The Bone Shard War does fantasy in epic proportions. 2 years after the events of the second book, Bone Shard Emperor, Andrea Stewart wastes no time jumping right into the dangerous politics and unraveling turmoil in this concluding installment. I really appreciate how Stewart gives each character such diverging storylines and issues to deal with on their own, making them feel fleshed out and whole. The mysteries that are unraveled, the drama that is exciting and heartbreaking, and the conclusion that feels shattering and complete.
What isn't there to love?

Tenía mucha curiosidad por saber cómo iba a terminar Andrea Stewart su saga The Drowning Empire, que tuvo un comienzo fulgurante y una continuación algo más reposada. He de decir que la autora consigue salir del envite con oficio, cerrando bastante bien las tramas de todos los personajes, aunque en algunos momentos puntuales la historia parece alargarse un poco.

Suele ser bastante difícil equilibrar el tiempo de "presencia en pantalla" de los personajes en las novelas con distintos puntos de vista y The Bone Shard War no es una excepción. En esta ocasión es Jovis el personaje que parece más perjudicado en el reparto de capítulos, pero en general el relato está cohesionado y no destaca especialmente un protagonista sobre los demás.

¿Se contestan todas las preguntas que se habían ido planteando en las otras novelas? Sí, porque la autora pretende cerrar la historia y lo consigue. Desde el origen de las islas a las razones de su hundimiento pasando por tener un conocimiento más profundo de los Alanga. Pero también hay algunos recursos que parecen un poco sacados de la manga, como la existencia de unas legendarias espadas míticas sobre las que pivotarán gran parte de los eventos del libro. No obstante, me gusta especialmente la lucha contra la programación de la que es víctima uno de los personajes, retorciendo el lenguaje con inteligencia para salir airoso de las órdenes recibidas.

He tenido la suerte de escuchar la versión en audio del libro y reconozco que la interpretación conjunta de Natalie Naudus, Feodor Chin y Emily Woo Zeller dota de mucho ritmo a la novela, una experiencia que no sé si será exactamente igual leyendo la novela, porque algunos pasajes pueden parecer repetitivos.

Por supuesto, uno de los mayores puntos de interés de libro es la relación que los personajes van entablando con sus familiares, y ahí he de decir que Mephi se lleva todos los galardones. Es tierno y comprensivo, un dechado de bondad que se va volcando en los demás.

El final del libro es bastante agridulce, sobre todo por las consecuencias que habrán de afrontar los personajes, pero creo que también que

A satisfying final installment to The Drowning Empire Trilogy. The story builds and builds, and at a few points I worried that it would end abruptly, tied in a too neat bow. However, while some of the story lines are sad I still felt like the ending was what it needed to be.

The pacing at the beginning is a little jarring due to the two year time jump, and at this point we’re following multiple stories and points of view. That being said, I don’t think there were any wasted chapters. There were still plenty of reveals and “aha!” moments that answered most questions and tied things together.

Stewart’s strength in the trilogy is her ability to build her characters and display their struggles with morality, loyalty, and duty. The character arcs and story lines maintained across all three books. By the end I even felt sympathy for characters that I thought were irredeemable.

I listened to the first two books, and did a combo read/listen for the final. There are three narrators for the audiobooks, and they are outstanding! I’m a bit of a paperback princess, but I highly recommend the audiobooks if you have the option or preference.

Loved it! This has been a fantastic series and the narrator was great. I will absolutely be reading other books by this author.

This was genuinely the best series I’ve ever read first I’d like to say. This series has been the most entertaining and action packed series I’ve ever read i recommend this series to everyone I know!! But this last book was truly the best of the best. My love for Lin mephi and jovies will never be able to recover from it ending. This book was action packed but also made me cry alittle I won’t lie I shed a few tears I’m not ashamed. If you’re even thinking about reading this series or completing it just do it! No questions asked trust the author!

Fast-paced, action-packed and unforgettable, The Bone Shard War was a fitting conclusion to a fantastic debut trilogy.

