Hello Readers!
This month I’m participating in The Bone Shard Daughter read-along for Wyrd and Wonder. This week’s questions were written by Beth from The Fantasy Hive and cover chapters 1-11 of The Bone Shard Daughter. If you haven’t read the book be wary of spoilers ahead for chapters 1-11 and feel free to join in! So far I’m enjoying the book, and there’s a lot going on that I want to discuss. On to the questions!
1) Welcome to Stewart’s glorious world! What are your initial impressions?
I love the mystery surrounding so much of this story. The POVs are introduced without much context and a few clues as to how they connect, but nothing is certain. Most of the characters aren’t exactly likable, but they’re interesting enough that I want good things for them.
At first, I was a bit thrown off by how many POVs were introduced in the first few chapters. For me, the beginning of the book is really important for getting attached to characters. If I don’t feel interested in what might happen to the MC, I probably won’t finish the book. Stewart did a great job at establishing her character’s personalities very quickly, so I didn’t feel like I was just keeping track of a list of names. I feel really invested in Jovis and Lin’s stories, and the rest have enough intrigue that I’m not annoyed when I get to their chapter.
So far, there’s only one character that I despise: the Emperor. Not only did he make his daughter feel broken, he spends his time draining his citizens of life so he can perform experiments on animals–instead of, I don’t know, running his empire?! I’m not convinced Lin will be the best empress, but I have no doubt she’ll get more done than her father.
2) What do you make of the magic system and the world-building?
The magic system definitely caught my attention. The bone shards were especially morbid in how they drained the life from whichever person they came from. I like how Stewart established the fear that overhangs every character regarding the bone shards. They know at any moment their shard could be used up and they would die. They are powerless. I believe the magic system is meant to represent the parasitic nature of governments, and I think it’s a wonderful comparison.
Other than the magic system the worldbuilding was just to my taste in that there weren’t too many details. I know there are some floating islands, some magical creatures, and another nation that once fought the Empire. There might be more details I missed, but tbh the worldbuilding isn’t something I pay attention to unless it’s important for the plot (and even then I might miss details).
3) Is there a character you’re particularly drawn to so far?
Jovis! He was the only character that consistently showed compassion. Plus, the story of his missing wife is especially compelling.
I also enjoyed Lin’s POV, although I think it’s the potential her story holds rather than her personality that caught my attention. I’m excited to find out what she’ll do when she does figure out how to make her own constructs. Will she continue the barbaric practices of her father or will she be better? So much depends on what she’ll decide.
4) What do you make of Lin’s motivations? How much do you think she’s driven by a desire to save her Empire – or are her motivations more selfish?
Her motivations seem more selfish than noble. She talks about how her father is failing the empire, but her desire to ascend to the throne seems to come more from a place of entitlement and desire for control than from a desire to do good for her people. I also think her reaction to her father’s constructs is very telling. She knows the constructs drain the life of people and recognizes that it’s sick. She even points out that there’s no evidence that the empire needs constructs to defend them anymore, but she shows no desire to change anything. In fact, she spends all her time trying to figure out how to make her own constructs.
It will be interesting to see how Lin’s character develops throughout the book. I hope she decides to be a better empress than her father, but that remains to be seen.
5) Jovis tends to tell lies when faced with truths he doesn’t want to face. As a first person narrator, how reliable do you feel this makes him?
He seemed reliable to me. It seemed like he only told lies with good intentions and was honest about not being truthful. Although, this question is making me doubt whether my perception is correct.
6) MEPHI 😍 Any guesses / wild theories about Jovis’s new furry friend?
Mephi was so cute! I want to love him, but I’m actually very suspicious of Mephi after Jovis foreshadowed that he would come to regret saving him. I suspect Mephi might be one of the constructs. He has an assortment of animal features so he fits the description. In one of Lin’s chapters, she speculates that constructs might have personality/thoughts outside of the orders their creators give them, so it would be interesting to see if that applies to Mephi if he does turn out to be a construct.
Final Thoughts for The Bone Shard Daughter Read-Along…
I’ve been wondering if Sand might be Jovis’s missing wife. She doesn’t go into her past much, but it’s evident she was taken from her home, much like Jovis’s wife was… I’d love to hear your thoughts on this too!
What do you think of the book so far? Do you have any theories on who Sand is?
Happy reading,
Peyton
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Peyton
I enjoyed reading your fuller thoughts on this Peyton,… especially after we had a chance to speak after I had written mine. I understand what you meant about the comparisons between who controls power and how that power can be used but as you know, I stepped out of the RAL because I honestly couldn’t stomach the animal abuse and the further implications of the bone shard magic itself – especially how dark its magic runs and the intricacies of what happens as it is used. However, aside from that – I enjoyed your musings and observations – they equally match my own and I think your readers and the RAL readers as well will enjoy your keenly thoughtful insights as it helps lead the conversation forward.
I wish you well on the next installment of chapters,… I won’t be reading further into the discussions but I wanted to make sure I finish my rounds for Week One. I believe I have a few more to go and I also have replies to write for those who’ve visited with me this week as well.
One thought: I wasn’t sure if Sand was Jovis’s missing wife OR if she was the one who had a key to unlocking Lin’s lost memories?! Or if both women share a similar kind of amnesia and perhaps it isn’t a natural illness but caused by something else induced into their systems? There is a lot of shadowy areas of the plot and as you said, its a very ‘need to know basis’ kind of story!
Thanks Jorie! I enjoyed sharing my thoughts with you. I think you encouraged me to look a little deeper at what was going on in this world, and I’m grateful for that. Good luck with the rest of the books you read this month!
That’s an interesting theory about Sand and Lin! I couldn’t remember if Sand had memory loss or if I’d just imagined that. I wonder if they do share the same kind of amnesia. There definitely seemed to be more to Lin’s amnesia than a simple illness, so it’ll be interesting to see how that plays out. It’s definitely a ‘need to know basis’ kind of story which both infuriates and excites me.
I am so excited to read this book ! I hope you love it till the end
I hope you love it too!
I’m share your suspicions about Sand! If not her, then someone else on her island as that whole set-up seems awfully odd.
I think I’m struggling a little – there’s just enough world building, but I’d like a bit more character building; it’s feeling very plot-driven at the moment and I think I could stand for it to slow down and really get under the skins of who these people are. I also think I’ve got ‘crossing the book streams’ issues – my other read is also an island fantasy with an ambitious, embittered protagonist I don’t trust so I have a feeling I’m banking all the wrong vibes!
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Yes, it could be someone else on the island too! Overall the island just gave off very suspicious vibes.
And yea, I’m also hoping the next part of the story gives us more time to settle in with the characters. I think so far the only reason people are so attached to Jovis is he’s pretty much the only character given enough character building to like/dislike (same with Lin, but she’s not as likable as Jovis).
Crossing the streams can be tricky! I’m trying to limit the number of books I’m starting because I’ve also been having this issue.