Hey bookworms! I’m back with another book review today. The book I’m gonna be talking about today is a recommendation from one of my favourite BookTuber, Elliot Brooks. I highly recommend checking out her channel if you’re an avid fantasy reader. It’s wonderful.
So I first saw this book on her channel, and the way she described it really sounded like something I would enjoy, and so I went ahead and bought this book on Kindle (because the physical cope was waaay too expensive. Ask anyone.)
I’m so excited to talk about this because I absolutely loved this book! It was everything that I like in a fantasy, plus a lot of things that this made me a huge fan of.
It’s a bit of a genre-bender in a way that it blends together some elements of sci-fi and a little bit of horror to th fantasy and it’s very interesting.
RATING- 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
"Fanatics were all alike, cut from the same cloth and dyed different colors."
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.
"Hers was the beauty of ospreys, of sea serpents, of wave crashing against rocks."
My Review
I think Bone Shard Daughter is an incredible book that has some very interesting things that it has done with its structure, it's multiple POV narrative. The author does a wonderful job with it's POV, that the main 2 characters are in first person, so they are highlighted as more important. The other 2 perspectives in the story are in 3rd person, so we understand the events happening with them as something going on in the background.
I think this is something the author does beautifully, because the transitions are so seamless between the chapters that it never feels like stumbling or disjointed.
"When a shark offers up a pearl, be wary of it's teeth."
Another thing I'd like to point out is that one of the 1st person POV, of this character named Lin, is pretty heavy with fantasy elements. But the author keeps this fact in mind and makes the other storylines very light with the mystical elements and indulges more into the politics of the world. This helps the book from getting too dense, and makes it very easy to get through and enjoy.
These are some things I that I feel would be very great for a book club read, and very constructive towards learning the use of POV, world building, and when trying to inculcate aspects of different genres in a story.
CHARACTERS- The characters, especially Jovis, was one of my favourite parts of the story. There is also a very cute animal companion trope that was adorable 🥰!
Jovis is kind of a reluctant- hero, who is just someone who’s looking for his wife that went missing years ago and keeps stumbling into situations where he ends up saving a bunch of people; and now people are writing songs about him. It’s very entertaining and he’s so, so precious.
There’s also a character named Lin, who is the daughter of the King, but for some reason she’s has lost her memories and now her father is forcing her to somehow get them back. He isn’t telling her a lot of things; he’s being very cryptic, and if she doesn’t get her memories very soon he’ll give the throne to her foster brother instead.
"Listening is an art. It's not so much sometimes in letting the other person speak as in asking them the right questions. "
Then there is a third and fourth POV, which are together, and are a little father away from the main kingdom. This way the author really masterfully encompasses the whole area with these selective perspectives and we get to see all these different sides of a revolution.
There is also these little tidbits of a fifth POV of this girl on an island, and it’s very strange and very bizarre. Most of the time you’re like, “What the heck is going on!?” and it’s a little confusing. But it’s very fun to piece it together like puzzle pieces.
WRITING- I think the writing might be something of a tipping point for readers when picking up this book, because unlike some fantasy stories, it chooses to deliver all itself information organically. Which kinda means that you don’t get a lot of info dumps or explanations. In the very beginning the author holds back some information and chooses reveal them only as start to become relevant to the character. It might be a little frustrating for some people, but I personally actually prefer the world-building and the magic delivered to m that way, just because it keeps things authentic and I don’t mind being in the dark for a little bit if the pay-off’s gonna be great.
Some of the twists and turns, and reveals that come along actually threw me off a little, because for a second you think you’ve guessed what’s gonna happen next, but then something completely different happens. They we’re really well- executed and unpredictable.
I can’t wait for the sequel, Bone Shard Emperor to come out! If you haven’t picked this book uo already, I highly recommend that you do!
Let’s Chat!
So that was it for today! I hope you all enjoyed reading this review. Don’t forget to let me k is your thoughts in the comments. Let me know some of your favourite fantasy recommendations. Do you think you’ll be picking up this book anytime soon?
Until then,
I hope everyone stays safe,
Bye!
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