I would like to thank the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for the ARC of this book. I read an advanced copy of this book, so the final edition of the book might be slightly different. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.

I was terrified of this book when I started it. This series has been brutal up until now, and the ending of The Bone Shard Emperor did not leave me incredibly hopeful. And honestly, in a way, I was right to be scared! This book was full of a lot of pain and hard decisions and heartbreaking scenes.

The empire was truly crumbling throughout this book, despite Lin’s best efforts to keep it together. It was honestly tough to watch, as the inside perspective through Lin’s narration often made me more sympathetic to her goals and her desire to see the Empire flourish and survive, despite it becoming clearer and clearer that it was near impossible. I honestly really enjoyed how much we got to see all sides of the conflict, and it made this series really interesting to read just on a political level.

While at points this book dragged on a bit and felt a bit slow compared to the other books in the series, I did still enjoy it overall. It was tough to read (or listen to) at times, especially seeing how much pain many of the characters were in, and how in turn they often hurt other characters because of it. One thing I did miss a bit in this final installment was the further exploration of the world and its secrets. We did still have a few final reveals, but it did feel like this final book was mainly focused on exploring the ramifications of everything that had happened in the first two books and wrapping up all the plot threads. It did make for a satisfying and complete conclusion, but it made certain sections of the book a bit less thrilling or exciting.

Lastly, I have to commend the narrators of this trilogy. Natalie Naudus, Feodor CHin, and Emily Woo Zeller were fantastic at bringing this series to life, and a big reason I love this series as much as I do. They brought so much emotion and life and vibrancy to their respective characters, and really made each character stand out. They felt like real people to me, thanks to the fantastic blend that these narrators and Stewart’s writing made.

Overall, while the first book does solidly remain my favorite of the series, I found that The Bone Shard War was a solid conclusion to a trilogy full of twists and turns. I really enjoyed this series overall, and can’t wait to see what Andrea Stewart writes next!

This review will go live on my blog on February 8th.

What a great end to a fascinating and engaging trilogy. I can't begin to gush enough about how much I loved this book. The twists and turns were gripping. With such an interesting plot and unique forms of magic and characters you want to root for!

I really liked how this series started but I cared less and less as the story continued. By the 3rd book it was repetitive, boring, and I just didn't care about any of the characters or their outcomes any longer. There was only one really good twist and it felt like an "ah-ha" moment that faded quickly behind the monotony of the battles. I think this story would have been served better as duology or as shorter books.

This is Andrea Stewart's first series, given how much I liked The Bone Shard Daughter I look forward to how her writing improves in the future.

An excellent conclusion to the Drowning Empire series. The mystery that was built up throughout the story was brilliantly resolved, and every character had a satisfying ending despite some bittersweet moments. The way the different narrators were woven together was particularly impressive, making each character unique and three-dimensional.

I absolutely loved the first book in this series but the second one didn’t quite hold up for me. I hate to say that I felt similarly about the series finale. While I loved learning more about the world and magic, I struggled with the characters and their motivations. I found the time jump disorienting and struggled to really stay engaged in this story. As I already said, I did love the things we learned about this world though. Some of those details absolutely blew my mind! Even though this series didn’t quite turn out the way I had hoped after the first book, I’m still really excited to see what this author will think up next!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Please note that if you don’t have clear memories of who the characters are (beyond the main, like, six from book one), it will take you quite a while to get your bearings.

This was a fitting end to the series. Our main characters are separated but working towards a common goal (against very different odds), so jumping between them kept the momentum going. Unfortunately, because there’s something like 5 main plots to tie up, the antagonists have to wear many hats, which make them seem kind of flighty and inconsistent. (I also really wish I remembered the backstory of one of them because without it their every action lost any semblance of impact; this is a me problem but also had a big effect on my reading experience).

After his kind of blah role in the second book, Jovis really carried the character development in this book. Lin was rather implacable, but that’s in character for her. And Phalue has much more depth than she had at the start of this journey.

The Bone Shard War is the third and final installment in the Drowning Empire series and continues the story of Lin, Jovis and Mephi et al. There are considerable shenanigans going on at this point, so I won't get into detail and spoil it for anyone.

I really enjoyed the way that the story unfolded. There was all kinds of new information about the ossalen and what they are and how they relate to people having magical powers, and the world itself.

Just like the two previous volumes this volume was really really hard to put down. I ended up reading it in just a couple of days, even despite everything that was going on in my life. That says a lot, believe it or not! I'm definitely going to read more of Andrea Stewart's work in the future because I really enjoyed this series. More more more please!

I thought it was very, very well put together, well-written and unique.

I loved Bone Shard Daughter for it's magic system, cool characters, and magical companions. Unfortunately for me, this last one took a turn away from all that into more politics and romance. I wasn't a huge fan of this focus shift and the romance felt forced to me. i will try more from this author, but not a win for me in the end.

