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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
challenging
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Love a disaster MC who makes the completely wrong choice at every turn. I thought Luca was annoying and if I were Touraine I don't think I could have forgiven her after the whole Amy thing. I loved how Touraine always went back to the Sands, those ties made the whole thing believable.
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-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
“They have no right to determine how the rest of us live.”
Now this was probably one of the most unique reading experiences ive had. The Unbroken is a story about colonialism and freedom. I’ll start off by saying the story itself is written in the perspective of a colonizer princess and a lieutenant from the colonized land who as a child was taken and brainwashed by the colonizers.
“How long do they have to be patient on their own soil?”
To be completely honest, i was so drained, in the first 60% of the book, and not in a good way. I kept face palming and wanting to claw my eyes out after reading every line, because the perspective was completely from that of the colonizers and i kept screaming, Touraine (the mc) “OPEN YOUR EYES, DONT BE SO DUMB.” “WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU”. And the princess Luca? Yeah i hated that bitch with every ounce of my being. And thats when i realized I’m meant to hate these perspectives. This is exactly what the author had intended to do.
Touraine, was a victim. She was brainwashed and trained and BEATEN DOWN into thinking the people of Qazãl, her original birthplace, were uncivilized, that they were wrong and the Balladairans (the colonizers) were right. And yes she has her own thoughts, yes she sees that this may not be right, but i forgot that Touraine was doing nothing but surviving. A single misstep, a single wavering of loyalties and she’d lose her life and this paired up with the brainwashing, can i really blame her?.
Then there is Luca. I hated her pov, her thought process. Because that is EXACTLY how colonizers think. That is exactly how they talk and treat the rest of us. They bring up reasons, they call it logic and yeah no, none of it justifies your fucking actions? You have a fucking choice and you continue to choose that way. That is on you. And from the way its written i think that was the exact reason this perspective was included. To show how disgusting and self centered actual colonizer mindsets are, that there is no reasoning with them unless it benefits them and the author showcases this brilliantly. I still hate Luca’s character and at the same time appreciate what the author wanted to accomplish because it was done spectacularly.
“We pray for rain.”
In terms of character growth, the character arc of Touraine was done so so well, i have nothing but praise for the author. The book does such a good job breaking down the psychology of such a character and telling a story in such a realistic way, aaah just amazing. And this arc felt even more impactful because the necessary dislike and hate from me as a reader was built in the first half of the characters arc, so when growth happened, it shone dazzlingly. I’ll note that despite the work on the mcs, side characters could have been developed more!
Now the world building and magic. People need to understand world building does not translate to countries. Because we spend the entirety of the book in the same country and yet the history, different parts of that country, the culture, health conditions, all of this builds amazing world building. The magic system too, was explained really well AND NOT in an info dumpy way either, it was sprinkled throughout the book!
The plot, battle sequences, AND THE PLOT TWISTS AAAAAH. Chef’s kiss!
Now with things I didn’t particularly enjoy (even at the end). The romance. Its a colonizer x colonized romance so it in itself was uncomfortable to read about. I’m still collecting my thoughts on it, but what i can say is that it was not handled entirely badly, yet it wasn’t handled the best way either, it also why i’ve not given this book 5 stars. Within this romance by the end, the colonizer was not glorified. It wasn’t anything like ahh my love my colonizer my savior. No nothing like that, we can see that the author had truly tried to separate the romance from this perspective even at the end and for the most part, succeeded. I just think that this could’ve been emphasized better or id prefer to not have this romance at all. With the side “villain” it wasn’t a notable villain, so thats a bit ehh. And i do wish there had been more political aspects, and luca’s character arc to have been moved to some other direction.
“This must be what it’s like to stand at the edge of a cliff and decide to jump.”
All in all, this was an impactful and important book. The author is brave for tackling this issue in this particular way and honestly there were so so good moments (tears around the 82% mark) and just AAAh, it definitely deserves more recognition. Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for providing me with an eARC in exchange of an honest review.
