Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - The Unbroken

Excellent queer fantasy book, delving into a discussion of race and colonial relations through a fictional and action packed lense. The storybuuldig wasn't too complex and easy to visualise in a Mediterranean/North African/French sort of setting. I can't wait for the next book, it's amazing to read about characters like me in my favourite genre!

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strabckr's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I’m not really sure how to feel about this book. Technically, it was very high quality, i just didn’t enjoy it as much on a personal level.

The writing was descriptive & visually engaging, the world-building was clean, the characters were solid & grounded, the plot itself was not only entertaining but held a level of believability, objectively speaking, this was a very good book, I’m just not sure that I connected with it on an emotional level.

I, myself, am a high Fantasy junkie, so I thought this book would be perfect for me. I went into it slightly blind so I was really taken along for a ride, and yet, it didn’t grip me. I wasn’t emotionally invested, and even though I liked the cast of characters, I had no connection to them (even though they had a lot of relatability). I am also someone who favors fantasy because of its magical element, and since that wasn’t a prominent factor of the book (in terms of its “fantastical-ness? I don’t know) I guess that didn’t really excite me either. It was also kind of depressing but then again, is more of a personal preference than a criticism.

I think the bottom line here is that this story just wasn’t for me, and that’s okay! not every novel is going to be made for me because there are a bajillion people on the planet, and I’m still able to recognize this story’s objective merit while also validating my subjective thoughts & feelings.
with that being said, I’m probably still going to pick up the second book, as I’m still curious to see what the story will hold as the world itself is highly intriguing & the potential is there.

P.S if you’re going into this thinking it’s going to be a sapphic romance at its core, be warned! the romance is a sub-sub-sub plot, like seriously.

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daniellestarredpages's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Review to come

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queerspoons's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Easily 4.5 stars. This was one of the few books this year that held me by the throat — the world building was exquisite, and the diversity in the characters was beautifully done. My only complaint? The love interests did not have believable chemistry for me, but there’s always book two. 🤷🏻‍♀️

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foreverinastory's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is a sprawling slow paced military fantasy. The Unbroken explores the facets of colonisation/imperialism and all of the consequences in gritty details. The story starts off slow and stays that way for a while, but if you can invest the time in it, it's well worth it.

Touraine was stolen as a child and raised in the Balladairan empire. The only loyalty she has is to her fellow Sands, the other stolen Qazali child soldiers. Now that Touraine has been sent back to her homeland she has reckon with the ties she thought were gone and what rebellion means. Princess Luca needs to get her uncle off the throne. If she can stop the rebellion in Qazal, it will prove she's ready to ascend the throne. But negotiating peace comes at a higher price than she expects.

I am really glad I took my time with this book. I loved getting to know Touraine, the Sands, the Qazali and the whole world. It was immersive and I constantly wanted to know more about this world and the magic. Touraine makes a lot of mistakes and difficult decisions throughout this book. It was quite messy, but seeing the way her loyalties kept her torn between the Balladairan Empire and the Qazali felt realistic and truly illustrates how insidious colonisation is.

I wouldn't really categorize this as a romance, though there are some romantic relationships in this. I don't really know how to feel about the possibility of Luca and Touraine, especially after the end. There is definitely a power imbalance here and while Luca is a nice person, there's lived experiences she'll never understand. Plus throughout this we see Touraine constantly have to sacrifice those close to her, but Luca is constantly insulated from this choice. I guess the jury is still out on this ship for me, but I'm very invested in these characters future journeys, especially Touraine.

Rep: Sapphic BIPOC female solider MC, sapphic disabled female MC who uses a cane periodically, BIPOC supporting cast, wlw side characters, nonbinary side character, queer normative world.

CWs: Animal death, blood, colonisation/imperialism, confinement to prison cell, cursing, death, genocide, grief, gun violence, injury/injury detail, murder, racial slurs, racism, torture, violence, war. Moderate: fire, kidnapping, medical content, attempted/threatened rape, sexual harassment, slavery (forced enlistment of conquered people). Past mentions of child abuse/death by the military.

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madamepincers's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny reflective 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

4.75

Incredible world building and magic system and I can't wait to read more. Only drawback for me was characters who consistently make Very Bad Choices and change their minds/seem to adhere to different moral codes at different times, but given the context, I think their confusion and issues with determining their own priorities was believable. But it happens to be a major pet peeve of mine so 👀

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paigemandia's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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? It's complicated

3.0

Idk this one just didn’t really do it for me. I loved most of the characters, except the protagonist touraine just annoyed the hell out of me. None of her decisions were thought out and she just made mistake after mistake. We love a flawed character but she was just not doing it for me. I did love how this novel approached colonialism and institutionalism—that was definitely the strong point of this novel. A lot of it just felt rushed and the characters weren’t built up enough for a lot of the deaths to effect me. It was entertaining enough and the magic system is interesting, so I am looking forward to seeing if the next books in the trilogy are better. But happy to have read 1/3 of the sapphic golden trio. gotta get the jasmine throne next 🙏🏻🙏🏻

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oreo's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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