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witcheep's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
There are multiple characters with their own POV chapters, and mainly three different plot lines to follow (the Emperor's daughter Lin, the smuggler Jovis, and the governor's daughter Phalue with her lover Ranami). In the beginning I was skeptical whether I'd manage to keep my interest in all these seemingly separate plot lines, but Jovis's smuggler affairs and boating takes him from island to island, entangling him into the other's plots little by little, which makes the whole book more interesting.
My absolute favorite character is Jovis, and I think the book is worth reading just to get to know him (and he is not the only good thing in the book!). Jovis has a good sense of humour, a good heart and a lot of common sense. Even in the middle of long-lasting grieving he doesn't hesitate to spring into action. And on top of that, he is humble. He insist he is not a hero, but he keeps doing heroic things even if he is tired of getting sucked up into other people's drama and is in it only for a pay or a means to his own ends. Here are some of my favorite quotes from Jovis's thoughts about him doing heroic deeds:
My absolute favorite character is Jovis, and I think the book is worth reading just to get to know him (and he is not the only good thing in the book!). Jovis has a good sense of humour, a good heart and a lot of common sense. Even in the middle of long-lasting grieving he doesn't hesitate to spring into action. And on top of that, he is humble. He insist he is not a hero, but he keeps doing heroic things even if he is tired of getting sucked up into other people's drama and is in it only for a pay or a means to his own ends. Here are some of my favorite quotes from Jovis's thoughts about him doing heroic deeds:
"I'm not a hero. I never set out to be a hero in the first place. Those children? Their parents paid me to rescue them."
So a habit was best to describe it. Habits were things done with little reason, over and over, until momentum made them more difficult to stop than to keep going.
Endless Sea, I was tired!
Jovis also has a companion animal, Mephi, who is a chimera-like magical creature in it's cub stage, and he grows throughout the book while learning more. Mephi can speak and has magical skills, most remarkable of them being that
"But you can do things others can't. Unless people exaggerate, you have the strength of ten men and can even make the ground tremble.
The worldbuilding is very intriquing with the unique magic system, and I couldn't wait to learn more about it throughout the book. The Emperor has bone shard magic and is very secretive about teaching it forward to his potential successors (his daughter Lin and his step son / Lin's rival Bayan). The bone shard magic has a resemblance to necromancy in the matter that the magic user builds a construct (a chimera-like body) from deceaced animal or human parts. What animates these constructs is a bone shard – or multiple of them –
Besides this bone shard magic, the book references ancient foes, god-like creatures called Alanga, who had very powerful magic completely of their own. They were defeated by the Emperor's ancestors a long time ago, and the Emperors since have sweared to keep the people safe from them. The Alanga have been gone for so long though, that the people have reduced them to myths and begun to question if they are a threat at all anymore. It is teased that the Alanga might come back; their ancient artefacts of statues and murals have begun to open their eyes, indicating a possible end to their absence. This is what might be coming in the sequels, besides the political intrique of a possible revolution or at the very least a need for a political reform by the current ruler. As it has been so far, Jovis seems to keep being in the middle of all of this, connecting all the different plot lines of the different groups or sides in this Empire;
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Grief
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Gaslighting
Minor: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Physical abuse, Racism, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Deportation
abby_can_read's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
📖
This was good. I liked the worldbuilding and the lore. I struggle to care about any of the characters and their plot lines. While I liked parts of this book, I did struggle to stay focused and engaged at times.
This was good. I liked the worldbuilding and the lore. I struggle to care about any of the characters and their plot lines. While I liked parts of this book, I did struggle to stay focused and engaged at times.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, and Murder
Minor: Child death, Confinement, and Racism
kaziaroo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
On the whole I loved this – the characters, the magic system, the mystery were all amazing (plus a queer-normative world!). I would have liked it if the setting was more fleshed out, maybe going more into the cultures of the different islands rather than them all feeling the same, but overall the story was immersive enough and the characters lovable enough to look past that. I loved Jovis and Mephi in particular, and I liked Lin too; there's always a difficulty in amnesiac characters as they have such a short background on which to build a personality and identity, but I think the author did an admirable job. I wanted to see more of Bayan, alas... :(
My only real criticism is that I felt the book would have been better without Ranami and Phalue's POV chapters. Their story had an interesting message and moral dilemma but it just didn't seem to fit and their chapters were quite dull to get through compared to the rest of the book. As a novella on their own, those chapters would have been fine, but I found myself skim-reading them to get back to Jovis, Lin and even Sand. Maybe more will come of Ranami and Phalue in the sequel, but I just couldn't get behind their relationship or find the point of their storyline or its impact of the overall plot.
