Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Unbroken by C.L. Clark

95 reviews

serena_hien's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual assault and Kidnapping

madmadsparkle's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and War

Minor: Sexual assault

theirgracegrace's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective 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

4.75

The Unbroken asks the question: what about those parts of the fantasy world that are the "colonies"? Set in a queer-positive fictional setting that mirrors French-controlled Saharan Africa, Clark's characters live in the awkward space of either benefitting from or being the product of the colonial state. Clark cleverly deconstructs how the colonial state of Balladaire's oppression has separated the people of Qāzal from their culture and their heritage and made many into soldiers to further that oppression. A book that I cannot stop thinking about and eagerly awaiting the sequel of!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Torture, Stalking, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Minor: Pregnancy and Cultural appropriation

szuum's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Racism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Sexual assault

ksfinnerty's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Alcohol

hendrixpants's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and War

Minor: Sexual assault

caitb's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault

c_cosio's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful sad tense 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death

Minor: Sexual assault and Kidnapping

luisa_joy's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual assault

strabckr's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

• 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

I’m not really sure how to feel about this book. Technically, it was very high quality, i just didn’t enjoy it as much on a personal level.

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Colonisation

Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual assault