As soon as I heard about this book, I knew I had to read it. I mean, look at that cover! It’s so gorgeous. Steeped in magic and mystery, The Bone Shard Daughter follows five characters: a potential heir to the throne, a smuggler with a conscience, a governor’s daughter, a rebel, and a person whose memory is returning.

Lin is the daughter of the Emperor although she’s out of favor after having lost all her memories five years prior. She decides to learn his mysterious bone shard magic that acts as the spine of the empire herself. Meanwhile, a smuggler named Jovis has been tracking the people who kidnapped his wife seven years ago; however, he gets roped into saving a child. The governor’s daughter Phalue discovers that her girlfriend, Ranami, has been captured and ransomed. Amidst all this is a narrator named Sand who begins to break out of a mysterious fog around her mind.

I really enjoyed the writing. At first, I was a bit confused with the constant switching of points of view, but each person’s voice eventually became clear and distinct. There were both first-person and third-person narrations, and the transitions between them felt smooth. I will say that a couple of points-of-view felt superfluous, but maybe those characters will become more important in the future.

I loved all of the characters! Each has their own mind and motivation; you’ll find yourself rooting for all of them. Also, there’s a mysterious animal named Melphi who’s a companion to Jovis, and I loved him so much! While there are five narrators, there were really only about three plot lines. Each one was interesting, and it was fascinating to see how they intertwined.

The worldbuilding was incredible; I was sucked in by the magic as well as the setting. The emperor has the power to create things called constructs controlled by bone shards. This was incredibly in-depth and original. I also liked how there were different islands, so everything felt both connected and not; it helped to separate the characters even more.

The Bone Shard Daughter was thrilling and fascinating; I loved the magic system and the characters. It was easy to fall into these characters’ heads. Add The Bone Shard Daughter to your TBR lists and preorder it today!

I would say this is probably a 3.5/5 star rating.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the arc.
An empire of migrating islands run and maintained by constructed beings powered by bone shards harvested from citizens.
Five points of views: Lin, the daughter of the Emperor; Jovis, a smuggler turned folk hero; Phalue, a governor’s daughter and heir; Ranami, Phalue’s commoner girlfriend and rebel; and Sand, the mystery figure. Lin and Jovis are the main two povs and are written in first person, and the rest are written in third and happen less frequently. Sand the least frequent. All were really easy to tell each other apart.
Most of the conflict comes from the Empire; the emperor’s hold on the islands is loosening and there is injustice and unrest because of it. Lin is trying to secure her place as the heir and how she may steer the empire towards better things, Jovis is roped into becoming a hero, Ranami convinces Phalue to help the rebels, and Sand is not who she seems.
The world itself is lush and well-built. There’s a history of another mystical race that was toppled. I have no complaints other than wondering exactly how that previous race will tie into the series, as well as a question to why the island(s) are sinking, that was never answered in this first book.
The story was intriguing and I liked the characters but I’ve been in a reading slump and it took me awhile to read it. I liked it, certainly, but my slump has made me less interested in arcs lately and that’s more a personal thing than a review upon the book itself, however the book did not cure my slump either.

I was super excited when I received this book for review from Orbit. This has been on my list of most anticipated releases of the year. It did not disappoint.
One of the shining parts of this novel from the beginning is the magic system. The idea of inscribing on bone shards is inventive and leaves a whole world of possibilities with where the story can go. The magic system felt a lot like the magic system used in Foundryside, which I really enjoyed, but I like this overall story a lot better.
One thing I was not expecting but always LOVE in stories is animal sidekicks, and there were a few that I absolutely loved! Our main “animal” companion is Mephi and he stole my heart from the beginning! If you are one of those people who love talking animal companions, then you MUST pick this one up.
I really liked the atmosphere created within this world with the use of the “wet years”. This entire story feels gloomy and dreary and that is a perfect reflection of the weather in this world. I actually curled up during a few thunderstorms and it was the perfect ambiance for the story.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. There were a few times throughout that the pacing slowed down a bit for my personal taste. I also felt like I wanted more from the world. I just wanted to dig a little deeper. I think that this was a solid first book and I am excited to continue on with this series.

The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart was one of my most anticipated releases this year and it certainly didn’t disappoint. It has all the elements I love in a solid fantasy novel—morally bankrupt empires and the rebellions against them, characters you feel compelled to follow along their journeys, interesting worldbuilding, and multiple magic systems that are both creepy and cool in turn. Add in a non-white cast, queer characters, and a BIPOC author, and you have a book that has jumped to the forefront of my recommendation list.

The story primarily follows two characters: Lin, the Emperor’s daughter desperate to prove her worth as heir, and Jovis, a smuggler whose plans are drastically altered when disaster strikes. Both of these POVs are in first person, while the three other POVs in the story are presented in third person. For this and other reasons, Lin and Jovis were the two characters I connected with the most. The other POV characters include two women who are in an established relationship with each other, which made my sapphic loving heart happy. Really, the fact that Stewart juggles five points of view in a debut fantasy could have invited disaster, but it read seamlessly; the timing and choice of character focus contributed to my enjoyment of the story.

While the pacing is typical of a first novel in a fantasy trilogy, slower at the beginning as the world is established, at 50% I literally couldn’t stop reading. Full of tension, mystery, espionage, intrigue, cool action scenes, there is much for fantasy readers to love within these pages.

In what is a rarity for me, The Bone Shard Daughter ends in a way that makes me even more excited for the second book than the first. I know I’ve only finished reading the first book a day ago and it’s not even officially published yet, but I can’t wait to have the second book in my hands. If you’re looking for a diverse, intriguing, and overall rock solid start to what promises to be an innovative epic fantasy series, look no further than The Bone Shard Daughter.

THE BONE SHARD DAUGHTER is an absolutely wonderful start to what promises to be an epic series. The characters are compelling and original individuals with depth and real humanity (including the magical creatures). The world they inhabit is different than any I’ve immersed myself in before with one of the most interesting and exciting magical systems, with the most potential for expansion and added detail, I’ve discovered in a long time. Nothing in THE BONE SHARD DAUGHTER is as it seems nor anyone who they think they are or are supposed to be and discovering it all alongside them was both a joy and an emotional roller coaster. I can’t wait for more.