My only real criticism is that I felt the book would have been better without Ranami and Phalue's POV chapters. Their story had an interesting message and moral dilemma but it just didn't seem to fit and their chapters were quite dull to get through compared to the rest of the book. As a novella on their own, those chapters would have been fine, but I found myself skim-reading them to get back to Jovis, Lin and even Sand. Maybe more will come of Ranami and Phalue in the sequel, but I just couldn't get behind their relationship or find the point of their storyline or its impact of the overall plot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
Minor: War
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
There's a pretty large cast of narrators, listening via audiobook helped enormously with keeping track of them since there are three audiobook narrators to handle all the perspectives. Those performances are great, making helping keep the characters distinct even when the same performed voiced multiple characters.
The plot has several threads, following each of the main characters. The blurb implies that Lin is the only main character, but Jovis plays an enormous role (meeting all but one of the other main characters at various points), and the romance between Phalue and Ranami felt complex and real. Lin is the daughter of the emperor, trying to get her father's approval by getting back memories she lost in a sickness several years ago. Jovis is a smuggler who is trying to find his wife who was kidnapped five years ago. He ends up rescuing children from having their shards taken. Phalue is the daughter of a governor on one of the islands, and Ranami is her girlfriend who keeps turning down Phalue's marriage proposals because Phalue doesn't seem to understand the enormity of her privilege in comparison to everyone on the island. There's a woman called Sand who is trying to escape her current situation, I don't want to spoil anything about her but she seems set up to do much more in the sequel.
Lin has spent years trying to get her father's approval, and is frustrated by his ableist insistence that she's not whole unless she can get back the memories she lost. Desperate to get him to pay attention to her as she is and not as she was, Lin starts copying his keys to get access to rooms that might hold knowledge of the magic he should be teaching her. She's in competition with her foster brother Bayan since he regained more of his memories and seems to continually be one step ahead of her in getting the emperor's attention.
The relationship between Phalue and Ranami briefly dips into some toxic territory as Phalue doesn't seem to understand or know how to take seriously Ranami's concerns. It definitely helps that both of them are narrators, so their perspectives are shown directly at various points.
Jovis ends up with an animal companion after he saves it from the water during a disaster early one. Mephi is pretty cool and not annoying, which is a relief because sometimes I end up detesting animal sidekicks.
The magic system is based on using bone taken from the empire's citizens as children. The shards can be used to power constructs, and once in use they slowly drain the life force of their original owner. The emperor uses an elaborate array of constructs to do all the imperial bureaucracy which could be done by people, but he doesn't trust anyone else to do it right. This setup means that the way the lower classes are exploited is more than just cruelty and resource hoarding by the rich, but that their very lives can be taken, slowly, by an emperor they'll never see, if he happens to pick their shard from a drawer and use it to fuel a construct. I love the way the magic system is inseparable from the political structure and brewing uprising.
The plot has several threads, following each of the main characters. The blurb implies that Lin is the only main character, but Jovis plays an enormous role (meeting all but one of the other main characters at various points), and the romance between Phalue and Ranami felt complex and real. Lin is the daughter of the emperor, trying to get her father's approval by getting back memories she lost in a sickness several years ago. Jovis is a smuggler who is trying to find his wife who was kidnapped five years ago. He ends up rescuing children from having their shards taken. Phalue is the daughter of a governor on one of the islands, and Ranami is her girlfriend who keeps turning down Phalue's marriage proposals because Phalue doesn't seem to understand the enormity of her privilege in comparison to everyone on the island. There's a woman called Sand who is trying to escape her current situation, I don't want to spoil anything about her but she seems set up to do much more in the sequel.
Lin has spent years trying to get her father's approval, and is frustrated by his ableist insistence that she's not whole unless she can get back the memories she lost. Desperate to get him to pay attention to her as she is and not as she was, Lin starts copying his keys to get access to rooms that might hold knowledge of the magic he should be teaching her. She's in competition with her foster brother Bayan since he regained more of his memories and seems to continually be one step ahead of her in getting the emperor's attention.
