I wished I did remember. Was there a time when this man stroked my hair and kissed my forehead? Had he loved me before I’d forgotten, when I’d been whole and unbroken? Phalue and Ranami each have three chapters narrated in third person, and their stories are closely intertwined. Their perspectives show the everyday struggles of one island’s people under an uncaring governor and give some insight into the revolutionary group that wants to overthrow the government. The construct looked nothing so much as a giant spider, dark brown and glistening, as tall as my chest when it stood to attention. Human hands were attached to the end of each of its spindly legs, and an old woman’s face adorned the abdomen.”

It’s hard to remake one’s view of the world, to admit to complacency. I thought remaking myself for you was hard enough, but doing that was something I wanted. I didn’t want to realize how much I’ve hurt the people around me, and that’s what confronting my beliefs meant. We all tell ourselves stories of who we are, and in my mind, I was always the hero. But I wasn’t. Not in all the ways I should have been.” Small note: This was marketed to me as a book with a f/f relationship and a book similar to The Poppy War, and both of these made me even more excited to read it. However, the f/f relationship was not as central as I’d believed it to be, and there was no comparison I could draw between TBSD and TPW, besides the East Asian inspirations/authors and inclusion of politics. This doesn’t mean I was disappointed or thought the book was bad or didn’t like the f/f relationship; I just want to note for readers that the f/f relationship isn’t central and the book is nothing like TPW, so they don’t go in with incorrect expectations like I did!And finally, Sand’s chapters were some of my favorites to read, though they appeared the least throughout the book. Sand has forgotten everything about her life before now, where she moves through her day in a fog, on an island full of other people with lost memories. I wanted to know everything about her, and the reveal did not disappoint. I was Lin. I was the Emperor’s daughter. And I would show him that even broken daughters could wield power. The magical system played as large a focus as the rife political discontent and I was intrigued by the interplay of the two. I found them both endlessly interesting aspects to explore. The magic was unique in its construction and continued to be built upon throughout. The reader and the characters were invited to heighten their understanding together, further enhancing the bond I had with them. The political focus involved rebellious gangs, espionage, failed heists, and all the action and intrigue I could desire to read about. The story follows many characters and has many points of view. There is Lin, the daughter of the emperor, trying to figure out why she has no memories of her past and trying to learn everything about bone-shard magic without her father knowing. She knows that her father is not doing a very good job as leader of the empire and wishes to be named his heir so she can replace him and do a better job. Constructs are SOFREAKINGCOOL! They can look like animals, or, well, they can take any shape the creator wishes— they can EVEN take the shape of humans— or humanoid shapes even!

Sand: A resident of Maila island, Sand spends her days placidly collecting mangoes, until one day she falls from a tree and hits her head. As she begins to recover memories she didn't know she had lost, she realizes she has not always been on the island, nor have the others there with her, and she sets out to awaken them and return to the empire. Jovis, the most successful smuggler in the last hundred years, sails the Endless Sea searching for his wife Emahla, who disappeared on a ship with blue sails several years ago. After rescuing a child from the annual trepanning day, during which subjects of the Empire have bone shards taken from their skulls, Jovis finds himself living up to a new legend about himself: Jovis, savior of children, accompanied by a mysterious animal companion named Mephisolou, who grants him supernatural strength. Sandu’s story is the last thread of the novel. After Sandu falls from the tree where she collects mangoes and hits her head, the lull fog she’s been living in suddenly clears and Sandu is able to recover some of her memories. 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. Mephi, now as tall as my knee, pressed his body against my leg. "We do a very good," he said in a stage whisper. Sand’s short chapters, which are also in third person, are interspersed throughout the novel. They’re puzzling at first, but as you read more of the other viewpoints and learn more about the world, they become clearer.

Goodreads Summary:

Reasons to Read: Asian-inspired queer-normalizing world, clever magic system that works like coding, sci-fi post-humanism tropes told in a fantasy way, determined protagonists, adorable animal companion