I did wind up buying this novel to support the author after reading the ARC but didn’t want to post a bad review. I just think this series book 2&3 is not for me. BUT. I just read book one of her new series and I LOVED it.

So, I actually read a couple of reviews on this book before I started it so I think I had a few higher expectations than normal. I alternated between listening and reading and enjoyed the trio of narrators - Natalie Naudus, Feodor Chin, and Emily Woo Zeller.

I am not as happy to say, that even though I probably unfairly raised the bar higher than it should have been raised, the story was a little bit of a disappointment after the first book. In book 1, I think part of the fun was getting to know the characters and experience the mystery of the story along with them. .

I do not want to give out too much information, because sometimes it’s fun not knowing and even though I did read a few reviews beforehand, they were very light on the story info and it is did have some surprises.

Ms. Stewart did well, giving the reader a very clear picture of the landscape and world building. It is written with multiple different POV's and it becomes very apparent early on that each POV is distinctive and original.

Will I continue on to the last book in this trilogy, I'm not sure yet.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher/author for providing me with an ALC in exchange for my honest review.

OMG!!! This book was exactly what I wanted it to be! I loved it. I will make sure to check out other books by this author. When I requested this I was just intrigued by the concept of it and I loved how it turned out. This story had a great plot and if you have read this and enjoyed it, This was so much. It was such a great story. I would say give this one a try. I will continue to follow this author. Way to go to this author for not letting me down.

I highly enjoyed the narrator of the audiobook. Kept me listening.

I very much enjoyed the first book in this series, but I always think that fantasy trilogies live and die on how well they continue on, especially with the middle book. The first one has all the intrigue of introducing a new world and characters, and the last book as all of the action and resolution that comes from tying everything off. The middle can often be left feeling like filler. Or! It can rise to the challenge and add greater depths to the story as a whole, and I think that's what this one accomplished here!

In particular, I really enjoyed the shift in perspective that this book took with regards to Lin's story. In the first book, her story and goals were fairly straightforward (as much as that can be the case in a fantasy book with bone magic and creatures!): earn her spot on the throne. But this book has to tackle the much more challenging part of it all: figuring out what to from there. How does one manage a vast empire such as this? How does one rise to the challenges of the sinking islands and the varying political maneuverings of those all looking to grasp their own bits of power? I always love books that take the time to explore this aspect of court politics. All too often, the story ends with the character gaining the throne and it's all "happily every after" from there on out. Here, we get to see Lin struggle to find her footing and make her way forward, even after she seemingly got everything she wanted.

This does very much lead to a dramatic switch in overall tone for the series. The first book leaned heavily on a sense of mystery, with various characters struggling to piece together various mysteries. Here, we have a few of those left, but it largely shifts focus entirely to politics, leadership, and the responsibility of rulers. As I said earlier, I really love this sort of fantasy story, but it is a case where the mileage may vary and fantasy readers who were more invested in the first book's themes might be a bit taken aback by the shift we have here.

As for the characters, I still very much enjoyed most of them, but my feelings from the first book also remained: in most ways, this feels like Lin and Jovis's stories, and while I enjoyed the other characters, more often than not I felt myself wanting to skip ahead until we could get back to the POV of either of those two. This wasn't helped by the fact that I continued to feel annoyed with a few of these other characters. Ranami, in particular, still very much annoyed me, coming across as obnoxiously self-righteous much of the time.

Overall, this was a very successful second book! I really loved the shift in focus to what happens after one captures the throne, and I still am enjoying Lin and Jovis's stories in particular. Readers of the first book will likely enjoy this one!

Even more magic and action abound in this sequel to The Bone Shard Daughter! I enjoyed this just as much as the first book. Questions are answered, romances bloom, animal companions get BIGGER; I am so looking forward to this trilogy's finale.

Fantastic follow-up to the first book! Tons of character development, many plot twists and big reveals, and so much build up for the next book. Very excited for the last book in the series, although I feel like this will be one of those cases where no matter what happens, I won't feel ready to let go at the end.

Stewart’s second book didn’t catch me as much as the first and it could be due to the lack of mystery in this story. I still enjoyed it as a second installment to the series but not as much as the first.