Now this was probably one of the most unique reading experiences ive had. The Unbroken is a story about colonialism and freedom. I’ll start off by saying the story itself is written in the perspective of a colonizer princess and a lieutenant from the colonized land who as a child was taken and brainwashed by the colonizers.
“How long do they have to be patient on their own soil?”
To be completely honest, i was so drained, in the first 60% of the book, and not in a good way. I kept face palming and wanting to claw my eyes out after reading every line, because the perspective was completely from that of the colonizers and i kept screaming, Touraine (the mc) “OPEN YOUR EYES, DONT BE SO DUMB.” “WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU”. And the princess Luca? Yeah i hated that bitch with every ounce of my being. And thats when i realized I’m meant to hate these perspectives. This is exactly what the author had intended to do.
Touraine, was a victim. She was brainwashed and trained and BEATEN DOWN into thinking the people of Qazãl, her original birthplace, were uncivilized, that they were wrong and the Balladairans (the colonizers) were right. And yes she has her own thoughts, yes she sees that this may not be right, but i forgot that Touraine was doing nothing but surviving. A single misstep, a single wavering of loyalties and she’d lose her life and this paired up with the brainwashing, can i really blame her?.
Then there is Luca. I hated her pov, her thought process. Because that is EXACTLY how colonizers think. That is exactly how they talk and treat the rest of us. They bring up reasons, they call it logic and yeah no, none of it justifies your fucking actions? You have a fucking choice and you continue to choose that way. That is on you. And from the way its written i think that was the exact reason this perspective was included. To show how disgusting and self centered actual colonizer mindsets are, that there is no reasoning with them unless it benefits them and the author showcases this brilliantly. I still hate Luca’s character and at the same time appreciate what the author wanted to accomplish because it was done spectacularly.
“We pray for rain.”
In terms of character growth, the character arc of Touraine was done so so well, i have nothing but praise for the author. The book does such a good job breaking down the psychology of such a character and telling a story in such a realistic way, aaah just amazing. And this arc felt even more impactful because the necessary dislike and hate from me as a reader was built in the first half of the characters arc, so when growth happened, it shone dazzlingly. I’ll note that despite the work on the mcs, side characters could have been developed more!
Now the world building and magic. People need to understand world building does not translate to countries. Because we spend the entirety of the book in the same country and yet the history, different parts of that country, the culture, health conditions, all of this builds amazing world building. The magic system too, was explained really well AND NOT in an info dumpy way either, it was sprinkled throughout the book!
The plot, battle sequences, AND THE PLOT TWISTS AAAAAH. Chef’s kiss!
Now with things I didn’t particularly enjoy (even at the end). The romance. Its a colonizer x colonized romance so it in itself was uncomfortable to read about. I’m still collecting my thoughts on it, but what i can say is that it was not handled entirely badly, yet it wasn’t handled the best way either, it also why i’ve not given this book 5 stars. Within this romance by the end, the colonizer was not glorified. It wasn’t anything like ahh my love my colonizer my savior. No nothing like that, we can see that the author had truly tried to separate the romance from this perspective even at the end and for the most part, succeeded. I just think that this could’ve been emphasized better or id prefer to not have this romance at all. With the side “villain” it wasn’t a notable villain, so thats a bit ehh. And i do wish there had been more political aspects, and luca’s character arc to have been moved to some other direction.
“This must be what it’s like to stand at the edge of a cliff and decide to jump.”
All in all, this was an impactful and important book. The author is brave for tackling this issue in this particular way and honestly there were so so good moments (tears around the 82% mark) and just AAAh, it definitely deserves more recognition. Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for providing me with an eARC in exchange of an honest review.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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:
Yes
i need luca, touraine, and pruett in ways that are inappropriate to say on goodreads.
Edit: I cannot wait for the second book! Just inject it into my veins. Let me feast upon the words like like a lion does to its prey.
