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telthor 's review for:
The Bone Shard Daughter
by Andrea Stewart
Mmmm 2.5, I think. At least a third of the plot (the governor's daughter and her girlfriend) didn't really feel like it tied to the main story particularly well, with no large stakes or investments or much relation to what was happening around it, and I at least felt like there were enough plot gaps (why not just use the smuggler's shard to get rid of him?) to make the story slightly less compelling. The smuggler, basically just Flynn Rider references with a cool sea cat thing, was fun enough to listen to (also, a great audiobook narrator). I was most engaged in the Emperor's Palace plotlines, even if I knew the twist fairly early on.
I appreciated the delightful bone magic aspect, and the idea of taking shards from children in "festivals" to fuel the empire, and wonder where it could go now with morals and questions about what is necessary and what is right. I just felt a little indifferent overall and ended up speeding the audiobook a little too much to try and punch through the stolid spots for the bits that I liked.
Again, though, I'm a big crabby fusspot dealing with tremendous covid burnout and very little makes me happy, so you'd better find a salt mine to go with my opinion here.
I appreciated the delightful bone magic aspect, and the idea of taking shards from children in "festivals" to fuel the empire, and wonder where it could go now with morals and questions about what is necessary and what is right. I just felt a little indifferent overall and ended up speeding the audiobook a little too much to try and punch through the stolid spots for the bits that I liked.
Again, though, I'm a big crabby fusspot dealing with tremendous covid burnout and very little makes me happy, so you'd better find a salt mine to go with my opinion here.