The relationship between Phalue and Ranami briefly dips into some toxic territory as Phalue doesn't seem to understand or know how to take seriously Ranami's concerns. It definitely helps that both of them are narrators, so their perspectives are shown directly at various points.
Jovis ends up with an animal companion after he saves it from the water during a disaster early one. Mephi is pretty cool and not annoying, which is a relief because sometimes I end up detesting animal sidekicks.
The magic system is based on using bone taken from the empire's citizens as children. The shards can be used to power constructs, and once in use they slowly drain the life force of their original owner. The emperor uses an elaborate array of constructs to do all the imperial bureaucracy which could be done by people, but he doesn't trust anyone else to do it right. This setup means that the way the lower classes are exploited is more than just cruelty and resource hoarding by the rich, but that their very lives can be taken, slowly, by an emperor they'll never see, if he happens to pick their shard from a drawer and use it to fuel a construct. I love the way the magic system is inseparable from the political structure and brewing uprising.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Physical abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use, Vomit, and Death of parent
leona's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I've been struggling recently to feel excited and inclined to pick up a book and read, I feel like nothing has really been 'gripping' me recently.
I found this book to have a rather slow start, and I did struggle a bit to really get into it. After a while though, I was fully engrossed and flew through this book so quickly.
Jovis was probably my favourite character in the story. He's witty and determined and just a very likeable character. His desperation to find his wife feels raw and realistic, I really sympathise with his struggles. The mystery of the blue-sailed ship is intriguing, as well as the mystery of 'what the hell is Mephi?' I love Mephi. He really adds some hope and love in this story. Especially as there is definitely some romance in the story, but mainly from relationships that have already been established - so it was nice to see Jovis have such a caring / parental love for Mephi (and have a new relationship established). Jovis really is a well-moralled and decent person at heart, with a tough exterior.
Lin was also pretty cool. Her chapters were some of the more captivating of the story, especially in the last half of the book. She wasn't my favourite character but I really enjoyed getting to see the way that Bone Shard magic could be used, especially first-hand from someone learning it for the first time. I think this was a very intelligent way to introduce readers to the magic system (a magic system which is quite frankly brilliant, one of my favourites since allomancy!) And wow. Those plot twists and cliff-hangers at the end... Just excellent. I mean I did call a few of the twists such as Lin being a construct, however the end... That Lin was a construct made to look like her mother - most likely out of at least some of Jovis' wife's remains! Just disturbingly, excellently chilling. I can't wait to get to book 2 and see how much darker it could get.
Another main POV is that of Phalue and Ranami. Their chapters were interesting although not my favourites because I wasn't really all that interested in the uprising / rebel side story. However, I think Phalue and Ranami are one of the best lesbian relationships I have read in fantasy recently. I appreciated the way that different sexualities / sexual preferences were completely integrated and unquestioned in society, they aren't token characters, but feel very realistic. They aren't treated any differently to a straight couple, and the challenges they face in this already established relationship feel very realistic, and I imagine are probably quite relatable. There is also some interesting exploration of classism, and how economic status can effect someone's life opportunities and happiness. I'm hoping we get a bit more depth from them in future installments.
I liked some of the side characters a fair amount as well, especially Sand, and the other people on that island. I loved the element of mystery around the whole book, and the revelations were most definitely worth it!
I find the whole concept of this book so utterly fascinating, and I really enjoyed the philosophical elements (almost sci-fi esque), with themes such as what it means to be human / alive, whether it is worth sacrificing some to potentially save the many, etc. The world building was excellent and I really enjoyed the Asian inspiration.
Overall, I just really loved this first book, and I genuinely think it has the potential to become a new favourite trilogy of mine! 4.5 stars. Highly recommend.
I found this book to have a rather slow start, and I did struggle a bit to really get into it. After a while though, I was fully engrossed and flew through this book so quickly.
Jovis was probably my favourite character in the story. He's witty and determined and just a very likeable character. His desperation to find his wife feels raw and realistic, I really sympathise with his struggles. The mystery of the blue-sailed ship is intriguing, as well as the mystery of 'what the hell is Mephi?' I love Mephi. He really adds some hope and love in this story. Especially as there is definitely some romance in the story, but mainly from relationships that have already been established - so it was nice to see Jovis have such a caring / parental love for Mephi (and have a new relationship established). Jovis really is a well-moralled and decent person at heart, with a tough exterior.
