Name: Kiersten's review of The Unbroken by Cherae L. Clark
Item: The Unbroken
Rating: 4.5
Author: Kiersten

Cherae L. Clark

"Touraine is a soldier. Stolen as a child and raised to kill and die for the empire, her only loyalty is to her fellow conscripts. But now, her company has been sent back to her homeland to stop a rebellion, and the ties of blood may be stronger than she thought. Luca needs a turncoat. Someone desperate enough to tiptoe the bayonet's edge between treason and orders. Someone who can sway the rebels toward peace, while Luca focuses on what really matters: getting her uncle off her throne. Through assassinations and massacres, in bedrooms and war rooms, Touraine and Luca will haggle over the price of a nation. But some things aren't for sale"--

The Unbroken

C. L. Clark

EVERY EMPIRE DEMANDS A REVOLUTION. Touraine is a soldier. Stolen as a child and raised to kill and die for the empire, her only loyalty is to her fellow conscripts. But now, her company has been sent back to her homeland to stop a rebellion, and the ties of blood may be stronger than she thought. Luca needs a turncoat. Someone desperate enough to tiptoe the bayonet's edge between treason and orders. Someone who can sway the rebels toward peace, while Luca focuses on what really matters: getting her uncle off her throne. Through assassinations and massacres, in bedrooms and war rooms, Touraine and Luca will haggle over the price of a nation. But some things aren't for sale. In a political fantasy unlike any other, debut author C. L. Clark spins an epic tale of rebellion, espionage, and military might on the far outreaches of a crumbling desert empire.

léna 

Adrianne

C.L. Clark

"A perfect military fantasy: brutal, complex, human and impossible to put down." - Tasha Suri, author of Empire of Sand In an epic fantasy unlike any other, two women clash in a world full of rebellion, espionage, and military might on the far outreaches of a crumbling desert empire. Touraine is a soldier. Stolen as a child and raised to kill and die for the empire, her only loyalty is to her fellow conscripts. But now, her company has been sent back to her homeland to stop a rebellion, and the ties of blood may be stronger than she thought. Luca needs a turncoat. Someone desperate enough to tiptoe the bayonet's edge between treason and orders. Someone who can sway the rebels toward peace, while Luca focuses on what really matters: getting her uncle off her throne. Through assassinations and massacres, in bedrooms and war rooms, Touraine and Luca will haggle over the price of a nation. But some things aren't for sale.

I really loved this book, particularly the second half of it. I was a bit nervous that I wouldn't like our protagonists as I read a few reviews that said they weren't the best. However! I found both of them excellent and highly relatable. So, I'm looking forward to reading the next book.

Kiersten

4.5 stars 
So well-written, compelling, and absolutely addictive even on the second read.

Cloudface

This book was good but the characters frustrated me (mostly Luca). I would have liked to see more of Pruett and Jaghotai, hopefully we’ll get more development from them in the next book.

tina

this is obviously a solid first book and had a well-thought-out plot and worldbuilding. really, i could’ve loved this book but i just…. didn’t. mainly because i felt detached from the characters for most of it and when i start losing interest in the characters, especially the protagonists, i start to lose interest in the story as well no matter how intricately well written it is. that said, this book just wasn’t for me unfortunately.

Wonko the Sane

The book is well-written but it wasn’t really for me. I found both main characters irritating in different ways. It’s hard to sympathise with Luca while she’s ordering arrests, executions and purges (look what you made me do, Touraine.) And as for Touraine, the woman never met a bad decision she didn’t like. Is it ever a good thing when removing the main character from almost any situation would probably improve it for everyone involved? I found their relationship shallow and un-earned too. Everyone seems to take it as read that they’re fucking and neither of them ever bother to deny it? It seems like they and the narrative just assume they have the hots for each other and therefore we don’t need to have a reason why they would like each other, or development of the relationship from point a to point b. 