Plot
Everything about this series kept me on my toes, jumping from plot point to plot point in a way that kept me desperate to catch my breath while simultaneously refusing to take a moment to breath because I simply had to know what would happen next. If you're looking for high stakes and faced paced, this is the series for you.

Character Development
While this whole series was incredibly action packed and this book was no exception, this novel had the strongest character development of the series. I really loved seeing everyone come to accept their own flaws and make changes in pursuit of the greater good.

Writing
I can't believe this series was Andrea's debut. She created a truly unique and extensive world with several POVs without overwhelming the reader. I loved reading each character's story and seeing how they intertwined.

Final Thoughts
There were a few things about the conclusion that I didn't love, but I do think it ended in a way that was fitting to the rest of the story, even if I wanted things to be a little different.

Read this series for:
- LGBTQ+ Rep
- Multi POV
- Lovable oversized otter-like companions
- Enemies to lovers
- Political intrigue

----4.5/5 stars!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

The Bone Shard War was an epic conclusion to the Drowning Empire series and I absolutely loved it. This action packed ending had me on the edge of my seat!
The character development for each of our main characters, Lin, Jovis, Phalue, Ranami, and Nisong, was incredible and the leading appeal of this series as a whole. I’m still obsessing over the olassen and how awesome they are.
I listened to books 1 and 3 on audiobook, which made the whole experience even better. Each character’s POV has a different voice actor who is really committed to the role. It was thoroughly enjoyable!
This whole series is a 5 stars recommendation for me—it has an epic fantasy feel, amazing characters, great magic system and world building!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book wasn't for me. Partly my bad, because I didn't realize it was a finale in a series.

But it was long. And it was slow. And I felt like not much was happening and I just struggled to even care.

Would reading the first two have helped? Maybe, although some reviews indicate otherwise.

This one just wasn't for me, and that's okay. I won't fall in love with every book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for an ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book.

This was such a fitting conclusion to this amazing trilogy. I'm in awe that this was the author's debut series, the level of details and worldbuilding is astonishing, it's so unlike anything I've read in fantasy and despite the many threads, settings and characters, the author managed to weave it all together in a way that leaves little unanswered.
It's a very plot-driven series and very fast-paced, and I do think it would have profited from more quiet moments where we see the characters interact in fleeting moments of calmness and maybe even happiness. The series has such strong characters, but it was still hard for me to connect with several of them because for the majority of this series, we just see them act and interact in response to everything that is happening, there was a big emphasis on external motivators and little on internal ones, except for Jovis and maybe Lin at times.

I did really love the character development we saw in almost all of them in the second half of this book. We have multiple villains in this series, all of which are morally gray and have different motivations, and it was nice to see a change in character for some of them.

Overall, I loved this book and series and definitely recommend it, and I cannot wait to read whatever the author writes next.
The audiobook was fantastic, I loved the different narrators, and they all did a great job at telling the story. Definitely recommend listening if you are a fan of audiobooks.

This book was at 4,5 stars for me for the very big majority of it, and I was torn between rounding up and rounding down, but ultimately, the ending made me settle on 4 stars because I just wasn't satisfied with it.
I'm not going to spoil any plot points but stop reading if you don't want to know more.
I think in a way, the ending was very much on brand for the rest of the series because we didn't really get much wrapping up and happiness. Since this had been an issue for me throughout the whole series, I was just a bit disappointed that even at the end after everything, we didn't get to see these characters at peace for longer than a couple of pages. They all got a final 3-4 pages chapter, and I just really wanted more.
There was also a trope at the end that I loathe, so I was quite let down by that as well.
I still think it was well done, and we got all the answers we needed, I was just personally a bit dissatisfied.

This was a disappointing final installment. To be honest, I felt mediocre about the first two installments, but when I saw a Chinese American author was writing high fantasy, I had to read. While Andrea's writing remains consistent, I found myself bored by the repetitiveness occurring in this book. I was bored with Lin. I was even more bored with Jovis. The two stars are for Mephi, and only Mephi.

