Thank you Hachette Audio for providing me with a complementary audiobook in exchange for my honest thoughts.

The Drowning Empire Trilogy is a fantasy series that MUST be consumed via audiobook! Natalie Naudus, Emily Woo Zeller, and Feodor Chin are all incredibly talented narrators and they really brought the Drowning Empire to life! Their performances add so much to this already rich world with amazing characters.

Andrea Stewart is officially an auto-buy author for me. As hard as it was to say goodbye to this world and these characters (I’m looking at you Mephi), I can’t wait to see what Andrea writes next. I will be first in line!

I would like to thank the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for the ARC of this book. I read an advanced copy of this book, so the final edition of the book might be slightly different. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.

I was terrified of this book when I started it. This series has been brutal up until now, and the ending of The Bone Shard Emperor did not leave me incredibly hopeful. And honestly, in a way, I was right to be scared! This book was full of a lot of pain and hard decisions and heartbreaking scenes.

The empire was truly crumbling throughout this book, despite Lin’s best efforts to keep it together. It was honestly tough to watch, as the inside perspective through Lin’s narration often made me more sympathetic to her goals and her desire to see the Empire flourish and survive, despite it becoming clearer and clearer that it was near impossible. I honestly really enjoyed how much we got to see all sides of the conflict, and it made this series really interesting to read just on a political level.

While at points this book dragged on a bit and felt a bit slow compared to the other books in the series, I did still enjoy it overall. It was tough to read (or listen to) at times, especially seeing how much pain many of the characters were in, and how in turn they often hurt other characters because of it. One thing I did miss a bit in this final installment was the further exploration of the world and its secrets. We did still have a few final reveals, but it did feel like this final book was mainly focused on exploring the ramifications of everything that had happened in the first two books and wrapping up all the plot threads. It did make for a satisfying and complete conclusion, but it made certain sections of the book a bit less thrilling or exciting.

Lastly, I have to commend the narrators of this trilogy. Natalie Naudus, Feodor CHin, and Emily Woo Zeller were fantastic at bringing this series to life, and a big reason I love this series as much as I do. They brought so much emotion and life and vibrancy to their respective characters, and really made each character stand out. They felt like real people to me, thanks to the fantastic blend that these narrators and Stewart’s writing made.

Overall, while the first book does solidly remain my favorite of the series, I found that The Bone Shard War was a solid conclusion to a trilogy full of twists and turns. I really enjoyed this series overall, and can’t wait to see what Andrea Stewart writes next!

This review will go live on my blog on February 8th.

This unfortunately was not my cup of tea. I really, really loved the bone shard daughter and I was excited to continue the series but this book was too long and not engaging enough for me to keep up with the audiobook. I think this will be a great book for another reader, but it wasn’t for me.

I really enjoyed the magic system in this series. It was original but a tiny bit gruesome. I was intrigued with where this was heading and was hoping for an explosive ending.

This book begins two years after the second book ended. For me, it was a jarring time jump with little explanation. The main characters were separated and because of this, the storyline jumped around. I felt like the start of the book wasn’t cohesive. I struggled through quite a bit of the book, but was glad to see it improved over the last 30%.

I ended up caring the most about Mephi. He continued to be my favorite character throughout the entire series.

An excellent conclusion to the Drowning Empire series. The mystery that was built up throughout the story was brilliantly resolved, and every character had a satisfying ending despite some bittersweet moments. The way the different narrators were woven together was particularly impressive, making each character unique and three-dimensional.

Excellent audiobook. Each narrator was terrific, and having different ones helped me to distinguish which character I was following.

Wow wow wow! What an amazing ending to this trilogy. I will be thinking about this one for a long time. Lin is one of my favorite characters that I’ve read in a long time.

Thank you, NetGalley, publishers, and Andrea Stewart for gifting me a copy of The Bone Shard War in return for my honest opinion.

3/5 stars

I will admit, I saw the cover and clicked without reading whether or not this was part of a series. It happens to be the last book in a 3 book series so to say I was confused would be an understatement. I ended up not finishing listening to the book due to my confusion. The characters seemed well thought out, and the writing was great, I also enjoyed the narrator. Which is why I didn't give it my usual 1/1.5 for a DNF, but since it was my fault for the confusion I wasn't going to fault the book for that.

If I didn't have so many books to read I would look into this series but at this point, I don't think that will happen. But if I do I will come back and update my review.

I realized this was not book 1 but 3 so I'm currently reading book 1 in order to get this one. I'm loving book one so ill definitely love this whole series and I cannot wait to get to this last installment.

Please note that if you don’t have clear memories of who the characters are (beyond the main, like, six from book one), it will take you quite a while to get your bearings.

