The Bone Shard War (The Drowning Empire)

Product Information

I found it really unsatisfying how the plot essentially relied on characters changing their minds and switching sides rather than on strategy or action. As I’ve mentioned above Nisong begins to redeem herself by the end, as does Jovis even if his actions were not his fault.

But then he almost completely vanishes from the story and suddenly Ragan is the deranged monster that we should be concerned about. There is a fantastic cast of characters, a compelling plot, a unique magic system and a vividly written world. Though these moments were incredible, they were connected by painfully dull and repetitive stretches. I’m a bit sad to see the series come to an end, but I can’t wait to see what else Andrea Stewart comes out with next.We find Jovis, a beloved favorite character of mine, roaming The Endless Sea and under Kaphra’s ruling command. So it could be argued this was important for the character strength, but equally I can see why we could've skipped some of it in detail.

The book follows a predictable pattern of sail to one place, encounter villain, try to talk their way out of it, barely escape, and repeat. The pacing was actually very slow, which made it hard for me to completely engage with the plot as I had to put the book down frequently. This read is a beautiful adventure, I urge you to read Andrea Stewart where you will fall under the spell of thrilling adventure filled with incredible characters and a solid story. Everything is connected with a logic behind construction of the world and it wasn't predictable at all. For those who haven't read any of the Drowning Empire books, I might only say that this is a fantasy book with a unique world and realistic magic system, very well character development, heartwarming and engaging story.While she's grown a lot since the first book, I think she still has a long way to go and a lot to learn. Lin projects power through her position and through her magical prowess but there is a feminine quality to it, an elegance that's reflected in her ossalen as well who is described both as big and strong and graceful and delicate at one point. This is the book where the Empire’s fate is finally decided, where our characters decide which side they are on. I think the challenge of this trilogy is that the first book almost worked too well as a standalone.

The Bone Shard War is the unmissable ending to the Drowning Empire series which began with The Bone Shard Daughter - one of the biggest fantasy debuts of recent years - and continued with The Bone Shard Emperor.I read The Bone Shard Daughter for the first time on the first day of May 2020; I finished the book the next day. Different factions war for power, all for different reasons and Stewart manages to show them all as genuine and motivating. Parts of this felt so slow, and the slow parts seemed all over for timings and it really did confuse me. Some things felt like they were added simply for the plot, things that I don’t remember from previous books just added and it felt like it was aided for plot points in this. So events from the ending of the 2nd book, and the start of this book, really keep tensions high - the perfect platform to launch an incredible last book.

So, yes, she is definitely the catalyst for the plot, but I fell like she carries the brunt of it in general because a lot of worlbuilding and conflict hinges on her characterization. It's been a while since I had an eye on The Drowning Empire and thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK via NetGalley for the third book ARC, I started reading the whole series. THE BONE SHARD DAUGHTER is full of atmospheric delights: a spooky palace full of locked doors and awful secrets! In book one, she was just sort of there and was a bit obtuse, but she went through a wonderful character arc showcasing her strength and love for her family. These characters go on such a journey and watching that unfold in each book was both heartwarming and heartbreaking.But yes, you’re right, it was a good insight into the kind of person she was, the fact that despite how much she said she would be a different Emperor to her father, she just ended up following a very similar path to him, running after Alanga secrets and blind to all else. I low key feel distressed about Jovis’s situation and everything happening with him, like can a guy not catch a break, but where I’ve ended I have to say I am SUPER intrigued and it seems to be picking up a lot more so fingers crossed! I had chapters and character povs that I wanted to read and others that were a slog to get through and some that I hated reading altogether. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. I also felt it was unfair to manipulate Phalue into joining her quest by withholding help when she knew Nephilanu was under attack.