thegr8estangell's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Hmm… this was interesting. I definitely should’ve reread books 1&2 before this. I had totally forgotten some things. But as time went on, it made more sense. Im not sure how I feel about the answers to the questions. But it’s not bad. Not the best ending in my opinion but definitely not the worst. Overall it’s a pretty decent trilogy.
katiedalton's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a solid end to a solid series.
It definitely hit a weird lull in the middle as far as pacing goes. Or at least I felt that it did.
But I loved our cast of characters. I thought the character arcs over the three books was really well done. No one stayed in the same spot but everyone stayed true to their original person. Jovis was always the hero even when he didn’t think he was. Lin wanted to lead an empire better than her father even if she had no idea how to do that. Etc.
I loved how the world got bigger and the understanding of information that had been lost to time was pieced together.
Again overall a slow paced series but so worth it imo.
It definitely hit a weird lull in the middle as far as pacing goes. Or at least I felt that it did.
But I loved our cast of characters. I thought the character arcs over the three books was really well done. No one stayed in the same spot but everyone stayed true to their original person. Jovis was always the hero even when he didn’t think he was. Lin wanted to lead an empire better than her father even if she had no idea how to do that. Etc.
I loved how the world got bigger and the understanding of information that had been lost to time was pieced together.
Again overall a slow paced series but so worth it imo.
anonymous_blobfish's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The final instalment in the Drowning Empire series was not entirely what I was expecting based on other reviews I’ve seen and I think I find myself amongst the majority in that I enjoyed it more than book 2 (and yet still less than book 1).
The Bone Shard War picks up 2 years after the conclusion of book 2 and straight off the hat that was A Choice™️. All sense of building urgency felt absent and we almost had to relearn the characters as many had gone through quite drastic changes. Aspects of these changes worked but I think overall this negatively impacted the pacing of this book and the series overall.
The characters themselves annoyed me much more in this book and much less at the same time. I appreciated Stewart’s efforts to add complexity to the motives and emotional responses of characters, especially Jovis, but a lot of it felt forced and inconsistent with OG character narratives. I do think that was the point and was intentionally done to show how trauma/PTSD can impact a person but again, it just felt clunky.
As noted above, the pacing of this book was a mess from the start. The time jump really threw me off initially and then every time it felt like I found a rhythm again there was this 2-steps-forward-3-steps-back situation where a POV change would jump the timeline around. Not only did this make for confusing, halting progress, it also meant that there was so much repetition. We saw the same event from different people who had almost the same through train/response (with a few key characters swapped) and it just kept happening.
Following on from this, I also had some issues with the feeling that this book lacked a final edit. Do not mistake me, Stewart’s writing was again enjoyable to read and this was a cohesive storyline, but I think it could have been 100-150 pages shorter and have lost nothing. Also there was just some awkward phrasing moments - “more extra bread” being the one example I noted.
Finally, the plot of this book got so convoluted but not for any real reason. We had one Big Bad for book 2 who then became 3 in book 3 but then on of those 3 big bads kinda disappeared about 50% through book 3 and another changed sides and it was just confusing. Also there as so much back and forth from the characters regarding which side they were on it gave me whiplash. No conflict was resolved through cleverness or tactics or even magic really, it mostly just came down to “nah I’m with them now”.
I’ve complained about this a lot and I think that’s reflective of my experience with this as a series. I loved the Bone Shard Daughter so freaking much and I had such high hopes for the rest of this series. It was original and had really cool characters and a great setting and insane magic and really cool world building. And whilst all of that didn’t totally disappear in books 2 & 3, it still felt like they took the brightness all the way down. The characters went from being super cool and a bit non-traditional to feeling like Fantasy Character 13-A, ripped straight from some manual. The plot seemed to have been bent to fit a conclusion that became steadily less likely the further in we got. The magic system became so much more stereotypical and somehow less well explained.
I will say that I did enjoy the end of this book. It wasn’t enough to redeem the series, that ship sailed with book 2. But it was a satisfying enough conclusion that it made up for some of the bad time I had. Do I recommend this series? I don’t know anymore. Book 1 was outstandingly good but it went downhill from there. I would have to say maybe, with the understanding that the end is a bit weak, simply because everyone should get to enjoy Mephi (who, shockingly, was the single standout in book 3).
Thank you NetGalley for the audiobook of The Bone Shard War. I was granted a late proof and had already purchased the physical copy but had a good time listening to it via audiobook. My review is obviously quite unbiased.
alexijai98's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I enjoyed The Bone Shard Daughter so much I went to the library the day after I finished it to check out books two and three, so it’s disappointing that Bone Shard War didn’t stick the landing for me.
For one, it feels endless. So much and also so little happens in 600 pages - I feel like it could’ve been almost half as long. It felt like a slog through conflict solved in one page to conflict solved in another page to no real end. The multiple POVs felt more necessary in the first two books, but in the finale they felt almost like obstacles in front of the weirdly paced conflict resolutions.
I think the interpersonal relationships were my favorite aspect of this book. I am a huge fan of Stewart’s world building in terms of romantic relationships (if Ranami and Phalue have no fans I am dead). I appreciated Jovis’ continued humor, and Mephi is definitely my favorite chatacter.
Overall, I’m a bit sad at the conclusion to the Drowning Empire.
For one, it feels endless. So much and also so little happens in 600 pages - I feel like it could’ve been almost half as long. It felt like a slog through conflict solved in one page to conflict solved in another page to no real end. The multiple POVs felt more necessary in the first two books, but in the finale they felt almost like obstacles in front of the weirdly paced conflict resolutions.
Spoiler
It’s amazing how many dire moments were solved by a rousing speech or a quick conversation.I think the interpersonal relationships were my favorite aspect of this book. I am a huge fan of Stewart’s world building in terms of romantic relationships (if Ranami and Phalue have no fans I am dead). I appreciated Jovis’ continued humor, and Mephi is definitely my favorite chatacter.
Overall, I’m a bit sad at the conclusion to the Drowning Empire.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, War, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Blood, Body horror, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Racism and Xenophobia
cffg's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
prisoner24601's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The romance felt more believable. The time jump really disconcerting and unexpected. I loved that the plot kept me guessing. The antagonist became more scary than before
box_of_voodoo's review
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
tpatsfan's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Amazing wonderful, love love love!! You should read this if you haven't yet!!