Tag: the bone shard daughter

Blog Tour: The Bone Shard Emperor – Andrea Stewart

Blog Tour: The Bone Shard Emperor – Andrea Stewart

by Nicole Sweeney ♥ 0 Leave a Comment


Series: The Drowning Empire #2 (See my review of book one here!)
Release Date: November 23rd 2021
Publisher: Orbit Books
Pages: 416
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: The publisher kindly sent me a copy of this book to review
Rating: 5/5 stars

Synopsis

Andrea Stewart returns with The Bone Shard Emperor, the second installment of this unmissable, action-packed, magic-laced fantasy epic.

The Emperor is Dead. Long live the Emperor.

Lin Sukai finally sits on the throne she won at so much cost, but her struggles are only just beginning. Her people don’t trust her. Her political alliances are weak. And in the north-east of the Empire, a rebel army of constructs is gathering, its leader determined to take the throne by force.

Yet an even greater threat is on the horizon, for the Alanga – the powerful magicians of legend – have returned to the Empire. They claim they come in peace, and Lin will need their help in order to defeat the rebels and restore peace.

But can she trust them?

Review

The Bone Shard Emperor is the stunning second instalment in Andrea Stewart’s The Drowned Empire series. Book one The Bone Shard Daughter was one of my favourite reads of 2020 (and all-time) so I was incredibly excited to get my hands on the sequel. Picking up where we left off in book one, Lin now sits on the throne, but her troubles are far from over. A rebel army of constructs is on the way, determined to take the throne, her alliances are far from strong and she is unsure who to trust. When the Alanga return to the Empire and claim to come in peace, Lin knows she will need their help if she has any hope of bringing peace to the Empire, but can she really trust them?

So many fantasy series struggle with that second book syndrome but that is definitely not the case with this series. I was captivated from the get-go and I thought Stewart did an excellent job continuing the story. There were so many things I loved about this book – we delve even deeper into the world and I was so fascinated by the level of detail Andrea puts in the worldbuilding. The story is quite slow-paced, giving the reader plenty of time to get to grips with this fascinating world and magic system.

Where the story really excels is the characters that we fell in love with in The Bone Shard Daughter. Stewart has created some really complex characters both dealing with so many things. The story is told in multiple perspectives, with the majority coming from Lin and Jovis. There are so many characters in this book that I loved. I really adored Lin and seeing her attempt to do the right thing and be a good ruler after her father’s reign.

The Bone Shard Emperor is an impressive sequel and one I did not want to end. I still have so many questions left unanswered and I am dying to find out how it all ends in The Bone Shard War. If you’re a fantasy fan this series is an absolute must-read and if you’ve already picked up book one, you are not going to want to miss book two!


Blog Tour: The Bone Shard Daughter – Andrea Stewart

Blog Tour: The Bone Shard Daughter – Andrea Stewart

by Nicole Sweeney ♥ 4 Comments


Series: The Drowning Empire #1
Release Date: September 8th
Publisher: Orbit Books
Pages: 448
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: The publisher kindly sent me a copy of this book to review
Rating: 5/5 stars

Synopsis

In an empire controlled by bone shard magic, Lin, the former heir to the emperor will fight to reclaim her magic and her place on the throne. The Bone Shard Daughter marks the debut of a major new voice in epic fantasy.

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.

Review

As soon as I read the synopsis for The Bone Shard Daughter I knew it was going to be a book I would love. The premise sounds fascinating and coupled with that absolutely stunning cover, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy. The Bone Shard Daughter is an absolutely incredible debut, and without a doubt one of my favourite books of the year.

The story is set in a world where the emperor uses bone magic to ensure his continued rule. He refuses to acknowledge his daughter Lin as heir to his throne and she will do anything she can to learn the forbidden bone shard magic and prove she is worthy. But rebellion is stirring in the kingdom and when it arrives at the palace Lin has to give everything to save her people.

I absolutely adored this book. It’s a fast paced tale that’s brilliantly executed and incredibly clever. There’s absolutely tons of action and I honestly never wanted this book to end. The world building is truly superb and I was completely fascinating by the magic system in this story. The idea of bone shard magic felt so unique and it was such a dark bloody magic to witness. The story is full to the brim with magic and revolution with a touch of romance.

The story features a number of different POV characters and I felt that they were all well created and developed. I really liked Lin and Jovis and I thought Stewart did an excellent job of giving each POV character a unqiue and compelling voice. Some of the characters are told in first person perspective and some in third – I thought this might have been a little jarring but actually worked incredibly well in the story.

The Bone Shard Daughter is an absolutely magnificent read and I’m so glad there’s more to come in The Drowning Empire series because I cannot wait to dive back into this incredible world. If you’ve been intrigued by this one I definitely recommend picking it up – you won’t be disappointed.

Waiting on Wednesday: The Bone Shard Daughter – Andrea Stewart

Waiting on Wednesday: The Bone Shard Daughter – Andrea Stewart

by Nicole Sweeney ♥ 2 Comments

Header (13)
Synopsis

In an empire controlled by bone shard magic, Lin, the former heir to the emperor will fight to reclaim her magic and her place on the throne. The Bone Shard Daughter marks the debut of a major new voice in epic fantasy.

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.

Thoughts

Copy of book cover (30)I saw a few people talking about this online and thought I would have a look at the synopsis (mainly because I was intrigued by that absolutely stunning cover!). After reading what the book was about it immediately became an anticipated release. An heir attempting to reclaim her throne? The forbidden art of bone shard magic? WHERE DO I SIGN UP? This sounds like the kind of thing I would absolutely love and I’m so excited to read it. I’ve seen a few people have read it already and the reviews have all been 4/5 stars so that gives me really high expectations for this book. The Bone Shard Daughter is the first in The Drowning Empire series and I just have the feeling that this is going to be one of my all time favourites. I’m participating in the blog tour for this one in September but I know as soon as my copy arrives I’m going to be diving straight into this one. The Bone Shard Daughter is publishing September 10th from Orbit Books.