Book Review:
Title: The Bone Shard Daughter
Author: Andrea Stewart
Publisher: Orbit
"We all tell ourselves stories of who we are, and in my mind, I was always the hero. But I wasn’t. Not in all the ways I should have been."
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.
There is no better feeling than falling in love with a book and enjoying every second of it.
Having checked Goodreads, the last time I rated a book 5 stars was back in May and the last time I rated a fantasy book 5 stars was in March, so when I tell you that this book was INCREDIBLE, please understand that I really do mean it and it was exactly what I’ve been waiting for!
It was such a breath of fresh air!
We get 5 povs in this book, two in 1st person and three in 3rd person. This combination can go either way – it either works, or the voices sound too similar, the change from 1st to 3rd is jarring and the whole thing falls apart. For that reason, I was a little wary going into the book, but Andrea Stewart pulled it off. Every voice was distinct, and every character has their own battles and story to tell, which makes it all the more compelling.
Our first main character is Lin, who is the emperor’s daughter. From her perspective we learn the fundamentals about bone shard magic and see her try to perfect the technique of using said magic to build constructs (think piecing different parts of animals together to form a new creature that obeys your commands) to prove her worth and compete for the role of emperor against her foster brother, all while trying to regain her memories that she lost 5 years ago. I really enjoyed her chapters – she’s strong, determined, but ultimately just wants to feel accepted, and because of that, you have no choice but to root for her.
We then have Phalue and Ramani, the former being a governor’s daughter, the latter being a member of a rebellion group, and them both being an established F/F couple. What I really loved about their chapters was the exploration of class and privilege. Phalue, being the governors daughter, has never truly experienced hardship and is therefore quite naïve, whereas Ramani, being of a lower class, has seen and experienced the unjustness of the society they live in, and this divide tends to be the topic of their arguments. But slowly throughout this book we see growth in them both as they try to understand each other’s perspective and come together to ensure their loyalties lie on the same side as well as the right side of history.
Next up is Sand, who is definitely the most mysterious character. Sand basically lives the same mundane day over and over again on this island, alongside some other islanders. Nobody really knows or remembers anything, there's just the present for them. But one day, while picking mangoes, she has an accident and suddenly gets hit with a memory. Thus, comes her arc of trying to figure out who she is, where she is, how she got there, and with the help of some other islanders, how to leave. Her (few) chapters were mainly shrouded in mystery, so while we didn’t get as much development as we did with the other characters, I’m super intrigued to see what happens next with her.
And finally, we have my favourite character and pov, Jovis! Jovis is a wanted smuggler who has been on the hunt for his wife who disappeared years ago. While escaping from an island in his boat he saves what seems to be an animal of some kind from the sea. Jovis has always had a one-track mind – to find his wife – but suddenly, because of this creature (Mephi) and their influence, he is now committing acts of kindness and rescuing kids from the tithing festival (where bone shards are extracted from each child, potentially killing them) all because he doesn’t want to let his little friend down. We see Jovis go from this guarded, bitter man, to someone with a heart of gold as Mephi becomes his little sidekick and they both form this amazing, heart-warming bond. Any scene that had Jovis and Mephi was automatically a winner – there’s just something extremely special about characters with mini companions.
5 povs in total, and I really did love them all.
The writing and world-building in this book was also great. Being that The Bone Shard Daughter is high fantasy, with a very unique magic system, you’d expect to have a lot of background information about the world – how it operates, the different areas, the history, and of course the fundamentals of the bone shard magic. And we learn about all those different aspects, but with NO INFO DUMPING, which is such a blessing.
It’s honestly so easy to get into this book, immerse yourself into the story and follow/understand exactly what’s happening from the start to the very end. While it is on the slower side, there’s never a lack of intrigue or twists, and then when you combine that with how well the writing flows, you can soar through this book so quickly.
Overall, if it isn’t already clear yet, I adored this book so much. It has definitely got a place on my Top Reads of 2020 list and I am just so excited to see where this story goes. The ending of this book was phenomenal – so much happens !! – and leaves you craving more.
As Mephi would say, this book is a very good (which is the highest of praises!)
5 Stars
Goodreads
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