I was also irritated by Touraine’s so-called friends, who treat her like shit for “sleeping with the princess” which a) she wasn’t and b) would hardly be her choice or decision, given the power dynamics involved. And then the resolution of the plot at the end was abrupt, shallow and again un-earned.

I will probably not read the second book in the series, and am glad this one was on sale when I bought it.

Aditi

Trigger Warnings: colonisation, death, violence, slavery, genocide, torture, sexual assault, racial slurs, xenophobia

The premise of this book was so interesting but it failed in almost every aspect. This was tedious to read, it took me almost a week to get through this. The writing did not work for me at all. I was invested in the story and I wanted to root for these characters but they’re so inconsistent. I guess I understand the project and the idea behind Touraine and Luca but it didn’t come through in the actual story. Touraine changes her loyalties every two pages and it gets very annoying to see her make one bad decision after another. Luca is so incompetent, and it doesn’t even make for a good character study for someone who’s handed power just because they’re born into it when they clearly can’t handle it. She’s just a poorly written character. These characters never learn or grow from their idiotic decisions and just keep up their stupidity.

The romance, if it can be called that at all is not something I could ever root for. I don’t think I was meant to but there’s not enough in the narrative to disprove of this relationship either. Even if I could look past the obvious issues, the way Touraine goes on a rage rant explaining to Luca her own disability is just unacceptable, in my opinion. Though, I did like how openly queer this world is. 

I suppose if what one looks for in a story is just themes and ideas they could enjoy this book. For me, those themes and ideas weren’t executed well enough and I didn’t care for any of the characters at all and so this was just a wasted potential of a book.

Paige mandia 

Idk this one just didn’t really do it for me. I loved most of the characters, except the protagonist touraine just annoyed the hell out of me. None of her decisions were thought out and she just made mistake after mistake. We love a flawed character but she was just not doing it for me. I did love how this novel approached colonialism and institutionalism—that was definitely the strong point of this novel. A lot of it just felt rushed and the characters weren’t built up enough for a lot of the deaths to effect me. It was entertaining enough and the magic system is interesting, so I am looking forward to seeing if the next books in the trilogy are better. But happy to have read 1/3 of the sapphic golden trio. gotta get the jasmine throne next 🙏🏻🙏🏻

Lia Yuliana

Update 13/3/2021
You can also find me review on :  An Ode to Fiction
Official Release Date : March, 23rd 2021
Pre Order the book :
 Amazon |  Book Depository

🌟 5/5 🌟


  
    “We pray for rain.”
  


Trigger Warning : decapitation, mutilation, gore, death, war, abuse, slavery, torture, attempt of rape, public executions, graphic animal attack

ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

After years of occupation the rebels is ready to make their move, in the middle of it all is a scholar princess with ambitions to win back her throne and a conflicted soldier discovers her true path in a society that forced her into a life of military obedience. The Unbroken is a riveting fast paced adult fantasy debut by C. L. Clark.

Looking at the books that I wanted to read this month I had to put The Unbroken high on my list as it was one of my most anticipated releases in 2021. Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for the ARC (Advance Readers Copy) for me to read. The first thing that caught my eye is the magnificent cover designed by Lauren Panepinto and art by Tommy Arnold, the artist that also made the art for The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir. Tommy did a wonderful job bringing to life Touraine and the architecture of the Shal temple. With the Balladairan banner in the back too! The cover is stunning that itself is enough reason for anyone to go and read the book. Going into this book I knew nothing about the story, not even the synopsis. I wanted to maintain a degree of mystery so I can go into it with zero thoughts. From the rating above it was an enjoyable read.

