This wonderfully continues the world built in Stewart's first book in this series. The same deeply rich world building is present. The characters are just as fully drawn, with complicated morals and ideals. Lin's next quest for a way to solidify her rule, even with an army of leftover constructs marching towards her, is fascinating. The language itself is sumptuous. and the same island bouncing to see more of the empire is engaging. All that said, there are definitely some second book problems. The world is richly drawn, but it doesn't have to draw us in anymore. The plots is engaging and moves things forward, but it doesn't have to resolve or answer the most burning questions, because that's what the last book is for. It's lovely table setting, world class table setting really, but the book spends a lot of time moving things into position for the final installment.

I was a little hesitant to jump into this one, simply because I love ld the first book so much and was worried this wouldn't live up to my hype of it. I was so wrong! I loved every minute of this! The twist and turns had me going for a spin! 4.5 rounded to 5⭐

A beautiful continuation in THE BONE SHARD DAUGHTER trilogy by Andrea Stewart. Interesting characters trapped by tightly twisting plots make for a fascinating second book in the series.

Oooohhh this was so good! I had the same itch every time we switched POVs but after a few sentences was happy to be back with that character. The new villain and magic ability reveals were great fun. The romance was well done, not overwhelming but definitely ship-able. Dare I say I want more of their relationship!? Why yes I do!

I had trouble imagining the animal companions as they grew, but I think that is simply because we don't have a good analogy for their size and body in the real world. I still think of them as pups. Can't wait for the next book and for the story to continue.

The Bone Shard Daughter was one of my top reads of 2021, so I genuinely jumped for joy when I received an E-ARC for the Bone Shard Emperor via NetGalley. I finished all 2,000+ pages in under 5 days and I'm already ready for the next book! I've said it before but I'll say it once again: this series deserves so much more hype. The world building is immersive and fantastical, the magic system is unique but well described and it's equal parts action driven and character driven. The use of multiple POV chapters give insight into each of the characters and their choices, and made it even more fun when they start crossing paths and forming relationships with one another in this second book!
As Lin takes up the position of emperor, the trials and tribulations of the first book are expanded upon and explored, which only create more questions and challenges for her. I was rooting for her the entire time, as she tried to dismantle the mess her father left behind and prove to her people that she genuinely wants to do what's best for them. I loved seeing her relationship with Thrana develop as Thrana became more comfortable and trusting.
Jovis and Mephi will always be the best animal-human duo out there, but Jovis frustrated me with the decisions he made and the things he chose to hide.
I really really loved seeing my queer queens Phalue and Ranami thriving in their new positions, and doing everything they can to help those who need it.
Nisong as the villain fascinated me. Having chapters from her POV made her a much more sympathetic character, just trying to save her "people", which set her up as a foil to Lin.
The only aspect I wasn't a fan of, (besides some of Jovis' stupid decisions) was the secondary villain. His arc felt rushed and underdeveloped, and while I'm sure he'll play a much larger role in the upcoming book, his inclusion in this one didn't impress me.
Overall, this sequel was everything I hoped for and more. I'm already counting down the days until the next book is ready and I can lose myself in this world once again!

I loved the first book in this series, love Andrea Stewart on twitter (lol!), and I loved this sequel! It did not disappoint. If anything, I felt even more invested in all the stories and characters than I did in the first book (Phalue really grew on me.) The world-building and magic system still feel fresh and unique - I love that with the bone shard "constructs" capable of imitating humans, it bends the genre just a bit, adding in a whisper of sci-fi (bone shard magic as "coding," "constructs" as AI.) I'd recommend this series to young people and adults alike - just an all-around great story!

Where to begin?! You know how some books have sophomore slumps? Well this book is one of the few that did not!! This book picks up a few months after the previous one. Lin is doing the best she can navigating between her enemies and figuring out who she wants to be as an emperor. There is so much character growth and development. The last 100 pages everyone will binge and not be able to stop reading! My love for Mephi has only grown with this book. He is my favorite !! I literally cannot wait for the next book to come out! Thank you so much orbitbooks for this arc!!

4.5/5 stars !!!

Lin has become Emperor but can’t necessarily keep the role. There is even more palace intrigue and backstabbing than in the first book, enough to seem almost over the top, and then I think about the backstabbing in our own failing government and think: well, sure. It was an engaging read.