Lin was also pretty cool. Her chapters were some of the more captivating of the story, especially in the last half of the book. She wasn't my favourite character but I really enjoyed getting to see the way that Bone Shard magic could be used, especially first-hand from someone learning it for the first time. I think this was a very intelligent way to introduce readers to the magic system (a magic system which is quite frankly brilliant, one of my favourites since allomancy!) And wow. Those plot twists and cliff-hangers at the end... Just excellent. I mean I did call a few of the twists
Another main POV is that of Phalue and Ranami. Their chapters were interesting although not my favourites because I wasn't really all that interested in the uprising / rebel side story. However, I think Phalue and Ranami are one of the best lesbian relationships I have read in fantasy recently. I appreciated the way that different sexualities / sexual preferences were completely integrated and unquestioned in society, they aren't token characters, but feel very realistic. They aren't treated any differently to a straight couple, and the challenges they face in this already established relationship feel very realistic, and I imagine are probably quite relatable. There is also some interesting exploration of classism, and how economic status can effect someone's life opportunities and happiness. I'm hoping we get a bit more depth from them in future installments.
I liked some of the side characters a fair amount as well, especially Sand, and the other people on that island. I loved the element of mystery around the whole book, and the revelations were most definitely worth it!
I find the whole concept of this book so utterly fascinating, and I really enjoyed the philosophical elements (almost sci-fi esque), with themes such as
Overall, I just really loved this first book, and I genuinely think it has the potential to become a new favourite trilogy of mine! 4.5 stars. Highly recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, and Murder
Minor: Chronic illness, Confinement, Racism, and Classism
therainbowshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
A very fun fantasy read! It reminded me a lot of reading Black Sun. All of the characters were great, especially Mephi! The island world was great, and Lin dealing with her dad’s boneshard magic and experiments was compelling. I did kind of wish the three characters who were barely featured had more POV chapters, because I kept forgetting about them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Racism, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, and Grief
Memory loss, earthquake, natural disasterthewordsdevourer's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
this isnt a bad read, but i simply expected more. the bone shard daughter has an interesting premise, but the execution leaves more to be desired.
my fav things abt this book are its unique and compelling magic system - w/ constructs and bone shard magic, one that contains very real consequences for the common folk, w/ real political implications - and, imo, its star character, jovis, a reluctant hero w/ humanity, heart and depth, and whose rapport w/ his 'pet' mephi i find very cute.
other aspects, however, i find a lil lacking still. the worldbuilding comes in stops and starts, glimpses that dont quite yield real depth. many things that would shed more light on the empire and its workings are glossed over, such as how, exactly, the constructs communicate back to imperial, what their relationships w/ real soldiers are like. in short, the world seems like quite a big one, but the setting and story feels surprisingly spare, sparse, and narrow in scope.
im also impartial to many of the characters, particularly lin, whose story isnt as exciting esp considering she's the titular character. this thereby affects my emotional investment, leaving me unaffected by the story. often, i also find the characters' actions illogical and frustrating; esp the weird not-killing-despite-knowing-they'll-come-back-to-bite-your-a55-later reasoning, and poorly planned fights, esp the one in the palace w/ the emperor. basically i feel like the characters dont use their heads enough even though they def should.
though i seem to have quite many complaints, it cant be denied that this book has its high points, and it can get very fun and adventurous. for that - and its interesting magic system - i might check out the sequels.
my fav things abt this book are its unique and compelling magic system - w/ constructs and bone shard magic, one that contains very real consequences for the common folk, w/ real political implications - and, imo, its star character, jovis, a reluctant hero w/ humanity, heart and depth, and whose rapport w/ his 'pet' mephi i find very cute.
other aspects, however, i find a lil lacking still. the worldbuilding comes in stops and starts, glimpses that dont quite yield real depth. many things that would shed more light on the empire and its workings are glossed over, such as how, exactly, the constructs communicate back to imperial, what their relationships w/ real soldiers are like. in short, the world seems like quite a big one, but the setting and story feels surprisingly spare, sparse, and narrow in scope.
im also impartial to many of the characters, particularly lin, whose story isnt as exciting esp considering she's the titular character. this thereby affects my emotional investment, leaving me unaffected by the story. often, i also find the characters' actions illogical and frustrating; esp the weird not-killing-despite-knowing-they'll-come-back-to-bite-your-a55-later reasoning, and poorly planned fights, esp the one in the palace w/ the emperor. basically i feel like the characters dont use their heads enough even though they def should.
