Jovis and Mephi completely carried this book and I'm okay with it.

The Bone Shard Daughter has been on my TBR for probably around five years now, and it was the first random pick from my TBR jar...and I had to ask myself why I put this book off for so long. The worldbuilding is intriguing to say the least, and I didn't want to put the book down for the last 20%.
The story includes five seemingly unconnected POVs. Lin is the emperor's daughter and she wants to impress him. Jovis is a smuggler trying to find his long-lost lover. Phalue and Ranami are involved in a rebellion. Sand is...well, Sand is Sand. Lin and Jovis's POVs are the most frequent, and for good reason. They have arguably the most action in the book, and I really like how all of the POVs (not just theirs) are intertwined by the end. I will say that I called two of the plot twists very early on (from the first POV of both characters), but there were a few other twists that I didn't expect and the second half of the book was super fast-paced. I'll also admit that some characters seemed to have some very thick plot armor (I'm looking at you, Jovis) and the last ten chapters or so felt a little rushed to me.
Of the main characters, Jovis was by far my favorite. He reminded me of a pirate version of Flynn Rider, and Mephi is literally one of my new favorite animal sidekicks. I didn't like Lin at first, but both she and Bayan grew on me quickly. Phalue and Ranami didn't really intrigue me, although I'm keeping an open mind for book two. Sand was interesting, but she isn't really relevant until very late in the book.
The Bone Shard Daughter is a fantasy novel where bones have magic, islands are sinking, and the emperor is on the verge of being overthrown, and I will definitely pick up the sequel.
4/5

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