Series Info/Source: This is the 2nd book in The Drowning Empire Trilogy. The final book in this series will be titled “The Bone Shard War” and is scheduled to release in September 2022. I got an eGalley of this book through NetGalley to review.

Thoughts: This was a well done continuation of this series.

Lin needs to get support for the Empire and support to fight the construct army that is slowly taking over the islands. To add to all of her troubles the islands are still collapsing and it looks like the Alanga have returned. Jovis is at her side (as the captain of her guard) but his loyalties are torn; he is still in contact with the Shardless Few rebel group and still in debt to the smuggling group he used to work for.

We also hear from Nisong (the construct that was trapped on the island in the first book). Additionally, we also read from Phalue's (governor of Nephilanu island now) and Ranami's (Phalue's wife and a member of the Shardless Few) POV.

This story was a bit slow in the middle. I enjoyed the beginning portions where Lin is working to uncover yet more secrets from her father and I enjoyed all the secrets we start to see about the Alanga people. I also really loved the last quarter or so where many story threads start to come together and there is a lot of action. The middle though involves Lin journeying to a number of islands trying to gather troops and support in order to defeat the other constructs, it really dragged on longer than it needed to.

I liked where the book ended up and am eager to read book 3, The Bone Shard War, when it releases in 2022. However, this book didn't absolutely amaze me like the first book in the series did. I still really enjoyed it, there were just some parts in the middle that were a bit slow. Also the POV shifts broke up the story in the middle of the book as well. However, this was very easy to read and engaging.

My Summary (4.5/5): Overall I really loved this continuation of The Drowning Empire series. There is some amazing world-building, magic, politics, and character development here. The story shifts from Lin taking power and spends a bit more time on the Alanga people and their return. I would recommend it to those who enjoy epic fantasy with a lot of intriguing magic and politics. The book was a bit slow in the middle but it recovered by the end and I enjoyed it a lot.

I really did not remember a lot of the first book when I started this one, but luckily after rereading my review and notes and talking to my husband who has also read the book, I fell back into the story pretty easily.

Lin is now emperor after killing her father, Jovis is now the captain of the guard to Lin on Imperial Isle. Lin is looking for new political alliances, and she and Jovis spend a good portion of the novel traveling to different islands around the empire to speak to the local governors.

“Rebellion didn’t come with instructions.”

We all know I don’t like books set on boats, and even though a good portion of this book was Lin and Jovis sailing to various islands in the Empire, the story never really took place on the boat. Most of the story happens on the different islands. So I was pleased with that.

The Alanga people are returning, and with them, an ancient magic. This book focuses more on the magic of the Alanga than it does bone shard magic, mostly because Lin is making a conscious effort to stop the bone shard tithing in the empire and to dismantle all the constructs across the empire as an act of benevolence to her people. I always think it’s cool when stories have more than one form of magic in them, so it was nice to see something new being discussed here.

Meanwhile, Nisong, who we knew as Sand in the first book, is organizing a revolution. I will not be speaking anymore on this matter.

The Bone Shard Emperor held my interest throughout the entire story. Like the first book, every chapter ended in a way that made me keep reading to find out what happened next with that character, but then the POV would switch each chapter, so of course it was one continuous cycle of wanting to know what happened next until I finished the book.

It wasn’t hard to keep the five POVs separate. In this book, however, there’s a heavy focus on Lin’s and Jovis’s perspectives, with Ranami’s, Phalue’s, and Nisong’s perspectives taking a backseat unless absolutely necessary. Since their characters have already been established in The Bone Shard Daughter, less time is spent on them here so more time can be dedicated to the primary storyline surrounding Lin.

This book, again like the first, is clean. There’s very little vulgar language, no sex (hardly any romance at all for that matter), violence but not graphic descriptions of it, and I really appreciate that. It is so hard to find clean fantasy books these days, so that alone makes this series stand out to me.

But not only that, this series is just something new altogether. I guess it’s epic fantasy, but it doesn’t really feel like epic fantasy, even though it takes place in its own fictional world. People say it’s Asian-inspired, and maybe it is, but I don’t overtly get that vibe from it. The magic is a completely new and unique type of magic that I’ve never seen done before and I love it. Animal companions are nothing new, but the ones in this book are unlike any I’ve read about before. The characters and plot are fabulous as well. This series features lots of political scheming, smugglers, daughters inheriting the throne after removing their parents from power, secret thieving organizations, guards who are double-agents, an ancient magical race, and cliffhangers to end them all, all of which we’ve seen done in fantasy novels before, but somehow it all feels fresh and new here. I loved it.

