The Bone Shard Daughter: The Drowning Empire Book One

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The bare bones of this story consist of an empire ruled by bone magic. At a certain young age, every citizen is required to part with a shard of their skull that will then make its way to the stores of the emperor, ready for use in the powering of bone constructs that serve and protect the islands of the empire and the inhabitants. This magic is wielded solely by the emperor and his heirs and is the only thing that stands between the empire and the return of the Alanga; an ancient civilization that ruled these islands hundreds of years ago through terrifying powers. The characters were very well written and each character was unique in their own way. I loved how they all develop through the story. I talked about their roles above and I need to mention Mephi, Jovis companion through the story and it was just super cute! I love how Jovis was so protective of it. And then there are the constructs which are weird creatures created by the king and controlled by the shard magic and imo, I think they were the most intriguing part about this story! La Hija de los Huesos, es el primer libro de la trilogía "El Imperio Hundido" de Andrea Stewart. La historia tiene lugar en un imperio que consta de muchas islas. En estas islas, la magia de fragmentos de hueso ejercida por el emperador alimenta todo tipo de monstruosas quimeras, llamadas constructos, hacen cumplir la ley y el orden. Durante décadas, el y

I wasn’t sure on which of the floating islands Father had found the abomination that made up the bulk of the Construct of Spies. But I knew I never wanted to visit. The construct looked nothing so much as a giant spider, dark brown and glistening, as tall as my chest when it stood to attention. Human hands were attached to the end of each of its spindly legs, and an old woman’s adorned the abdomen. Lin is the Emperor's daughter. The empire her father rules spans innumerable islands and he closely guards them with his intricate creations; an infusion of the bodies of animals with the bones of his still-living population. Lin is an apprentice in this magical skill but is just as focused on honing this craft as she is earning her father's love. His love comes with his esteem and both are hard fought for, with her father's foster-son ever ready to take her place as heir to the throne and number one object of her father's affections.Very highly recommended if you like dark magic systems with complicated characters set in a kingdom that is falling apart. Especially ones that deal with themes of ruling and "what really is right". Bonus points for you if you like cute animal companion dynamics because this one is adorable. ↢ Liptak, Andrew (2021-02-16). "Here Are the Nominees for the 2021 Compton Crook Award". Tor.com . Retrieved 2022-04-05. The Bone Shard Daughter was the first book I read this year (I read perhaps the most hyped debut of 2020 in 2021. Go figure). As with all hyped debuts, I had the central question lurking at the corners of my mind: Would this live up to the hype? Was it really that good? Why was there a Sarah J. Maas recommendation on the front cover (I have nothing against Sarah J. Maas, I just found the fact that she had a blurb on the cover of an epic fantasy novel... kind of hilarious). Stewart’s writing is absolutely lovely— so easily readable and gripping that it feels like sand slipping through your fingers, the feeling of slicing smoothly through water. I would definitely recommend this book to any readers who are seeking to dip their toes in adult fantasy but might be intimidated by the genre; the prose is beautiful not in a dense, flowery way but a simple, subtly captivating way.

