Reviews tagging 'Torture'

The Unbroken by C.L. Clark

78 reviews

alexalily's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Medical content, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Violence, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Gore, Police brutality, Slavery, and War

Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Chronic illness, Physical abuse, Torture, and Alcohol

Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Excrement, Self harm, Vomit, Cursing, and Child abuse

kyladenae94's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

the beginning felt a bit…scrambled, but i’m glad i trusted the tikky-tokkers & stuck it out. i hope the threads set up in this book—

the “reveal” of what happened with cheminade feels a bit stilted to me, and we still don’t know how touraine got knocked out & also What About Cheminade’s Husband, he seemed nice

—will be tied up in a future book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Torture, Gun violence, and Colonisation

Moderate: Sexual assault, War, Rape, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

leaflit's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Blood, Racism, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Colonisation, Confinement, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Grief, Lesbophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Alcohol, Child abuse, Genocide, Medical content, Outing, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Terminal illness

hellsbellsbeepbeep's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective 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

3.75

I wanted to love this book for many reasons and in some ways I do. I really love the queerness not being central to the plot

although I’m disappointed with the relationship between Luca and Touraine, all the other queer love was heartwarming

and I loved the diverse characters of the rebels. It took a quarter of the book for me to get into it and it still lost me at times throughout. A few pages of prologue could’ve emitted a lot of what felt like what took so much time to explain things in between what was happening that it took away from it. It also took  quite some time to get to the magic aspect which was a bit of let down, but when the plot did reach more magic use - it was very intriguing. 

The book is very a heartbreaking journey and the main character is still someone you can love despite all her choices that cause chaos.  I felt moved to finish out of my curiosity for Touraine’s fate and in hopes to find out wether or not the rebels won. I was also just waiting for some justice after all that xenophobic mistreatment to the Qazals or anyone not Balladrain. 

With all that said I did enjoy the book, just not as much I hoped I would. With this book I kept getting distracted because it felt too busy at times and didn’t feel gripped by the plot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, War, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Gore, and Torture

griffinthief's review against another edition

emotional sad 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, Chronic illness, Cursing, Blood, Emotional abuse, Grief, War, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Vomit, Torture, Classism, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Terminal illness, Sexual harassment, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Police brutality

Moderate: Ableism and Suicide

giuliaprim's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

2.0

I would've said that this book is a mess but nothing happens for 500 pages so

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Violence

Moderate: Colonisation and Racism

Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Excrement, Torture, and Self harm

alexiab's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

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

5.0

WHAT A BRILLIANT BOOK. I adore characters with complex layers and distinct personalities, and Touraine and Luca make excellent narrators. I loved to watch their perspectives morph throughout the story.

Honestly what’s not to love about this book. Fantastic world building, great characters, a balance of humour, romance, and exciting action, an overall commentary on colonialism and how it affects the colonized, PLUS SAPPHICS?? 

Unreal. What an ending. Give me book 2 asap. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Colonisation, Slavery, War, Gore, and Torture

inting3270's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual harassment, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, and Gore

Moderate: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Medical trauma, Slavery, Torture, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual assault

Minor: Kidnapping

reeno's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Xenophobia, Genocide, Death, Ableism, Trafficking, War, Violence, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, and Colonisation

Moderate: Slavery and Torture

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

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

Minor: Cultural appropriation and Pregnancy