Really great!! This is the 2nd book in a series, but ends with a nice non-cliff conclusion. There are still some open questions, about the Alanga and their special abilities, what Thrana and Mephi are evolving into, what are Nisong and Ragan going to do next, and whether any more islands are going to sink. The political situation Lin is navigating is completely fractured, and her loneliness and frustration are palpable as she encounters one obstacle after another. There's a big focus on trying to do the right thing, when even knowing what that is is hard. All the characters are really well developed and interesting. Even Nisong is a little sympathetic. The writing is beautiful and technically impeccable. Can't wait for book three. Highly recommend!

Thank you to Orbit Books and NetGalley for providing me with a free eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

The Bone Shard Emperor by Andrea Stewart

4.5 stars

Content Warnings: Body Horror, Medical Horror/Experimentation, Natural Disaster, Necromancy, Death, Death/Abuse of Children, Violence, Gore, Loss of Memory, Loss of Autonomy

The Bone Shard Daughter was one of my favourite books I read this past summer, so I was obviously thrilled to have the opportunity to read its sequel in advance!

Overall, I do think The Bone Shard Emperor was slightly weaker than its predecessor, but I still think it was an excellent book and not disappointing in the slightest. I am definitely very excited and scared for the third installment in the trilogy!

As you will know if you’ve started reading The Bone Shard Daughter, the author’s way of dividing up PoV chapters is really unique and this continues in The Bone Shard Emperor. In short, (this isn’t a spoiler) there are a few characters who have first person perspectives, and the rest of the cast of PoV characters have (less frequent) third person perspectives. I think a lot of readers might worry that this makes the books jarring, but, honestly, a lot of the time I didn’t really notice the switches and it never really bothered me. It’s definitely a unique way of emphasizing which of the characters are our main focus, and which characters are more secondary. In addition, I think it serves to highlight the arcs of the main characters. While the rest of the cast deals with more external than internal conflicts, the characters with whom we have a first person perspective go through a lot of internal strenuations in addition to the external conflict, so the first person perspective is an excellent way to see a bit clearer into their heads to illustrate their arcs and growth. Overall though, I really appreciate that there are many PoV characters and I find it adds a lot of perspective and nuance to the story. It's especially interesting in this book, where plotlines are intersecting, to see diverse perspectives on a particular moment in the book! The standout character arc for this book was definitely Lin, but I also really enjoyed what the author did with the character who is considered to be the “villain” for most of the book (not mentioning names because spoilers). My two favourite characters are certainly Ranami (the only one with braincells hahaha) and Jovis (disaster), although I also love Mephi (who doesn’t), Gio (problematic fave whoops), and Ayesh (a new character!).

The Bone Shard Emperor is without a doubt a lot more character-focused than The Bone Shard Daughter, which I think is pretty common for second books. I really loved the opportunity to get a little bit deeper inside some of the characters’ heads and explore them more extensively. I think this was enabled by the aforementioned intersection of plotlines from the first book, which gave the author more time to do character work. Overall, the plot itself was still enjoyable, although I wish the Nephilanu plotline was a bit more elaborate. However, I did love that the plot preserved the nautical themes from the first book, which is definitely one of the most unique aspects of this book, especially compared to other epic fantasy series. While this book is by definition a quest novel, it feels a lot fresher and more exciting to have the quest take place on the sea as compared to on land.

The nautical aspects of the book also help enhance the worldbuilding of the island-dotted Phoenix Empire, and the environmental implications of the islands throughout the plot of the book adds immense tension to the plot. The magic system is also so, so unique, well-developed and awesome (there are actually two: one using the titular bone shards and another that is more elemental - both are great but the bone shard one is the system I find particularly unique). There is nothing I love more than a hard magic system which reads as scientific on the page, and which characters do research to learn more about and refine their skills. In this case, the magic system is really similar to coding, and as a student studying some computer science I especially loved how there were analogies to “sub-classes” and “method calls” within the magic system. SO AWESOME! As well, a lot of the worldbuilding is inspired by Eastern Asian cultures, so I would encourage readers to reference reviews from readers of Eastern Asian ethnicities for a more nuanced review of that representation.

For me, the last quarter of the book was my favourite. While there was an initial reveal that I saw coming from pretty far off, there was a second one which took me completely by surprise and made me extremely excited for the final installment in the trilogy.

