Thank you NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book!

I marathoned this series this month in preparation for a special edition going on sale next month and in honor of the final book in the trilogy's release. Because this is the third book in the series, I don't want to talk about any of what happened in any sort of detail because of potential spoilers in the other two books, but this was a decent enough conclusion of the story.

Take my opinion lightly because I went into this book a bit jaded.

First of all, it starts two years after the second book. For me already, that was a miss because a lot had occurred in those two years, and it just left me feeling a bit distanced from some characters that I had grown to care for. Another thing I loathe is when main characters are separated in a book following one where they are finally united (think The Final Strife for example). Additionally, I can't stand insta-love and connections that I don't believe in, and maybe small spoiler here, but for two characters to kiss ONE TIME and profess that they "love" one another, only to be separated for two years and NEITHER OF THEM MOVE ON AND STILL BE OBSESSED? Seems weird to me personally. I thought they were strong and great characters on their own, and they didn't need all of the pining that ensued on their adventures to keep their story fresh and interesting. Lastly, I made it quite known how much I couldn't stand Ranami in the other two books, and this is no exception. For someone who had nothing to be that entitled from the very beginning just because she slept with a governor's daughter? She's conniving and manipulative and I hate her more than any of the multitude of villains in this series.

But overall, I did like this book. I think that the second book is still the best in the series and the ending was my least favorite, but overall, I would definitely recommend.

A satisfying perfect and bittersweet end to a solid trilogy.
There's a little bit of a time jump from the end of book two to book three (about two years) so that allowed the plot to move forward quickly.
I love Mephi and Jovis! Their relationship is the best in the series. However, I did feel like it should have taken him a little bit less time to figure out a way to use his wits to outsmart his captors, rather than simple escape or brute force. I'd thought he was smarter than that especially given the time jump.

I enjoyed seeing Lin and Phalue questing together for the white sword together. Their relationship, sometimes contentious, sometimes partners, was one of my favorites.

There were some times that I felt that it could have been shorter, and there were some scenes that dragged on a bit. And we could have gotten rid of Nisong altogether. I get that she was wronged, but also she just drove me nuts with her stupid, stubborn entitlement. And Dion... so old and should be so wise... but also so stubborn and stuck in a his vengeance...

The audiobook was excellent. There are different narrators for our POV characters, and they each perform the narration well.

Thank you NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I hadn't read the first two when I got approved for this so I binged them from the library and was so glad I did! Such a great story and I love the covers!

I really enjoyed this series, I'm surprised I don't hear it talked about more! This third instalment was strong and satisfying. I'm very happy the author took the time in book two to really let us get to know the characters, it payed off in this book and led to several moments that were quite emotional for me. Other than the cool bone shard magic, I really appreciated that the author developed the side characters so well. They all felt complex and dynamic - they are unique, each have their flaws and struggles and I couldn't help but root for them to triumph (well most of them lol)!

All in all a great series that blends action, magic, political intrigue and romance wonderfully.

Content warnings: animal death, death, blood, violence, war, murder, sexual content.

A huge thanks to Hachette Audio, Orbit and Netgalley for the ARC for review. All opinions are my own.

I received an advance copy of the audiobook through NetGalley.

I really enjoyed this series, and each book is strong and has a satisfying ending. This book is no exception. The author created a fascinating world and magic system. I love how all the details came together, turning unrelated mysteries into something that made complete sense.

I especially loved Mephi (I had a cat named Mephi, short for Mephistopheles, when I was a kid, and it was almost as though Andrea Stewart brought him to life on the pages. If my Mephi could have talked, he would have sounded just as irreverent as the one Ms. Stewart wrote.)

I enjoyed Jovis's story. He was such a wonderfully flawed hero, and the parts where he grappled with human frailties while also trying to be heroic were very well done. I loved the conclusion he drew regarding heroic moments.

Nisong was the perfect example of an abused woman who finds inner strength and the courage to move forward. I particularly enjoyed her arc in this final book, and I especially liked the part where she literally confronted her past, face-to-face, and triumphed.

