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velarin'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
4.25
It’s dark, it’s grim, it’s frustrating. Characters make mistakes and the consequences are catastrophic.
I adored it.
Graphic: Death, Violence, Colonisation, and Murder
Moderate: Ableism and Torture
Minor: Sexual violence
strabckr's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Blood, Death, Murder, Gun violence, Colonisation, Violence, Trafficking, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Animal death, Xenophobia, War, Torture, Slavery, Racism, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Cursing
Minor: Sexual assault
daniellestarredpages's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Excrement, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Slavery, Violence, Vomit, and War
Moderate: Death of parent and Torture
foreverinastory's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Violence, and War
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Medical content, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Slavery
Minor: Child abuse and Child death
paigemandia'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? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Rape, Gun violence, Violence, Sexual harassment, Religious bigotry, Murder, Medical trauma, Medical content, Grief, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Death, Colonisation, Blood, Animal death, and Alcohol
izzybell's review against another edition
- 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: Murder, Violence, Blood, Colonisation, Death, Genocide, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Torture, and Xenophobia
abbie_'s review against another edition
.
It’s been praised time and time again for its representation, and I can only second that praise. Very often fantasy will be like ‘Here are lots of queer people 😀 But they’re still oppressed for being queer☹️’, but in The Unbroken a whole spectrum of queer folk are just living. I mean yes the characters are oppressed for a myriad of other reasons (race, religion, disability), but their queerness is never questioned or used against them. There are a lot of great relationships in this book, which is a good thing since I never actually warmed up to the main romance pairing. But Clark makes up for it with plenty of other complex relationships, friendships, parental bonds etc.!
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I definitely preferred Touraine’s sections to Luca’s, but Luca’s were still interesting in their own right. I’m more interested in the magical side of fantasy than the political side (although that was my bad going in knowing it was a military political fantasy lol - I did still really enjoy it okay!!), so it makes sense I’d prefer Touraine who has more contact with the magical side of the story. I also loved how Clark slowly showed Touraine’s journey from being basically brainwashed by the empire to decolonising her mind and actions.
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I’ll definitely read book two and I hope we see more of the Many-Legged in that one!
Graphic: Blood, Colonisation, Death, Murder, and Violence
candidceillie's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Xenophobia, Vomit, Violence, Torture, Terminal illness, Slavery, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Racism, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Murder, Medical trauma, Medical content, Kidnapping, Genocide, and Forced institutionalization
oreo's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Gore
booksthatburn'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
5.0
The tension between Luca and Touraine is very well handled, as throughout the story their dynamic as a pair constantly shifts, but they're never quite on the same page about the nature of their relationship. It showed over and over how no matter how attracted they might be to each other, the gulf of power between Luca's position and Touraine's means that it's impossible to trust any "Yes" from Touraine when Luca can have her tortured or killed for a "No". This affects everything from their mutual attraction to the treatment of the Sands to the handling of the rebels.
I love the portrayal of the Qazāli rebels, I can't discuss much there without spoilers but they were dynamic as a group and as individuals, each with their own reactions to Touraine and Luca's various intrusions on their lives, as well as the reality of life under Balladaire's oppressive colonial rule.
I'm looking forward to the sequel, I'm a little worried that it'll only get worse for the characters from here but I want to know what happens next.
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Medical content, Murder, Torture, Violence, and Colonisation
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Grief, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Slavery, and Terminal illness
Minor: Child death, Rape, and Suicide
CW for major character death (graphic).