For me, my one main critique of the book was the romantic arc, which felt at times forced and unnecessary. While I love the (sapphic!) couple introduced in book one (Phalue and Ranami - not a spoiler), and really enjoyed how their relationship evolved in the sequel, the new relationship which the author set up in book two was pretty rushed. I didn’t hate the two individuals together, I just thought it really didn’t need to happen so quickly and would have preferred if it was more of a slowburn relationship. But that's just my taste, and it wasn’t too central a component to the plot so it was more of a minor annoyance.

Overall, this sequel absolutely lived up to my expectations and I can’t wait for book three! I would definitely recommend this book, and the series as a whole thus far.

While I enjoyed the first book, I had some reservations about the sequel after reading other people’s reviews. Unfortunately, I shared the same opinions. The Bone Shard Emperor suffered strongly from second book syndrome, with frustratingly slow pacing that distracted from any plot or character development.

This review contains spoilers for book one.

Now the emperor, Lin struggles to gain the support of the people and to find the answers of the mysteries her father has left behind. Jovis is a double spy, reporting on Lin while working as her captain of the guard while also growing close to her. Meanwhile, Phalue and Ranami deal with the turmoil on their island, and Nisong brings her rebellion closer and closer to the heart of the empire.

I don’t want to say that I didn’t enjoy this book at all because I did like parts of it. Three stars is still a decent rating! I liked the writing; Stewart writes with an attention to detail that really places you in the scene. Mephi, as expected, was one of my favorite parts, and I loved reading his parts. I truly think many other people who enjoyed the first book will like this sequel. The concept of bone shard magic was also intriguing to me, and I can see where Stewart pulls from her software developing background in the worldbuilding. However, I was so frustrated with the pacing and some of the character decisions that my irritation with the book grew.

The slow pacing of the first book worked because each character’s point-of-view was solving their own mystery. Second books of trilogies (which, by the way, I was not aware this was a trilogy but more on that later) usually tend to be slower compared to the fast-paced exposition of the opening book, but this book was almost agonizing. I was intrigued by where the plot was going, but I also think you could have skipped almost half of this book and still understood everything.

As much as I appreciate plot aspects being developed well, this book also took a pace that just did not work with what was actually happening on page. Like I said earlier, I was not aware that this was a trilogy because it felt like everything could have been wrapped up in this book. Depending on what happens in book three, I think we would have to build up new mysteries, and I’m not sure I really have the patience for that.

Again, I didn’t entirely hate this book! It just didn’t work for me, for a lot of reasons, but I hope it will work for you. If you liked the first book, hopefully you’ll enjoy The Bone Shard Emperor more than I did.

I received this complimentary ARC from the publisher, courtesy of NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

It's been a while since I read the first book but it was easy falling back into the world of the Bone Shard Emperor. All the different plotlines were as interesting as ever, although I did miss reading about bone-shard magic which I felt didn't play as central a role in Lin's storyline as much as it did in the first book. The first book was utterly fascinating as we unraveled the mystery of Lin's existence and learned about the power of bone-shard magic and while this second book was a little less new and exciting in a way, it was still a captivating read that had me wanting to read even more.

As always, Ranami and Phalue were my favourite couple to read about just because they are so. good.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5 <3

The Bone Shard Emperor (sequel to The Bone Shard Daughter) is SO FREAKING GOOD ONGMGNFBDBSHSH

the CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT and the skilled use of multiple PERSPECTIVES and the POLITICS and everything was so intricate and thoughtful without being too complicated to follow and OH MY GOSH like, I loved The Bone Shard Daughter, but the absolute skill involved in creating all of these elements of The Bone Shard Emperor is NEXT LEVEL. And the ENDING OMG I NEED THE NEXT BOOK IMMEDIATELY.

Blown away by Andrea Stewart. Marry me.

THE BONE SHARD EMPEROR, the second book in THE DROWNING EMPIRE series by ANDREA STEWART, continues to impress in scope and creativity. Stewart's writing is clear, fluid, and easy to take in as we follow Lin struggling to raise supportive allies to fight with her against the construct army, Jovis struggling with his split loyalties and feelings, Phalue struggling to be a better governor than her predecessor, and Ranami struggling to let go of her childhood mistrust. Armies, ambitions, and legends collide in a thrilling battle for the Empire.

Things I liked;

The personal growth of the characters. I think Stewart does a great job balancing her POV characters and developing them in a real way.

The creativity of the world and story continues to be interesting.

Love getting more Melphi and others like him.

Things I didn't like:

I didn’t find this story as engaging as the previous book. It was still an interesting read, but it dragged in some places or certain POVs weren’t as interesting to me as they had been before.

