A review by persephonefoxx
The Unbroken by C.L. Clark

adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • 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

3.75

She was as free now as she ever would be. She could choose what she fought for. She could choose who she was willing to die for

This book has me conflicted - while it tells a story that is both confronting and important, there are elements that fell flat for me. 

This does an amazing job depicting the horrors of war and revolution, and the desperation of people fighting for their lands, their right to be treated as people, their freedom. It is confronting. It is raw. It is very real in its depiction. 

My struggle in this book stems more from the characters. I love a flawed character, it is what makes them real. However, the plot of this book ruminated on the constant backsliding and poor decisions made my Touraine and Luca. And while I believe Touraine completed a character arch, growing and changing (albeit it with constant side switching). Luca almost started and finished in the same place, just with a plethora of poor choices in the middle. 

Lastly, there are intricacies when depicting a coloniser/colonised relationship that I do not believe were hit. I am interested to see how the relationship and romance is handled and develops over the rest of the series. 

TL:DR - What this book has to say is very important. And Clark doesn’t sugar coat the horrors of colonisation and war. However, some marks outside of action and conflicts were missed. I am tentatively going to pick up the next book, and am curious to see if these marks are hit in the sequel. 
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