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kaziaroo's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
My only real criticism is that I felt the book would have been better without Ranami and Phalue's POV chapters. Their story had an interesting message and moral dilemma but it just didn't seem to fit and their chapters were quite dull to get through compared to the rest of the book. As a novella on their own, those chapters would have been fine, but I found myself skim-reading them to get back to Jovis, Lin and even Sand. Maybe more will come of Ranami and Phalue in the sequel, but I just couldn't get behind their relationship or find the point of their storyline or its impact of the overall plot.
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
Minor: War
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Physical abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use, Vomit, and Death of parent
maelikesbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Slavery, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death and Body horror
therainbowshelf's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Racism, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, and Grief
Memory loss, earthquake, natural disaster20sidedbi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Child death
gayghostprince's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Gore, Blood, Kidnapping, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Trafficking, and Grief
anni_swanilda's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Kidnapping, and Grief
thewordsdevourer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
my fav things abt this book are its unique and compelling magic system - w/ constructs and bone shard magic, one that contains very real consequences for the common folk, w/ real political implications - and, imo, its star character, jovis, a reluctant hero w/ humanity, heart and depth, and whose rapport w/ his 'pet' mephi i find very cute.
other aspects, however, i find a lil lacking still. the worldbuilding comes in stops and starts, glimpses that dont quite yield real depth. many things that would shed more light on the empire and its workings are glossed over, such as how, exactly, the constructs communicate back to imperial, what their relationships w/ real soldiers are like. in short, the world seems like quite a big one, but the setting and story feels surprisingly spare, sparse, and narrow in scope.
im also impartial to many of the characters, particularly lin, whose story isnt as exciting esp considering she's the titular character. this thereby affects my emotional investment, leaving me unaffected by the story. often, i also find the characters' actions illogical and frustrating; esp the weird not-killing-despite-knowing-they'll-come-back-to-bite-your-a55-later reasoning, and poorly planned fights, esp the one in the palace w/ the emperor. basically i feel like the characters dont use their heads enough even though they def should.
though i seem to have quite many complaints, it cant be denied that this book has its high points, and it can get very fun and adventurous. for that - and its interesting magic system - i might check out the sequels.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Child death, Physical abuse, Racism, and Kidnapping
chalkletters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Because there was so much else going on, the character development didn’t stand out to me immediately. It was only towards the end that I really realised just how integral it was to the novel. I can’t talk about the intensity of Lin’s character arc without spoiling a huge chunk of her plot, so I won’t, but Phalue’s reluctance to come to terms with her privilege is something I haven’t seen before in a fantasy novel. The Bone Shard Daughter compares favourably with Witchsign because I’m supposed to dislike the bad parent, rather than being expected to sympathise with him. I found that much more effective.
The Bone Shard Daughter was a very different kind of fantasy novel, so much so that it feels weird to compare it to other book club books that I’ve enjoyed. That said, this is only the third time I’ve immediately added the next book in a series to my 'want to read’ list, which has to say something!
Minor: Animal cruelty, Child death, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, and Murder
widdlemun's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Violence and Grief
Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, and Murder
Minor: Child death, Hate crime, and Pedophilia