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becca303's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Medical trauma, Confinement, Colonisation, Religious bigotry, Medical content, Grief, Gore, Emotional abuse, Torture, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death, War, Xenophobia, and Violence
cameronreads's review against another edition
4.0
I’m really liking this series so far. I understand why some people may not like it; I feel like people might find this book in particular quite boring, as it’s mostly political, but I really enjoyed it. I really love exploring these complex characters and the moral questions that come into play, especially when it comes to a retribution arc. I think the relationship between our two main characters is so intriguing, and I love how slow it burns. I like the discussions it brings up about colonialism and racism, and I think the representation in all areas, especially the Black, sapphic and disability rep, is great. I would have liked it if Pruett and Fili’s points of view were developed a bit more, as I often forget they existed and was surprised when they came up again, and therefore wasn’t very invested in them as characters or their little sections of plot. This did feel a little like a filler book, with a degree of second book syndrome, but I still really enjoyed it and can’t wait for the final instalment I’m the trilogy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Murder, Child death, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Alcohol, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Blood, Colonisation, and Gore
Moderate: Gun violence, Vomit, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, and Ableism
Minor: Death of parent, Racial slurs, and War
anxiousnachos's review
adventurous
dark
5.0
I bow down to C.L Clark for breaking my reading slump and causing me to read 350 pages in one day.
This had all of the in-depth political machinations, interrogation of colonisation and brilliant character relationships that made me adore the first book in this series. Dark, brutal, angry - this book is one of rage against the colonial powers who will do everything to keep control. It is about discovering that freedom doesn’t mean a lack of duty.
Content warnings: graphic depictions of colonisation, imperialism, racism, graphic depictions of injuries, torture, blood, sexual content, gun violence, violence, kidnapping, panic attacks/ptsd, child death, vomit, cannibalism, war
This had all of the in-depth political machinations, interrogation of colonisation and brilliant character relationships that made me adore the first book in this series. Dark, brutal, angry - this book is one of rage against the colonial powers who will do everything to keep control. It is about discovering that freedom doesn’t mean a lack of duty.
Content warnings: graphic depictions of colonisation, imperialism, racism, graphic depictions of injuries, torture, blood, sexual content, gun violence, violence, kidnapping, panic attacks/ptsd, child death, vomit, cannibalism, war
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Torture, Violence, War, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Cannibalism, Child death, Vomit, and Sexual content
plume_de_renarde's review
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexual content, and Death
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
eegekay's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Violence, Alcohol, Blood, Colonisation, War, Medical content, Gun violence, Ableism, Death, Physical abuse, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racism, and Classism
Moderate: Cannibalism and Drug use
hailstorm3812's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
fast-paced
- 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
4.0
This is the most toxic relationship and I can't get enough of it. I need more lesiban psycho sexual mind games while grabbling with the effects of colonialism. I never quite tell where these books are going but I am holding on for the ride.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Colonisation, and Xenophobia
purrson's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- 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
I received this as an giveaway (ebook) ARC, and took my time with it. I enjoyed this installment in the Magic of the Lost series better than the first, but that’s not a dismissal of how good the first book is. They both are incredibly difficult to put down, and deliciously queer.
While The Unbroken (which is told through either Luca or Touraine’s eyes) is heavy with the work of laying down foundations and building rich, complex characters trying to survive constant complex trauma—and adds beautiful world-building, magic, and cultures that feel familiar but are different enough to be fantastical—it never flinches from the depth and breadth of colonialism and all the harm it brings. The Faithless builds well on that base, so when our main characters are far from home we still feel the pressures of those strong personalities and the vibrant homeland counting on their success. That’s helped along by shifting the perspective throughout the book more frequently than The Unbroken; while we’re still mainly given the story through Luca or Touraine’s perspectives, at times The Faithless gives Aranen, Pruett, or even Fili the lead, and we’re privy to their thoughts and feelings. Those shifts help The Faithless’ plot feel as if it moves faster, as it introduces more moving parts without sacrificing any depth or detail. The machinations our protagonists work to uncover and survive are constantly spinning, even on the last page, which just builds my excitement for Book 3. The villains are both straightforwardly evil but are also unreliable narrators throughout; they present different faces to different characters, but there’s also a sense that things are going on behind their closed doors even we have yet to see. Some things they’ve hidden are revealed by the end, but some threads aren’t connected, some mysteries left unsolved for now.Fili’s experiences with the Fingers, for example, provoke questions of their backing—who’s giving them orders? How do they know where to attack Luca’s carriage on its return from Champs d’Or? Why is Luca’s abdication not enough for them, that they must assassinate her too? Between her quest for the lost religion and the stability she brings to Qazāl’s independence—not colonization, motives abound. When Fili’s master brings them hot chocolate after our MCs only experience it with Ghislaine Bel-Jadot—which she says Evrard De Travers gave it to her—it’s a clue one of them is involved. Which of them are the key to the Fingers, and are they working on orders from the Duke? I felt sorry for Fili, who’s drenched in naïveté and such an easy mark given her mother’s former career. As eager as she is to prove herself, she’s clearly taken advantage of, and has no idea the Princess she hates would protect her gift with their god, or that she is key to protecting the Qazāl. Just as her master’s assurances of allying with Qazāli ‘later’ ring false to the reader, we don’t know how assuaged she is by them. She brings another point: the religion. While Bel-Jadot’s explanations make sense, the murder of children seems at great odds with Fili’s experiences and even Touraine’s use of blood in healing Luca. Jadot’s claims seem more in line with the darker use of magic, using death to get your aims met, instead of just blood. There must be enough blood involved with using scythes in the harvest (just as Pruett is nipped by the vulture), that such measures aren’t truly necessary—we never catch wind of the Many Legged regularly feeding children to their animals, for instance. And for as much as the Duke has ensured the Balladaire god won’t be fed, the connection of the grain and the Withering says otherwise.
