The Bone Shard Emperor

Review to come coz I have literally just finished it.

I usually have my troubles with second instalments of a series. Not in this case. It was just as great as the first.
When the first book ends, it feels pretty done and over, with only one story arc keeping the door open. In this second book we get to see all the hard work of what happens after a rebellion was successful and the tyrant is dethroned. I really liked the political aspects and the show of how determined the people strive for change. This part is usually just left off but in this case the central element of the story: how to go on and change for the better? We have plenty of different PoVs and attempts on such change, all valid in their own right. At times, it turned quite philosophical.
Lin and Jovis have interesting and believable developments, their doubts and dreams feel true. Their POVs were interestingly enough also the only 2 where we experience the story through a 1. person narrator, all the others feel a little more detached in their 3. person narration. Deliberately so, I'd say. In general, the style reads very smoothly.
One last thing I just have to get off my chest: why on earth is Lin an emperor and not an empress?! It has to be deliberate as well but I cannot yet see why.

Melanjutkan dimana The Bone Shard Daughter berakhir. Kaisar Sukai telah mangkat. Anak perempuan kaisar Lin Sukai, naik tahta menggantikan ayahnya. Namun bukan berarti perjuangan Lin bverakhir, justru perjuangan baru saja dimulai.
Rakyat yang telah beberapa diabaikan oleh ayahnya tidak mempercayai Lin duduk di tahta. Hubungan politiknya dengan gubernur pulau-pulau lainnya sangat lemah. Selain ancaman dari kelompok shardless yang siap menggantika system kekaisaran dengan demokrasi, Juga ada ancaman dari timur laut kekaisaran, pasukan pemberontakan siap menyerang, dimana pemimpinnya siap merebut tahta. Namun ancaman terbesar adalah kembalinya Alanga, menurut legenda merupakan sekelompok penyihir yang sakti.
Mungkin karena suasana hatiku kurang mendukung ketika membaca sekuel ini, aku merasa kurang seru seperti buku pertama. Namun miss Stewart tetap menyuguhkan plot twist menjelang akhir buku, ada rahasia yang terungkap yang dari buku pertama belum dijelaskan.
Aku akan membaca buku ketiganya, hanya mungkin belum dalam waktu dekat.

I enjoyed this tremendously! It definitely amped up my interest in the trilogy and I could see why other readers love it. It improved the characters we already met while introducing new ones. The action was better this time around, the politics (which was already good in the first one) were even more interesting this time. I’ve grown to like politics in fantasies, especially when they’re done well and that’s the case here.

I like wars and battles (in fantasy books) but I like the lead-up to the war more. Figuring out who your allies are, whom you can trust and what secrets can you tell them. Lin really grew as a character in here. She had to take on a lot of extra responsibility and grow into her power. Jovis just continues to be my utter favourite throughout the series. He’s funny, he’s good, he’s just… Jovis, I don’t know what to tell you. The others (Phalue etc) were a bit more interesting this time around but I still had to make myself pay attention when it were their chapters. I did like how they all had to take up more responsibility too, just like Lin does, but they’re all extremely different people. The focus is a bit more on Lin and Jovis – plots, characterisation, so I didn’t feel too bad about having difficulty reading it.

Stewart only improved on the world-building and magic system in here, She definitely shines in those aspects and I hope that stays by her others books (I plan to read the new one this year – hopefully). I’m always happy to follow an author if it means I get good worldbuilding and magic system. I don’t think I got that “Second Book Slump” feeling that a bunch of sequels tend to have – which I’m happy about. Seeing as I wasn’t entirely enjoying the first book, I’m glad I felt better this time around.

The dank sense of decay in this empire continues to permeate the story as we continue into the second novel. The Bone Shard Daughter was one of my favourite debuts and this sophomore effort develops the story in satisfying ways. When an empire is built on a certain power trying to retain control whilst removing the oppression that that power was based on is certainly a challenge and the politicking is very satisfying in this entry in the story. All our main characters are flawed, hiding things from each other in dumb ways, but this acts as a humanizing element and works well in the story.

I am anxiously awaiting the final installment - this remains one of my favourite ongoing series!

Jan 2023 update - finished this book. Shouldn't have retried...I do not understand what it is about this series that I absolutely don't like at all. It should be cool! The world should be cool. The animal companion should be cool! There's a sea serpent! But none of it matters. This book felt like the author accidentally sent the first draft to the publishers and they went with that version instead of the completed one. That sounds very mean, but I can't even point to a specific reason I feel that way. The world just feels incomplete. Hollow. The characters don't feel real. The stakes don't feel fleshed out. People just wanna do things for reasons because I guess. I can't say this book is bad but I can't think of anything good about it. This whole experience vexes me.


DNF @40%

Writing style just doesn't work for me, I guess. I can't put my finger exactly on what doesn't click with me for this series.

This is a solid sequel with more political intrigue and action than the first book. I consumed this on audiobook quickly and just as with the first book, the animal companions are my favorite characters.

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5 stars! ⭐️ Well. This book was fantastic? Why I had to end it?

Hi! I have a Booktube channel! Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/c/FunFantasyBooks

5 stars! ⭐️ Well. This book was fantastic? Why I had to end it?

First, thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

I won't get too far into the plot so as not to spoil the first books.

I am going to formally request that all fantasy readers stop reading this right now and go buy this series. It's so good. In this second installment, we get a lot of character development as all of the characters try to live in and change the ever changing world around them. The plot was incredibly fast paced and political, but never got confusing. All of the romance subplots didn't distract from the story and were so sweet. We get a lot more exploration of the magic system, which is much more complex and varied than the first book indicated. The bone shard magic is just as fascinating as it was in the first book, and we also learn a lot more about Jovis's type of magic. The cliffhanger ending has me dyyiiiinnngggg for the next installment.

I recommend this to all fantasy readers.

TW: amputation, animal abuse, assault, blood, bones, child death, death, emotional abuse, gore, murder, racism, snakes, violence, war