He rescues a young boy from the tithing ceremony along the way, and once upon the water, brings onto his boat a creature he mistakes for a kitten, whom the boy names Mephi. The Tithing Festival that gathers the bone shards necessary for magic is a painful and dangerous one, with one wrong move meaning the chisel could hit the brain and kill the kid, but the empire justifies it by constantly warning its citizens about how the Alanga might come back. One thing I could live without though would be Mephi, the mysterious maybe-animal companion (familiar?

This book also featured a trope (as a twist) I’m not fan of, probably would’ve avoided the book if I knew the whole inanimate objects can have a will and a soul is super meh to me, of course, it’s a personal opinion and did not affect my rating. And far away on a remote island a woman named Sand shakes off a thrall of leading a life of a mindless worker drone. They appreciate the character development, and the unique and clever development of the bone shard magic of the Drowning Empire universe. Arguably, Jovis is the central central character, as he gets the most page time, and Lin second, and then the rest. Stewart has drawn a fascinating world with characters who have deep foundations, and who will quickly capture readers' hearts .If you have reading tastes like mine/enjoy character development and a slower build up, you'll be enjoying the character development and Stewart's lovely world and writing, and it'll be enough to keep you going. Shutting himself away with Bayan—the Emperor’s protégé and Lin’s rival—to experiment and pry away at the bone shards inside of his constructs, the Emperor has no time for her brokenness. is totally worth it because it gave way into each of the character’s heads and get to know their motives/personalities . there was nothing wrong with it and like I mentioned, the characters were likable, and even the story was interesting.

Anyway, read THE BONE SHARD DAUGHTER if you want a new Asian-inspired high fantasy to become invested in, and don't mind a slightly less action-packed first book. In fact, I do think that they’re the best SFF publisher for newer releases at the moment, and The Bone Shard Daughter is the recent addition to their catalog of stunning quality. No matter how lush the worldbuilding, or how complex the magic system, a story is only as compelling as the cast.

Though by the start of the story, this fear of the Alanga isn’t strong enough to pacify people anymore, so revolutions are brewing in every corner of the empire. Phalue—daughter and heir to the island’s governor—is wondering if the ravine between her and her partner Ranami will ever be small enough to close.

Her parents always emphasized science and education, so she spent her childhood immersed in Star Trek and odd-smelling library books. Daring characters, smugglers, complicated friendships, animal companions, quests for justice, unlikely friendships: if you enjoy any of those ingredients, this is a book you should pick up. The novel focused very heavily on world building and character development, so even though every single page was pure excellence.Jovis, a smuggler, is trying to find his missing wife and ends up reluctantly pulled into an insurrection while meeting a strange companion on his unexpected journey. Phalue and Ranami’s beliefs soon start clashing, and Phalue realizes that if she hopes to make a bridge for her and Ranami to cross, she must first confront all the things about empire and her role in it that she’s studiously avoided looking in the eyes before. Lin manages to mess with a couple of her father’s constructs to get them to obey her, which is good. Revolution, justice, identity, love, and family are some of the main themes in this book, and Stewart executed these themes magnificently through her wonderful cast of diverse characters. Speaking of plots: as with my many of my favorite books, The Bone Shard Daughter has a well-seeded plot twist, as well as a handful of misdirections that end up leaving several questions unanswered.