I was surprised when I started this book and realized that Andrea Stewart had moved forward in her characters' lives two years. At first I was a little concerned, but I soon began to see the benefit of the time jump, in that the Empire had had two years in which more problems cropped up, and our main characters are all in different or worse circumstances:

Lin Sukai's Empire is teetering. The governors are not opening defying her, but the whitstone shortage is inflaming tensions, and to stave off open defiance and treason, she makes certain deals, while also searching for information in legends about seven white swords, which are powerful, and may help her keep the Alanga at bay. Thrana continues to support Lin's efforts, while growing larger.

Jovis has fallen in with former associates, and is causing pain and damage wherever he goes, no matter how hard he tries to prevent it, as Mephi is held hostage against him. Mephi also is growing bigger.

Phalue is convinced by Lin to help her in her search for the swords, even while desperate to return home to Ranami and their adopted daughter Ayesh.

The Alanga are actively plotting and working against the Empire, with Nisong joining forces with Ragan. Both are intent on killing her, but their end goals are somewhat divergent, hinting at difficulties to come between them.

The Shardless Few are rebelling, and Ranami, alone with Ayesh, must keep her island together, despite former allies seeing her as a traitor and working to take things apart.

This was a terrific end to an outstanding series. I was captivated and totally invested in each character's situation. I was desperately hoping they would all somehow find a way out of their problems, while also cooling down tempers and dealing with the drowning islands and political strife. And they do, but there is so much intrigue, hope, action, violence, betrayal, regret and longing along the way to the deeply satisfying conclusion.

I felt rewarded by the author for going on the journey with all her characters in this wonderfully conceived world. Also, I loved that even with the trilogy's wrap-up, there were things still left for all the characters to do to continue to build on their solutions and successes, as there would be in real life.

I loved this huge, fascinating trilogy, and I am eager to read whatever Andrea Stewart writes next.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Orbit Books for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc.

I really love this series. I think I’ve read them all as arc, and I have the Goldsboro hard copies. While this was a somewhat sad ending, I think it ended well. It was slow at times due to everything coming together from everyone’s stories, but I enjoyed it. I liked the characters and how things developed. Good book, great series.

(3/5 stars) Good fantasy novel, though the time jump at the beginning was a bit jarring and it takes a while to get into (feels repetitive). Great for readers who like political intrigue and fantasy (e.g., City of Brass).

I found this trilogy a series of diminishing returns...started off really good and gradually declined as the series continued. I was happy to no longer have the love triangle that was being hinted at in the second book, but things seemed to be tied up just a bit too neatly in the end. I think the book could use another once over on editing as there are some things that seemed be be inconsistent in parts with the sizes of the Ossalen. Also- me being persnickety- HORNS are NOT the same as bone! Horns are made of keratin like fingernails and hair. ANTLERS are made of bone.

I enjoyed this book and I could not put it down. I really enjoyed the characters and the writing was really well done. It made you want to keep reading.

This was the most satisfying ending to a trilogy that I have ever read. I was kept on the edge of my seat the entire time and just couldn't put the book down. I love the way the characters' stories were concluded, with all the surprises at the end. I cannot wait to see what Stewart works on next!

The Bone Shard War is so good, but also so bleak. Overall, it's an extremely satisfying and well done conclusion to the trilogy, but I'm taking off a star based on how distressed I was for the first 1/2 to 2/3 of the story.

After book 2, I was a little concerned with how the finale would handle the topic of imperialism and rulers based on blood right/inheritance, but pleased to report that I thought the author handled it well, if not always subtly. Most, if not all, of the open questions from earlier in the series are answered, characters grew and changed and tried their best, and the animal companions remain A++. As with the earlier books, the primary romance is the least interesting part, but it's also somewhat of a background note, which honestly I welcomed.

I'd definitely recommend this trilogy to anyone interested in a well developed, pan-Asian influenced world with nuanced characters, where actions and motives are never black and white, there are few actual villains, a unique magic system(s), an exploration of imperial rule and whether an emperor can truly deserve to be emperor, and the best animal companions in recent memory.

4.5 starts.

Thank you Negalley and Publisher, for the ARC.

This was a long one, but I loved it! This story will always be one of my favorites. I hope the author intends to write more set in the same world.

I'd recommend this series to anyone looking for a fun Adult Fantasy to read.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy of The Bone Shard War. I adore this series, and as a close to it I was shocked and astounded. The work put into this beautiful story was worth every second and page turn.

I came into this book out of order, so I wasn't quite sure if I would need to go back and start from the beginning. However, I was not lost and enjoyed every word. My only regret is that is that it took me so long to get around to reading it.

This was a great conclusion to the trilogy! In anticipation to read this, I reread the entire series and I enjoyed it much more the second time than I did originally. Personally, I think knowing the major plot twists from the books, but specifically the first book, made my reading experience better. It was easier for me to understand the world and how the magic system works, which I definitely had a hard time with the first time around. Everything I loved about this book would be a spoiler so I'm not going to share much, but Andrea Stewart's writing is really good! She makes the characters feel so real and I can completely understand where they're all coming from and why they're making the decisions that they are. I ended up reading this whole 600+ page book (and 20 hour audiobook) in one day because I simply didn't want to stop.