heartbrekker's Reviews (797)

"Sugar Island is always ready to welcome our warrior girls home, where they are loved."

When I read Firekeeper's Daughter back in 2021, I knew Angeline's writing and story were special. She opened my eyes to realities that I hardly knew anything about, and I feel in love with her characters, specifically the lead Daunis. Almost a decade and a half in book time, Warrior Girl Unearthed begins, and we get to meet the new generation of teens within the Ojibwe community and to see what happened in adulthood to FD characters.

"It's like when waves crash against rocks and rebound back into the lake. Waves come at me every which way. It's the ones you never see coming that pull you under."

Now it's hard to not compare this title to FD. I'm bringing this up immediately because I know people will have something to say about it. I tried hard not to, but the stories follow different people within the same family, so it's hard not to think of Daunis/ her story when she's chastising our new lead Perry Birch-Firekeeper. The distinction in Perry as a lead was VERY apparent. She's three years younger than Daunis was in her own book, and Perry's immaturity is blunt. I had to keep reminding myself that, of course, Perry would not be as mature as Daunis because three years in teenager years is basically a century and a half. She's impulsive, head-strong, and frank. She's not afraid to communicate her feelings to people even when it may not be in her, or her community's, best interest, but all of those reasons are why she is a great lead. It's the reason why she concocts this plan to save her ancestors bodies/ ancestors' sacred items from museum archives/ inhumane "collectors."

"My ancestors had names, and they lived through good times and bad times. They dreamed of me. And I dream of them. Aho."

"Stealing our bones is wrong. Always was; always will be. The only point of view that matters is the one by those of us who want our ancestors back."

The heist is an interesting element to the plot. There's a lot of talking and no action until the final 100 pages when Perry and her crew actually commit the heist. While I'm not going to go into the specifics of the heist due to spoilers, the outcome was incredibly surprising to me. I did not think the outcome was hinted at or even foreshadowed much. It felt out of left field, and then, the subsequent events felt rectified in a very quick fashion. Not a lot of time was allotted to this situation, and when contrasted with all the research/ conversation scenes, I felt more time could've been given to Perry and this moment, so we could've guessed the "big reveal." The whiplash within that climactic scene would've been less intense too. Also, a significant murder happens in this book. I'm not going to detail who or why, but it felt easily rectified too.

Daunis is thrown into jail as soon as this happens, and I think more time could've been given to this plot point besides the scene where the actual murderer confesses. That plot alone could've been this entire book because Daunis was seemingly an easy scapegoat, and it would wrap up her loose ends from the first book. But if that had happened, then this wouldn't be Perry's book. It would be Daunis Part II.

Overall, the missing Indigenous women, surprise murder, and reclaiming ancestors/ ancestor artifacts was a lot to put into this 400 page book. It muddled the pacing and impact of these imperative moments. FD was so impactful because Angeline paid attention to the intricate details and wrote those scenes raw. That feeling was lessened in Warrior Girl Unearthed.

"Warriors might lose a battle, but they keep their eyes on what truly matters—the final result."

Warrior Girl Unearthed is a must-read contemporary for everyone—just like Firekeeper's Daughter. I don't think people should read this one before FD because spoilers for the first book are rampant. Plus, it flows with the time period better from the early 2000s to mid 2010s. I'm so excited to see what else Angeline has up her writing sleeve because she writes so beautifully about her Ojibwe community. It's a treat to feel the love for her people and her culture with every new book.

"Everything is connected, Little Sister. The past. The future. The beginning and ending. Answers are there even before the question. You're supposed to go back to where you started. And if you step off the path, you better keep your eyes wide open."

Thank you to Fierce Reads for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

It’s not that this book is BAD per say. I just didn’t connect with the lead at all, didn’t like him much either, and overall, the plot wasn’t particularly motivating for me, largely because of my feelings towards the lead.

Also, reading this after Tress of the Emerald Sea (I miss my cozy fantasy vibes and Hoid’s narration!!), I was already setting this book up to be a disappointment because I ADORED the first Secret Project of Sanderson. Going into the Secret Projects, I had a feeling this would be my least favorite because it didn’t interest me, so I’m not surprised with this reaction.

Basically, a lot of factors led me to this rating, but I’ll probably add more thoughts to this review soon.

DNF @ 25%

I cannot believe the Drowning Empire trilogy is over, and I'm so excited that I got to end it with the audiobook. I'd heard the full cast was phenomenal, and y'all they delivered! The narrators alone made this book so dynamic.

