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catriona99674'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
It is very magic light so if what you want from your fantasy is big sprawling magic systems this won't give you that. Though I think there will be a lot more explorations of the magic in book 2.
However, if you find yourself annoyed when complicated issues are resolved too easily, if you're tired of the same stories being told over and over, if you like messy characters and complicated relationships and you want to read one if not the best revolution story of all time then please please read this book.
Graphic: Death, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Misogyny and Sexual assault
distraughtplant'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
4.25
The main issue I found in this book is that we could've had more insight and "behind the scenes" looks at why the Luca and Tourraine especially make the decisions they do. Sometimes decisions are made that don't feel like they ever have space to be processed because we glaze over the internal processes and struggles of the characters.
However! I loved this book. The Unbroken is loyalty and betrayal and heartbreak and revolution and political pressures and magic and a little bit of lust. It is gorgeous and heart wrenching and real. There are no moments any characters actions felt rushed or out of place. I love this book for it's perfect pacing, it's immaculate queer representation (and non binary representation! I NEED to see more of Niwai and their lioness). I love it most for it's many showcases of the complexities around human emotions and thought processes and why people may do the things they do. I also love it for it's calculated witholdings of full explanation. Humans don't always even know why they've done something, just that it feels it's the right way, or the only option. I love The Unbroken for it's raw depictions of humanity, which will stick with me long after the images of blood, shit, and gore fade away.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, and Colonisation
Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Slavery, Grief, Cultural appropriation, and Classism
Minor: Animal death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cannibalism, and Alcohol
taratearex's review against another edition
- 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
This is a fantasy loosely based on French colonization of a North African country, I was on board from the start with that premise as I studied Arabic and lived in Egypt for a summer, so I really enjoyed seeing the fantasy elements that referenced this and I thought this worked really well and was really well done, the world felt real and the worldbuilding interesting and detailed. I enjoyed the absolutely messy characters in this, even if I was like WHAT ARE YOU DOING a lot of the time, I think the messiness also did make sense when you think about Luca's desire for power fighting with her desire to be a good leader, this gets very white savior too so it's hard to sympathize with her character at all sometimes, but her as the opposing character to Touraine did make for interesting dynamics. And then Touraine, oof, her being deeply brainwashed by the military and then being thrown back into a world she should have known and dealing with a lot of trauma trying to free herself and find herself, she's a mess and it makes sense why- but the in world motivations for why characters sympathized with her did get a bit hard to believe. BUT everyone in this book is deeply flawed and so messy I went with it, and they are all handled with care, even side characters have stories to make them fuller people. Also the disability rep was great and I loved that it was a queer normative world.
Where I think it goes off the rail a bit is just that there are a lot of loose ends that get left dangling as you go through the book and so when I got to the last quarter I expected to see some of those tied up and instead it went kind of more off the rails. Motivations of characters became even more murky, the magic that gets introduced doesn't really get much explanation or time so I'm still not really sure what happened in a couple of the last scenes, and there's an alliance that seemed crucial sort of disappears?
Knowing that this is a trilogy it's always hard to know if some things are just being saved for the next book, so maybe some of these will be explained more in the next book, and I do think I will continue with the series as it was really engaging - it was very dense though so I totally see where some people lost interest in the complicated military and political dynamics, but I thought it was all very interesting, sometimes I'd look up and I'd just read for an hour without looking up, which is kind of rare for me.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Blood, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fatphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, and Medical trauma
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Torture, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Execution by hanging. Power imbalance in relationship (representative of colonizing government/colonized subject).cardanrry's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Rape and Sexual assault
rorikae'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
4.5
Touraine is a soldier sent to quell a rebellion in the homeland that she was stolen from. After arriving, she realizes that there is more going on in the country than she suspected and that there are still some personal connections that exist for her. She also meets Luca, the princess who is secretly trying to steal the throne from her uncle. As the two women connect, they begin to learn more about how they can create peace in this country but it may require them to come close to committing treason.
Clark creates a fascinating story rooted in complex characters that it is easy to care for. This world is filled with political intrigue and a cast of fascinating and sometimes despicable characters. Touraine and Luca are both easy to care for and easy to curse at in the same breath. They feel like living people with all of their flaws painfully obvious. The story took a number of twists and turns and Clark keeps the reader guessing about what will happen next. I'm fascinated to see where the story goes in the second installment.
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
Minor: Sexual content
bookcasey's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Strong colonizer themes.
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Colonisation
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
marigoldgem'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
4.0
Minor: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
katieduffy151's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
plume_de_renarde'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Racism, Violence, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Torture
Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, and Sexual assault