I am not okay, and readers shouldn't be either after the conclusion of this novel. Is there another in store? Where are our characters headed? And what lies in store for them? THE BONE SHARD EMPEROR answered many qyetsonis but opened even more cans of worms. Here Be Worms.

This was an amazing 2nd book. I loved all the character growth and of course the animal companions. I also really loved the new romance, I know some people didn't but I do! And we learn so much more about the world, it's history, it's magic and I'm so excited for book 3!

This will be a spoiler free review!

I thought book 1 was good. And then this happened.

Well, I think I’ve found my new favorite series of the year, tied with Fireborne. Yep. This is so darn good.

First up, there are more scenes with the cute cat otter. I can’t say much without spoilers, so just know the cuteness pretty much triples whenever Mephi is there.

I read this in 48 hours, despite it being a relatively thick book, because it just flew by. Even if there was one or two boring moments, I was so intrigued by what was happening that I just kept reading and reading and reading…

The characters get lots of awesome development. Lin is learning to be a leader. Jovis learns how to be a good friend. Phalue and Ranami are still learning how to have a relationship, which was absolutely precious.

Sand had some interesting development, which I can’t say because spoilers. All I can say is she infuriated me in the best way possible. I love it when stuff happens that makes me mad, and Sand made me so mad.

What did Mephi learn? Absolutely nothing. Jovis said don’t be a thief, don’t take things that aren’t yours, and then Mephi went out and turned into a crow (metaphorical) again and stole all the shiny things.

The world got explored more, as I expected. Some things that were simply speculated about ended up being important. Some other new things are left open for question. There’s a cool new magic system that was just barely present in book 1 that gets explored.

I will say book 1 did a better job of making it have a mysterious vibe, but that isn’t to say that this book didn’t do that. It was just more plot centered. The new magic system and the history of these ancient people was pretty mysterious, but it was one thing, as compared to book one where everything was new therefore it was mysterious.

I still felt like I was learning things at the same pace as the characters, which helped me get into their heads better. I also had it pointed out that Jovis and Lin’s main perspectives are in first person and the others are in third. SINCE WHEN? SINCE BOOK ONE? WHAT? I did not notice that lol. It was so seamless that I missed it. Don’t worry if you hate one or the other, you honestly won’t notice the difference. You’ll just be so entranced by the characters and the plot that you won’t even see it until someone tells you it happened.

While in book one, Phalue and Ranami were focused on politics, suddenly now Lin is. She has to learn politics, which she knows really nothing about. All she knows is that she doesn’t want to be like her father, and she will do anything to be better than him. I love those kinds of narratives. There’s so much room for growth.

Jovis was a total idiot this book. He’s been alone for so long and now suddenly he has a friend. He has to learn how to be a good friend, but of course he’s dumb and can’t figure it out. I just wanted him and his new friend to be able to trust each other and he kept doing things that made it worse, but he did it all for good reasons. I just wanted to scream at him, except he was right. Jovis in this book made me feel so conflicted and I loved it to death.

Phalue and Ranami were so precious in this book. They’re learning how to have a healthy relationship while also trying to lead the people with love and care. They struggled so much in book one to get to this point, and my heart melted once they started getting it right.

I am so curious how many books are planned for this series. I feel like a trilogy might be too short, but four would be good. Well, there actually might be a way to round it off in three, but I want more. I don’t know what’s best, I just want more of these characters and world.

I want a whole spinoff series with just Mephi. Make it a comic series because I need to see him. He’s just so darn cute. I recommend looking up fanart to see what I mean. He’s just…..he’s the perfect pet. I wanna give him head scratches and hugs and let him lay his head in my lap as I read.

If you did not read my book one review, all you need to know is this series is stunning. I will once again say I think this is perfect for people who read YA fantasy and want to start reading adult fantasy. It has the fast paced, character focused feel of YA, but is a little bit bigger in scope like adult fantasy. If every book I read was exactly like this I’d be so happy.

→ 4.5 / 5

Oh my goodness, I was so nervous going into this because I truly adored The Bone Shard Daughter and was worried about all the moving pieces. But this was such a great continuation, and probably one of the best 'middle books' I've read. I'm so happy we got more of Thrana and Mephi in this and NEED to know what happens after that cliffhanger!

