the time I got to War. But nevertheless, I was glad to have the cliffhanger settled, and was so happy I didn’t have to wait long to find out what happened to Mephi. And Jovis too, I suppose (jk, love you Jovis). I really liked Nisong’s journey and how pairing her with a worse bad guy gave her some humanity. And Lin — girl, why does the empire need to exist?! I found myself getting frustrated that she wouldn’t just let it go. But overall a really enjoyable way to wrap up a great series.

Thank you NetGalley, Andrea Stewart, and Orbit for giving me the privilege to read this book early. This trilogy is so so so beyond unique. I can hardly describe the description to any person.

I feel that the finale of this series perfectly wrapped it up and achieved all the goals any reader would love to see. Coming back to these characters and seeing them achieve their dreams and happy endings made the trek up this mountain and back down worth it. I don’t know how Andrea tied up this trilogy so well is beyond me. It is an excellent example of superb writing!

If you want a high Asian inspired fantasy filled with high stakes, unique magic system, found family with a pinch of romance this is your trilogy. I have read nothing similar and that is hard to find in this day an age. I’m sad this trilogy is over but I’m so happy for Andrea and cannot wait for this series to blow up!

I am sad that this trilogy ended, but it was wrapped up in a way that I respected.
It was hard to start the books with Jovis and Lin apart. I loved them together so much. Jovis' journey during the book was amazing, he really had to develop and fight through who he had been, his current situation and who he was going to be.
Man, I hate Ragan. Ugh. I struggled through some of his chapters because he was so maniacal.
The further development with the Alanga was definitely my favorite part of the book. I wish I had room to have a Mephi in my life.
All in all, the story was a little long. I was worried about how much was left to wrap up at 75% in but the ending was done very well and it ended in the most perfect way a story of war and change could end.
Great series that has not gotten enough notoriety ! Every fantasy reader needs to read this series!

It's over and I cried about it! Andrea will be an auto-buy author for as long as we both shall live.


This series is everything. I recommend to anyone, ever. This is going to sounds a bit crazy, but this book was my least favorite. It was still brilliant, I still loved it, but for me it was a bit too much war. The characters and me as a reader couldn't catch a break to the point where it almost became repetitive. There were just some parts that could have been cut out / toned down in my opinion but legit the WHOLE is at war on many different sides so I get it all the same!

These characters (mostly Mephi and Jovis) hold such a special spot in my heart. One day I will go back and experience it all over again, watch them all grow with their failures and successes and that day can't come fast enough.

As this is the 3rd and final book it is hard to say non-spoilers so just know you will have ZERO regrets once you give these a go! Incredible.

I truly expected to enjoy this anticipated conclusion to The Drowning Empire trilogy, but the truth is that I spent most of this reading experience bored.

I will start of with what I did like about this book. Stewart's writing style and characterization remain consistent with the other two books. No characters get a personality transplant or some other nonsense. There are a few twists and turns in the story, but the groundwork is laid for them. Nothing feels like it was added at random purely for shock value.
I thought the final act of the book was the most engaging part.

Now to what I didn't like. The first 60% of this book was monotonous. Worst of all, it accomplished nothing plot wise. The action is repetitive. Our heros show up on to a location, get into a fight with the antagonists, lose, and rinse and repeat.

I need to be honest when I say I simply did not care for Ranami's POV in this installment. Lin and Jovis are the main characters and have the most compelling story. Her plotline was so boring in a book I was already having trouble keeping my interest in. Speaking of characters, I was quite underwhelmed with Dione as a whole. Not what I expected from an ancient wizard who has schemed for centuries.

While I was not thrilled with this conclusion, I'm still happy I was able to complete it. I plan on reading Stewart's next published work.

Thank you to Orbit books and NetGalley for allowing me to read a digital arc in return for a review!
The Drowning Empire trilogy is the first trilogy I have been on NetGalley and gotten approved for throughout; due to this, it will have a very special place in my heart. Thank you, Orbit!!

