Reviews tagging 'Classism'

The Bone Shard Emperor by Andrea Stewart

3 reviews

witcheep's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

There is so much I loved about this book (and I'll blabber about that soon)! I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel to see how the escalating hardships are handled; what kind of alliances are made between the different factions in the Empire that is on a brink of war on so many fronts. Moreover, my heart aches to see if Jovis and Lin can get any peace in their lives; they both have so much at stakes after the ending of The Bone Shard Emperor. And I must know more about Mephi asap!! Also, I must confess, even Phalue has grown on me, and I'm keen on learning what the plot has in stock for her.

Worldbuilding

In The Bone Shard Emperor, we get to learn a lot more about the late Emperor Shiyen / Lin's father's secrets as well as about the Alanga; this makes the worldbuilding even more detailed. I loved speculating what might be revealed next and how the informaton would connect to the different characters. Biggest of the Alanga secrets are found in an Alanga diary Jovis steals (

the Alanga language is the same as the language of the bone shard magic; these two are connected in their history

) and deductions Jovis and Lin make with their animal companions, who they learn are called ossalen (

these companions are the source the Alanga get their magic from, making Lin and Jovis Alanga, but there's still more to learn about the ossalen

). The Alanga begin to appear all over the Empire, and some of their identities are surprise plot twists.

Characters

As in the previous book, Jovis continues to be my favorite character and the main reason I loved the book so much. He's a real charmer with his humbleness and willingness to help others. Jovis continues his contemplations about his identity with the same easygoing but self-deprecating humour I loved in the first book:

But if some other person fell into danger, my brain became muddled as the melon pulp at the bottom of the wine barrel. I'd told myself so many times I wasn't a hero.
I lifted my staff to the side, opening my arms, inviting the construct to attack.
Maybe I was a hero. And heroes were idiots.

Jovis struggles to find where his loyalties lie at, and doesn't like that every group in the Empire seems to want him to be their pawn. With the help of Mephi, Jovis begins to untangle his emotions about this situation and takes more agency about his decicions and actions.

"You and Lin had a fight. You need to make things right because she needs you there. Everyone does. You can't walk away." There was something odd about his voice, like he was choking on something.
I lifted a foot and darted around him. "This is me, walking away."
He slid past me, his body low to the ground, his ears flattened, jaw clenched. "Very funny. Jovis makes big jokes when he can't face big feelings."
Ouch. So maybe that was true.

Phalue managed to get my interest in this book, whereas in the first one I was indifferent about her. Here, we are shown how Phalue constantly works on herself to be a good person in every relationship important to her; with Ranami, with her father, with a street orphan who she begins training to fight, and even her people and all of the Empire. She fights her prejudices to be a morally stable and good person, and I respect that. She doesn't throw herself into any alliances, but considers them thoroughly. As Ranami puts it, Phalue doesn't make her mind lightly, but when Phalue decides something, she goes to it wholeheartedly and without saving efforts. I like a character who acknowledges that they need to work on themself and is willing to do that work not only for themself but for the people they love as well.

Relationships: Lin & Jovis

There are a lot of revelations about the worldbuilding elements and about Lin and Jovis to be have between these two, and I love how they slowly begin to trust each other enough to share them with each other. Their relationship is a very tentative slow burn of friendship

and more

, and I'm here for it! Andrea Stewart took me on an emotional ride with this relationship dynamic, which made me care about them deeply. Lin and Jovis have a tendency to argue, tease or challenge each other, but when it really counts, they can rely on the help of each other both in physical danger and in emotional distress.

"He's a construct and so is his master. The Shardless Few in the south; the construct army to the north-east. And around us, the islands sink."
I shouldn't feel sorry for her. I couldn't. "Are you ... complaining about being an Emperor?"
She shot me a dark look. Ah. Too far in the other direction. I'd overcompensated. But then she let out a rueful laugh. "When you say it like that, it does seem foolish."

They still keep big secrets from each other, though, and it causes big turmoil between them when the secrets begin to reveal.

"I need to trust someone, to feel like I can still belong. That I'm still real and not just what he made me."

– Lin to Jovis

After all the willingly and unwillingly revealed secrets, Lin and Jovis have hurt feelings between them and

they separate for a short while

. The end battle

draws them back together as a situtational necessity, and they find a way to work around the hurt. After the battle, Jovis takes the initiative to make amends:

"I love you," Jovis blurted out into the silence. "Please don't execute me. Not even later. Ah shit. I'm no good at this. I mean – let me start over. I've made a mess of things. I don't care what you are. Whatever your father did to make you. I care about who you are. And who you are is a person I care about." He pursed his lips, wrinkling up his nose. "I'm not even sure if – does that make sense?"

Isn't that the cutest, most awkward, most Jovis confession? And how Lin echoes the sentiment with her own reconciliation:

"I don't care where you come from. I don't care about your heritage. Come back to me."
I didn't ask, but he offered it anyway. "I promise." He took my hand and held it over his heart. It beat, strong and steady, beneath my palm. "And I'll never break a promise to you again."

Swooooon!

Content Warnings

ok7a's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional tense 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

3.5

Content Warnings

internationalreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

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