though i seem to have quite many complaints, it cant be denied that this book has its high points, and it can get very fun and adventurous. for that - and its interesting magic system - i might check out the sequels.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Child death, Physical abuse, Racism, and Kidnapping
literarypenguin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
If you are looking for an immersive character-driven plot or an intense new magic system then this book might be the right fit for you! The Bone Shard Daughter is the first book in a new fantasy series by Andrea Stewart. It takes you to a place called The Empire where new magic called Bone Shard Magic is used by the Emperor to construct animal-like constructs to handle his tasks while he hides behind the palace walls. His daughter Lin yearns to learn this magic from her father but is repeatably denied in favor of her foster brother Bayan. The only way she can begin to learn about this magic is to answer her father’s questions about her past and earn a new key. This is difficult for her because a sickness took her memories away and she can’t remember years of her life. Lin wants to find these lost memories but she may also find more than she ever thought she would. I have heard many good things about this book from multiple people and fantasy readers. They praised the fascinating magic system and the characters. When I finished the book my first thought was how much I wanted to pick up the second book and find out what happens next. I still had so many questions that needed answers! Fantasy is one of my favorite genres of books to read and this in my opinion is a great addition to the genre.
The book is written from multiple points of view with different characters in different places in the world. I think this writing worked very well for the book and allows the reader to get a different perspective of what’s going on in the world around them. Eventually, these characters’ points of view did come together with other characters and more things started to come into place. The pace didn’t drag at any point and flowed very well between POV. I loved how the author wrote scenes and described the towns, the people, and the food. As most of the towns were islands, the people relied a lot on fishing and trade. You could feel the difference between the people living in the lower class part of the island like the fishermen and the shopkeepers and the higher class people like the governors and the Emperor. The author wanted to establish a clear divide between how one side lived in comparison to the other. It also became a driving factor in parts of the story.
The plot revolved a lot around bone shard magic, a magic system in this world that involved using pieces of bone to make constructs. It also involves inscribing bone shards with commands so the constructs you build obey said commands. This system reminded me of coding and it was interesting to see that system being applied with magic. I think that was very clever and one of my favorite parts of the plot! Another big part of the plot was the rebellion forming among the lower class and the officials. How the people wanted to stop the use of bone shard magic as it caused the person whose bone shard was in use to slowly start to feel bouts of exhaustion leading to sickness and in most cases unexpected death. Because the story had multiple perspectives we got to see how this conflict effected those in the higher class and those who were in the lower class. That was one of the stories greatest strengths. Another strength was the mystery and how it kept you thinking until it was revealed. Some of the twists I genuinely didnt see coming!
The book follows five main perspectives. Lin, the Emperor's daughter who is desperately trying to win her father’s approval and prove to him that she is fit to rule in his place. Jovis, a smuggler who wants to find his wife but keeps finding himself in situations where people are in need of his help. Phalue, a governor's daughter who would do anything to be with the woman she loves. Ranami, a bookseller that wants to help make the world a better place to live in for her and people like her. And finally Sand, a mysterious character that lives on a island with others like her. Lin’s tenacity and relentless need to find out who she is and what she is capable of was offset by her need for approval and people too care and love her. Through her would could see just how high her father’s expectations were for her and how she realized she would never be able to reach them. She had to make her own expectations for herself and not what her father wanted for her. Jovis was such a delight of a character and Mephi is one of the best magical sidekicks ever! His love for his wife and his memories of her like when they first met to their marriage was so sweet! Jovis definitely had a wanting to save everybody complex and learning from his past you could see why. Phalue and Ranami were such a cute couple and seeing the little moments in their relationship added much more to their romance. They sort of reminded me of a Romeo and Juliet situation. They both came from different worlds but their love brought their worlds together. Sand well to be honest honest I cant say to much without giving too much away.
The worldbuilding was expansive and well detailed. From islands that floated and traveled along a route to seasons that would last for years. How each island was different with how the people lived. There was also a underlining threat of a ancient people returning to power that some feared and others welcomed. I loved the world and I could believe a world like this could exist outside of this book.