The biggest compliment I can give a book is one I give here to the Drowning Empire series: it’s like nothing I’ve read before, in a good way.

I’ve really been enjoying this series and can’t wait to read The Bone Shard War probably next year to see how it all concludes. The Bone Shard Emperor didn’t feel like a filler book at all. I wasn’t able to guess where the story was going, and the ending left me laughing, upset, sad, scared, and excited all at the same time.

I don’t have any real criticisms of this book. I think Andrea Stewart took everything good about the first book and made it better in the sequel. It had me invested on every page. It has great, flawed but relatable characters. It has a gripping plot with lots of intrigue. It has a fascinating magic system with bone shards, and not only that but also a second elemental-type magic system that gets introduced in this book. I really like this series and I highly recommend it.

3.5 or 4 stars

There are still many POVs in this book, but it is mostly focused on Lin and Jovis, we follow Ranami and Phalue only when it's directly linked to what happens with Lin, and I think that made a difference in the pacing of the story (we also have a few chapters in Nisong/Sand's POV). The fact that Lin's and Jovis' chapters are written in the first person and that Ranami's, Phalue's, and Nisong's chapters are written in the third person also accentuate the focus put on Lin and Jovis and the fact that they are the main characters.

The pace is a little slow at first, but it does pick up after the 40%-50% mark and the last 30% redeemed the book. The last part is non-stop battle, planning, and scheming, with a dash of shocking revelations on top of it. Some plot twists I did see coming, others I did not and I always love it when a book surprises me. Still, I had to push through the first part of the book because while it was politics and it was kinda interesting, I feel that not many things of real importance happened and it was mostly traveling, meeting with governors, and trying to convince them to support Lin... I was expecting something more action-filled after the end of the first book.

The world-building and magic systems are as interesting as in the first book, and the characters have more interactions together, so that's great. This book focuses more on the lore and history of the Empire, and the magic system even expands as we learn more about the Alanga's history and powers, and realize that some people are able to wield Alanga magic. We also learn more about Lin's father's mad plans and motivations, and it was nice to have some light shed on those mysteries because while the first book was very good, I still had questions when I picked up this one. The islands are still sinking, and what was introduced in the first book is expanded in this second book as Lin is trying to rule the Empire, to make alliances, and to save her people, while everyone wants her to abdicate because they want more power for themselves.

Lin and Jovis grow a lot in this book as individual characters, but their relationship grows too, even in the middle of all the spying and lying Jovis is doing. I have to say though that the romantic aspect of their relationship that is slowly budding is not really pertinent in my humble opinion. From the start, I saw them as reluctant allies, that would become friends and confidants maybe, but I never hoped or wished for them to become more... So seeing that they are on the way to becoming a couple just seemed like a way to add extra drama because they would go back and forth between distrusting and lying to each other and then wanting to kiss each other, but it did not add much to the story. Overall it felt a little like it came out of nowhere and I did not really feel the emotional connection between them or even the physical attraction. I know many people want to see them end up together though so this is really more of a personal preference.

The real stars of the book though are, without hesitation, Thrana and Mephi. I love them so much! They made me smile, laugh, and feel and now that there are even more ossalens (that's what they are) in the book, I'm even more excited to read the next one because I need more cute talking animals in my life.

I wasn't the biggest fan of Ranami and Phalue in the first book. They are not bad characters, they just did not grow on me that much, but I liked them much more in this book. I love their relationship and how they are trying their best to help everyone and do the right thing. Their chapters also gave us a break from all the politics and lying that were going on with Lin and Jovis.

Sand/Nisong is still in the book, and she is much more important than in the first book as she now is "the villain" of the story. We finally understand more about her and her fellow islanders, but honestly except for the words "psycho-power-hungry-that-does-not-know-when-to-quit" I'm not sure how to describe her. She has her role to play in the series, but I really don't like her, and I find that even her POVs were not that interesting to read.

I will definitely read the next book, and I'm telling you right now, if Mephi is not okay, I will riot. MEPHI BETTER BE OKAY. THE SAME GOES FOR THRANA AND ALL THE OTHER OSSALENS.

I received a copy of this book on Netgalley, thank you to Orbit books also! I was extremely excited to read this book after finishing the first one and loving it! This is definitely going to be one of my favorite fantasy series. All of the characters grew on me even more if that’s possible and I love how much more the story developed!

