The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart - Blog Tour Review

Today on Life Of A Nerdish Mum I am excited to be part of the blog  tour for The Bone Shard Daughter. A big thank you to the author and Tracy Fenton of Compulsive Readers for having me along. 

The Bone Shard Daughter 

In an empire controlled by bone shard magic, Lin, the former heir to the emperor will fight to reclaim her magic and her place on the throne. The Bone Shard Daughter marks the debut of a major new voice in epic fantasy.

The emperor's reign has lasted for decades, his mastery of bone shard magic powering the animal-like constructs that maintain law and order. But now his rule is failing, and revolution is sweeping across the Empire's many islands.

Lin is the emperor's daughter and spends her days trapped in a palace of locked doors and dark secrets. When her father refuses to recognise her as heir to the throne, she vows to prove her worth by mastering the forbidden art of bone shard magic.

Yet such power carries a great cost, and when the revolution reaches the gates of the palace, Lin must decide how far she is willing to go to claim her birthright - and save her people.

My Review

Wow!! If I could get away with a one word review for this absolutely amazing book, then Wow pretty much covers it. I don't feel I've the right vocabulary for how much I enjoyed The Bone Shard Daughter, but I'll give it a go. 

I really enjoy a multiple POV (point of view) story, but it has to be really well written to pull it off. Andrea Stewart is like some sort of magician with how the story flows effortlessly between POVs as well as perspectives. Each character has their own feel and voice and I didn't feel any we're interchangeable. I flew through the book because I kept wanting to know what would happen with the next person.

The characters themselves were also really well developed, even the less focal characters. I really felt like I knew each one and I was invested in their stories right from the beginning. The relationships are also done beautifully in my opinion and seem very organic and real. 

The Bone Shard Daughter is a slower paced debut (and first in series) which I really enjoyed. I loved being part of the build up towards the deeper parts of the story instead big just being thrown right in the deep end. I'm chomping at the bit now, ready for the next book. I need more from the world and author! 

I would really recommend The Bone Shard Daughter and the hype really is deserved for this book. I gave it 5 stars. 

About The Author

Andrea Stewart is the Chinese American daughter of immigrants, and was raised in a number of places across the United States. Her parents always emphasized science and education, so she spent her childhood immersed in Star Trek and odd-smelling library books. When her (admittedly ambitious) dreams of becoming a dragon slayer didn't pan out, she instead turned to writing books. She now lives in sunny California, and in addition to writing, can be found herding cats, looking at birds, and falling down research rabbit holes.

Don't Forget To Check Out The Rest Of The Tour

Glamping With Wild One Adventures!

I've been trying to write an Instagram post or a review all week, but nothing felt right. So I've decided a chatty blog post was the best idea. 

Last weekend was the last weekend of the summer holidays after obviously a very weird and difficult year so far. I'd wanted to do something special for Tristan and spend some time just one on one with him, but hadn't a clue what to do. 

I'd seen that Wild One Adventures had started offering glamping experiences in people's gardens, which I thought was amazing, but sadly something my back yard would not accommodate. As lockdown restrictions lifted, I noticed they had started offering the experiences at Brocklehead Farm and Caravan Site, so I asked about it and ended up booking for the 29th of August. 

As the time approached I'd let Tristan know our plans and he was ridiculously excited. He's never been camping before so it was going to be a new experience for him making it even more special. He counted down the days and talked about it constantly. 

On the day I was both excited and nervous as I wanted him to love it as much as I knew I would. 

Nerdish Dad dropped us off at the gates and the entrance was so lovely with a carved welcome sign. 

And we walked down to our pitch. I was pleasantly surprised with how many people were there and how the site was all laid out around a playground for the kids. On our pitch, our canvas teepee was all set up and outdoors there was a firepit and table and chairs all ready for us. 

Honestly I was impressed enough with just the outside, but when I opened up the tent I cried and Tristan whooped. It was so unbelievably stunning. 

It was so welcoming and Louise (Wild One Adventures) had thought of everything. There was lego and other bits for Tristan to play with and there was gin and Eccles cakes for me. We spent time exploring the tent and then we went looking for the loos and shower block. It might sound strange, but I've never seen such beautiful campsite facilities before and they were incredibly clean.

I then sat and just took in all the outstanding views and enjoyed my brew from my flask while Tristan was building all sorts of creations with the Lego. 

We did have a sprinkling of rain, but it didn't stop us from sitting by the fire - which I managed to light effortlessly - and enjoying the outdoors. 

For tea I had brought a picnic and we sat in the tent to eat and talk. Tristan tried an Eccles cake for the first time and he's definitely a fan! 

By this time it was about half 7 and Tristan was itching to go and play on the playground. I was a bit nervous as there were quite a few other children, but I didn't need to be. He made friends and they were all playing socially distanced games, like Touchless Tig, the rules of which changed constantly! 

While supervising, I sat quietly and really took time to focus on the moment. Listening to the kids laughing, feeling the cool breeze that was bringing the smells of someone's barbecue and watching the sun as it set was the most perfect moment I could have asked for. I haven't felt so light in a long time. As the sun was finally setting, Tristan came to join me and we watched it together. Another first time experience for him.

As it went dark we wandered back to our tent and got ourselves ready for bed and piled blankets on top of us as it'd got a bit chilly by this stage. Louise (Wild One Adventures) had left a pack of Uno cards for us to use and though neither of us had any idea what we were doing, we had the most amazing time just laughing and making it up as we went along, playing by fairy lights. This has to be one of my favourite memories from the whole experience and I know it's one of Tristan's too as he's told other people about it. 

We settled down for the best nights sleep I've had in a long time! 

In the morning, Tristan woke at seven as usual and he had us dressed and at the playground in record time! We did go say hi to the cows first though. I let him play for an hour or so while I enjoyed the views and then we sorted out breakfast before being picked up to go home. 

I cannot recommend this whole thing enough. Louise has made glamping even better in my opinion with all the thought and love and care that she puts into the whole thing. And Brocklehead Farm and Caravan Site is a perfect destination whether you're local or not. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect way to spend time with my boy and to treat him for coping with everything so well. He wanted to stay a second night and is already asking what dates I've booked next year. 

It's turned into quite a long post and I really hope I've done the experience justice.