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szuum's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Gun violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Racism, Classism, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault
mariadanna's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Slavery, Blood, and Gun violence
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Racial slurs, and War
Minor: Torture
whailey's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Gore, Trafficking, Torture, Grief, Police brutality, and Slavery
elwirax'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
"You’ll have to fight for one side or the other. Why not fight for the side that gives you freedom?”
“Because I can fight for the side that’s winning.”
“We pray for rain,” Touraine said. “No.” Jaghotai squeezed Touraine’s arm tightly. “Be the rain.”
The unbroken was a rather slow paced book of which I had to start the first 100 pages 3 times before I finally got into it. Despite this, it was a wonderful tale of political intrigue with prime focus on racism and colonialism interwoven into a culturally rich world influenced by French, Algerian and Moroccan relations.
I want to start off by commenting on the main characters. Touraine was an interesting character to follow- not the most likeable but her way of thinking as a colonised person was disturbing to read about to say the least. By the end she developed and grew yet, I really wanted to like her more.Touraine was a messy character and although I can't complain too much as this showed her complexity and struggles, she couldn't make up her mind and never seemed to make the right decisions which caused unnecessary turmoil and death. I had much of the same issues with Luca but found her the most unlikeable as she never showed an ounce of growth and progressively got worse. It's important to allow character to make mistakes even if they'll ultimately have terrible consequences and let them have morally grey intents especially in a setting with so much conflict. Yet, to some extent it made me feel distant from these characters as at points I couldn't grasp why they would act in the ways they did as they'd suddenly change their core beliefs. I appreciated Touraine's complex relationship with her mother and liked many of the side characters, unfortunately, they didn't recieve nearly as much development as Touraine and Luca which made their motives fall flat at times.
One of the main reasons I decided to pick up The Unbroken was because of the sapphic romance. Unfortunately, I was dissapointed by the romance between Touraine and Luca partly because there wasn't any development and mostly because it was a coloniser- colonised romance which I wasn't aware of when starting the book. This wasn't too detrimental to my enjoyment as it wasn't meant to be the main plot point nor something to really be romanticised.
The feeling of being distant from the characters and the world building world is partially attributed to the writing style. There was a lot of telling rather than showing particularly at the start and some of the dialogue seemed rather juvenile. However, this seemed to gradually get better throughout the course of the book and for a debut I can't fault it too much.
Additionally, there were times in the second half where it would say or suggest that a character is dead but then they weren't which I just found a bit confusing. I couldn't keep up with who was actually dead and who wasn't because it seemed to contradict itself. I also thought that there were scenes (particularly in the last 10%) that were a bit too convenient so the ending seemed contrived and rushed.
Lastly, I would like to comment on the religious aspects of this book. I wasn't a fan of the whole "atheists are the bad ones and believers are the good ones" narrative. It left a bad taste in my mouth especially as I was anticipating an atheistic fantasy world for a change which evidently wasn't the case. However, for some other readers this may not be an issue.
Overall, The Unbroken had a very ambitious concept that didn't fully meet my expectations. However, it was particularly strong thematically which I believe is its greatest merit. The conversation about colonialism and rebellion was brutal and honest and is definitely one that is a must to discuss. I must admit that the political intrigue was my favourite part of this book as it was so complex and interesting. The characters were developed well and all incited a range of (often warring) emotions such as sympathy or dislike and added to the complexity of the overarching theme (bonus points for all the LGBTQ+ rep ).While my review and rating may seem negative, I am highly anticipating Clark's continuation and other future works.
Graphic: Racism, Slavery, Death, Confinement, Torture, Murder, and Colonisation
Moderate: War and Sexual harassment
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
velarin'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
4.25
It’s dark, it’s grim, it’s frustrating. Characters make mistakes and the consequences are catastrophic.
I adored it.
Graphic: Death, Violence, Colonisation, and Murder
Moderate: Ableism and Torture
Minor: Sexual violence
natureboi'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
5.0
Graphic: Death and Violence
Minor: Rape and Torture
strabckr's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Blood, Death, Murder, Gun violence, Colonisation, Violence, Trafficking, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Animal death, Xenophobia, War, Torture, Slavery, Racism, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Cursing
Minor: Sexual assault
daniellestarredpages's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Excrement, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Slavery, Violence, Vomit, and War
Moderate: Death of parent and Torture
melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Racism
Moderate: Torture, Rape, and Ableism
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
foreverinastory'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
5.0
Touraine was stolen as a child and raised in the Balladairan empire. The only loyalty she has is to her fellow Sands, the other stolen Qazali child soldiers. Now that Touraine has been sent back to her homeland she has reckon with the ties she thought were gone and what rebellion means. Princess Luca needs to get her uncle off the throne. If she can stop the rebellion in Qazal, it will prove she's ready to ascend the throne. But negotiating peace comes at a higher price than she expects.
I am really glad I took my time with this book. I loved getting to know Touraine, the Sands, the Qazali and the whole world. It was immersive and I constantly wanted to know more about this world and the magic. Touraine makes a lot of mistakes and difficult decisions throughout this book. It was quite messy, but seeing the way her loyalties kept her torn between the Balladairan Empire and the Qazali felt realistic and truly illustrates how insidious colonisation is.
I wouldn't really categorize this as a romance, though there are some romantic relationships in this. I don't really know how to feel about the possibility of Luca and Touraine, especially after the end. There is definitely a power imbalance here and while Luca is a nice person, there's lived experiences she'll never understand. Plus throughout this we see Touraine constantly have to sacrifice those close to her, but Luca is constantly insulated from this choice. I guess the jury is still out on this ship for me, but I'm very invested in these characters future journeys, especially Touraine.
Rep: Sapphic BIPOC female solider MC, sapphic disabled female MC who uses a cane periodically, BIPOC supporting cast, wlw side characters, nonbinary side character, queer normative world.
CWs: Animal death, blood, colonisation/imperialism, confinement to prison cell, cursing, death, genocide, grief, gun violence, injury/injury detail, murder, racial slurs, racism, torture, violence, war. Moderate: fire, kidnapping, medical content, attempted/threatened rape, sexual harassment, slavery (forced enlistment of conquered people). Past mentions of child abuse/death by the military.
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Violence, and War
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Medical content, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Slavery
Minor: Child abuse and Child death