I found that the pacing really picked up around the half-way mark, and it was incredibly hard to put the story down.

This book was fine, but something about the writing style of this series just isn't for me. I made it through Bone Shard Daughter and felt the same, but thought it would improve in book two because Daughter was a debut. Unfortunately, the world-building here just feels too sparse. I'm not sure why; it feels like Stewart needs to add a little bit more description because everything feels so bare bones. I also don't love the changes from first person to third person, but they're not the biggest issue. It just feels...incomplete, which is unfair because it obviously went through editing.

The plot for this one was better than book 1, and I felt invested in more than just Jovis and Mephi, but only barely. Lin's plot in this book was interesting, and her trying to figure out central mysteries of the magic is a big part of what kept me going, but ultimately, this book just completely failed to resonate with me.

I received a reviewer copy of The Bone Shard Emperor by Andrea Stewart from the publisher Orbit books from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What It’s About: This is second in a series so its hard to set-up without spoiling, but our main characters: Lin, Jovis, Mephi (my favorite, favorite, favorite!), Phalue, Ranami, and Nisong are all back and we watch the impacts of the first book take place.

What I Loved: I love Mephi and I actually really loved Phalue and Ranami’s storyline, it seemed very appropriate and was paced appropriately! This storyline was more

What I didn’t like so much: Okay, I didn’t love this sequel. I really enjoyed the first book in the series and found it promising. There were so many different mysteries left to be solved and so much adventure to be had. We dove in filled with excitement and were disappointed. I thought one of the major storylines that could have spread throughout the trilogy got wrapped up to quickly. The pacing felt off and it seemed we didn’t have any mythology to answer a looming mystery. I felt like bad decisions were made that didn’t seem to fit the character. This book took forever to get through cause we cringed through. We are not sure we will continue on.

Who Should Read It: People who love want to see what comes next in the first book.

Summary: The second in a series.

Stewart did a great job with this 2nd installment of moving the story along as all #2 books do. There were a few times were the story felt a little slow or I felt it was a bit repetitive but overall, a good middle book for the trilogy.

This book is absolutely phenomenal. I devoured this one in a single sitting (which yes lasted 36 hours), and then I devoured the next one to come out. An incredibly intelligent look at the world around us.

I loved the first book in this series, but the second book didn't have the same spark. It was an alright read, but I feel like it has middle-book syndrome.

The Drowning Empire series is quickly becoming one of my favorites that I’ve ever listened to. While it’s a LOT of information, Andrea Stewart does an amazing job of reminding us of plot points we may have missed, parts of the magic structure we may not understand, and writing in a way that feels very modern to make things less confusing. I’m still having a hard time imagining what Methy and Thrawna look like (apologies for incorrect spelling - I listened to the audiobook), but all I know is that I want one.

A very good series for anyone looking to dive into longer fantasy stories while still being able to hold your attention. I think I liked the first book just a tiny bit more, but both have been wonderful so far!

Ya I know what you are thinking. If you hated book one why get book two. Well I did an oops and grabbed this one before I even tried book one. Well it didn't work out at all for me either. Where book one had the voice of a child this one did the same thing. I still felt like I was in the POV of a kid. I wanted to love these so much as I loved the covers but it just wasn't meant to be.

Rating: 4.5/5 returned bone shards

Format: e-book & audiobook. I’d like to thank the author and Orbit for sending me an e-arc of this book to review!

To sum up:
This is the sequel to The Bone Shard Daughter, so this book picks up right where we left off! Lin is trying to run an empire in a world full of enemies and factions who want to bring her down because she is her father’s daughter.

What I enjoyed:
This review is long overdue! For the longest time, I haven’t been in the mood for epic fantasy for a while (sad) but I think this book finally broke my slump! Part of it might have been switching to the audiobook version of the book which was really fantastic. There is a great cast of voices and I totally got sucked in. I loved the first book and this was a great follow-up on the intricate characters and plots from book 1. The world-building is fantastic, the relationships are complex, and the writing is so good!

What was meh:
The only negative I can note is that I was a little less interested in some of the other POVs, but mostly because I was so invested in Lin, Jovis and Mephi lol

Overall, I thought this was a great sequel and I can’t wait to read the next book! April can’t come soon enough.