I feel that all of the characters developed a place for them selves even more as well as the world building and the knowledge of the magic. Overall this was an amazing book and I absolutely loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

After reading and loving The Bone Shard Daughter I was so excited to read this book and it did not disappoint at all. Everything in this book was amazing from the plot to the worldbuilding and of course the characters. It was maybe a little weaker than the first book and I felt that at some points there was too much information thrown at me all at the same time. But even considering that this book is outstanding as a second book in a trilogy.

It was so satisfying to follow Jovis and Lin's relationship development through both of their POV's in this book also. I think that it gave us a very good aspect of their feelings and I always respect that in books. Andrea Stewart wrote all of her characters with a lot of thought and care which you can easily notice while reading because of their complexity. I literally love all of the main characters to death. I can not make myself hate even the antagonists.

All in all, an amazing book and an even more amazing fantasy world packed with action, politics, mysteries and memorable romance.

This was such a great second installment! so much angst, and that ending!!! 😮😮😮

I was so excited to read book 2 after the events at the end of book 1 and this did not disappoint! I loved the character development, new relationships, and all the reveals! The lore is developed more fully in this book while still being ~mysterious~, which I enjoyed a lot. Also, animal companions for the win, Mephi is so precious 🥺🥺🥺 and must be protected at all costs!!
I honestly love all the characters, they are all so complex and conflicted, and the exploration of "moral" dilemmas each character faced was really interesting to read. Each character is doing what they think is best,with good intentions at heart. How the author explores how that can still lead people to be at odds that should be on the same side is *chef's kiss.
I really cannot wait for book 3, this second book lived up to all my expectations.

I have mixed feelings about Andrea Stewart's second book.

One on hand, her worldbuilding is among fantasy's most unique and creative. The universe n Bone Shard is exceptional.

On the other, I felt book 1 was a perfectly good stand-alone, and this book suffers greatly from not knowing where it should go next. It feels like an epilogue, and while the characters are still very charming, it was hard to engage fully with the story, which felt complete and dragged.

The two queer side characters grew much more interesting, however, giving POVs to both of them was not needed and could be tedious at times. Jovis and Lin were still interesting as people, but it took a long time for their story to ramp back up again, and sometimes I felt their chapters repeated themselves.

I love this world and story and can't wait to see what happens next, but I do hope the final installation of this series stands stronger.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

In this sequel to The Bone Shard Daughter, we watch Lin struggle to come into her own as emperor, while she confronts enemies on all sides. Jovis struggles with split loyalties, while Phalue and Ranami begin their rule as governors and work to correct the previous governor's wrongs.

If I'm being completely honest, I would have DNFed the first book if I didn't have an ARC of the second one. I found it particularly rough, mostly because, with so many different POVs all with almost entirely unrelated storylines, it felt disjointed, like several different books in one. By the end of the first book, though, I was looking forward to this one, and I was not disappointed.

Most of my primary issues with how separate all the plots of the first one felt were resolved with this one. All of the main characters have met or meet in this book, and their plotlines all clearly build off of each other. This second book felt more as if you were seeing these different characters in different parts of the Empire reacting to the same events and largely working towards the same goal, and it made it a much more cohesive story.

My biggest issue with this book is that it's incredibly dense and long. It's fast-paced in that there is constantly something happening, which I greatly appreciated, but with so much going on it demanded a lot of focus and took me longer than it should have to get through. This book is very politics-heavy, which I enjoyed, but I know this isn't everyone's cup of tea. While there are fight scenes and intrigue balancing out the politics, a main focus of this book is Lin navigating island politics and the difficulties she faces.

I loved how the characters grew in this book; even the character who absolutely infuriated me in the first book (and frankly made the book almost unpalatable to me) was tolerable in this one. However, this character, in particular, becomes tolerable because this book starts with her having made a near-180 in her ideals and largely in her personality, and this change is not well explained. So, while I appreciated the change, I do wish it had been executed better.

The Alanga confused me and interested me throughout both the first and second books, and I appreciated how the author began to weave in explanations on the Empire's history with the Alanga into the narrative through the translations of Dione's journal. While I still don't understand, and while I wish we'd gotten some explanation as to what they were far earlier on--even if it was a false explanation that had been told to the empire or something, or even really a folktale--I was interested in what we did learn in this book.

All in all, this book was such a vast improvement over the first one that I have to give it 4/5 stars, and I will definitely be reading the final book!

Thank you to Orbit and to NetGalley for the ARC!

