Amazon.ca:Customer reviews: The Bone Shard Daughter

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on May 24, 2021

This book had amazing world building and a fascinating magic system, I can’t wait to read the subsequent novels in this series!

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Timothy Reynolds

Original, Captivating Fantasy!

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on January 11, 2021

Verified Purchase

With characters you can cheer for and fight alongside, Stewart takes us into a fascinating new world where all is not as it seems and humanity is less in the structure and more in the actions.
I can’t wait for the next book!

One person found this helpful

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Incredible Magic System

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on February 4, 2023

I loved everything about this book! Great characters, amazing magic system, action and tension, twists and turns, and one fantastic ending. I could hardly put it down!

Lin is the daughter of the Emperor and is determined to prove herself as worthy in her father's eyes. As he refuses to recognize her, Lin begins a secret journey to mastery the complex art of bone shard magic and change the course of the Empire.

Lin is a great character with ambition and drive, and I deeply enjoyed her arc as she sees the full extent of the damage the Empire has done. Phalue, another character, has a similar arc that leads her down a path of rebellion in the name of love for a woman named Ranami. But my favourite characters were Jovis and Sand. Jovis has a great personality and becomes an unlikely hero as he searches for his missing wife. Sand, who is amnesiac, slowly regains her memory on a hidden island and uncovers some shocking secrets.

The plot starts a little slow as there are many moving parts, but I stayed invested throughout. While I predicted some of the big twists, they were nonetheless exciting and made the story far more intense. The ending in particular shook me and had me grateful that the second book is on my shelf. It really does draw you in once you become invested in the world.

And considering how well built the world is, that is not a hard task. I've never read any fantasy book with a magic system quite as interconnected as this. It elegantly ties in so many crucial plot threads. I loved every aspect of it and how different things connected different characters, even if they were happening miles apart in the plot.

This is a great fantasy book with layered characters and a spellbinding magic system. I loved every moment of it and am looking forward to seeing where the story goes next!

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Can't Wait for the Sequel!

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on October 21, 2022

Content Warning: Human trafficking, Physical parental abuse, Child sexual abuse mentioned, Amnesia (memory loss), Blood & gore depiction, Body horror, Medical experimentation, Death of a child, Death of a brother, Death of a mother & father, Death of a wife, Murder & attempted murder, Physical assault, Imprisonment, Drowning, Earthquakes, Disappearance of a loved one, Child homelessness & poverty recounted, Rebellion themes & regicide, Animal attack, Animal injury & illness, Animal abuse

SPOILER: The cute animal, Mephi, does NOT die. (I searched everywhere to find this out so that I could continue reading)

I started this, listened to about 2 hours, and then read something else to make sure I was in the right headspace to continue. And while I was really confused for the front end of the book, the payoff of the reveals and insights was well worth it! I really liked learning more about the world, the magic, and the intricacies of the politics in this world. There is also on screen wlw, and they have an interesting relationship. This book focused heavily on Jovis and Lin, so I hope there is more screen time for the other POVs in the future.

However, I didn't like that there were only THREE audiobook narrators for the FIVE points of view. I get it, I think the other two only had one or two chapters each, but it made it so confusing! As someone who reads based off those audio clues for who is speaking, it made it very difficult. I hope in the future there are more voice actors.

Overall though, I do recommend this! I thought the end reveals were so well done and I can't wait to see where this series goes.

One person found this helpful

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NB_Princess

Surprisingly deep and innovative with intriguing POV characters

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on September 2, 2021

I thought I knew what I was expecting when I cracked the spine on The Bone Shard Daughter, but Andrea Stewart surprised me in more ways than one. The characters, the narrative structure, the thematic focus, the plot twists . . . so much of it played contrary to what I was expecting. Aside from the fact that it sometimes felt like a YA novel, especially with Lin's personality and status so often playing contrary to her age, I was delighted to discover what surprises lay in store next.

This is a story told from 5 POVs, which means we spend a lot of time wondering how/if those characters will come to interact. Those interactions were one of the surprises I appreciated so much, especially as we raced towards a climax, with a confrontation that, at the risk of hyperbole, changes everything. Lin and Jovis, as you can tell from their first-person POVs, are the heart of the novel. Lin is Emperor's Daughter, a young woman forced to compete with an adopted rival for her father's affections as well as his inheritance. Jovis, on the other hand, is a smuggler who just wants to find out what happened to his wife, a woman stolen away in the night by a mysterious boatman, but who increasingly gets drawn into matters of import, accompanied by an adorable magical creature named Mephi, who has surprises of his own.

Secondary to Lin and Jovis are Phalue and Ranami, two young women from another island who find their affections for one another often competing with their ambitions for the empire. I thought Stewart did a spectacular job of portraying their dynamic, giving us moments of tenderness and intimacy, but always within the context of being manipulated politically. Finally, we have Sand, a woman seemingly trapped on another island, with no memory of how or why she came to be there. Even though she gets the lowest page count, she becomes increasingly more interesting and important as the book goes on, forcing me to discard one guess after another as to who she might be.

Beneath all of that - or, rather, holding it all together - is the concept of bone magic, and that's what makes this debut stand up. It seems like such a simple thing at first, being forced to sacrifice a small shard of bone from behind your ear to help the Emperor protect the empire from the legendary Alanga, but the more we learn about that magic, about how it's used and what its use does to the donors, the creepier and more monstrously magnificent it gets. If the revelations of the final few chapters are anything to go by, I suspect this book has only scratched the surface of bone magic potential.

As for reservations or concerns, I only have a few, and they're all things I expect to be dealt with in subsequent volumes. We never really find out who or what the Alanga are, or why they're so feared; we never find out why an island sinks into the sea; and I didn't feel as if we got a good picture of how all the islands are connected in terms of politics.

The Bone Shard Daughter is an easy, comfortable read, one that flows well and lends itself to late-night binges through chapters, but its greatest strength is that it sticks with you, forcing you to turn it over and over in your mind, realizing it's deeper and more complex than it appeared on the page.

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Silvia Cojocaru

wonderful blend of fantasy and sci-fi

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on March 1, 2021

Such a wonderful blend of fantasy and sci-fi! A gem of a book, that I recommend to anybody!

I must say, though I was intrigued by the synopsis (that's why I read it), and it describes fairly accurately what part of the book is about, it does not make it justice. This is so much more than that.

The writing is so good, that I think every reader would connect with at least some of the characters. It's an exquisite weave of action and character driven. The secondary plots are great, and they slowly build towards the main one, to end the book with a bang.

And I need to circle back and mention that in this book we follow the four main characters on their journeys. Each chapter from their perspective. We get know a lot about how they think, and about their individual personalities. I did like some better than others, but time and the next book will validate or not my opinion of them :D.

The world building is done so much better than a lot of other popular books. We have a lovely map at the beginning of the book (I do like maps on books). But we also get to learn about the world from the different characters, from what they see, the extra characters they meet and what they go through.

The plot was set up really well, with the different perspectives converging to such an unexpected ending!
And I loved the LGBTQ representation.

It is the first book in the The Drowning Empire series. I need the next book right now!!!

If you want a captivating novel, with complex world building, likable characters and a well done combination of action driven and character driven writing, I strongly recommend it.

Thank you to the publisher @hbgcanada for the #gifted review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

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TheShadesofOrange

Creepy Hard Magic System

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on October 28, 2020

The hard magic system was easily the best aspect of this epic fantasy debut. The premise behind the magic, involving extracting bone shards from humans, was a wonderfully creepy concept. I really enjoyed the creation of the constructs, which reminded me of the magical programming in Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett. Fans of that other series will likely be interested in this one too.

Told over multiple perspectives, I found Lin's chapters to be the most engaging. I would have preferred if the entire story was told from her perspective. The other two characters were just not as compelling and I honestly struggled to connect with them for most of the book.

The story started out fairly slow, but it picked up towards the last third with some bug revelations and action packed scenes. It was satisfying to see the narrative threads come together into an exciting conclusion. As the first book in the series, this one had a lot of setup so I believe later books will be stronger.

I would recommend this novel for anyone looking for a new epic fantasy story with a hard magic system.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

2 people found this helpful

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Colline Vinay Kook-Chun

A Fantastic Debut Fantasy

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on January 17, 2021

Loved this and could not stop reading! Think of oppression, autocracy, cruelty, Frankenstein's monster - then the desire to be free. The heroes of the story are unusual and imperfect. Loved the slow burn of the story and the way all the threads are pulled together to an ending that makes me want the sequel NOW!

One person found this helpful

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Mrdy

I couldn't put this book down!

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on February 25, 2021

What a magnificent read! This was such an exciting high fantasy story to read. It was so unique and well thought out. I loved the magic system and the plot twists. Can't wait for the next one!

One person found this helpful

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Shell's Stories

Perfect for adult and YA SFF fans

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 8, 2023

Verified Purchase

The Bone Shard Daughter is a page-turning multi-POV fantasy read perfect for YA, adult, and sci-fi readers. It has gods, necromancy/android elements, and cute companion creatures.

This book has been on my TBR for a while, and I regret that. It has the same addictive qualities as some big-name SFF books, like The Daevabad and The Poppy War series. But going in, I was a little skeptical. The first few chapters were a bit dry, since they're trying to establish the world and characters. But by the end of chapter three, I was hooked. I guess world-shattering fictional disasters will do that for me. Weird.

The Bone Shard Daughter has five POVs, but really two main characters. Lin is the emperor's daughter who's jealous of her father's ward and how her father is teaching him the art of creating constructs (basically using people's life sources to animate dead animals, so very sci-fi but in a fantasy way). Jovis, the second major character, is a smuggler. His POV was my favorite. He's kind of like Aladdin with Abu, but on a mission. Both main characters' narration is in first-person, whereas the other three characters are in third-person. Phalue, a warrior and governor's daughter, reminds me of Brienne of Tarth; and her partner Ranami, another POV character, is trying to persuade Phalue to step up and stop the injustices her father allows. As for the final character, well, that's a secret. But honestly, I don't think I had a least-favorite POV. The characters were very well-written and their secrets were interesting to discover.

As for the plot of the book, all of the characters have their own stories going and it's hard to see how they may connect, but the author gets there eventually. Obviously there's rebellion ensuing, and that always brings a team of unlikely "heroes" together at some point. I did figure out Lin's secrets and storyline a little bit earlier than some of the others' though. However, her chapters were a little wilder than I expected. There were some twists I didn't see coming. And for one particular creature, well, I'd give him the world. He deserves it, and the author put him through too much. Because of all the twists and turns for the two major characters, I read most of this book in less than two days. The ending went by rather fast, and while it wasn't super rushed, I feel like it could've taken a little time to recuperate with a couple of the characters. I think the last few chapters could've been doubled to make the pacing more realistic. It's not a major thing, since I still definitely plan on picking up book two very soon, it was just something I noticed as the book was winding down.

All in all, I think this story is perfect for adult SFF fans of the two series mentioned earlier as well as YA fans of Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes and Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao. It's a great crossover book with the potential to be a really great series.

4 stars

*Note: I received a copy of this book from a friend. This in no way affected my opinion/review.

5 star		53%
4 star		32%
3 star		12%
2 star		2%
1 star		1%

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