I struggled a bit with the romance aspect. The feelings just kind of happened and while I do like Lin, she is technically an intelligent Frankenstein grown from dead flesh and I have a hard time getting into a romance plot with her and Jovis especially considering how all last book he was lamenting his love for his late wife and had spent the last seven years dedicated to finding her. It felt a little soon for him to jump ship to be in love with someone else. Phalue and Ranami's romance is sweet and solid enough to hit that note and that feels like all the romance we need.

I didn’t care much for Nisong’s POV. I found it boring and didn’t relate to her anger or situation. I understand her motivations, but they’re selfish and based on personal vengeance without care for the people she professes to care about. I’d rather not follow a villainous POV this closely without feeling a connection or understanding. I think a growing army of constructs wrecking devastation and horror across the empire would be more interesting if we weren't given all the information about it. I preferred Gio and Ragan's more subtle arcs (examples of interesting characters without a POV).

While this wasn't a "can't put it down read" like the previous book, THE BONE SHARD EMPEROR stands well on its own and is a great read in the series.

3.5 stars. Let me start by saying this book is very different in tone from the first book. It was slow to start and was far more deeply involved in the Empire’s politics.

My largest complaints: The plot and final battle felt like a bit of a mess if I’m honest. There are 3 characters I would label as “bad guys” in this book and the motivations for two of them made almost zero sense to me: Nisong and Ragan. Sand/Nisong was so interesting in the first book. All of that was washed away by weird decision making I couldn’t follow. Her motivations for this war she started was weak at best. That’s the worst thing to do to a villain. Give them weak motivators or make them evil just for evil’s sake. Additionally I don’t think I agreed with the choice to make Lin and Jovis a love contention. They really make so little sense to me and yes I realize they are going to be these immortal Alanga but they didn’t know that before starting things. Doesn’t the massive age gap not bother anyone else?

All of that said this still was an interesting epic that I devoured. I want to read how this trilogy ends and I’m engaged enough with the story that I think the loose ends left at the end of this book will be worthwhile.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC!

Picking up from where The Bone Shard Daughter left off this book explore the fallout of everything that happened from the first one. Starting the book, I was really excited to see where the story was going to take our characters next. The world of this trilogy continue to be intriguing and captivating as always, though as I continue to read on I found it to be a bit lack-luster. Maybe it's second book syndrome or maybe it's just me but I thought some parts moved a little bit too sluggishly and certain reveal/shock factor to not click as it should. I found some dialogues from the characters to be oddly said as well as the characters themselves (making me feel like these weren't the characters I read about from the first book), and would've like to see some relationships dynamic to use more development. Despite all that, it was a solid book nonetheless, and I'm very interested to see how Stewart wraps it all up with the third one.

I had to speed read through the first book to get this one and what an ABSOLUTE TREAT. This was such an incredibly strong and brilliant follow up. The characters own a piece of my heart and the world building and set up? Is incredible. An absolute treat.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this arc.

4.5

I was thrilled to get a copy of this after reading an arc of the first. This book was magnificent. I’m seriously dying for the next one already. I don’t know how I’m going to wait when this book isn’t even published yet. I have this purchased via Goldsboro; I’m excited to have it in my hands. The Bone Shard Emperor was thrilling, intense, action-packed, and filled with a slow burn romance. I recommend this to everyone, even if you may not have been sold on the first. This book was even better.!!

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?

This is the sequel to The Bond Shard Daughter. The first book was wonderful and this is just as good. Tightly-woven plot, action, wonderful world-building and terrific character. Lin is a terrific heroine.... complicated, complex, brave and smart. I love the twists here... There are so many surprises and they link to the events in the first book. Totally love this!

Thanks to the publisher for providing this arc.

Thank you so much to Orbit and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC!

The Bone Shard Emperor is the follow up to the superb The Bone Shard Daughter , one of my favorite books of last year. I was highly anticipating this sequel, and the return to its unique world, interesting magic system, complex characters, and absolutely adorable mythological creatures. The Bone Shard Emperor is a worthy follow up to its predecessor, with the stakes much higher for all of the characters involved, a new villain emerging, and the secrets of the past quickly coming to a head.