This series is truly shines at representing the constant onslaught of colonialism and violent white supremacy and the bottomless hunger and violence of its adherents. We see how this structure harms everyone, even the colonizers themselves aren’t without their losses, and their working class in Balladaire is struggling and ripe for rebellion or political exploitation, or both. But the plot doesn’t lose itself in pity for the those at the top or even the middle of the heap, and focus is kept on the Qazāli; we’re led to understand a bit more of Touraine’s broken & bruised soul and her trauma, and what’s at stake for their future. All of the characters are complex—even the villains, with all the cruelty and dehumanization they show certain characters, have some depths beyond their evil.
Abuse—emotional, psychological, physical; systemic and familial—its all handled well in this series too. As Luca & Touraine come closer to unpacking their childhood experiences and finding themselves in their present, their growth makes me more excited about Book 3. The slow burn romance worked well too I was relieved we finally got some spicy scenes 🔥
Absolutely recommend ⭐️
While The Unbroken (which is told through either Luca or Touraine’s eyes) is heavy with the work of laying down foundations and building rich, complex characters trying to survive constant complex trauma—and adds beautiful world-building, magic, and cultures that feel familiar but are different enough to be fantastical—it never flinches from the depth and breadth of colonialism and all the harm it brings. The Faithless builds well on that base, so when our main characters are far from home we still feel the pressures of those strong personalities and the vibrant homeland counting on their success. That’s helped along by shifting the perspective throughout the book more frequently than The Unbroken; while we’re still mainly given the story through Luca or Touraine’s perspectives, at times The Faithless gives Aranen, Pruett, or even Fili the lead, and we’re privy to their thoughts and feelings. Those shifts help The Faithless’ plot feel as if it moves faster, as it introduces more moving parts without sacrificing any depth or detail. The machinations our protagonists work to uncover and survive are constantly spinning, even on the last page, which just builds my excitement for Book 3. The villains are both straightforwardly evil but are also unreliable narrators throughout; they present different faces to different characters, but there’s also a sense that things are going on behind their closed doors even we have yet to see. Some things they’ve hidden are revealed by the end, but some threads aren’t connected, some mysteries left unsolved for now.
This series is truly shines at representing the constant onslaught of colonialism and violent white supremacy and the bottomless hunger and violence of its adherents. We see how this structure harms everyone, even the colonizers themselves aren’t without their losses, and their working class in Balladaire is struggling and ripe for rebellion or political exploitation, or both. But the plot doesn’t lose itself in pity for the those at the top or even the middle of the heap, and focus is kept on the Qazāli; we’re led to understand a bit more of Touraine’s broken & bruised soul and her trauma, and what’s at stake for their future. All of the characters are complex—even the villains, with all the cruelty and dehumanization they show certain characters, have some depths beyond their evil.
Abuse—emotional, psychological, physical; systemic and familial—its all handled well in this series too. As Luca & Touraine come closer to unpacking their childhood experiences and finding themselves in their present, their growth makes me more excited about Book 3. The slow burn romance worked well too
Absolutely recommend ⭐️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Racism, Classism, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Child abuse, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Death, Violence, Blood, Gaslighting, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Child death
Queernormative worldbuilding, Queer romance, references to Polyamory, WLW romance
More...