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rorikae's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Touraine is a soldier sent to quell a rebellion in the homeland that she was stolen from. After arriving, she realizes that there is more going on in the country than she suspected and that there are still some personal connections that exist for her. She also meets Luca, the princess who is secretly trying to steal the throne from her uncle. As the two women connect, they begin to learn more about how they can create peace in this country but it may require them to come close to committing treason.
Clark creates a fascinating story rooted in complex characters that it is easy to care for. This world is filled with political intrigue and a cast of fascinating and sometimes despicable characters. Touraine and Luca are both easy to care for and easy to curse at in the same breath. They feel like living people with all of their flaws painfully obvious. The story took a number of twists and turns and Clark keeps the reader guessing about what will happen next. I'm fascinated to see where the story goes in the second installment.
Graphic: Colonisation, Confinement, Violence, War, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Gore, Racism, Torture, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Grief
Moderate: Sexual assault and Rape
Minor: Sexual content
leanne_miron's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Violence
Moderate: Grief, Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Ableism
Minor: Sexual assault
laurajeangrace's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Colonisation, War, Vomit, Violence, Racism, Xenophobia, Death, and Confinement
Moderate: Medical content, Sexual assault, and Rape
alittleoverrated's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
But I am better at complaining than telling you its good.
I will give the book a slight pass on my first problem, which was what felt like a clumsily fast pacing because I listened to the book on 1.25x speed like three days straight while getting distracted at work, so sub optimal listening conditions. But still, I felt like I was being jerked around to the next thing pretty quickly with very little breathing room to get used to the characters in their current state and understand what they were feeling before they changed their mind an moved on to the next new thought. WHICH THEY DID A LOT, like i love these character but they could not stick to their convictions on anything. Touraine is boasted as a loyal to a fault solider, who betrays a different set of people like every five chapters. I get the character growth she was going through, I get the conflict of WHY, what I don't get is the doubling back multiple times. I was just a little tired of the constant back and forth by the end.
Also, Like I heard someone else mention in a review, the romance was not given enough time to slowburn at ALL before they were suppose to enemies again. There wasn't a strong enough foundation for the story they were trying to sell.
Anyways, just got the 2nd book in from the library and I'm going to devour it because why? say it with me folks. I really like this series anyways.
(Also, overused word of the book is bowels, which is just frankly the worst.)
Graphic: Blood, Death, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, Excrement, Gore, Murder, and War
bisexualwentworth's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The Unbroken is a military fantasy set in a fantasy version of North Africa (the former Shālan Empire) that has been colonized by fantasy France (Balladaire). It follows two point-of-view characters: Touraine, a Qazāli-born conscript of the imperial army, and Luca, the crown princess of Balladaire, and their complicated relationship with each other, both as individuals and as stand-ins and representatives for their nations and cultures.
I haven't read another fantasy novel that explores internalized oppression, empire, and white saviorism in quite the gorgeous and intertwined way that C. L. Clark does in The Unbroken.
When we first meet Luca, she is a princess and a scholar, passionate about doing right by her people—so that she can take the throne that is rightfully hers from her uncle the Duke Regent. As a scholar, she has theoretical knowledge of the horrors of empire. She expresses interest in and respect for Shālan culture in a way that no other Balladairan-born character does. These aspects of Luca endear her to the reader—and draw Touraine to her as the two women grow closer. And then she loses herself to the same colonizing impulses that she thought herself better than earlier in the novel.
When we first meet Touraine, all she cares about is the wellbeing of her fellow conscripts. They are her family, and she will do whatever necessary—even on behalf of the empire that took everything from them—to protect that family and do what she thinks is best for them. Unlike Luca, Touraine is fully grounded in the realities of her situation—and then her world shifts and expands. She makes mistakes. She fucks things up. And she is complex and heartbreaking and BRILLIANT. Touraine's growth over the course of this book stunned me. It made me feel so many things so deeply. Her entire mindset changes, gradually and painfully, over the course of the novel, without changing what makes up her essential self.
The worldbuilding is delicious. C. L. Clark obviously draws all of the aesthetics and language of both Qazāl and Balladaire from the real world, but she also incorporates trade, religion, political theory, and even disease in ways that make the world feel unique and fresh and lived in.
I don't want to talk about the plot too much because I think that readers should discover its twists on their own, but I cannot wait to discuss their book at greater length with more spoilers at some point.
My one real critique of this book is that I didn't feel like I understood the magic well enough for the heavy lifting it does in the climax and resolution of the book to be totally satisfying.
Additionally, if you are looking for romance, this is the wrong book for you. To be clear, it is VERY sapphic. And if you enjoy hot women with swords, you are absolutely going to eat this shit up. But I would not call the extremely fraught entanglement between the two main characters romantic. It is far more complicated than that, and I feel like boiling down Touraine and Luca's dynamic to the sexual or romantic desire of it would be an insult both to Touraine's character and to the overall goals of the novel. There is not a romance between the leads in this book, nor should there be.
There IS a sapphic side couple in this book that will likely break your heart, though.
Oh, and HOLY MOMMY ISSUES OH MY GOD.
Favorite quotes:
- "Maybe she had been a dog all this time, but she was ready to fight back."
- "It was easy to be a villain when she felt like on inside."
- "A smattering of applause. Less than she'd hoped for, more than she had any right to expect."
It likely goes without saying that this book handles its diversity brilliantly. The world is queernormative and seemingly lacking in any sort of gender roles, but it has all of the other violences and bigotries and evils of our own world. Luca is physically disabled, and the book handles her disability beautifully.
C. L. Clark is the sort of writer I want to be. I can't wait to read The Faithless.
Graphic: Gun violence, Death, Violence, Colonisation, War, Slavery, Murder, Racism, Blood, Gore, and Torture
Moderate: Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Rape, Grief, and Terminal illness
This is a very heavy book overall. One of the very first scenes is a hanging. Be prepared for that sort of thing throughout, and if that sounds like too much, it is likely not the book for you.solenekeleroux's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: War, Colonisation, Confinement, Blood, Murder, Slavery, Kidnapping, Racism, Violence, Death, and Gun violence
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Ableism, and Torture
vivavia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Medical trauma, Murder, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Blood, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Bullying, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, Violence, Classism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Confinement, and Slavery
ashatroyal's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Graphic: War, Colonisation, Torture, Gun violence, Murder, Violence, Racial slurs, Racism, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Sexual harassment
alexalily's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Classism, Medical content, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Violence, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Gore, Police brutality, Slavery, and War
Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Chronic illness, Physical abuse, Torture, and Alcohol
Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Excrement, Self harm, Vomit, Cursing, and Child abuse
thedanicaperson's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Gore, Colonisation, Slavery, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racism, Cursing, Sexual content, and Grief
Minor: Sexual assault and Death of parent