The characters in this book were rich and dynamic, with fascinating histories that shaped them, and those histories made their choices throughout the book rational and understandable. I loved the introspection/self-reflection as each person grappled with their decisions.

Thank you, too, for leaving the ending of the book on a hopeful note. I won't go into detail here since I don't want to leave spoilers, but suffice it to so, I was satisfied.

I loved, loved, loved this series and the final installment did not disappoint. My only complaint is that I can't live in the world that Stewart created longer.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

First I would just like to say how excited I was to get a copy! The first two books were two of my favorites of 2022, and the third was definitely bittersweet for me. It was bitter because the series is now over and I wanted to live in the world for a little bit longer. Sweet because it was such a good ending! I found it to be a perfect blend of politics, romance and action.

Very much enjoyed this entire series :)

Thank you netgalley and Orbit for the advanced audio copy of this book!

I loved this and I loved the narrators. A really great job done distinguishing each character's emotions and personalities!

The last book in the Drowning Empire series really brought everything together but it took a long time to get there.

All of our characters get separated at the end of book 2 and their singular adventures seemed very slow moving. It took me until around the 60% point to get really invested in the book.

With that said, the ending really got me. It was wonderful and I thought it was well thought out. As a first series done by Andrea Stewart, I thought it was very well done and will continue to recommend this series. I could see this being even better on reread.

Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit for an advance review copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Out April 18, 2023.

I've just finished listening to an audiobook of The Bone Shard War by Andrea Stewart.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for granting me access to it. I'm very glad it happened because it's been a long time since I've read the first part of this series and I'm really happy that getting the audiobook motivated me to continue and finish the series. I've liked both the second and the third part better than the first one.

I won't really dive very deep into the review here as I wouldn't want to spoil anything for people that haven't read the previous two yet, but I feel like the characters got deeper, we had also growth (not only in size!) of the animal companions and a few reveals that tied the whole world together nicely. The action felt a bit too drawn out sometimes and that's the reason it wasn't a full 5 star read for me- it was pretty long and I feel like some parts could have been a bit shorter. That being said, I feel like everything that happened made sense with the history of people and politics here, we also dove a bit deeper into themes of recovering from trauma and ways in which the past can shape us. I liked different kinds of relations we've seen in the series and I loved that the ending, while tying everything nicely, wasn't sickly sweet- it can sometimes feel forced when I read many pages of troubles but in the end everything is great as if nothing has happened.

I recommend trying out the series- the first part was the weakest for me personally and it got much better afterward. The magic system is really interesting, and again- animal companions! Who doesn't love them?

This was a decent book, but a kinda disappointing finale to the trilogy.

I was pretty engaged the whole time and I still cared about all of the characters, but it felt a bit repetitive and seemed like it tried to be heartbreaking but fell a little short. This book picks up two years after the events of the Bone Shard War, and I think I would've been a lot more into this book if it had picked up right after the Bone Shard War.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The entire series was a captivating journey from start to finish. While the conclusion left me with some lingering questions, the overall experience was undeniably enjoyable. The intricate characters and inventive magic system were undoubtedly the highlights of this trilogy, keeping me fully engaged even during moments where the plot may have been a little slow or disjointed.

The author demonstrated a remarkable ability to weave complex and multilayered characters that evolved significantly throughout the series. The protagonist's transformation was particularly noteworthy, as the author deftly navigated their personal growth in a way that felt authentic and natural. The nuanced relationships between the characters added an extra layer of depth to the story, making it feel like I was truly invested in their lives.

The magic system was equally captivating, offering a fresh and innovative take on the genre. The rules of the magic were well-defined, yet flexible enough to keep me intrigued as I learned more about the system throughout the trilogy. The way the characters interacted with the magic felt believable, and I appreciated how the author utilized the magic system to further the plot and create tension.

While the plot may have been a little slow and choppy at times, the exceptional character development and imaginative magic system more than made up for it. As a fantasy lover myself, I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone seeking a captivating read that will transport them to a world unlike any other.

