Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Unbroken

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Unbroken by C.L. Clark

126 reviews

anazap's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

I really enjoyed the character growth and the complexity of the relationships. The commentary around colonization and racism was also really well done.

I found the first half at least to be pretty slow, though it did set things up well for the action later on. The last 1/3 or so was excellent, and I couldn’t put it down.

Content Warnings

persephonefoxx's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.75

She was as free now as she ever would be. She could choose what she fought for. She could choose who she was willing to die for

This book has me conflicted - while it tells a story that is both confronting and important, there are elements that fell flat for me.

This does an amazing job depicting the horrors of war and revolution, and the desperation of people fighting for their lands, their right to be treated as people, their freedom. It is confronting. It is raw. It is very real in its depiction.

My struggle in this book stems more from the characters. I love a flawed character, it is what makes them real. However, the plot of this book ruminated on the constant backsliding and poor decisions made my Touraine and Luca. And while I believe Touraine completed a character arch, growing and changing (albeit it with constant side switching). Luca almost started and finished in the same place, just with a plethora of poor choices in the middle.

Lastly, there are intricacies when depicting a coloniser/colonised relationship that I do not believe were hit. I am interested to see how the relationship and romance is handled and develops over the rest of the series.

TL:DR - What this book has to say is very important. And Clark doesn’t sugar coat the horrors of colonisation and war. However, some marks outside of action and conflicts were missed. I am tentatively going to pick up the next book, and am curious to see if these marks are hit in the sequel.

Content Warnings

eithne26's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark slow-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

4.0

Content Warnings

lady_valhella's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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? No

5.0

Content Warnings

sophiesmallhands's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

gigi_jodie's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

F meeee. This was so intense. I felt for Touraine throughout this book. She made so so many mistakes because of the internal battles of where her loyalties lay. Poor poor Touraine to figure out your idol had been your captor all this time.

"Each path seemed like a different kind of powerlessness, but Touraine didn't know where else she could turn."

I honestly can't explain how well Clark wrote about colonialism and displacement, identity and politics in a divided land.

"Touraine was starting to think it was impossible to come from one land and learn to live in another and feel whole. That you would aways stand on shaky, hole-ridden ground, half of your identity dug out of you and tossed away."

It was so important to have both Touraine's and Luca's perspectives. Because as much as Luca is a power hungry monarch, she does genuinely care deep down, even though her actions might not always reflect that.

"'You will never have nothing. Not like we have nothing. Not like
the Sands have nothing. not like the Qazali have nothing- Not like a
carpenter's daughter in Nowhere, Balladaire, has nothing.' You will
never have to sell yourself to live."

"The sharp edge of Luca's voice rested against Touraine's throat. "I'm
letting you walk out of here on one condition. Get the rebels in line,
I don't want any more bloodshed than you do. The sooner they stop
fighting, the sooner I call of my hounds."
"You deserve this fight."
"The civilians, too? The children?"
"You teach the children to spit on us! Crawl out of your books, and
open your fucking eyes, Luca. This is real. We are real."

Sidenote, it was pretty damn cool to have a disabled princess, showing her reality and struggles without making it a weakness.

And that's all not even to mention all the other INCREDIBLE characters. The way they were discribed, the way they talked and moved I imagined them a certain way for it to only be later that their actual physical attributes were talked about and they were exactly as I imagined.
TIBEAU has my heart, he deserved so much better.
Often stories spare not much room outside of the main characters, but even with only 2 POV's the other characters were so outspoken and alive on the pages.

Anyhow. Read it.

Content Warnings