The Bone Shard Daughter Review
Hi friends! I have been sitting on this review for quite a while, so I’m happy to be finally sharing it. Let’s get into The Bone Shard Daughter review!
Title: The Bone Shard Daughter
Author: Andrea Stewart
Rating: 3 Stars
CAWPILE: 6.1/10
Genre: Fantasy
Content Warnings: Blood, Child death, Death of loved one, Drowning, Experimentation (human/animal), Murder, Parental abuse, Violence
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Jonathan Ball (Orbit)
Date Published: September 8th 2020
Goodreads Description: The emperor’s reign has lasted for decades, his mastery of bone shard magic powering the animal-like constructs that maintain law and order. But now his rule is failing, and revolution is sweeping across the Empire’s many islands.
Lin is the emperor’s daughter and spends her days trapped in a palace of locked doors and dark secrets. When her father refuses to recognise her as heir to the throne, she vows to prove her worth by mastering the forbidden art of bone shard magic.
Yet such power carries a great cost, and when the revolution reaches the gates of the palace, Lin must decide how far she is willing to go to claim her birthright – and save her people.
I received a review copy from Jonathan Ball Publishers. All opinions are my own.
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The Bone Shard Daughter Review
Characters – 6/10
To be honest with you, I feel mild as milk about this book. It was by no means a bad book, but it lacked that spark for me. I liked the characters, though it would have been better if we only stuck to Lin and Jovis’ POVs. I was initially surprised by the multiple POVs, as the synopsis only mentions Lin. For the title character, I feel like she didn’t get enough page time, and I feel like we hardly know her.
It felt to me like Jovis had the most page time (I didn’t actually count, so I may be wrong). We truly get to know him and his story. I liked both Jovis and Lin enough, but I don’t feel connected to either of them. The rest of the “side characters” with POVs didn’t matter to me at all. It’s entirely a me problem, and might also have something to do with not being in the mood for high fantasy at the moment.
Atmosphere – 7/10
I really loved the setting of this story. The moving islands and the rest of the worldbuilding is such a cool concept. There’s this underlying current of lore and mystery about the Alanga, and I hope we delve more into the history of the world in the second book.
Writing – 8/10
Stewart’s writing is really great. It’s to the point and easy to read, which is awesome. I love books with straightforward writing and this one was no exception. I’ve seen some people saying that this book reads very YA, and while that is slightly true, I don’t think it’s a bad thing. The Bone Shard Daughter is a crossover book. Writing doesn’t need to be super complex in adult novels. Worldbuilding doesn’t need to make your head spin in adult novels.
I think The Bone Shard Daughter is a great crossover novel, and I really did enjoy the writing. Reading shouldn’t be complicated.
Plot – 6/10
The plot moves a bit slow, and that might be a symptom of the multiple POVs. I felt like nothing was happening with Lin, but all of the action happened in Jovis’ POVs. This book feels a bit like a prequel. The “twist” at the end was actually really disturbing if you think about it. I just want to delve more into that and into the characters.
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Intrigue – 5/10
This book is so weird. Like it has an interesting premise, world, and concept. The writing is great, but somehow the story just did not do it for me. I was mostly bored and only forced myself to read this book for our book club. That’s not a good sign.
Logic – 6/10
I will admit that the magic system in this book is so creative and clever. I just want to know more about it, I find it fascinating. The Bone Shard magic left me with a lot of questions, however, and I hope they get answered in the next book.
Enjoyment – 5/10
This isn’t a bad book, however, it wasn’t for me. I wanted it to be for me because I am in desperate need of crossover fantasy books. I don’t know if I’ll read the second one, I guess we’ll see.
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First off, those are some really cool items in your picture, esp that bookmark😍
I’ve seen this book everywhere, but I don’t think I’ve ever actually read the synopsis. The hype actually scared me a little, but on the other hand, that’s what’s making me curious now. I’m hoping to delve into other different types and/or subgenres of fantasy than what I usually read and this one might be one to keep in mind, though seeing what aspects you’ve commented on (I think I might agree esp with the character aspect) I’ll keep my expectations in check but I’m definitely curious.
I know a lot of people love this book so I hope you give it a chance!
I agree with basically everything you’ve written in this review!! Haha, especially about the characters and plot being less than stellar and the atmosphere and writing being the stronger aspects. The ‘twist’ at the end was enough for me to remain interested in the second book. (I actually have it out from the library right now…) Also I want to learn more about the Alanga and the magic system. But, hard to say at this point if I’ll read the entire trilogy.