This was DNF for me. I struggled to finish the first book and this was the same way. There is just too many POVs going on and I could not get attached to the characters or the plot lines going on. I did enjoy Lin and wish she was the sole focus of the books at least initially.. that may have helped with my interest level.

Thank you to Orbit and to NetGalley for the ARC! 4.5 out of 5, rounded up.

I've taken longer to review this book, because I was struggling with reading burnout and depression haze while reading, and I wanted to be fair, and give the book what it deserves..

As with the last book, I think Andrea Stewart did an excellent job in balancing the different POVs, and making each distinct. I also found the way bone shard magic continued to be presented enthralling-- and how constructs too, grew in new ways that felt natural to the story, and not twisted by plot.

Each of the characters has clear-cut reasons for what they do, how they acted, and why they acted in said ways. I always like reading books where the contrasting POVs are on different sides-- and Phalue and Ranami's relationship grew and blossomed in ways that we'd only been hoping for in the first book. It's incredible what communication does-- and they have time to do so! They have the deeper conversations of what their position means for them, and their struggles with families, both starting one of their own, and dealing with Phalue's father.

I really liked Nilsong's arc-- after all, her followers say, don't they matter too?

I was also fond of the growing bonds with Mephi and Thrana, and Lin's struggles to not be her father. After all, her more powerful subjects can't understand her personal vows, especially when they themselves are under attack. As Lin struggles to keep together the empire, the political intrigue grows: should she even keep together the islands? what does she do for them? what's in it, and why should they trust her when all she does seems doomed to fail? I appreciated as well the difficult choices she had to make-- alliance vs lives, safety for a distant threat.

Overall, definitely enjoyable, but not quite a book to read while brain-hazey! There's a lot of action and development going on that's important for the plot.

Lin returns in the second Bone Shard book. The first one drew me in immediately, and this one did too. Lin is now the Emperor, and the former smuggler, Jovis, her Captain of the Imperial Guard. The story is told from different characters points of view, I especially loved the continuing story of Governor Phalue and her now wife, Ranami.
The tension between Lin and Joivs, with both a lack of trust and attraction, is well written, as she seeks to strengthen her power, and he struggles with loyalty.
I need to thank NetGalley for providing me with the ARC of this book, and for introducing me to this series in the first place. Normally a mystery reader, this escape into fantasy has been a wonderful change of pace. Please read The Bone Shard Daughter first, before enjoying this book. I’ll be looking forward to the next.

thank you to netgalley and orbit for providing me with an e-arc of this book in an exchange for an honest review!

this book was my most anticipated read of 2021, and (tl;dr) while there were parts of it that were really, really good, it felt a bit disappointing most of the time. 3.5 stars, rounded up.

the good
- okay, i LOVED the dynamic between lin and jovis - the yearning was done SO well (LIKE WHEN WE SWITCH FROM A LIN POV CHAPTER AND A JOVIS POV CHAPTER IT'S LITERALLY chef's kiss. while i didn't anticipate the paring going into tbse, it was definitely still the highlight of the book.

- the portrayal of lin as a struggling emperor was done very, very well - her hopelessness and loneliness often feels palpable, her lack of allies adding to the overall atmosphere of dread.

- phalue and ranami develop a healthier relationship <3 while i wasn't the biggest fan of them before, i totally get the vision in book 2

- okay, this seems to be an unpopular opinion based on what i've seen on goodreads, but i actually really liked nisong's arc, and i honestly found her motivation/development to be understandable/somewhat sympathetic

- mephi and thrana are perfect, as always <3

the bad
- there really isn't that much moral ambiguity within the novel - if certain characters are meant to be antagonists, they will be clearly framed as such within the narrative. there isn't that much room to

- nisong's motivations were understandable, but her povs were really lackluster and boring at times

- other antagonists felt really underdeveloped and 2d in their motivations, lacking the complex character studies afforded to the other characters. they give me cartoon villain vibes, very much felt like they were evil for the sake of being evil.

- miscommunication trope was thrown in towards the end and i didn't vibe with it

- i do not vibe with the political messaging within this story. because lin is a main pov character, it feels like we're meant to be constantly rooting against the other political factions challenging her, implicitly creating an argument for continued autocracy. there is no discussion about systemic oppression, which is interesting considering the class analysis that was attempted in book 1. instead, tbse seems to argue that the promotion of minorities to positions of power is intrinsically enough to create change/challenge structures of oppression.

if you liked tbsd, you should still read tbse - just lower your expectations a bit :')

I read this book as a voluntary ARC. I was excited to start since the ending of the first book in the series. The beginning had a lot of action which then dwindled during the middle. I found myself struggling to read chapters in the middle due to the lack of action. Then the last 30% I could not put the book down. I could have done without some of the details but did appreciate the story line.