As I write this I am halfway through the third, and final, book of this series. I know two things already: Andrea Stewart is now on my 'must-read' list, and second, that I LOVE the diversity of the points of view Stewart shows and her ability to give us realistic, meaningful characters. Even the companions (who are creatures of a sort, but they talk) are sooo well done.

My worry going into a second book in a three part series is always that it will just be set-up and nothing else. Thus falling into middle book syndrome (as I call it). Let me reassure you The Bone Shard Emperor does NOT have that problem. By the end of this book so much has changed that you couldn't have anticipated the next book's plot from the start of book two. This is a real talent, to see ahead but still develop and give meaningful moments for your characters as you get to the climax of each novel in a series. And boy does Stewart give us a climax!

As I said for book one I love the uniqueness of this series, the struggle with determining what is 'alive' or 'human' versus just a 'thing', the creativity of the bone shard magic, the complexity of the history of the realm (especially the Allanga), and the intricate politics that each of our characters is carefully navigating. This is one of the best fantasy series I have read in a little while (that wasn't written by someone we already know can write fantasy). There is a special something you have to have to write fantasy novels well and without a doubt Andrea Stewart has it!
But be sure you start at book 1. As with most epic/high fantasy, there is no jumping in mid-way. And besides you wouldn't want to miss out on all the juicy events that happened before you get to the start of this installment.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

Beautiful and complex worldbuilding in this trilogy. This second installment is just as sharp as the first book, The Bone Shard Daughter, and I didn't feel it suffered from any middle book syndrome. Lin Sukai is a complex character and the political machinations and the challenges of leadership are beautifully rendered.

When I read The Bone Shard Daughter back in 2021, it was easily my favorite book of the year. The world and magic and plot were filled with so much intrigue, and I loved the twists and turns the plot took and how the characters worked to navigate them. It reminded me of some of my favorite parts of Gideon the Ninth in terms of cleverness and complexity. Needless to say, this sequel had massive shoes to fill.

While some of the elements that made The Bone Shard Daughter stand out to me didn’t quite carry over into this sequel, there was still more than enough here that I enjoyed. Now that the curtains had been lifted and the biggest secrets were beginning to be unraveled, the deep sense of unease and wrongness weren’t as prevalent, and the entire world was a bit less shrouded in mystery. However, while we may have had a vague idea of the true shape of things, we had far from all the details. The Bone Shard Emperor was a book that focused more on these details, on further fleshing out the horrors we had only just begun to uncover in the first book. There was so much to explore and learn, and I had fun seeing the world get further fleshed out.

The events of the first book also left Lin’s world in a very unstable position, and I really enjoyed exploring that side of this story. This book definitely focused much more on politics, with Lin and Jovis struggling to stay afloat on top of a drowning empire. The world under their feet was constantly shifting, both due to new discoveries and new adversaries appearing, and I enjoyed seeing how complex this world truly was, and how easily it all falls apart when you remove its supports. It also explores how an empire built on the pain and suffering of others can’t really keep standing without that pain and suffering, at least not in any recognizable form.

I also really enjoyed seeing the characters continue to grow and change in this novel. This sequel was definitely a book focused on evolution, and of characters actively deciding the kind of person they wanted to be and struggling to stay on their chosen paths. All our main characters come from such different backgrounds and have wildly different goals and dreams. Combining them all in one series together really allowed us to see how the same events can impact and shape people differently, and I felt like they were constantly putting each other in perspective. For example, we would see Lin struggle with the morality of certain decisions, thinking quickly of the Empire and its survival, and if we had had just her point of view, we probably would have easily agreed with her. However, combined with the narration of Phalue, and her generally stronger moral compass, we’re left more conflicted and with a clearer picture of the entire political landscape, not just Lin’s perception of it. We ask questions like: is the empire truly worth keeping together if these are the costs?

Overall, The Bone Shard Emperor was a strong follow-up to an absolute powerhouse of a first book, and I cannot see how this series wraps up (especially after that cliffhanger of an ending!)

Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit for sending me a copy of this book! All opinions are my own!

This world is becoming so rich and full I have no idea how Stewart has done it. This book is absolutely a spectacular continuation of the series, and one that does not suffer from second book syndrome at all. Fast paced, budding romance, twists at every turn. What more could you want?