The Unbroken is the debut and the first instalment to the Magic of the Lost trilogy by C. L Clark. The story takes place in El-Wast, capital city of Qazāl, Balladaire’s southern colony, a place inspired by the deserts of North Africa. There are two main characters in this story, Touraine, a conscript of the Balladairan Colonial Brigade and Luca, the crown princess of the Balladairan Empire. Lieutenant Touraine is a Sands, a word used to refer to the Qazāl born conscripts in the Balladairan military. All her life she has prepared herself for this moment, the moment where she will rise and become the first ever Sands in the Balladairan military to be promoted as Captain. Which will help the Sands by showing them that they can thrive if they cooperate with Balladaire. Princess Luca crown princess of Balladaire, a princess that lost her throne to her uncle, is driven by her ambition to prove to him that she is capable to rule. Given the task by the king to handle the rebellion in Qazāl, the idealist scholar princess tries to find peace that can cement her reputation so Luca can get closer to her throne. To do this she needs someone to be her representative that can tether between Balladaire and the rebels. Since their first encounter together Touraine caught Luca’s eye, after a series of unfortunate events Touraine’s reputation is jeopardized. Luca seeing an opportunity bargains with Touraine, taking her in as Luca’s assistant to negotiate with the rebels.

Colonialism is the main part of the world building, Balladaire is an empire that is reminiscent of France one of the European countries that colonized North Africa in the 18th and the 19th century. 
The people of Qazāl doesn’t share the same rights as Balladairans that colonized their land. They live in poverty and is exploited by Balladaire to meerily exist as second class citizens that isn’t deserving of freedom. They are mistreated and underpaid by many Balladairans, for example Beau Sang, a Balladairan nobleman that is very fond in inflicting violence towards his servants. The Balladairans enacted a compulsory military service for the people of Qazāl by kidnapping their children and then training them from a young age to serve in the military. Alienating the children from their family, their culture, their language, and they are forced to antagonize their own people by calling them “Uncivilized”. The use of conscripts, Sands, in the story is hugely inspired by history, during the 18th century France has forced the military might of African soldiers in the World War. 
Based on history the colonial countries values the lives of the African soldiers as lesser than a white man. Colonial African troops during the war are known to be in the front lines just like the Sands, they are the first one to be sacrificed, as they are stationed in the most dangerous posts and the first one to engage the enemy. If one of the Sands chose to desert, the consequence is death by the hands of a stranger or a fellow Sands. Below is a quote from The Unbroken that depicts the position of Sands during warfare times in the story.


  
    “Who is closest to the conflict? Who walks with it through the streets? How many times had Touraine told her the Sands were always at the front? And if the Sands were at the front, they would see the most.”
  


C. L. Clark has built a world that shows the inner workings of colonialism, that provides insight for readers that aren’t familiar with history that has long since been overlooked. Clark built this world with the intent of showing all sides of the conflict, from the rebels, the government officials, the Sands, and the innocent people in between. Social conditioning is used to control the Qazālis, especially the Sands. The world itself becomes the perfect base for a wonderful story.

Clark incorporated religion into the magic system, the religion of the Shal Empire gives their believers power based on their faith in the Shal. To be granted power by the Shal, one must pray and believe in Shal. Aside from that, one also must give something in order to gain something. There is balance to the magic system. The power Shal grants varies from healing, destruction, psychic powers, etc. With the power that is granted to the Shal believer depending on their intention it can also back fire to the user. C. L. Clark has done a wonderful job creating a faith based magic system that is very well balanced. There is also other variations of magic for example Many Legged, they use magic that has something to do with the connection between the worshipper and the animals they worship. It seems that the Many Legged are able to control the animals to do their bidding. The Balladairans on the other hand progressed as a nation, advancing in many fields such as : agriculture, medicine, etc; abandoning religion and their belief in Gods. Fear catalyzed the act of opressing the Qazālis as proven in their history when the Shal’s power was weaponized by Shal Empire’s last ruler to attack Balladaire.


  
    “Every god had two sides, like a coin, and each gift had a price.”
  