After defeating her father, Lin hoped taking over as emperor would be a smooth transition, but no one knows who she is and don’t trust the Sukai family after the terrors of tithing festivals and constructs. But with Jovis, who has become a folk hero, at her side she decides to travel across the empire to announce the ending of tithings, return everyone’s bone shards, and try to get the governors to lend her their support, both for her rule and to build an army. Because not only is Lin dealing with the distrust of the empire, an army of constructs who didn’t appreciate her putting a bounty out and her plans to dismantle all constructs are making their way across the empire, conquering islands and killing the people. It also doesn’t help that the army of constructs is being led by a woman calling herself Nisong and claiming to be Lin’s illegitimate half-sister in a bid to contest her claim to the throne.

If you enjoy political fantasies with many plots and subplots happening simultaneously, you will adore this book and series. All of the characters are complex and have their own motivations. It’s sometimes hard to decide who is good or right because so many of these folks are reacting from places of trauma and trying to survive and thrive with the resources at their disposal. Lin is doing everything to not be her father, but her greatest skill and the skill that has kept her alive is her abilities with bone shard magic, so when she makes grand promises to stop using it, how is she to prove her strength and ability to lead the empire? Jovis may be praised for having rescued children from tithing festivals and his super strength and supernatural abilities, but he’s also just a man who misses his dead wife try to figure out what is best for the people of the empire and how to fulfill oaths he’s made. Phalue is governor of Nephalanu after deposing her father, but she’s also trying to prove herself nothing like him with the help of her gutter-born wife and listening to the people of the island instead of doing only what is in her best interests, all while also contending with the Shardless Few who wish to kill her or at least end the governance of Nephalanu.

There truly are so many machinations at play and so many conflicting goals. It’s hard to know who to trust when you don’t know who is telling the truth or might be an enemy spy. But even among these dangerous, scary, stressful times people are able to build connections and strengthen bonds. I love the growth between Phalue and Ranami now that they’re married and working together to govern Nephalanu. The way Lin and Jovis grow close and lean on one another over the course of this book was one of my favorite points of tension because of the “will-they-won’t-they” energy.

I’m trying not to give too much away, but this book was so fantastic and the audiobook is spectacularly done. I love these characters, even the ones who give me conflicted feelings, and I really cannot wait to see what’s going to happen next, especially with those final few chapters. Things are getting explosive, and it is so masterfully executed!

I am thoroughly ashamed of myself for waiting so long to write this review, especially when it was just soooo good!

I LOVED this book. It’s the second in what is shaping up to be a standout series. Short story, last July I ended up in the hospital for 8 days and was confined to the hospital bed… no getting up for any reason and let me tell you it is so incredibly dull in there! The weird thing is, even though this is a time when you are most in need of distraction I find it is so hard to concentrate on anything at all when I’m in the hospital. I just lay there and stare at the wall or whatever is on the tv and I feel like my brain is just floating away. Being sick definitely is part of it, but also it’s just so hard to think about anything. Weird. I started reading the first book in this series in the hopes that I could find something to keep me going, and it worked! I still couldn’t spend long periods of time reading, but when I could this drew in my attention and helped me through the week. High praise from me, it was just what I needed at the time.

The characters in the book are very well drawn. Their plight is compelling and they show good growth from book one to book two. It’s very easy to get attached to them (I’m looking at you Mephi.) The magic system is fascinating and that does a lot to make this a good read. A middle book can be a challenge but I feel like this one makes a good case for reading the third when it comes out in … 2023?! Oh boy, I have a wait in store. It’s all good. By then I will probably need to re-read the first to to prepare and I’m so ok with that. 🙂 If you couldn’t tell, this was one of my favorite reads of 2021. Looking forward to next year!

The Bone Shard Emperor is the follow-up book to The Bone Shard Daughter, part of The Drowning Empire trilogy. I adored The Bone Shard Daughter, and I went in with high expectations for Emperor. Thankfully, I was not disappointed, and almost feel this is a very rare case of a middle book being even better than the first book.

I can’t get into the plot overly, because it follows to immediately after Daughter, it would spoil that book if you haven’t read it. What I can say is that we see even more politics, adorable companion animals, and revolution, all of which I was a big fan of in the first book.