Now as a mini recap to my feelings for this trilogy—I adored The Bone Shard Daughter, but I was slightly disappointed coming out of The Bone Shard Emperor. It felt very second book syndrome to me with a slower plot and pacing, so all of my hopes were resting at the feet of this finale, and it MOSTLY delivered. There's some plot decisions that felt unlike the characters I have come to know, but arguably that's because of the two year time jump going into The Bone Shard War. I kept reminding myself that a lot of the characters changed due to the passage of time, but it's a hard reminder to remember when you feel disconnected to your favorite characters. This decision is basically why my rating is a four star because it ultimately affected the entirety of the story.

The shining light of this finale was that Ranami and Phalue got more screen time than in The Bone Shard Emperor! I missed my two wives sooo much, and while they are separated for a majority of this story, I could not get enough of their pining to get back to one another. Ayesh and Shark also just made me smile relentlessly. I wish we could've seen the start to their blossoming bond, but it was fantastic to see Ayesh begin to come into her own, particularly through her deep loyalty for her mothers. Ranami and Ayesh had such a tumultuous relationship in the previous book, so getting to see them as mother and daughter felt right. They had to survive without Phalue, and it certainly put them through the ringer. Honestly, Ranami specifically was my favorite POV. I find myself drawn to characters without powers/ no fighting abilities because they have to use their empathy, intelligence or whatever other trait to survive.

While Lin is the core lead (alongside Jovis), this book did not feel like hers. She felt more like a background/side character, which is weird to say considering the fact that she has tons of chapters, definitely more than Phalue or Ranami. Her chapters pretty much blended together into fighting Dion/the Shardless Few or Ragan/Nisong. She was 75% on water too. All of her substantial character growth happened in The Bone Shard Emperor, in my opinion, so she was basically just protecting the empire as much as she could. Lin does make a couple decisions that the version of her two years ago would've never made, but again, I think the sudden change is due to the two years time jump. Thrana was just a soothing balm to my soul because she's always protecting Lin. The moments where Thrana urges Phalue to be more empathetic to Lin were among some of my favorite scenes because, of course, a creature would get through to a person rather than an actual human being bahaha.

Now Jovis... probably my most controversial opinion. While I understand the arc of his story, specifically the one told through this finale, it felt unnecessary at the same time. Was I stressed to the max for him? Yes. Did his chapters leave me cringing in sympathy? Yes.

But I think if him being controlled by bone shard magic against his will was the trajectory of his story... it needed to have happened to him back in The Bone Shard Emperor.

It felt very sudden for all of this change to his character to occur only within the finale book. He had tons of growth throughout the first two books, and to have his character essentially decimated beyond his control is something I'm still trying to come to terms with. Everything about his journey was further upsetting when the final scene happens with him.

After everything(!), he loses his memories of basically the entire trilogy?? I know a couple memories slink through his mind by the time the epilogue rolls around, but everything about his character felt purposeless. And maybe that was the point. It's just not a point that I think was necessary. Now I probably speak for everyone when I say that Mephi losing Jovis was truly one of the hardest things to read. I've always championed the relationship between these two, and after losing my own soul kitty in December, this moment hit even harder. Jovis needed that redemption for himself, but all I could hear were Mephi's screams following him right at his heels.

The most surprising part of this book rested with Nisong. I was curious what would happen to her arc now that all her friends are dead. Of course, she had to be tied to Ragan. Literally despise him with my entire heart and soul. I went from enjoying her chapters the most in The Bone Shard Daughter to wanting to throttle her in The Bone Shard Emperor and The Bone Shard War. Nisong is completely lost at the start of this finale, and she stays that way for a long time, basically until the big battle at the end.

Her connection to Loezhi (idk if I'm spelling that right) made her POV worth every second because her other moments being intimate with Ragan certainly left me gagging. She's the most imperfect of all the leads, in my opinion, so her arc was the most beautiful. She lost everything, even her sense of self, but it was through the bond between her and Loezhi that Nisong rediscovered her old self from the early pages of The Bone Shard Daughter. The return of Sand was unexpected but perfect.

Moving onto the reveals, I was stunned to learn the truth about the sinking islands. Andrea Stewart certainly pulled the hood over my head with that one. It seems so obvious in retrospect but also not at the same time?? I still have eons worth of questions about the particular mechanics of this magic system. I definitely think more detail could've been given when we go down inside that cavern in the climax scene because I just don't feel I have quite the understanding that I'd like. I still can't picture it fully, and sometimes while less is more, other times I want as much information as possible! Maybe I'll have to reread it again when I get my finished copy. Overall, I wish the Alanga, ossalen, and island lore were detailed more in the previous books because it felt akin to whiplash to learn all of these reveals in only one book.