This was a fitting end to the series. Our main characters are separated but working towards a common goal (against very different odds), so jumping between them kept the momentum going. Unfortunately, because there’s something like 5 main plots to tie up, the antagonists have to wear many hats, which make them seem kind of flighty and inconsistent. (I also really wish I remembered the backstory of one of them because without it their every action lost any semblance of impact; this is a me problem but also had a big effect on my reading experience).

After his kind of blah role in the second book, Jovis really carried the character development in this book. Lin was rather implacable, but that’s in character for her. And Phalue has much more depth than she had at the start of this journey.

The third and final installment in the Drowning Empire series does not disappoint. The first story was a book club pick, but I was invested in the stories and continued with the following titles.

This series is a bit weightier and darker than many of the other fantasy series and are more along the lines of Ursula K LeGuin than some of the other currently popular titles. I like that it wasn't a hoard of teenaged protagonists, but were complex characters with complicated lives. The magic systems and world building was thorough and well planned.

Natalie Naudus and Emily Woo Zeller are two of my favorite narrators, so to have them both on the same title was a delight!

An epic and satisfying conclusion to this great fantasy series! Full of magic, adventure, romance and intrigue. I especially loved the narration by one of my favs, Natalie Naudus and can't wait to read what Andrea Stewart comes up with next! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

This is the third and final book in this series and it was one of the rare series where the books keep getting better. I enjoyed book 1, loved book 2 but I am dying at how good book 3 was. I really want to re read them all because I want to go through the story again with a better understanding of the world.

I made the mistake of listening at work and honestly it took everything in my power to not fall apart at the end. I think Andrea Stewart just became an auto buy author and I cant wait to see when she does next.

I really liked this trilogy, however I do feel like book three could’ve been a little shorter. It started sounding redundant. However, over all the series was amazing. This was the first multi-pov series I read and at first I had a hard time focusing but then it all just clicked together. It’s like three different stories that converge into one.

The animal companions were partly my favorite. Jo is and his animal companion had the best relationship and you could tell they cared for each other deeply.

I would recommend this series to anyone looking for a high fantasy, animal companion, without the grim dark aspect!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me access to this Audiobook. This was a mostly satisfying end to a really great series. lt was probably my least favorite of the three because I really liked Jonas from the previous books and was rooting for him in this one and that’s all I’m going to say about that. The non-humans stole the show again, and were by far my favorite characters. I thought the mystery of the islands sinking was really done well and overall she tied this series up well. I look forward to reading anything else Andrea Stewart writes. Also, the narration was really well done, but honestly Emily Woo Zeller could have done the whole series and it would have been perfect too.

I loved Bone Shard Daughter for it's magic system, cool characters, and magical companions. Unfortunately for me, this last one took a turn away from all that into more politics and romance. I wasn't a huge fan of this focus shift and the romance felt forced to me. i will try more from this author, but not a win for me in the end.

Wow! I will miss these characters so much. This series really grew on me. So much growth from all the characters throughout the series. The world building and writing is amazing.
I found the beginning of this third book to be frustrating. Towards the middle and the end of the book I really started to enjoy it. I absolutely adore Mephi and Jovis together. I will forever think about them. Jovis and Lin are the slow burn of all slow burn. I fell in love with each character.
If you love a good fantasy book and want to escape the real world for a little while then I highly recommend this series to you!

I always dread the final book in a fantasy series because I worry the ending won’t give what I want it to give. The Bone Shard War did not disappoint and ended the series with a bang. I listened to the audiobook and the narrators were fantastic. If you read the the Bone Shard Daughter and the Bone Shard Emperor, you will be delighted with the final installment. And if you haven’t started the trilogy, you should. It has the most unique magic system that lends to such an interesting plot.

"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.

I voluntary read and reviewed an Advanced Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Oh did this take me too long and it wasn't just me getting distracted by other things. Usually when I write reviews I start with the positive parts but here i have so little to say and I truly hate saying this, trust me.

Well here we go, the book is too long. I cant be on 96% and still have almost an hour left of the audiobook. The chapters were too big and it was mostly repetitiveness (I hope I spelled that right). Sail to an island, something happens, they barely escape, reach to sore to someting else happening and again barely escape and sail to another island. Very much like the endless sea this whole situation felt endless.

Most of the characters became too nothing for me to even try to write something but two of them stood out for the wrong reasons. Renamis entire personality is that she is an orphan and grew up on the streets. She makes sure to either think about it or mention it in every chapter she has. Even when she becomes relatable I find her annoying. And Ayesh, I could go on without her. She has no meaning besides giving Renami a POV and maybe be something else besides the orphan who grew up on the streets.

Jovis used to be my favourite but meh.

Well for the positive the writing is very consistent and it has a fairly good and fair ending which is the last maybe 20% of the book which isnt much, The best thing are Mephi and Thrana and that is all I choose to remember from this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Orbit, Hachette Audio and the author for providing me with the copy.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

I enjoyed listening to this series. Good world building and complex characters, I'm glad I took the time to go back and listen to the other 2 in the series. The narrators were good as well!