While it's true that I don't read a lot of fantasy anymore, this doesn't mean that I don't enjoy diving into a high fantasy world every once in a while. I fell in love with the Phoenix Empire and its magic in the first book, and I've been looking forward to the final book of the trilogy ever since I finished book two. This is probably why I couldn't resist requesting an audio ARC even though I usually don't listen to audiobooks... I'm glad I did though, because I think that this format only made me enjoy this conclusion even more.

I know that I'm basically still an audiobook newbie and I've only listened to a handful of them so far, but The Bone Shard War has once again proven to me that I can really enjoy an audiobook when the timing is right. Sure, this particular audiobook is almost 20! hours long and it took me quite some time to get through it, but this doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy my time listening to it. I could really appreciate the fact that the story was told by three different narrators; it made it a lot easier to keep the multiple POVs apart. The narrator I enjoyed most would be Feodor Chin, but then again Jovis has always been one of my favorite characters and I'm always looking forward to spend more time with him and Mephi.

As for The Bone Shard War itself... I would recommend reading the books in order, because you will be mostly clueless about what is going on otherwise (not to mention it will be impossible to understand and juggle the many different characters). I still love the worldbuilding and the whole world of the bone shard magic as well as the ‘other’ magic. The focus is more on the Alanga than the bone shard magic in this final book, but this shift felt natural after everything that happened. The key of enjoying a high fantasy book is having a well developed worldbuilding for me, and this series definitely delivers on that front.

Most of the characters in this series are quite easy to like, although my favorite by far is still Jovis (and his companion Mephi of course!). That said, I enjoyed some the other POVs considerably more than in the previous sequel, and I liked what each character added to the plot. It shows that the second book was all about setting the scene, and you will still find slower moments in The Bone Shard War as well, but as a whole this third book felt a lot more dynamic and engaging. I think the audiobook itself played a role as well, because I personally never felt like the story dragged or slowed down too much.

The story itself is quite long with 600+ pages, but I personally didn't mind as I wasn't ready to let this high fantasy world and its characters go. With the war and danger and threats around every corner, there is a lot of suspense to be had, and I could also appreciate the new information about the Alanga and their magic. Their companions are the cutest! The story definitely goes out with a bang as well, and I liked the character development in general and how things were wrapped up. All in all The Bone Shard War turned out to be a very successful end of this trilogy for me, and my favorite book of the series. I can recommend listening to the audiobook, as it will be easier to keep the different POVs apart and the slower parts of the plot will feel more engaging.

The show-stopping conclusion to a series that kept me on my toes, my heart caught in its clutches, for every single book.

Plot: 5/5
The perfect way to wrap up this incredible series. The arc of the plot hits all the right points. Even with so many perspectives and story lines happening, each one holds up to the others.
I love how there’s even more alanga in this book and their animal companions. The complexity that adds is so well done. The world building and depth to the lore has just continued to build since book one. We got answers to things I desperately needed

Characters: 5/5
I already adore these characters. I loved the constant changing of alliances and how every party actually wanted the same things but couldn’t agree on methods.
Each character had individual goals and missions, like with the other books but they continue to overlap and cross with each other.
Mephi is the best animal companion ever written.
Jovis is probably the funniest character ever written because he’s, at his core, a himbo who is rolling a D20 to determine his actions. He’s brilliant, but a dumbass at the same time. He’s hilarious at the worst possible moments. I have never read character like him.

Writing: 5/5
I adore Stewart’s writing style. She uses such powerful prose and always ends her chapters with the perfect kick to keep you going. Even with as many perspectives as she uses, each one has a distinctive voice.

Overall: 5/5

I literally love this series so much. I can’t believe it’s over but I’m so glad to have been on this journey with Lin, Thrana, Jovis, Mephi, Phalue, Ranami, Nisong, and everyone else.

This final story in this series ends on a high note, Lin finds herself alone after Jovis is out looking for Mephi, Lin is trying to unite the empire but she is thwarted at every turn and finds herself making deals that she would rather not make.
All of the characters in this series are written so well and make this such an interesting and exciting series.. I was a little lost at first even though I had just finished the second book. Once I got my footing I was in for a wild ride. The action packed ending could not have been written any better. This was a great series with a fresh narrative that I really enjoyed. The audiobook was narrated really well.

