Reviews with content warning for Colonisation - The Unbroken

Initially, I wasn't sold on this series. I only really started to care about the story after 100 pages. Overall, it's a great novel with plenty of twist and turns to keep you interested, but the hiccups left me with a lot of questions.

The introduction is rough, and as an avid fantasy fan I didn't feel like the magic system was explored/discussed/explained very well. Like, what exactly are these powers, and how does one simply "gain them" via faith? How strong does one's faith have to be? Is there some kind of genetic/familial trait involved?

Luca and Torain's relationship felt forced towards the climax of the story, and I just felt like there wasn't much for me to really grab onto. Why are Luca and Torain so drawn to each other? If anything, they don't appear to like each at all. I'm not sure if this was an attempt at creating a enemies-to-lovers dynamic, but unfortunately it didn't stick the landing.

I'm going to give this book 4.25 out of 5 ⭐. A rocky start, but I was in tears by the end. Looking forward to the next novel! Hopefully it answers some of my questions 😅.

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mv_7777's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.0

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melliedm's review against another edition

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dark tense slow-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

4.0

Overall a fantastic read, and I’m looking forward to reading the sequel. There were times that the pacing felt strange, and some of the action sequences were confusing to read. I am also not entirely sold on the romance subplot, but I’m open to seeing how it shapes up by the series’ end.

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julesadventurezone's review against another edition

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challenging reflective 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

4.0

The first 200 pages were very slow and the characters could've been more vibrant, but I did like the later half and also Touraine's arc.
Also I the entire time I was reading kept thinking about how this and the Locked Tomb Series has a lot of similarities but that was a lot more compelling to me than this.

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salemander's review against another edition

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4.0

this was a very interesting and pretty poignant fantasy, but it felt lacking in some places. the characters motivations got kind of confusing at times, leaving you wondering how many fucking lessons they had to learn before the understanding their actions were harmful would actually sink in. and while i do appreciate how complex the main characters were it felt redundant at times and the romance between them was not very believable. i still think this book was a great read but i don’t think it lives up to its full potential. i would be very interested to see how these characters develop in the continuing books, but i am rooting for the downfall of their romance lol

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dkranenburg99's review against another edition

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challenging 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

4.0

This barely edges out 4 stars for me on the plot and characters. The prose is nice but there were some patterns in the writing that consistently bothered me despite it getting better throughout the book. What I really enjoyed about this novel is the way it deals with its themes of imperialism and colonization. Touraine's loyalty problem had me tense and frustrated but I couldn't help but feel where she was coming from. Luca had some interesting things going on as well, confronting her own complicity in the horrible things her family and empire has done and weighed against her conscience and weighed against her ambitions. It will be interesting to see how both of their mixed loyalties will evolve in the next entry. Overall this book felt very unique to me. And don't get it twisted, this is not the sapphic romance people like to bill it as. It's much more complicated than that.

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angiepoggi's review against another edition

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adventurous dark reflective slow-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

3.5

I didn't hate or love this book. I liked the world building being an analogy to France colonizing North Africa. Thus, it touches on themes such as racism, xenophobia and religious prejudice, but in a fantasy world with magic and many queers.

However, I didn't like the pace. It was slow (which I don't have a problem with) but boring. It took a long time for things to happen and there's a lot of time spent just talking, for example, until halfway through the book, about 245 pages, we were still building the narrative. Not to mention that, when some type of action could've happen, being running around or the characters discovering a secret on their own, a character immediately tells them everything and resolves the possible conflict quickly. Also, after halfway through the book, the pacing becomes very inconsistent, with the ending, the very end, very rushed, but that part didn't bother me as much.

Now, I didn't like one of the main characters, Touraine. She makes some decisions that made me so ANGRY AAA and they didn't make any sense, I mean, in theory they could've made for her, but the author didn't build much of a foundation for it. For example, in relation to the development of this character, I know the points the author wanted to reach in Touraine's journey, but there were none to few scenes to justify the key changes in her head.

Even with all these reservations, I'm still curious to read the second one. I heard that it's a different vibe and that the pacing is better balanced.

Anyway, I recommend this book if you want to read a fantasy that talks about colonialism with a lot of queers. There are a lot of people who love it, including a friend who wanted me to read it, so I think it's worth giving it a chance.

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