Now this is a novel... Wow what a novel‽
The book opens with Lieutenant Touraine, a soldier serving in The Empire's army, sailing back to the lands she was stolen from as a child now working for those who robbed her of the life she knew, her family, and her culture. Being raised in Empire's schools, learning their ways, and then being forced to serve in a battalion with other people for a government that sees them as less human. A little while into the book, we shift perspectives to that of Luca, a princess of the realm and someone in need of a trustworthy and loyal friend and defender.
The story that unfolds mostly takes place in the of El-Wast, the city of Touraine's birth, dealing with the politics of running a large empire, the politics of trying to unseat said empire, love, betrayal, harsh truths, and awkward alliances.
This book shines a harsh light on colonialism from many sides of the issue. On the side of the Empire, you have Luca trying to work within the system, truly working to make the lives of her people better. All her people. But she runs into roadblock after roadblock from the wealthy bureaucrats who want to keep the status quo because it makes them loads of money to the local population who would sooner see anyone of the empire either dead or sent packing for all the pain and anguish they have caused.
We see most of the effects of colonialism through the eyes of Touraine, a person whose physical appearance makes her look local, but her upbringing made her an outsider. She fits in neither in El-Wast nor in the Empire. A child of both worlds yet of neither. Every day she gets a taste of what life would be like if she had never been stolen, only to be held at arm's length, never to be fully trusted.
This book is not for everyone, at least if the Goodreads ratings are any indication, receiving a mix of high praise and also people saying the structure and pacing were a bit off. I fall into the camp of high praise. I can definitely see where the criticism comes from, the story is a bit unusual in a way, but that was what I loved about it. I found it very refreshing from many of the other fantasy novels I've read. When you've read as many books as I have, you start looking for stories that perhaps stray from a more "normal" storytelling technique.
I for one look forward to the sequel which hopefully will be released during the next calendar year.
Now this is a novel... Wow what a novel‽
The book opens with Lieutenant Touraine, a soldier serving in The Empire's army, sailing back to the lands she was stolen from as a child now working for those who robbed her of the life she knew, her family, and her culture. Being raised in Empire's schools, learning their ways, and then being forced to serve in a battalion with other people for a government that sees them as less human. A little while into the book, we shift perspectives to that of Luca, a princess of the realm and someone in need of a trustworthy and loyal friend and defender.
The story that unfolds mostly takes place in the of El-Wast, the city of Touraine's birth, dealing with the politics of running a large empire, the politics of trying to unseat said empire, love, betrayal, harsh truths, and awkward alliances.
This book shines a harsh light on colonialism from many sides of the issue. On the side of the Empire, you have Luca trying to work within the system, truly working to make the lives of her people better. All her people. But she runs into roadblock after roadblock from the wealthy bureaucrats who want to keep the status quo because it makes them loads of money to the local population who would sooner see anyone of the empire either dead or sent packing for all the pain and anguish they have caused.
We see most of the effects of colonialism through the eyes of Touraine, a person whose physical appearance makes her look local, but her upbringing made her an outsider. She fits in neither in El-Wast nor in the Empire. A child of both worlds yet of neither. Every day she gets a taste of what life would be like if she had never been stolen, only to be held at arm's length, never to be fully trusted.
This book is not for everyone, at least if the Goodreads ratings are any indication, receiving a mix of high praise and also people saying the structure and pacing were a bit off. I fall into the camp of high praise. I can definitely see where the criticism comes from, the story is a bit unusual in a way, but that was what I loved about it. I found it very refreshing from many of the other fantasy novels I've read. When you've read as many books as I have, you start looking for stories that perhaps stray from a more "normal" storytelling technique.
I for one look forward to the sequel which hopefully will be released during the next calendar year.
I see why people loved this book because I had trouble putting it down, but it was also so stressful. I think I need more lesbian joy in my novels. But will I read the sequel? Probably.
An absolutely brutal exploration of colonialism, rebellion, and the violence of revolution featuring a cast of morally grey characters.