One of my favourite things about the first book was that there were multiple POV characters, and none of which I didn’t enjoy. I generally find multiple POV’s great, but there’s always that one character whose chapters you kind of want to skim over, the one who doesn’t seem overly relevant or interesting. While I still had favourites in Daughter, I never wanted to rush to get back to them. Each character was compelling. Emperor manages much the same, and with new POV as well. What surprised me the most is that while Jovis was my favourite in the last, Lin’s chapters in Emperor blew him out of the water and she became my new favourite to read about.

Another favourite thing was more animal companions! I’m such a sucker for companions, and I can never have too many, and each time a new one was introduced, I died a little inside from overwhelming cuteness. If the next book has a hundred of these adorable little sass monsters, it still won’t be enough for me. Mephi is still the sassiest of the bunch though, so he still has the most special place in my heart.

This book is such a wonderful follow up to The Bone Shard Daughter. If you’ve been debating reading it, now is the time. The ending is even better - it made me laugh, it made me cry. It left me with so many burning questions, and I can’t wait for the next book.
If you’ve not started The Drowning Empire, now is also the time for you. This is such a great series, and it’s leading up to what I expect to be an exceptional finale. It balances magic, and politics so well, never feeling dry, or being an info dump, and it never feels like just a brainless action either. Everything about it feels so seamless, to get a bit of everything in there.
Read this series!

Solid continuation of the story. A few trajectories made me confused but overall great. Will definitely read the last book in the series when it comes out.

Thanks to Orbit Books, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy of the book for my honest review.

“When you’re young, you think you can change the world. You think you can bend it to your will. When you’re old, you learn to change your small corner of it and live with the rest.”

This book is the second one in a series, so I had to go back and read the first book to give an accurate review. The only problem I had with this book was the slow start. I had a hard time getting into it, but the plot picked up about a third of the way into more exciting scenes.

We follow Lin, she is the emperor now, but most of the governors are not accepting her rule. An army of constructs is treating her ruling, as well as an ancient race of powerful magicians has returned to take over the Empire. She needed to stabilize her empire and her ruling to the Empire while she had no one to trust and no friends around her. Could she do it?

The plot was a mess at some points. What I loved the most was the dark hard magic system. The romance was interesting, even when it felt forced sometimes. I loved the twists and turns and the action scenes. Lin’s development was done perfectly compared to the first book, and she was by far my favorite character in this book.

Overall, this book was a great read, and I can’t wait to read the next one!

I adored this book's predecessor, and though I didn't like this one quite as much, it was still a genuinely excellent work of fantasy. I loved seeing how much Lin's character has grown and changed since the first book. The world was interesting and the plot was very much entertaining. The plots from the first book held over to this one and I thought they satisfyingly tied them together in some really unique ways. Andrew Stewart is honestly a force to be reckoned with in fantasy and I'm so ready for the conclusion to this series.

I received an ARC via Netgalley.

While I would love to give a full review of this book, I can't. After spending months of picking it up and putting it down while reading the first few chapters, I'm admitting defeat. This series is not for me. However, I do think there are tons of people this would be for. The sci-fi/fantasy elements are there to make this a great story, I just didn't connect in a way that would have allowed me to finish this.

4 stars

You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.

This is a good second book in this unique fantasy series. The book starts off slowly and it was initially hard to get into it, but about a third of the way it picks up and is a lot more exciting. Lin is now the emperor, but most governors in the empire have not accepted her rule. The Shardless Few demand she abdicate. Islands are sinking, and an army of constructs is descending from the north, threatening Lin's rule. As if Lin doesn't have enough problems, the Alanga, an ancient race of powerful magicians, have returned to take over the Empire.

This book focuses on Lin's efforts to stabilize the empire and solidify her rule. Lin has no friends, no one to trust and must rely on her wit and guile to run the Empire. She begins to rely more on Jovis, the smuggler that saved her life that she appointed the head of her guard. But can he really be trusted? Lin and Jovis are both damaged and flawed people. Neither has the self confidence to heal themselves, but just as they start to make progress circumstances set them back.

Some storylines in the book are finalized and others are left hanging, setting the book up for an exciting third book. I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and Orbit Books. All opinions are my own.