Admittedly, I did have a little trouble getting into The Bone Shard Emperor. I believe this was largely in part due to how much I loved its tightly-written, fast-paced predecessor. I could’ve read an entire series taking place in the Imperial Palace, with main character Lin struggling to learn the secrets behind her father’s many locked doors and proving herself worthy as his heir. Luckily for me, The Bone Shard Emperor follows every thread that it wove in the first novel. Lin struggles to reconcile her role as Emperor without the use of her powerful bone shard magic, Jovis wrestles with his conflicting loyalties, Nisong grapples with the losses caused by her brutal revolution, and Phalue and Ranami try to find balance in their new roles as governor and governor’s wife. Every single point-of-view is interesting and effortlessly conflicted, rendering the characters immediately three-dimensional and believable.

"Whatever you might think of me, of my station, I am not my father. I do not fear the people. I am Lin Sukai and I will remake this Empire."

Like in the first novel, I particularly loved reading from Lin’s perspective. I find her to be such a compelling character. Her struggle to remain true to herself and to reject her father’s way of doing things, and to still be able to protect her people without the use of bone shard magic is such a righteous desire. I was less thrilled with Jovis’s many conflicting loyalties, and frequently lamented his inability to just tell the truth to anyone. Jovis’s and Lin’s relationship, which turns romantic, managed to both make sense and feel completely unexpected to me. After reading The Bone Shard Daughter, I never would have predicted the two catching feelings for each other, even with Lin’s resemblance to Jovis’s missing wife. Despite my surprise at their developing relationship, the more I thought about it, the more I realized it made sense for two lonely people, who are also the only ones with strange magical powers and companions, to seek comfort in one another. Though I didn’t exactly feel their physical attraction or chemistry per se, their bond was entirely believable to me and I think it added a very interesting dynamic to the story.

Less interesting to me was Nisong, formerly known as Sand’s, development in this novel. Though I really enjoyed her single-mindedness and determination in the previous entry in the series, in The Bone Shard Emperor I was a bit shocked to find how suddenly these character traits had turned into ferocity and brutality. Due to Lin’s decree that all bone shard constructs should be dismantled and destroyed by both the empire and citizens, Nisong goes on a rampage, terrorizing people by enacting her Tithing Ceremony, even resorting to killing citizens and turning them into her own undead constructs. With the goal of taking Lin’s place as Emperor, she moves from island to island, leaving destruction in her wake, and losing many of her friends in the process.

"Their conquest didn't have to end here. She was Nisong. She had once been the Emperor's consort. And she had been the first one outside the Emperor's family to learn the bone shard magic."

Though I felt that Nisong’s transformation was pretty shocking and abrupt, she makes an absolutely spectacular foil to Lin. Lin was her father’s rejected creation, not quite perfected, and never retaining all of the implanted memories of her “mother,” the original Nisong. Current construct Nisong, is the cast off construct that Lin’s father couldn’t bear to kill, that retains many of the original Nisong’s memories, but far less of Lin’s humanity, compassion, and concern with doing what's right. Unlike Lin, Nisong has no qualms about taking what she wants, no matter what the cost, and is more than willing to use Bone Shard magic in the process. Their ideological differences and inevitable confrontation create an undercurrent of tension that pervades the entirety of The Bone Shard Emperor. Nisong’s brutality only serves to make me root for Lin even harder, which is truly masterful story crafting. 

"The Empire expected a monster? She would be the monster."

Besides Nisong, another new and utterly despicable villain emerges in The Bone Shard Emperor. I honestly cannot wait for the next novel for this character to get his just desserts. It’s amazing how quickly and believably author Andrea Stewart can develop a complex character—she is truly a great character craftsman, with even side characters having layers and layers to them. Likewise, her tales are well planned, with observant readers who play close attention able to predict what is coming in the novel. And of course I would be remiss not to mention how much I love the truly unique world and magical systems of The Drowning Empire series. The Bone Shard Emperor delves deeper into the lore of the world, with more of a focus on the mysteries of the Alanga and the role of the Sukai family and their bone shard magic in destroying them. 

"We need one another. We receive these abilities, and they receive a way to influence the world."

And thankfully, readers will get to experience much more of Mephi, Jovis’s adorable companion, and Thrana, Lin’s rescued companion. I don’t think I can overstate how much I love these creatures. In fact sometimes my fear and dread of anything happening to these fur babies is so intense that I could barely stand to keep reading the novel—obviously, I did anyway—that is how much I adore Mephi and Thrana. They deserve the world. 

I am honestly so invested in this series and its characters that I don’t know how I’m going to wait for the next one to be released. If you delight in fantasy worlds with unique magic systems, conflicted characters, and mythical creatures, look no further than The Bone Shard Emperor.