I enjoyed the usual quality of Andrea Stewart's prose, somewhat dreamy and distant, but direct and clear the read. Never was a sentence wrapped in metaphor more than it ought to be, never was a meaning unclear. One of the twists was noted down solidly down so that the reader would realize with a dawning horror at the same time as the narrators themselves, which I thought worked exceedingly well. I also thought the development of Lin's father continued to be excellent, and I liked my usuals, Dio, Phalue, Ranami, watching them eagerly.

Unfortunately, one thing I hadn't been able to catch onto was Lin and Jovis so much of the POV sections that focused on them felt stifled and I found myself looking forward to what seemed to be a last moment twist. . .only for it to be changed a few pages later. I was certainly disappointed. I also agree with some others-- this felt a bit too bloated, and might have worked better as two separate books-- more to enjoy! I think some things, such as the timeskip, might have worked out better with it, as well as Nilsong's relationship.

I did still, very much enjoy this book! It's no easy feat to cap off a conclusion that wraps up as many loose ends as neatly as Andrea Stewart did, especially in epic fantasy.

A fun continuation of the bone shard world. While I felt the first half of the book was slow, there was still enough happening to keep me reading. By the second half, things really pick up, and I think readers of this series will be happy with the book especially the ending.

"She was coming to realize that memories were fickle things, shifting with the light and the angle."

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

When I got the notification that I received an arc for the ending of this beautiful series, I couldn't believe it. The Bone Shard Daughter was one of my favorite unexpected loves from 2021 and I have been following its growth ever since. The Bone Shard Emperor only expanded my love, and I found that The Bone Shard War quickly became a most anticipated read for this year. Being able to read it early feels like a gift.

It was all I wanted it to be. Tragic and heart breaking. Full of so many different kinds of grief and loss. A lesson on how to go about life without your partner next to you. I love that this series focuses so much on side characters, that nobody seems lost in an epic fantasy plot. Whether it be our main character Lin, or our favorite creature Mekhi, we know their story inside and out.

I continued to be in awe of the bone shard magic, and loved that so many unanswered questions from book one get answers here. What incredible writing to not forgot such small details over such a large expanse of time!

I do have to admit that I was a little lost at times simply because with a two year gap in the plot, the first half of this book was a lot of going back in forth in time. It didn't impact my experience as much as I thought, though, because by the end I was flipping pages faster than I could read waiting to find out how it all concludes.

I love Lin. I think she is one of the best written female characters I've ever read. From the questioning daughter in the first book, to the powerful ruling emperor she becomes, I have never known someone so genuine. Among the years of her life she needs to figure herself out, she's also taking care of an empire and a people who don't necessarily want her. It's unbelievably endearing and exciting.

I already can't wait to read this series through again from start to finish. This has such five star potential, and I can't wait to see if it gets there.

If you haven't read The Drowning Empire books yet, now is the perfect time to start!! This beauty comes out on April 18, and I know she can't wait to spill her secrets to you.

When I found this book, the whole premise drew me in that I had to pick it up. Unfortunately, I had not realized it was part of a trilogy. So, I went back and picked up the first two books to read before I cracked open this one.

I am glad I did because I would have probably never understood it if I had not. LOL, I would be extremely lost knowing what was going on and would have been turned off from the book. But I am glad I did get a chance.

This book, however, was one of the weakest books of the trilogy. I actually struggled with this book that I nearly either DNFed it or I was just going to pick it up here and there to try to finish reading it. I pushed myself to do the latter. I wanted to see how this book ends.

The plot felt like something was either missing or parts of it felt out of place. I could not point out a specific part but the whole thing was meh. I could not even bother to connect with the characters as I had in the first two books. They had personalities and had grown as a character. These characters in the third novel felt like they had taken two steps backward. I can only think that with the feeling that the plot had nothing to really contribute to the story. We step two years into the future on a boat. Yeah. Nothing new has happened in between. There is a war coming on the horizon and a sword quest.

Even Mephi seemed to blend into the background. He was nothing notable unlike he had been in the first two books and I missed him. He was growing on me dammit.

Overall, this series is pretty good and well worth the read. The final book is a bit weak but it works well into finishing up the series. So, definitely give it a chance and you may just enjoy it yourself.