Overall, I am content with where this trilogy ended. I know I nitpicked quite a bit, but I do so with love for these characters and this world. I'm so excited to see where Andrea goes next with her writing because if this was the start then... Wow, I'm impressed.

Thank you Orbit Books and NetGalley for the ARC audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

“I’m not here for a one-night stand, Sasha… The story we’re writing? It has chapters. Installments. I don’t want once.”

I did not expect to love One For My Enemy. I’ve been extremely disappointed in my two previous Olivie Blake books, so my expectations, to be honest, were LOW. And maybe that’s the perfect way to go into her books (for me) since it’s the same way I found my favorite book by Olivie—Alone With You in the Ether.

"My daughters are diamonds. Nothing is more beautiful. Nothing shines brighter. And most importantly, nothing will break them."

While I’d argue this is a loose Romeo and Juliet retelling, one of my favorite aspects is that by the end… you don’t know quite who the R&J retelling refers to... until it’s too late. Olivie weaves and reworks this retelling constantly because right when we think we know something, she pulls the rug out from under the reader. It’s honestly very satisfying to watch unfold, so I enjoyed it. I can’t think of any other example within Olivie’s books where the leads simply love one another so unabashedly, wholeheartedly, so I found it refreshing to finally see an Olivie Blake book where the lovebirds get to be fully focused on one another… or as much as they can due to their rival families.

"This is the important thing after all: nobody fears a beautiful woman. They revere her, worship her, sing praises to her—but nobody fears her, even when they should."

On a slightly separate note, I’ve seen plenty of people critique this book over the insta-love element. My first response to that statement is that this is marketed as an R&J retelling, so of course, there’s going to be a quick/ hard fall. That’s one of the selling points to the play! You can’t go into this book and critique it for following along with the tropes of the original work. But even then, the insta-love is not instantaneous, especially since one of the leads holds back from the other because they have more knowledge of their families rivalries/ circumstances. Ultimately, it did not bug me, and this is coming from someone who is not a fan of insta-love at all.

"I will always love you, I will love you until the day I die—and if you're the one to kill me, then by all means, you should know without a trace of a doubt that you will not have turned me away. I will have spent the final beat of my heart loving you, just as I always have."

Moreover, on the R&J elements of this story, I thought it was genius of Olivie to mimic an actual play with the format of this story. Before every “part” of the book (five total), Olivie gives us a sneak peek into character list, setting list, inventory list etc. She also indirectly spoils/ foreshadows what’s to come in the chapter with a cheeky little R&J quote. When authors have details like these sprinkled throughout their books, I can’t help but applaud them. And as a Shakespeare nerd myself, I can’t help but squeal with joy.

"To believe in destiny, one must also believe in succession. If the world is ruled by predetermination, then it must also be ordered, measured, paced out from first to last. If this, then this."

If you’re looking for an intricate, thoroughly explained magic system—don’t bother with this one, or at least going in with this knowledge because you won’t have those expectations. I actually think Olivie did well with creating this world, in part, because she relies on the background of New York to guide our senses, so the world felt grounded due to the setting being such a well-known location. Sometimes I just want to read a book where magic exists and that’s that. But in terms of specifics—magic for witches comes from their very essence of being a witch, but willpower and family heritage seems to heighten said magic. It’s part of the reason Baba Yaga has so many daughters because each one of them ends up with a different ability that only adds to her overarching arsenal. The mini plot point about magic residing in the organs of witches was a very interesting point too. The fact that a faerie could eat a kidney and be imbedded with magic for a period of time elevated the stakes and relationships between the witches and other beings. I wasn’t a big fan of the Bridge for quite some time because of his greed for witch magic/ manipulations of the leads, but by the end, his lil’ fae butt won me over.

"We might not have time for an entire book... Write me a tragedy, Lev Fedorov... Write me a litany of sins. Write me a plague of devastation. Write me lonely, write me wanting, write me shattered and fearful and lost. Then write me finding myself in your arms, if only for a night, and then write it again. Write it over and over, Lev, until we both know the pages by heart, Isn't that a story too?"

Overall, I’m obsessed with this story, and I cannot wait for more people to read it because it far exceeds The Atlas Six, in my opinion.

"We can't curse all the men in the world, can we?"

Thank you to Tor Books for sending me a finished copy to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.