An EPIC fantasy series! This is my FAVORITE fantasy series. I am in awe of how this series came together. There was mystery, an intriguing, unique magic system, rebellion, multiple POVs, and bonding creatures you’d sell your soul to protect. So much action and magic!! I haven’t read anything like this. I only loved each book more as the series went on. I am sad for it to be over. The audio book was great! I loved the narrators. I can’t wait to see what Andrea comes up with next! Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to listen in exchange for a review!!!

I have read the first two books of The Drowning Empire in the last two months, so I was so happy to get the audiobook of The Bone Shard War on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!
 
The book starts off two years after the ending of the second one and finally concludes all that has been built up and gives us almost all the answers we had.
 
I really liked how the characters in the series, specifically the main character, have a lot of responsibilities: they don't just follow their goals but after certain things happen they actually stop and recalculate if it was the necessary path to take or if it all could have been resolved in another way.
This made all of their choices and thoughts a lot more believable and it made them grow, as they realized they might have been losing focus on what was really important or when they realise they might've been wrong all along.
 
I also really liked the setting and how, despite it beeing not so vast, it plays a role in the story.
The key to the series to me is the magic system:
Althogh I was struggling to understand how it could all make sense; I am happy to say now I know how it all it works and I really like how everything was connected.
 
Overall, I really liked this last installment although it's probably my least favourite of the series (but that is only because this one is the most action packed).

An astounding ending to a phenomenal series. The series takes the higher stakes to win the throne.

I do love how Stewart manipulates every turn events and established a solid ground to each characters.

No waste for every characters. Stewart managed to make it a holistic story for each character.

The Drowning Empire is another great addition to the fantasy world. Can't wait for another books by Ms. Stewart!

I feel I need to read these books again as I loved this stories and I'm not read to leave the Drowning Empire and say goodbye to the characters.
This is the excellent closure of an excellent and epic series, an entertaining and riveting read.
The storytelling and the plot kept me hooked and the audiobook made it an immersive experience.
I love the narrator who did an excellent job
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

The Bone Shard War by Andrea Stewart is EVERYTHING! I read the first book a few weeks ago, it had been on my TBR and I owned a copy and wish I'd read it sooner because it is officially one of my favorite books. The entire Drowning Empire series is heart-poundingly AMAZING! The prose, the plot points, the storylines, the action, and the relationships are all soooooo good! This latest installment, The Bone Shard War... I mean.... way to wrap up a trilogy! I'm officially an Andrea Stewart fan girl. And the covers are just gorgeous! Also, the audio quality and narrator were perfect!

I received a review copy of this book from the author/publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

The first book in this series is one of my favourite fantasy debuts so I’ve been dying to see how this trilogy would wrap up.

I enjoyed turning to this world and spending more time with the characters. Like the second book, this third one is heavily relationship focused in a way that I found frustrating.

I think the challenge of this trilogy is that the first book almost worked too well as a standalone. For that reason, the second book created inter relationship turmoil in order to predictably resolve it in book three. I felt like the main resolution of the trilogy could have simply worked in an epilogue, which made the climax feel rather underwhelming.

I would still highly recommend the first book in this series, The Bone Shard Daughter, but I will admit I have mixed feelings towards the sequels.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

This wasn’t really my style. I thought the pacing was really great and the story was really well done and well developed, but it didn’t fall into my taste. I think it’s definitely for people who like lord of the rings, game of throne, V.E Schwab and Brandon Sanderson books. I really enjoyed getting to know the multitude of characters and how each progressed, but I’m not the target audience for this book.

Lin was a really strong female character and her grasp on her own power is slipping. I enjoyed getting to know her character more deeply and how her strength grew overtime.

But overall, I did finish the series for the sake of the plot, but I wasn’t the biggest fan of the number of voices. I did liked the style, pacing and plot of the book. I believe it would appeal to many many other people, who likes a more political fantasy with the likes of the authors mentioned above.

Andrea Stewart has done it again and wrote another amazing book. This finale to the trilogy was so enjoyable to read even when I wanted to scream or cry because of what was happening in the story. I was so excited to get my hands on a copy of this book, but now I am so disappointed that it's over. I want to read more in this world. Since I read a combination of the ebook and the audio book, I have to say that Emily Woo Zeller is one of my absolute favorite audiobook narrators, she really knocks it out of the park every single time.