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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i'm not really sure what i expected out of this book. what i got, though, was interesting. i do feel like it needed a bit more polishing. there were some parts that felt too wordily written? there was also a lot of back and forth between similar plot points that felt a bit tiring at times.
criticisms aside, i did enjoy seeing Tourraine come into her own. Luca, too, was an interesting character to follow. i especially liked the side characters. although it was a little rough around the edges, i'm definitely interested in seeing if the second book expands more on the magic system and also the people in the Cursed City. there's a lot of potential here and, although this book was just okay to me, i'm eager to see what C.L. Clark has in store next.
Spoiler
i think the biggest issue was that both Tourraine and Luca seemed to go back and forth on whether they wanted to be enemies or more. i believe this could have been handled a bit differently because, as it is now, it felt a bit too repetitive.criticisms aside, i did enjoy seeing Tourraine come into her own. Luca, too, was an interesting character to follow. i especially liked the side characters. although it was a little rough around the edges, i'm definitely interested in seeing if the second book expands more on the magic system and also the people in the Cursed City. there's a lot of potential here and, although this book was just okay to me, i'm eager to see what C.L. Clark has in store next.
adventurous
dark
sad
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
I was a bit nervous about this book, I don’t read a lot of “adult” fiction as I still enjoy young adult and new adult literature despite my age. However, my concerns quickly proved to be unwarranted. This book was amazing! Like, the kind of amazing that makes it impossible to fully describe without spoiling everything. I love all the representation they managed to put in the book without anything feeling forced; multiple LGBT characters, disable characters, and strong POC females! It was refreshing.
My favorite characters were Touraine and her mother, Jaghotai. Both are such strong, bad-ass women who have been through hell. Touraine was kidnapped as a small child by the Balladairan Empire and raised to be a mindless, obedient soldier. Jaghotai mourned the loss of her child with no body to bury, only to have that child come back nearly 20 years later and hang her brother for being a rebel. Touraine’s life was not easy in Balladaire; she was punished harshly as she was growing up, often for other people's infractions, and rewarded for good behavior, as though the military was training dogs – not children. Her goal for her future was to become a captain, the captain of the Sands. She believed that by doing so, she could protect them and better their lives. And perhaps it would have worked out for her, had it not been for her run in with the rebels. Everything changes rapidly and what follows is possibly one of the best examples of human resilience and personal discovery I have ever read.
If you are looking to read this novel because it is labeled as a “sapphic romance”, do not go into it expecting that. There is pining and the characters do seem to love each other (or at least the idea of each other), but romance is far from a focal point. The romance doesn’t even go anywhere in the long run. It’s much more action focused, taking the rebellion to the next level. The fighting scenes were well written, even if the descriptions for scents tended to be... disgusting.
The book seems to be influenced by the French occupation and colonization of North Africa there is no lack of realistic tension. The influence also helps as a segway into why everyone in the audio book is French; a fact that thoroughly confused my brain, but the narrator was fantastic. I am also rather pleased with how the book ended. No revolution is ever going to be bloodless, and I hate that we lost some truly wonderful characters, but it made it more impactful that way. I look forward to picking up the second book and continuing the series.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I wanted to love this so much but I just couldn't warm up to it.
I am primarily a fantasy reader. It’s my favorite genre. So many of the stories deal with issues of injustice and revenge and oppression but so often these stories don’t actually engage with the very real violence that very real empires are enacting right now in our very real world. Many of them make characters out of queens who make “hard choices” that are part of the ruler’s character arc. As cool as badass women as royals with magic racing through their veins can be, often this feels hollow.
.
The Unbroken is another fantasy book about empire, yes, but this one is different. It is a book that forces you to actually face the fact that empires, and monarchy and militaries and colonial rule, are inherently violent systems that cannot be compromised with. That rebellions against colonial rule are not examples of violence on “both sides” but are rather the only reasonable reaction to oppression. The plot felt messy at times and I found myself frustrated with the character’s decisions or inactions or second-guessing, but all of this felt like a deeply human reality of the utter shit of colonial encounter and violence. Of course it’s messy. Of course there are no good choices.
.
I may write more later because there is so much to say. But I'm tired and sad and this book left me exhausted. I also recommend it very highly.
.
The Unbroken is another fantasy book about empire, yes, but this one is different. It is a book that forces you to actually face the fact that empires, and monarchy and militaries and colonial rule, are inherently violent systems that cannot be compromised with. That rebellions against colonial rule are not examples of violence on “both sides” but are rather the only reasonable reaction to oppression. The plot felt messy at times and I found myself frustrated with the character’s decisions or inactions or second-guessing, but all of this felt like a deeply human reality of the utter shit of colonial encounter and violence. Of course it’s messy. Of course there are no good choices.
.
I may write more later because there is so much to say. But I'm tired and sad and this book left me exhausted. I also recommend it very highly.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes