Review – The Bone Shard Daughter (The Drowning Empire, Book 1) by Andrea Stewart (5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 448 pages
Publisher: Orbit
Release Date: September 8, 2020
ISBN-13 : 978-0316541428
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in The Drowning Empire series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 5/5 stars
“The emperor’s reign has lasted for decades, his mastery of bone shard magic powering the animal-like constructs that maintain law and order. But now his rule is failing, and revolution is sweeping across the Empire’s many islands.
Lin is the emperor’s daughter and spends her days trapped in a palace of locked doors and dark secrets. When her father refuses to recognise her as heir to the throne, she vows to prove her worth by mastering the forbidden art of bone shard magic.
Yet such power carries a great cost, and when the revolution reaches the gates of the palace, Lin must decide how far she is willing to go to claim her birthright – and save her people.”
Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Drowning Empire series. I borrowed this book from the library.
Story (5/5): This was such a well done epic fantasy. There is amazing world-building here and I loved the idea behind the constructs. The characters were engaging and interesting and I enjoyed reading from all the different perspectives. The stories tie together nicely and I just really enjoyed reading every bit of this book.
Characters (5/5): There are so many amazing characters in here that I loved reading from every point of view that Stewart wrote the story from. The main two characters are Lin (who is the emperor’s daughter and has lost her memory) and Jovis (a smuggler who ends up forced into a larger role). Jovis ends up with a large cat-like companion named Mephi that I absolutely adored. We also hear from Ranami (lover to the Governor’s daughter and a rebel), Phalue (governor’s daughter), and Sand (a woman with no memory that has been displaced to a remote island). All of the characters were intriguing, had a lot of depth, and showed a lot of growth throughout the story.
Setting (5/5): The world building here was amazing as well. This is such an interesting world and was well thought out. The idea of constructs that run off of the life force of commoners was incredibly intriguing. The world consists of a lot of islands and has a somewhat Asian feel to it but is also something completely unique.
Writing Style (5/5): This book was perfectly written and I have absolutely no complaints. Everything in here was well balanced. There is amazing world-building, intriguing characters, a fast-paced and intricate plot, and an interesting magic system. The whole thing was written in a style that was effortless to read and made the book very hard to put down. I haven’t enjoyed an epic fantasy book as much as this one in a long time.
My Summary (5/5): Overall I am so glad I read this. This is just a very well done start to an intriguing epic fantasy series. It has everything you could want from an epic fantasy series; action, adventure, magic, an amazing world, an intricate plot…there really isn’t any romance in here but that didn’t feel like it was lacking, it just didn’t fit in with the characters and story. I would highly recommend reading this if you enjoy epic fantasies with an amazing world and magic system, as well as a fast-pace and relatable characters.
