Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart

23 reviews

abby_can_read's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.0

📖
This was good. I liked the worldbuilding and the lore. I struggle to care about any of the characters and their plot lines. While I liked parts of this book, I did struggle to stay focused and engaged at times.

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bree_h_reads's review against another edition

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I was a little iffy about this book but the MOMENT it started to imply a romance between Lin and the foster brother she was raised with I was done.

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thenexthing's review against another edition

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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? No

4.0


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alexalily's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-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

5.0


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lilifane's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious 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

4.0

This is an interesting start to a series with an amazing setting and very unique and intriguing elements. I had some issues with the pacing and the balance of the different POVs, but I'm curious how this will continue. 

I loved the atmosphere and the setting in this island world with a mysterious past/mythology, ruins and secrets. I enjoyed the different POVs, but Jovis was definitely my favourite. Not only was his character fleshed out the most, he also had the best animal companion, which is always a plus. I was interested in Lin's POV too, but I had problems understanding her and her actions/motivations. Until about 75% into the book, when her story became super intriguing, unfortunately by then there was no time to explore it more in the book. The other three POVs had the least amount of page time, and although I liked the discussions about class differences in Phalue's and Ranami's chapters, their story felt really rushed and cut short. I don't know what to think about Sand, I am curious, but I'm not really looking forward to her story at this point. 

The bone shard magic is cool in concept, but hard to grasp in my opinion. And when it finally gets somewhere, it gets really messy and... much, and then the book is over. But I am curious, mostly because I have no idea where the story is going, since it's so different from what I've read in the genre so far. 

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alt05's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a reread because I wanted to start the 2nd book, and it was as fun and interesting as the 1st time I read it! Andrea Stewart has built a world like none I have ever read before. The magic system, the characters, the plot, are all inventive and unique. The plot is fast and picks the reader up quickly. The twist and turns come at perfect moments in the plot. The characters are complex, funny, intelligent, and occupy both protagonist and antagonist roles. Sometimes, the differing POV leaves some plot holes, but nothing that interferes with the integrity of the story. Overall, couldn't put this book down the 1st and 2nd time! I loved it and can't wait to start the 2nd! 

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wombie's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

4.5


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booksthatburn's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

There's a pretty large cast of narrators, listening via audiobook helped enormously with keeping track of them since there are three audiobook narrators to handle all the perspectives. Those performances are great, making helping keep the characters distinct even when the same performed voiced multiple characters. 

The plot has several threads, following each of the main characters. The blurb implies that Lin is the only main character, but Jovis plays an enormous role (meeting all but one of the other main characters at various points), and the romance between Phalue and Ranami felt complex and real. Lin is the daughter of the emperor, trying to get her father's approval by getting back memories she lost in a sickness several years ago. Jovis is a smuggler who is trying to find his wife who was kidnapped five years ago. He ends up rescuing children from having their shards taken. Phalue is the daughter of a governor on one of the islands, and Ranami is her girlfriend who keeps turning down Phalue's marriage proposals because Phalue doesn't seem to understand the enormity of her privilege in comparison to everyone on the island. There's a woman called Sand who is trying to escape her current situation, I don't want to spoil anything about her but she seems set up to do much more in the sequel.

Lin has spent years trying to get her father's approval, and is frustrated by his ableist insistence that she's not whole unless she can get back the memories she lost. Desperate to get him to pay attention to her as she is and not as she was, Lin starts copying his keys to get access to rooms that might hold knowledge of the magic he should be teaching her. She's in competition with her foster brother Bayan since he regained more of his memories and seems to continually be one step ahead of her in getting the emperor's attention.

The relationship between Phalue and Ranami briefly dips into some toxic territory as Phalue doesn't seem to understand or know how to take seriously Ranami's concerns. It definitely helps that both of them are narrators, so their perspectives are shown directly at various points. 

Jovis ends up with an animal companion after he saves it from the water during a disaster early one. Mephi is pretty cool and not annoying, which is a relief because sometimes I end up detesting animal sidekicks. 

The magic system is based on using bone taken from the empire's citizens as children. The shards can be used to power constructs, and once in use they slowly drain the life force of their original owner. The emperor uses an elaborate array of constructs to do all the imperial bureaucracy which could be done by people, but he doesn't trust anyone else to do it right. This setup means that the way the lower classes are exploited is more than just cruelty and resource hoarding by the rich, but that their very lives can be taken, slowly, by an emperor they'll never see, if he happens to pick their shard from a drawer and use it to fuel a construct. I love the way the magic system is inseparable from the political structure and brewing uprising. 

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tahsintries's review against another edition

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4.75


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btorsi's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious reflective tense 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

5.0

usually i don't like a book without romance at its core because i need it to cling to, but this book only had romance on the fringes and i adored it. this is the first book in a year and a half that has stirred the same interest in me that priory did. i thought i would never be able to replicate that. all the characters are so interesting, the writing is beautiful, and the masterful slow reveal of the answers to the readers questions is so good. i loved it and can't wait to read the next one. 

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