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.
The Bone Shard Daughter is a multi-perspective book, which really makes it fly by. Each perspective adds something to the story as a whole. As the book progresses, they slowly begin to intermingle with each other. All of them are important, but personally I found Sand’s chapters to be a bit lackluster in comparison to the others. Perhaps because, to me, they felt so spread out compared to the others. In terms of character, she was excellent. I loved how she questioned her surroundings and how she became a strong leader. Her chapters felt like a slow burn, which in the context of the faster-paced perspectives felt a bit jarring in my opinion.
The relationships in this book are incredible. And there are so many different kinds. Ranami/Phalue (f/f) have a sort of forbidden lovers romance going on. Their chapters offer a great look into the struggles they go through — wanting to be with the other forever but not seeing how a Rebel could possibly marry a governor’s daughter. Or Lin’s complex relationship with her adopted brother, Bayan. It goes from sibling rivalry to “well, we’re not actually related,” to so much more complicated. And the book does an excellent job at subverting expectations.
Jovis and Mephi were my favorite duo. Jovis rescues(?) Mephi from the Endless Sea after the island he was on sank. (Or perhaps Mephi planned it?) Thinking it was a kitten, he originally gave it to a boy he was rescuing, who in turn named him. They very quickly discover that this isn’t a kitten at all but some strange creature they’ve never seen. He ends up bonding with Jovis. It’s a (I don’t know what the phrase would be) “I don’t care about you” to “I would kill anyone who even thought about trying to harm you” friendship. Ugh, it’s the best.
The plot and the characters do equal lifting, and I don’t think one outshines the other. And these are some complex characters in my eyes. They clearly want to be good people and try so. But the decisions they make (all of them) show their negative sides, grey sides, and good sides in tandem.
And speaking of the Endless Sea and sinking island. Yeah, that happens. The series is called The Drowning Empire after all. But the plot and characters are so good that a major element like this is able to loom in the background, giving the plot an appropriate setting.
One last bit — one theme I find coursing through this novel is the idea of something small and seemingly insignificant being able to do extraordinary things. This is featured most prominently in the bone shards themselves: small shards of bones that power the animal-like constructs. When in use, the original people to whom the bone shards belonged to fall into a terrible sickness. Or more subtly Jovis being out on the Endless Sea I think is an element of this theme. It claimed an entire island, yet he still rides upon it, searching for a woman who was taken away from him by a mysterious boat with a blue sail.
All in all, this was an excellent book filled with interwoven plots and characters. It offers a glimpse at the complexities of humanity, their relationships with each other, and the thrill of knowing that at any second the island you’re on could literally sink into the sea if you don’t manage to get off and onto a boat in time.
(I received a copy of the book from the publisher.)
