TLDR:

The Bone Shard Daughter is a good book with a new and interesting magic system. While at some point I did feel the story drag on, it quickly grabbed my attention once everything picked up. Overall, it did a great job on world building and left enough questions for it's upcoming sequel to pick right up on.

I have never heard of this series. The only reason I picked this up is because I liked the cover and the title's name. The Bone Shard Daughter? What does that even mean? Well, let me tell you--this magic system involves (as you can guess) bone shards and throughout this whole book I couldn't stop myself form thinking, hey I really should add this to my D&D campaign!

What I Loved

• A map! I've said this before, I'm a sucker for a story with a map. It's always nice reference it.
• Different point of views, with actual distinct voices. It is very interesting to get the point of view of people under the Emperor's rule whose backgrounds differ so much.
• The magic system. It's different and I personally never heard or read anything like it before. I do hope it's further expanded in it's sequel as much of the magic lore is still up in the air due to story reasons.
• The lore is wonderful. The Tithing Festival, the war with the Alanga, the current seasons, the islands movements, the politics... it was great to had this information handed to us in pieces and not thrown at is all in one bulk.

What I Disliked

• At some point towards the end, I feel like everything was resolved and I felt myself just skimming to get to the very end.
• While I love multiple point of view of things, I found myself irked when a chapter ended on a cliffhanger and the point of view changed into someone else. I either read the chapter super fast that I found myself having to reread certain sections since I eventually started skimming or felt the previous excitement just wear off since it changes to something else that just changes the mood.  

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed this book and personally found the world so interesting. Twice did I find myself stopping just so I can tell someone "wow, so in this book I'm reading they performed this festival..."

Would I recommend this book? Yes! Stewart created a wonderful world that you can easily find yourself swallowed by. The second book is approaching very quick so if you are itching for something, pick this up!

Warning! Spoilers ahead!

A quick little section:

My Favorite Character(s): Mephi and Jovis. I absolutely enjoyed them. Mephi sounds like the cutest little creature ever. Even though we were given a description of him, I couldn't stop myself from picturing the dragon from the Dragon's Prince as Mephi.

The Character I Hated: Ramina. I did not necessarily hate her at first. I get what she was trying to do with Phalue but I really hated the way she approached it. I do appreciate that she apologized to Phalue towards the end (which is why I don't hate her) but I do think Phalue forgave her too easily. In my opinion, Ramina was putting so much pressure on Phalue and it appeared to me as if she were blaming her for something she had no control over. Yes she might not be so proactive and I do understand she is clearly sheltered but just because she is the Governor's daughter does not mean she is up to blame.