It's been a long time since I've read a series that is so perfectly balanced. The worldbuilding is top notch with the kind of politics that aren't boring but actually help the story. The action was intense enough to get your heart racing but not so often that it became repetitive. There's just the right amount of emotion, ranging from joy to angst to romance with such ease.

I love the way these characters are growing and learning about the world and themselves at the same time. They are each so unique in their stories but they are all so relatable in one way or another.

I can't wait to get my hands on book 3! This is a fantasy world for the ages!

I attempted to read this book as a stand alone book but ended up going back and reading The Bone Shard Daughter before reading this book. The Bone Shard Emperor was a really good follow up to the first novel and really sets the stage for the third book, The Bone Shard War, which I can't wait to read. If you are on the fence about reading these as I was because of the size I strongly recommend the books. The world and character building are amazing.

Rating : 3.5 out of 5
Blurbs :
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?

Thoughts :
It's a pretty solid installment! I love the characters and they've been through a lot during this whole adventure.
Thanks Netgalley for the early copy!

It’s been too long since I read this, so I’ve forgotten what I wanted to say. I definitely loved the first book more but it was still nice to be back in this world with my favorite characters. All. I will say is that you should give this trilogy a try because the world building and magic system here is just amazing and the characters will move you. And ofcourse, who can forget the bestest creature ever, Mephi.

I’ve been waiting to continue this series for a while so I was excited to finally pick it up after rereading the first book. While there were some interesting and intriguing parts to it, overall it didn’t quite hold up to the first book though for me.

There were two things I really struggled with: the pacing and the romance. While I can’t really call this book slow, it also didn’t have the same momentum coupled with the excitement that the first book had. I didn’t feel like we were building up to a big event the same way we did previously until we actually happened upon that event. So while it was there, the overall structure just didn’t feel as well done to reach that point. And the romance just didn’t feel genuine to me. It had a bit of a forced feeling to it. It happened after a reveal that I found quite shocking (well done!) but the romance just didn’t seem to fit in a satisfying way for me. I think the build up to it was missing.

I did like that there still was a lot of mystery left to explore for the last book despite a pretty good amount of world building in this one. That’s something I did really enjoy. The author built a very intriguing world in her first book that she was able to expand really well in this second one while also still leaving room for so much more in the third. I especially love the historical components.

While I can’t speak to the authenticity of these components as I don’t have personal experience with either, I do like how there were components of fostering and disability in this book. They weren’t used to propel the story forward or display the suffering of the characters but rather just one part of the characters without making that the only reason for them to be there.

While this book very much felt like it had middle book syndrome and relied too much on setting up for the next one without building up to its own climax enough, I am still hopeful for the series finale. There are interesting threads to follow to their end that I’m hoping will tie up well all together.

I good continuing installment in The Drowning Empire series. I enjoyed the world building, characters (for the most part), but was a bit annoyed with the seeming love triangle that is possible being set up. I really hope it doesn't turn that way because it is not needed for the story and adds nothing to things overall.

I adore this series. It’s literally one of my favorite fantasy series of all time. The different POVs, the mysteries, the twists. I loved every single page. I said this about the first book and I still mean it, this is a perfect series for readers who usually enjoy YA fantasy but want to try adult fantasy. The different POVs and world building are so rich and immersive but there are elements that YA readers will definitely appreciate as well.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was the strongest book in the series for me. I love how all our characters get to intersect and the mysteries we get to uncover. Also the ending climax of this book was a blast. The one thing I was a bit thrown by was a relationship that for me came out of nowhere, it wasn't a deal breaker but I had initially thought one of the characters was significantly older than the other and was all in on a platonic good time and felt very blindsided. Otherwise a very strong sequel and had me very excited to get to the finale of this series!

Finally, Lin Sukai ascends the throne, as the new Emperor, although later she does not feel capable of fulfilling the obligations that her new position requires. Also, because she is a Sukai and Alanga, she does not have the support of her people either.
In this second installment of The Drowning Empire series, the strong characters we met in the first book lose momentum and become flawed characters who make mistakes at every turn. Is it something intentional? I would like to believe that the author tries to humanize them, to make them less perfect and heroic.
Anyway, I hope the last book is better than this one.
I thank the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.
The opinion I have expressed above is based solely on what I think and feel about this book.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me access to the advanced copy of this book to read.