There were a lot of themes this book explored including inequality between classes, child abuse and placing unreasonably expectations on children and identity and finding out who you truly are. Lin finding out her identity and becoming her own person outside of her father’s shadow. Jovis finding the person he wants to be and learning to live without his wife. Phalue wanting to be more than her status and Ranami wanting happiness not just for people like her but for herself as well. Sand discovering more than just a routine. This book explores so many themes in a mature and well handled way.
What I hope people take away from this is this book can look intimidating and the multiple perspectives can be a bit much at first but once you get past that this book is worth reading! It is a great addition to the fantasy genre and a great debut to a series. I hope i can read the second book very soon and then read the third when it releases next year. If your a fantasy lover or want to explore a new magic system or even if you want fully fleshed out characters you should give this book a read!
The book is written from multiple points of view with different characters in different places in the world. I think this writing worked very well for the book and allows the reader to get a different perspective of what’s going on in the world around them. Eventually, these characters’ points of view did come together with other characters and more things started to come into place. The pace didn’t drag at any point and flowed very well between POV. I loved how the author wrote scenes and described the towns, the people, and the food. As most of the towns were islands, the people relied a lot on fishing and trade. You could feel the difference between the people living in the lower class part of the island like the fishermen and the shopkeepers and the higher class people like the governors and the Emperor. The author wanted to establish a clear divide between how one side lived in comparison to the other. It also became a driving factor in parts of the story.
The plot revolved a lot around bone shard magic, a magic system in this world that involved using pieces of bone to make constructs. It also involves inscribing bone shards with commands so the constructs you build obey said commands. This system reminded me of coding and it was interesting to see that system being applied with magic. I think that was very clever and one of my favorite parts of the plot! Another big part of the plot was the rebellion forming among the lower class and the officials. How the people wanted to stop the use of bone shard magic as it caused the person whose bone shard was in use to slowly start to feel bouts of exhaustion leading to sickness and in most cases unexpected death. Because the story had multiple perspectives we got to see how this conflict effected those in the higher class and those who were in the lower class. That was one of the stories greatest strengths. Another strength was the mystery and how it kept you thinking until it was revealed. Some of the twists I genuinely didnt see coming!
The book follows five main perspectives. Lin, the Emperor's daughter who is desperately trying to win her father’s approval and prove to him that she is fit to rule in his place. Jovis, a smuggler who wants to find his wife but keeps finding himself in situations where people are in need of his help. Phalue, a governor's daughter who would do anything to be with the woman she loves. Ranami, a bookseller that wants to help make the world a better place to live in for her and people like her. And finally Sand, a mysterious character that lives on a island with others like her. Lin’s tenacity and relentless need to find out who she is and what she is capable of was offset by her need for approval and people too care and love her. Through her would could see just how high her father’s expectations were for her and how she realized she would never be able to reach them. She had to make her own expectations for herself and not what her father wanted for her. Jovis was such a delight of a character and Mephi is one of the best magical sidekicks ever! His love for his wife and his memories of her like when they first met to their marriage was so sweet! Jovis definitely had a wanting to save everybody complex and learning from his past you could see why. Phalue and Ranami were such a cute couple and seeing the little moments in their relationship added much more to their romance. They sort of reminded me of a Romeo and Juliet situation. They both came from different worlds but their love brought their worlds together. Sand well to be honest honest I cant say to much without giving too much away.
The worldbuilding was expansive and well detailed. From islands that floated and traveled along a route to seasons that would last for years. How each island was different with how the people lived. There was also a underlining threat of a ancient people returning to power that some feared and others welcomed. I loved the world and I could believe a world like this could exist outside of this book.
There were a lot of themes this book explored including inequality between classes, child abuse and placing unreasonably expectations on children and identity and finding out who you truly are. Lin finding out her identity and becoming her own person outside of her father’s shadow. Jovis finding the person he wants to be and learning to live without his wife. Phalue wanting to be more than her status and Ranami wanting happiness not just for people like her but for herself as well. Sand discovering more than just a routine. This book explores so many themes in a mature and well handled way.
What I hope people take away from this is this book can look intimidating and the multiple perspectives can be a bit much at first but once you get past that this book is worth reading! It is a great addition to the fantasy genre and a great debut to a series. I hope i can read the second book very soon and then read the third when it releases next year. If your a fantasy lover or want to explore a new magic system or even if you want fully fleshed out characters you should give this book a read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Racism
katloupet's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Racism
iamsammie27's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Body horror, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Gaslighting
Minor: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, and Racism