The Bone Shard war is the thrilling final book in the Drowning Empire series by Andrea Stewart, and it hall all the feels you could ever want in a last book. The Bone Shard series is my favorite series I read this year. Though I know we are not far into the year, it is a fantastic Adult fantasy. Lin, our main character, is a raw and genuine character who has to figure out who she is, all while trying to make choices about the empire she is ruling. I like how the timeline moved in this book since it is told from different character perspectives. We see the events from various points in the story and how they affect the characters in their view in the timeline. Thanks to NetGalley and orbit book for the chance to review this book.

A fitting and bittersweet ending to one of the most innovative fantasy trilogies I've ever read (and I've read a lot). The beginning is a bit slow but the ending does not disappoint. Can't wait to see what Andrea Stewart comes up with next!

Thank You to Orbit and Netgalley for the Advanced Copy of one of my most anticipated books this year.
The Bone Shard series was one of my favourite and surprising series read last year.
The Bone Shard War is the conclusion to the trilogy and sadly the weakest book of the series. I do not in any way discourage anyone from reading the series it is still excellent.
In books 1 and 2 we were spoiled with a different approach to fantasy world building that was a mix of oriental fantasy worlds (think Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and gothic horror. The multi character POVs moved the story along and was necessary to illustrate the external stories and characters impacted by the core characters at the center of the Empire, the Emperor and his daughter Lin our MC.
I can’t really go into too much detail here without spoiling the first 2 books but sufficed to say the main issue I had with book 3 is the pacing. It just felt a little bloated with repetative interactions and scenes that should have moved along much faster.
The first 50-60% of the book was a struggle for me. It seemed every character was moving from place to place looking for something, failing, once in a while meeting in combat and then moving on to just do much of the same on the next point of travel. Very few new elements of surprise were introduced is this part of the story; a lot of introspection and internal dialogue but not much in the way of action or shocking twists like what captured my attention in books 1 and 2.
The last 3rd of the book all the POVs converge and we have a final battle for the future of the Empire. This is where the book redeems itself. The story moves quickly, almost too quickly to a conclusion that is somewhat satisfying but fell a little short of being epic in my honest opinion.
There were some holes in the finale I found a bit unsettling. The character Alysha seemed to play such a major part in the end but we never get her POV or her mental development. The biggest dissappointment for me is how we finish with Jovis our main male character. His finale was not fleshed out enough, especially in final chapters , we only get his events through Lin’s POV, but I wanted to be in Jovis’s head as we were for much of the story. It just felt a little unbalanced.
Book 1 & 2 were 4 and 4.5 star reads for me. I give this third book a 3 star. Placing the overall series at a 3.75 - 4 star read. Still highly entertaining and a recommended read if you don’t mind an ending that is tad underwhelming given my expectations from the tour de force books one and two were. The Bone Shard series still holds a place of honor on my bookshelf.

I am beyond thrilled and humbled to have received an advanced copy of this to review but goodness gracious, The Bone Shard War didn't do it for me.

Andrea Stewart is an incredible writer, she's funny but still able to write emotionally complex characters and she's creative! But I can't help but feel that the creativity (especially on display in The Bone Shard Daughter) was missing here.

Throughout the series we're introduced to some very unique ideas - Bone Shard magic specifically is some of the most interesting fantasy I've ever read. Even the Alanga magic in book two was explored in creative ways (suffocation with small streams of water). This book felt like it leaned into the 'war' and in doing so lost the charm that drew me into the series in the first place.

The book while well written is similar to a long action sequence, one where to protagonists lose again and again until about 75% of the way through - it's all okay but not exactly compelling to read after a certain point.

There are a few surprises or big reveals but they didn't really land for me in the way they were probably supposed to. Still an excellent series overall and now Andrea Stewart has a reader for life but this one in particular just didn't stick the landing in the way I had hoped it would.

Thank NetGalley!

I adore this author and i love this series.
I can’t say much without spoiling it and since it’s part of a series all I’m gonna say is read this book, this series in general asap.
It is so good!
It had everything i was expecting to see and it was really well written as always.
I’m really happy with this book.
If it’s on your tbr read this series asap!