4.5 ⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
#NetGalley #TheBoneShardWar #AndreaStewart

This was a perfect conclusion to an amazing series! Being that this world is quite complex and has lots of characters, it took me a little bit to get back into the story. Once I did that, it was fast paced and hard to put down! The narration was great in this book as well. I’m going to miss some of these awesome, well written characters. Overall, I’m super happy with how the book ended and I cannot wait to read more from this author!

The Bone Shard War was an absolutely epic ending to a fantastically fun trilogy. I loved the exploration of magic and the creatures involved. Mephi is my hero! We got a lot of continued character growth in this installment with plenty of internal dialogue to help flesh it out from all of our favorites. I think anybody that has enjoyed this series so far is going to love the way this plays out. I read the previous books on kindle, so it was really fun to have three narrators for the audio. It definitely adds to the uniqueness of each voice.

This was one of my most anticipated books of 2023. I love this series so much, and this finale met all of my expectations. It had plenty of action, insightful commentary on timely themes, fascinating world-building, and emotional character moments. The writing was excellent and easy to read, as always with Stewart, and the pace constantly pulled me forward, restless to see what would happen next. I finished this 600+ page chonker in less than two days because I just could not put it down.

I'm at somewhat of a loss for what else to say... After the end of the second book, the empire was a bit of a mess with several different factions vying for control. They all seemed to want meaningful change in how the empire treats its people, but each of them had very different motivations and ideas about what the change should look like. Some wanted the people to have more power. Others wanted power for themselves. Many wanted revenge for the history of imperial oppression and genocide. It created a hotbed of compelling conflict that was fascinating to read. That being said, I really could have used a recap of the first two books at the beginning of this one. I definitely recommend re-reading the previous stories before this one because it took me a while to remember all the major players and past conflicts that set up the tensions in this one.

I enjoyed the world-building quite a bit. It brought everything together in ways that made sense and tied up the loose ends really well. I liked that the magical focus shifted to a melding of the Alanga and bone shard magic rather than one or the other as in previous books, and the connection between the two was interesting to learn. Of course, there were plenty of ossalen in this story, as well. So, if you were wanting to meet even more of these adorable creatures, you're in luck, and I loved getting more info about them.

As I mentioned above, the story itself was expansive with tons of moving parts. It utilized multiple POVs, just as in the previous books, to get a window into each of the various factions of the conflict. All of it came together very well, but it did feel bloated at times, especially during the middle of the book. The race for the magical swords, while interesting, ran on a bit too long before coming to the point, and it felt like it took too long to come back to certain POVs at times. For example, Jovis and Mephi seemed largely sidelined for the first half of the book, and Ranami's story felt abandoned at times because of the gaps between her chapters. It also made the timeline feel weird because so much happened in the other POVs while Ranami's story seemed like it barely moved forward at all. That being said, I commend the author for her ability to weave together all the disparate story threads, from this book and the others, into a cohesive and compelling narrative. It was wild seeing all of it pay off in deeply satisfying ways. I'll definitely miss this story now that it is over, but I absolutely loved the journey and its resolution.

There's so much to say about the characters that I'm just not even going to try. lol. Instead, I'm going to give you my brief reaction to each POV, and you'll just have to read the book to find out more. I was super proud of Lin and the decisions she made, especially at the end. Ranami's story ended in a way that I really wasn't expecting but probably should have known was coming because it was perfect for her. Nisong/Sand was surprising and made me both sad and hopeful. Speaking of sad, Jovis and Mephi had me BAWLING my eyes out. I love them and their relationship so much, and there were so many moments that hurt so bad.

There were several great themes in this story. One of the most prominent in this installment was the focus on learning from the past without being consumed by it. This was explored on both a societal and individual level, as many of the characters struggled with coming to terms with their past and how it impacted their actions and motivations in the present. The story also explored how best to implement change to a broken system. Each of the main players had a different take on revolution, and it was interesting to see the various approaches battle it out in real time. Should they burn the empire to the ground? Should they try to fix the system from within? Should one person wield the power to make efficient changes or should all the people have a say? These are timeless questions, and the story really made me stop to think about them.