"Gossip could topple an Empire almost as surely as rebellion could." -From The Bone Shard Emperor

3 stars

I was really looking forward to seeing where this series was going. If you wanted more political maneuverings, history, and information about other islands-this book is for you. It starts out with all that. Slowing the pace to where I thought I was reading backwards. I cared 90% about Mephi and 10% Lin going in, and that is about it; and Mephi couldn't provide enough to keep me engaged the first oh, 77% of the book. Then we get a reveal, which SHOOK me. What? The EYES! What?! I'm freaking out. This guy, though. This guy seems to shrug, and makes a move. What!? How am I supposed to believe this relationship? Nope. Then what Lin ends up doing I was not a fan of. This was how you were supposed to be different. You got all this abracadabra power that you aren't even trying to use or learn about, and are just like; nope- I'm going with this old stand by. The lead to the end was thrilling (finally), but I'm not sure I would have kept completing the chore of reading if I didn't have an ARC; so I wouldn't have gotten there. I do so love the trope of all these groups showing up for the final battle, but in this case it seemed a complete surprise because they had only done the bare minimum (if any, like in the case of the shardless few) work to convince them to show. It was a pretty amusing hot mess with no one knowing who was on what side. Mephi having to be the real MVP and dragging sad boi back to battle interupted the stakes of the fight going on. Fans of the series will probably appreciate the more detailed world building; I'm still stuck on THE EYES-but apparently it doesn't bother our boy J. I wanted more rebellion (not Nisong who seemed very typical "villian"), more talking animals, more action. I certainly didn't want that cliffhanger that will make me have to pick up the next book. Because anyone but him!

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Andrea Stewart's The Bone Shard Daughter was one of 2020's best fantasy titles, a rich and complex tale of family, politics, and betrayal all wrapped up in a refreshing (and vaguely terrifying) magical system that involves draining power from the literal bones of a kingdom. And while reader expectations may be sky-high for its sequel as a result, The Bone Shard Emperor more than exceeds them, building on the (pardon the pun) bones of the first novel to craft a story that's even more ambitious and engrossing than its predecessor.

The Bone Shard Emperor is thrilling from its first pages, a twisty story that's full of surprises, compelling POVs, and difficult choices for almost every major character. As the world expands beyond the island where Lin grew up and the stakes of her new reign begin to skyrocket, there are immersive battles, intricate political machinations, and a complex web of half-truths, lies, and outright betrayals. A bevy of smaller subplots tie multiple character arcs together in surprising ways, and the characters are gloriously gray throughout.

“There was nothing noble about war.”
[usr 4] Is this not just a stunning cover? Book 1 cover is just as beautiful, I can't wait to have both in my hands!
Lin is emperor and has taken over for her father. She is in a precarious position. Her father ruled with an iron fist and the people did not love him. She is trying to change that, earn their respect but also their love. While Lin is the main POV, there are a handful of others. Each one is unique and comes together well at the end.
The book is very information dense. The story shapes slowly, building on small blocks of information until everything comes together amazingly at the end. The magic system is the foundation . Since Lin is emperor in every way OPPOSITE of her father, she chooses not to use bone shard magic.
Bone shard magic is fascinating. In a body (living or dead) a shard can be placed inside that has instructions on it that are absolute. Once the shard is placed, that person is under the command of the one who put it there. (This is a very simple explanation.) The base of the story follows Lin trying to rid the empire of this magic, but she finds a necessity and goes against all she believes to use it once again. It’s a powerful story of love, deceit, fighting for beliefs and friendship.
Thank you to Orbit Books and NetGalley for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.
The book releases November 11, 2021.

I hate to say it but I am........disappointed. This wasn't a bad story, but coming off the high of re-reading the first book and then diving into this one felt like riding up to the top of the rollercoaster and then having it just sort of plateau. Stewart did an excellent job of establishing the world and the characters in the Bone Shard Daughter, but this book didn't feel like it brought anything especially new to the table, and played VERY strongly into predictable and overly convenient plot points besides. One of my favorite things about Stewart's debut was her ability to surprise me, and I felt like I was calling a lot of the twists in this one far before they happened. The first 2/3 see Lin and Jovis tentatively aligning together to travel across the Empire and shore up support for Lin. The final 3rd is entirely devoted to an enormous battle that had thrilling elements but also left me largely uncertain as to how the story is going to progress, which isn't a feeling I love 2/3 of the way through a trilogy.

