Beth: I think perhaps the biggest surprise for me at the start was Jovis’ storyline, how he had been wrenched away from Lin and how his love for Mephi was being used against him. Ragan's chapters were also infuriating because he is so one-dimensional with all hate and no thinking. Stewart's heart-pounding second Drowning Empire epic fantasy expertly picks up the pace from The Bone Shard Daughter .

It didn't impact my experience as much as I thought, though, because by the end I was flipping pages faster than I could read waiting to find out how it all concludes. In the second book, The Bone Shard Emperor, Lin is first confronted with opposing forces in leadership and a darker plot that is developing in the background, while catastrophe hits and in an empire of islands, one after another is threatened to sink. Like it would upset me to have a creature I was close to who could fit curled up on my shoulder, but then grew to the point they couldn’t fit in the same room as me anymore! Everyone has their own pain and struggles, and we all need individuals who care about us as affectionately as they did toward their partner.But Stewart did a great job allocating the balance of the character’s spotlights with Phalue, Ranami, and Nisong, too, this time. I cannot talk too much regarding the detail of the story in The Bone Shard War because this is the third and final book of the trilogy. A kaleidoscopic cast, a fascinating world, captivating magic and enthralling politics -- I'm already looking forward to the next book!

If I don’t get jittery reading a book when I know a War is going to kick off then I feel like there’s issues. The second half of the book was much more engaging, though still repetitive, and I binge-read that half in 24 hours. For me, I loved the way history was constantly repeating itself, I loved Stewart’s exploration of the ways in which people and societies can fall back into the same ruts and mistakes. Time jump in the beginning chapters was quite jarring and it took me a bit to immerse myself into some povs . I am reluctant to say it was slow, as I've seen some others say, but I can see how it can be construed that way.There's not much I can say without making a lot of huge spoilers for anyone who hasn't read the other two books but it was truly a great ending to this story. His struggle to come to terms with his actions and fight the magic was engaging and I ended up rooting for him the most. This book reminded me why I've enjoyed reading the entire series in line and never forgot those books. I felt the brittleness in my heart firm up, the edges still there, still tangible, but a thing I could live with. I understand this all adds to romance conflict as well which wasn't necessary imo, but it reflected in significantly less Mephi content which is criminal because their bond is the most important part of his characterization.

Ich bin nach diesem Debüt gespannt, was wir als nächstes von Andrea Stewart zu lesen bekommen – die nächste Trilogie trägt den spannenden Titel „The Gods Below“, der erste Band erscheint bereits nächstes Jahr auf Englisch. Yet I couldn’t help but miss the Lin we were presented with in the first book, the one who wanted to help everyone without manipulating them in the way her father did. The strangest thing was that Lin went from being me favorite character (by far) to being irritating and whiny.But the real reason I liked Lin so much is that once she became Alanga she didn't turn into this amazing fighter, even with Phalue's training. Can you imagine if every single time a person in the FBI referred to the FBI, they said "Federal Bureau of Investigation"? Lin Sukai has won her first victory as Emperor, but the future of the Phoenix Empire hangs in the balance – and Lin is dangerously short of allies.