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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-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
Pretty interesting world. I love the idea of bone tithing to create constructs and the resultant shard sickness. The surprise/reveals were pretty good, too. Will definitely read the second book.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
In a world once ruled by god-like beings, an Empire formed and defeated them using bone shard magic - creating animalistic Constructs encoded with the master's desires, formed by combining and carving shards of bone. Lin is the Emperor's daughter, but he hasn't trusted her since she lost her memories five years ago; she's determined to use his bone shard magic to get her power back and take him down. Jovis is the world's best smuggler, and he's accidentally thrown into saving children from bone shard tithing whilst in the search for his wife. In these and other perspectives, we see how the foundation of this world is about to shift.
I read this for Friendathon, the readathon I host about reading your friends' tastes in books. I read this for the prompt to buddy read. This book is featured in my vlog here: https://youtu.be/uzDec4VAXqc
I've heard hype for and even owned this book for so long without knowing much about what it actually contains, and if I'm honest, I am feeling let down. After seeing so many people love this (though not the sequels), I feel absolutely nothing for it. My main take aways were that it was unremarkable and forgettable. I really liked the idea of the magic system - it felt like Daughter of Smoke and Bone meets Foundryside. We don't, however, see that much development of the system in this installment. There are four perspectives we follow, and though they were interconnected somewhat, they felt disparate enough in tone that they didn't make a cohesive whole. Jovis was the strongest of the main three, with a personality and developing plot. Lin felt very typical YA in personality (or lack thereof) and step-by-step plotline. The two girlfriends flickered between boring and annoying. All three of these I could hardly feel strongly about, especially since they often felt repetitive. Sand really captured my attention - it felt like an interlude in Stormlight Archives in its strange and wonderful juxtaposition - but she's so little of the page count. There was also a very strange choice to have Jovis and Lin be in first person POV, but not the others, which got my English minor brain in a tizzy. I got through this book fairly quickly, but not even a month after reading I struggle to remember much except being unimpressed.
Overall, this book will leave my mind soon after writing this review. It didn't really do anything wrong, but it didn't do anything exceptionally either.
I read this for Friendathon, the readathon I host about reading your friends' tastes in books. I read this for the prompt to buddy read. This book is featured in my vlog here: https://youtu.be/uzDec4VAXqc
I've heard hype for and even owned this book for so long without knowing much about what it actually contains, and if I'm honest, I am feeling let down. After seeing so many people love this (though not the sequels), I feel absolutely nothing for it. My main take aways were that it was unremarkable and forgettable. I really liked the idea of the magic system - it felt like Daughter of Smoke and Bone meets Foundryside. We don't, however, see that much development of the system in this installment. There are four perspectives we follow, and though they were interconnected somewhat, they felt disparate enough in tone that they didn't make a cohesive whole. Jovis was the strongest of the main three, with a personality and developing plot. Lin felt very typical YA in personality (or lack thereof) and step-by-step plotline. The two girlfriends flickered between boring and annoying. All three of these I could hardly feel strongly about, especially since they often felt repetitive. Sand really captured my attention - it felt like an interlude in Stormlight Archives in its strange and wonderful juxtaposition - but she's so little of the page count. There was also a very strange choice to have Jovis and Lin be in first person POV, but not the others, which got my English minor brain in a tizzy. I got through this book fairly quickly, but not even a month after reading I struggle to remember much except being unimpressed.
Overall, this book will leave my mind soon after writing this review. It didn't really do anything wrong, but it didn't do anything exceptionally either.
I saw everything coming which was a little bit of a bummer but not bad. Also the shifting POV from first to third person was a little jolt but mostly worked in the end.
“The Bone Shard Daughter”?? More like the bone shart in my mouth and pluck my eyeballs out so I can stop reading this book daughter!!!
In this book they use shards of people’s bones to like control them with magic and shit but I guess someone is using my bone shard to bore me to death because I simply just did not care about anyone or anything in this book!!
Like I care more about Meredith Marks’s new DJ career than I care about the plot of this book (and I only mildly care about DJ Meredith).
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⭐️⭐️ 2.5 boner shart stars
In this book they use shards of people’s bones to like control them with magic and shit but I guess someone is using my bone shard to bore me to death because I simply just did not care about anyone or anything in this book!!
Like I care more about Meredith Marks’s new DJ career than I care about the plot of this book (and I only mildly care about DJ Meredith).
——————————————————
⭐️⭐️ 2.5 boner shart stars
A superb debut-novel from Andrea Stewart. Surprisingly deep world-building and multiple POVs to follow. My second-best book of the year after The Ember Blade. A real treat.
This was my third attempt reading this book, I DNF’d it twice. I just wasn’t ready for this level of fantasy, but I knew I’d love it once I was ready. And oh boy, did I LOVE IT! This was incredible! The world, the characters, the story and Mephi! Oh my sweet sweet baby boy Mephi how I love him so.
This was just so beyond perfect, the world building was subtle and you really needed to read into the context clues, nothing was told it was shown. Truly incredibly writing, but all over I love how it answered the majority of the original mysteries in book 1. The answers lead to more questions but that’s why it’s a series!
I truly cannot wait to read the next book, I’m just going to be waiting by my front door for the postman to deliver me my next hit of Mephi!
This was just so beyond perfect, the world building was subtle and you really needed to read into the context clues, nothing was told it was shown. Truly incredibly writing, but all over I love how it answered the majority of the original mysteries in book 1. The answers lead to more questions but that’s why it’s a series!
I truly cannot wait to read the next book, I’m just going to be waiting by my front door for the postman to deliver me my next hit of Mephi!
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Mephi is the best boi. Animal companion done well.
I was not surprised with the Bayan and Lin were construct and Lin was a copy of the daughter reveal, but I didn't see the twist of the wife coming - although big bad guy tried to build his wife again is kinda cliché too.
I really enjoyed the difference between first person and third person POVs. My dumbass didn't even notice until 60% into the book, made it distinctive between the main two and side characters.
Somehow this book was a slog in the first 10%, it took me a whole month to read through the first 60 pages. Then eventually I couldn't put it down, I sort of knew where the story was going but I just need to see it written, you know? So it's not mind blowing, but I enjoyed it.
I really enjoyed the difference between first person and third person POVs. My dumbass didn't even notice until 60% into the book, made it distinctive between the main two and side characters.
Somehow this book was a slog in the first 10%, it took me a whole month to read through the first 60 pages. Then eventually I couldn't put it down, I sort of knew where the story was going but I just need to see it written, you know? So it's not mind blowing, but I enjoyed it.
Superb worldbuilding. Intriguing characters navigate an empire on the verge of change.