My two biggest issues were 1) pacing and 2) reliance on established, convenient methods. With regards to the first issue, Lin's visits to the various islands started to blur together to me after the first or second. Nephilanu was interesting in that it brought Phalue and Ranmani in contact with Lin, but no other side characters stand out in my mind. To the second point, maybe it's just a personal issue but it really drives me nuts when characters are able to get out of sticky situations using the same strategy over and over again. Jovis shakes the ground. Lin palms some cloudtree berries or sticks her hand into a construct. Phalue draws her sword. There wasn't any sense of urgency or drama to physical conflict because I knew exactly what each character was going to do to to get out of it. Furthermore, there was a good number of highly convenient occurrences that stretched the limit of my imagination. Why did Lin trust Ragan so readily while refusing to trust Jovis for nearly the whole book? How did the Ioph Carn track down Jovis so quickly and show up so readily? Certain plot points just didn't make sense or felt too easy in my mind.

Character wise, Phalue and Ranmani and their struggles with starting a family in the face of their respective traumas was easily the most interesting subplot, and their relationship felt by far the most tender and real. Lin and Jovis didn't feel like they grew very much other than into their own relationship, which frankly I wasn't very invested in. Nisong was highly frustrating as a villain, single-minded but without concrete enough justification behind her actions to make her engaging. Ranga was my biggest grievance, introduced far too quickly and played VERY obviously as a plot point rather than a fleshed out person. In a surprise twist, Gio was maybe the most compelling person in the whole novel, and I am very excited to see how the new information we gained about him changes things. One thing I really did love about this book was its reflections on his idealism, and how democratic ideals don't always justify violent, callous means.

What a journey! I loved this book so much. I was hooked from beginning to end.
Andrea Stewart has come up with such an interesting world and plot. This book builds on the setup established in the first book. Like the first book, there were some significant plot twists. I appreciated the setup for them - she gave hints from early on and dragged out the reveals to make me sit on the edge of my seat, wondering for a veryyy long time. So the payoffs were so much more impactful.

I really enjoyed reading Lin and Jovis' povs, though sometimes I was confused about Jovis' immaturity. Where did that come from? He never knew his place as the Captain of the Imperial Guard and it was like he was on vacation all the time lol.
Ranami, Phalue and Nisong's povs? Not so much. I just wasn't interested in Ranami and Phalue, and was even annoyed with Nisong's pov. While I could tolerate the large amount of povs in the first book because the worldbuilding and story's development was still so new, in the second book, I just grew further and further away from these secondary characters so it was starting to get annoying. I just wasn't made to care. Is it me or is it the author? I wonder if there was a way the author could have condensed the povs but tell the same story. There was another character, Ragan, who I felt was underdeveloped cause I didn't really get him or his motives, but I suspect we'll be seeing him again in the next book.

Overall, I did really enjoy this book and cannot wait for the next! It's a 4.5 stars for me.

The Bone Shard Emperor focused more on the world and lore than its predecessor. Where The Bone Shard Daughter focused on establishing the characters and the magic, The Bone Shard Emperor expanded the world and lore setting up what is going to be an explosive finale.

I enjoyed The Bone Shard Emperor more than its predecessor because of this expansion of the world and lore. Stewart focused a lot on the mysterious Alanga giving readers a glimpse of the past and what’s to come. Stewart largely accomplished this expansion through Jovis. Jovis discovered a journal he slowly translated as the novel progressed. I absolutely loved this addition as it gives readers more context regarding the world without taking away from or breaking the pace of the story.

Jovis was my favourite character of The Bone Shard Emperor. Jovis struggled with his commitment with Lin versus his commitment with the Shardless Few as his feelings towards Lin evolved, thereby creating tension and internal conflict.

Overall, The Bone Shard Emperor expanded the world immensely, but there’s still a lot yet to be revealed and I can’t wait!

Release Date: 11/23/21

“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?”

I was so excited to get an arc of this! I loved, loved, loved The Bone Shard Daughter last year and this was one of my anticipated reads of 2021. I really love Lin and Jovis with how their relationship grows. The politics definitely picked up in this book and I am a sucker for political intrigue. I love how all the characters have come together and I’m really looking forward to the next book to see what will happen.