Lin: The resourceful and highly-intelligent heir-apparent to the throne of the Phoenix empire. She gradually comes to believe her father is unjustifiably harming the people of his empire, and is determined to gain the power to change things. In Nephilanu Island, the third thread runs through Phalue’s story. Phalue—daughter and heir to the island’s governor—is wondering if the ravine between her and her partner Ranami will ever be small enough to close. Phalue’s fear properly kindles when she discovers that Ranami is conspiring with the rebellious Shardless Few to take down the Phoenix Empire and restore power to the people. Phalue and Ranami’s beliefs soon start clashing, and Phalue realizes that if she hopes to make a bridge for her and Ranami to cross, she must first confront all the things about empire and her role in it that she’s studiously avoided looking in the eyes before. It’s hard to remake one’s view of the world, to admit to complacency. I thought remaking myself for you was hard enough, but doing that was something I wanted. I didn’t want to realize how much I’ve hurt the people around me, and that’s what confronting my beliefs meant. We all tell ourselves stories of who we are, and in my mind, I was always the hero. But I wasn’t. Not in all the ways I should have been.” Bone Shard magic is comprised of just that— bone shards— and every single citizen is required by law to provide one to the Emperor. When their shards are being used, they fall ill. Uh, not ideal conditions to live in for the citizens, that's for sure (to say the least) !😱The magical system played as large a focus as the rife political discontent and I was intrigued by the interplay of the two. I found them both endlessly interesting aspects to explore. The magic was unique in its construction and continued to be built upon throughout. The reader and the characters were invited to heighten their understanding together, further enhancing the bond I had with them. The political focus involved rebellious gangs, espionage, failed heists, and all the action and intrigue I could desire to read about. Truly, the way I was instantly absorbed in every chapter is a testament of how great The Bone Shard Daughter is, because my reading has been all over the place this past week ( I blame Rogue Legacy 2). But even though I only read little chunks of it each time, I never felt disconnected from the characters but on the contrary, I can say without doubt that The days we’d spent swimming and fishing at the beach, the first time I’d kissed her, the dreams we’d shared – I was now the only keeper of these memories, and that was the truest sort of loneliness. There were so many things I still wanted to tell her, to share with her.

The days we’d spent swimming and fishing at the beach, the first time I’d kissed her, the dreams we’d shared – I was now the only keeper of these memories, and that was the truest sort of loneliness. There were so many things I still wanted to tell her, to share with her.” Lin’s view of the competition as being more about winning her father’s favor than anything else made her dynamic with Bayan particularly compelling; in fact, this was one of my favorite parts of her tale, along with her creepy palace adventures. I loved the progression of their relationship from a cold impersonal rivalry to a potential allyship/friendship after Lin made a potentially unwise but compassionate stand that led to a deeper understanding of the situation Bayan faced. The Emperor’s network of constructs is made possible by Tithing Festivals, during which each eight-year-old child is required to “donate” a bone shard to the Empire. Even if they are one of the 96% who survive this procedure, they may still die prematurely: once a bone shard with commands engraved on it is inserted into a construct, it feeds off the life force of the one it was taken from. Lin, as I mentioned before, is the daughter of the Emperor. Although Lin’s story felt separated from all the other POV characters for almost the entirety of the book, her story was the most gripping as it is full of espionage and mysteries that kept me immersed and guessing thoroughly. Seriously, when I thought I had everything figured out—and to be fair, I did predict a lot of the revelations—Stewart blindsided me with an unpredictable stab that made me went “alright, I didn’t see that one coming. This is surprisingly twisted. I love it.” Lin was one of the two main characters who attained the most spotlights, the other one being Jovis, a smuggler who survived the drowning of Deerisland and is now searching for his lover. In his journey, quite early at the beginning, Jovis met a mysterious fox with a magical power—Mephis. The relationship development between Jovis and Mephis was one of my favorite parts of the book; I have always been a fan of animal companion in SFF or any kind of story, and I feel that Stewart has done a terrific job in building their relationship.Building and supporting a community of self-published authors dedicated to both sharing experiences and learning as equals. Lin’s chapters are full of intrigue and espionage and honestly, even though I guessed some of the plot twists before they were revealed, some of them took me completely by surprise. Some parts are dark and twisted, but it is a great book because of this darker dimension. Jovis’s and Phalue’s chapters are full of action as the former is trying to evade the law and the criminal gang he owes money to, and the latter gets pulled into a rebellious group because of the woman she loves. An heir to the empire, fighting for the right to learn the magic which will keep her future kingdom safe. A nobleman’s daughter struggling with her loyalties and the need to do what is right whilst navigating the struggles of her relationship with a commoner who also has a POV. A roguish smuggler with a heart of gold and his animal companion who is going to steal many hearts and star-of-the-show awards, and lastly an enigmatic character with no memory of who she is, where she is, or what her purpose is. I really enjoyed this fantasy debut that blends together political intrigue with a dark, intricate magic system. Mephi, now as tall as my knee, pressed his body against my leg. "We do a very good," he said in a stage whisper.