The Bone Shard Daughter (The Drowning Empire Book One) by Andrea Stewart

 

The Bone Shard Daughter (The Drowning Empire Book One) by Andrea Stewart.

Published 10th September 2020 by Orbit Books.

From the cover of the book:

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.

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I am a huge fan of an immersive fantasy yarn, but they can get a bit samey and filled with repetitive plotlines after a while, so when I come across a gem like this one that offers something new and exciting it fills me with joy! 

Welcome to the Phoenix Empire, a world of floating islands, ruled by the Sukai Dynasty whose bone shard magic has kept their enemies at bay for over a century. But there is trouble afoot in this land - the rule of the reclusive emperor is failing, and rebellion is on the rise, along with rumours that an old and powerful enemy may be about to return to their shores.

The story follows four glorious threads within different parts of the Empire: Lin, the daughter of the Emperor, living in the palace on Imperial Isle and desperate to learn the secrets of bone shard magic that her father is reluctant to share with her; Jovis, a smuggler who has stolen from both the authorities and the criminal syndicate he was supposed to be working for, and pursuing a quest of his own for his missing wife; Sand, trapped on a distant island with no memory of who she is or why she is there; and Phalue, daughter of the indolent Governor of Nephilanu Island, who longs to be worthy of the hand and heart of her lover Ranami.

I became completely immersed in these threads, as each of our characters and their compatriots follow their destiny, yearning for the points at which their separate stories might touch - and when they eventually did, it sent shivers down my spine.... but no spoilers from me!

There is a deft hand at work here on the part of our debut author, Andrea Stewart, and her world building is accomplished, detailed and completely seductive - drawing cleverly on the Oriental side of her Chinese-American heritage. The people, the creatures, the environment, and the magic that underlies it all, are beautifully drawn, telling us just what we need to know to carry the story along and sprinkling the revelations we are desperate for at the perfect moments - but also leaving enough questions to be answered in the next part of the epic drama to ensure the reader is along for the ride beyond the final page of the book.

I adored the whole wonderful, entrancing story, and the pages of this sizeable novel just flew by in no time at all. This is one of the best fantasy novels I have read in a very long time and the next book in cannot come quickly enough, as I am desperate to find out what happens next in the Phoenix Empire!

The Bone Shard Daughter is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats, from your favourite book retailer.

Thank you to Andrea Stewart and Orbit Books for providing me with a beautiful copy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Tracy Fenton of Compulsive Readers for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Andrea Stewart is the Chinese American daughter of immigrants, and was raised in a number of
places across the United States. When her (admittedly ambitious) dreams of becoming a dragon
slayer didn't pan out, she instead turned to writing books. She now lives in sunny California.