I had the absolute pleasure of listening to the audiobook while following along with the text. If you have the opportunity to do the same, I highly recommend it. The narrators were fantastic and added so much personality to these characters that I already loved so much. The male narrator for Jovis was probably my favorite just because of the way he did Mephi's voice. It was perfect, and he captured the essence of Mephi so well. Overall, this was a phenomenal conclusion to a fantastic trilogy. It felt truly epic and provided a satisfying resolution to the over-arching story and each character's personal journey. Therefore, I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.

I already gave my full review on the ebook edition of this title, so here I will briefly focus on the narrators: I think Emily Woo Zeller is absolutely brilliant voicing at least two and maybe three POVs in this book; her narration is by far the best. Natalie Naudus I assume voices Lin, and she is great too. Zeller is better at voices in dialogue, while Naudus perfectly embodies Lin for me. Unfortunately, Feodor Chin is the weak link here; I don't buy him as Jovis's voice, and I don't like his dialogue voices much either. I read the first two books physically and his narration was by far the worst of the transitions here, which is disappointing because Jovis is my favorite character. Overall, though, I'd give the narration 4/5 stars for getting 4/5 POVs right.

The final book in the Bone Shard trilogy, " The Boneshard War" by Andrea Stewart brings readers back to the world of the Phoenix Empire, two years after the battle on Gaelung Island. Our protagonists find themselves in even worse situations than before, with Jovis in the clutches of Ioph Carn, Lin struggling to maintain control over the islands and manage the return of Alanga, Phalue on the Imperial, and Nisong without her army and friends, in a risky alliance with a man who wants to destroy the empire.

I was thrilled with the world-building and concepts introduced in the first book of the trilogy, such as an empire made up of migrating islands, magical catdragons, and bone shard magic. However, they were left with many questions about how these concepts would be developed in the story. They were pleased to see that Andrea Stewart delivered in "Bare Bones," creating a well-constructed world that made sense and had interesting implications.
I loved the character of Lin and appreciated her character growth throughout the series. They admired her negotiation skills and how she used her other assets instead of relying solely on her bone shard magic or Alanga powers. They found her negotiation style to be elegant and feminine, which added a unique quality to her strength.

I also enjoyed Mephi's character, as well as the relationship between Ramani and Phalue.

The time jump at the beginning of the book was jarring for the reviewer, and they found it difficult to immerse themselves in some of the character's points of view. They were also disappointed with the direction of Jovis and Nisong's arcs. The reviewer felt Jovis was too powerless and stagnant throughout the novel, while Nisong's arc was a missed opportunity.

Overall, "The Boneshard War" was a satisfying conclusion to the Bone Shard trilogy. Although there were some aspects the reviewer didn't enjoy, the well-constructed world and strong characters made the novel an enjoyable read.

An epic conclusion to the Drowning Empire Series. This was a strong ending yet it is very sad now it's over as I would always like to read more about beloved characters and their adventures. The writing stayed strong and continued to tell a unique story with amazing worldbuilding and dynamic characters. I also always love reading from multiple POV's and seeing the growth of the characters. Overall this was a heart-breaking ending yet a fulfilling ending to this journey.

Thanks to Hachette Audio and Orbit Books for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

Despite the title, there is no large war to end the Drowning Empire trilogy. The Bone Shard War spends the first two thirds further developing characters and setting up clashes as they hunt for swords. Overall the plotting felt poorly thought out. I often found myself wondering why characters made certain key choices and why the swords are so important.

Despite it's weaknesses, the plot moves fairly quickly and the book kept my interest throughout. There are some new reveals and a powerful final battle, though it is not as expected. The conflict remains on a small scale despite the multiple armies clashing. With the series focus on politics, I found the political discussion lacking depth due to the poorly realized world.

The readers from book 2 return for the audio book and they each provide a high quality performance as I have come to expect. Many series end so strong that it elevates the other books. The ending of The Bone Shard War is not that. Unless you absolutely crave more of the characters, this one can be skipped. It is in many ways average.