There is no shortage of things to be impressed by here, but the book’s main strength to me lies in the voices the author gives her characters. The emperor’s daughter, Lin, is one of the MCs and we see the Emperor up close from her perspective only. Trapped in a palace of locked doors and old secrets, Lin vows to reclaim her birthright by mastering the forbidden art of bone shard magic.

The first chapter that introduced a ridiculously high expectation scene set by Lin’s father is pretty much how every Asian parent behaves; as an Asian, I can confirm this. The characters have a chapter each, and within their chapters their lives sometimes overlap, forming a complicated composite of friends and foes, but their backgrounds, their experiences, their motivations, and choices could not be more different. Four major constructs that use hundreds of shards are the empire's ministers, while simpler constructs serve as dock clerks or spies. Maybe it’s because I’ve grown in the year or maybe now that I have a better understanding of the world I’m about to enter into that I can confidently read and enjoy it rather than gather the necessary bits and pieces I need to comprehend the story. Jovis: A smuggler turned child rescuer turned rebel; he is the swashbuckling, staff-brandishing "bad boy" who must elude both a powerful crime syndicate and the empire's soldiers, while deciding whether to pursue his own happiness or do what is right.The magic system was unique enough to not have cliches but also was very intuitively arranged so as to be easy to follow. The Bone Shard Daughter is an unmissable fantasy debut for 2020 – a captivating tale of magic, revolution and mystery, where a young woman’s sense of identity will make or break an empire. At the end of the book, I kinda see where their narrative is going, but in the end it's also not as important as Jovis' or Lin's. Favourite character has to be Lin, and her gradual realisation that she's not what she seems, and the dark, regal though neglected environment she inhabits dovetails seamlessly with the theme of the book.

The story builds in layers and whilst foreshadowing allows you to guess at some aspects of the plot there are still plenty of twists and surprises to engage and hold your attention. Despite the author’s claim that The Bone Shard Daughter isn’t an Asian fantasy, Lin’s story is an Asian Family Saga, with her need to find validation with her father, who has set her up in competition with his foster son, Bayan.I wish they had gotten a bit more page time, actually, though I’m hopeful we’ll see more of them in the coming sequels! The worldbuilding of the two are different, taking influences from different parts of East Asian culture. Sandu sets out to break the other residents of Maila from the thrall of the mysterious spell she had been under and break out from her prison. If you can handle the slower pacing, I would definitely recommend this, for well-written complex character arcs, a plot that unravels deliciously, and of course, a magical animal companion that will steal your heart instantly. The books featured on this site are aimed primarily at readers aged 13 or above and therefore you must be 13 years or over to sign up to our newsletter.