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A review by nicolesbookcase
The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
4.25
I jumped into this as part of a book club and read it very quickly in order to catch up on time. I had heard of this book and it had been on my TBR for some time, but I went into this blind, not rereading the blurb again before starting. And wow. Having been reading more romance and lit fic over the last few months, I had almost forgotten how much I LOVE epic fantasy! I love being immersed in a fantasy world, and this certainly delivered!
First of all, the worldbuilding was simply amazing. The idea of migrating islands was super neat, and the magic system was so original and intriguing; literally taking a piece of bone from a living being and using it to power constructs stitched together from people and animals...so cool. And slightly horrifying. Might not be able to sleep again with the thought of the creepy spider construct with the face of an old woman and human hands on each of it's legs...
It had been a while since I had read a book with multiple POVs, and I absolutely loved that aspect of this book! Especially with certain POVs switching from first person to third person. I liked not being stuck in one character's plotline for too long and being able to jump around a bit! It made for a very quick read. There were certain POVs I liked more than others, but ultimately, all of them played a really important part, and when some of the characters' stories collided, it made it all the more exciting! It was also really interesting to see the similarities and contrast between the different characters in terms of their development. The main theme seemed to be self-identity, and each character really had to do a lot of soul-searching to figure out their goals and who they wanted to be at the end of the line.
I'm not sure if it was because of the fact that there were multiple POVs, but plotlines were very fast-paced...thinking of the events that happened to each individual character in a linear fashion, their stories seemed to reach conclusions very quickly. I tend to like more medium-paced books, but I still really enjoyed the shifting POVs, and the plot really was action-packed! A definite page-turner! There were so many twists and turns, and I loved having so many theories to play around with. We got so many clues, so it was fun to try and piece things together!
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It ended on a really intriguing note that propels you into the plot of the following book, and I can't wait to jump in!
First of all, the worldbuilding was simply amazing. The idea of migrating islands was super neat, and the magic system was so original and intriguing; literally taking a piece of bone from a living being and using it to power constructs stitched together from people and animals...so cool. And slightly horrifying. Might not be able to sleep again with the thought of the creepy spider construct with the face of an old woman and human hands on each of it's legs...
It had been a while since I had read a book with multiple POVs, and I absolutely loved that aspect of this book! Especially with certain POVs switching from first person to third person. I liked not being stuck in one character's plotline for too long and being able to jump around a bit! It made for a very quick read. There were certain POVs I liked more than others, but ultimately, all of them played a really important part, and when some of the characters' stories collided, it made it all the more exciting! It was also really interesting to see the similarities and contrast between the different characters in terms of their development. The main theme seemed to be self-identity, and each character really had to do a lot of soul-searching to figure out their goals and who they wanted to be at the end of the line.
I'm not sure if it was because of the fact that there were multiple POVs, but plotlines were very fast-paced...thinking of the events that happened to each individual character in a linear fashion, their stories seemed to reach conclusions very quickly. I tend to like more medium-paced books, but I still really enjoyed the shifting POVs, and the plot really was action-packed! A definite page-turner! There were so many twists and turns, and I loved having so many theories to play around with. We got so many clues, so it was fun to try and piece things together!
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It ended on a really intriguing note that propels you into the plot of the following book, and I can't wait to jump in!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Physical abuse
Minor: Kidnapping