The Shal religion is dying because of the Balladairan empire’s colonization of Qazāl. Religion is viewed as “uncivilized”, the teachings of viewing religious practices as “uncivilized” is deeply indoctrinated within the teachings of Balladaire. There are two doctrines that exist within the society, the Droitist and Tailleurist. Both doctrines engraves the belief that condemns religious practices, which is applied to the colonized citizens of Qazāl and the Sands. These social conditioning by Balladairans limits the activity and movements of the Qazālis, preventing them from having rights and making them a second class citizen. History is blurred to prevent Qazālis from using magic against the empire. Dwindling down the numbers of Shal magic practitioners to near extinction.

The Unbroken is a political heavy and character driven story. From both Touraine’s and Luca’s POV readers are given two contrasting views, from the rebels through Touraine and from the empire through Luca. Touraine as a character in the beginning of the story is strict, obedient, and the epitome of a model soldier. She has dreams of wanting to show other Sands that they are capable of achieving something more. If they stay, obey their orders and do their duty for Balladaire. Since her kidnapping she grew up in Balladaire and looks up to Cantic, a Balladairan general and some sort of mother figure to Touraine. Being raised from a very young age in Balladaire, all she knows is Balladaire and only Balladaire. Coming to Qazāl, Touraine views the place as a foreign land full of foreign people. Based on her upbringing it sparks inner conflict in Touraine that slowly grows more intense, as she questions her position and mission in life. Torn between two sides of the conflict, either defend the nation that has trained her and her friends or fight for the liberation of her people from colonization. This aspect of Touraine’s character is complex, Clark writes her struggles so raw and vulnerable. Readers can feel the conflict brewing inside Touraine as she juggles both sides all the while discovering her true purpose. The shift in Touraine’s views from a conscript to a valuable member of the rebellion is built up beautifully throughout the story. Each decision and each revelation is written full of purpose by Clark to show a steady growth in Touraine’s character.


  
    “Why would a god direct her life to this moment, this side of the rebellion? No adequate weapons, no actual soldiers, and it was a lot harder to dig out an entrenched army than to rout a marching one. This looked like the losing side. It even felt like the losing side. It didn’t feel like the wrong side.”
  


Luca on the other end is a sheltered princess with a mission to win back her throne. Her scholarly background and her position in the story reminds me so much of Elend Venture from the Mistborn trilogy (I am making this comparison because I read The Well of Ascension before this book). They share an idealistic point of view in politics but they are different when it comes to their personality and approach. Luca is much more strict, rigid, and isn’t afraid in sacrificing anything to get what she wants. There is a power dynamic as well whenever other characters interact with Luca. Her ambition to prove herself and to be a better ruler than her predecessors is unbending. Luca truly believes that she is capable of saving her people, squash the rebellion, all the while gaining supporters to get her throne back. Luca doesn’t shy from showing her power and stature to intimidate other people. As a character with disability Clark doesn’t boil her character down to that, Clark makes sure to show readers Luca’s strengths. Because Luca is the person that holds the highest authority, as a princess, she is accustomed to getting what she wants in life. There are moments when Luca doesn’t realize her position of privilege, even if she sympathizes towards the Qazālis she still has a lot to learn in becoming a better ruler than her predecessors.


  
    "I have learned your god says, ‘Peace above all.’ So let it be.”
  


Both characters shares the same drive to achieve their dreams and goals. But they also share responsibility for their actions in the story. Touraine’s and Luca’s judgement and decisions led to the outbreak of the rebellion. From this story arises the question of who is to blame for the series of events that led to the deaths of innocent people from both sides of the conflict. C. L. Clark portrayed both characters in a way that sparks conversations about the strain of colonization towards the people that are being oppressed, showing the real victims as they are forced in a situations of constant fear of violence and death. Relationship wise, watching the progress and growth of relationship between the two main characters is interesting. Clark showcased plenty of intimate moments between Luca and Touraine that is full of yearning and heated tension that leaves you breathless (Spoiler : leg massages). Their power dynamics is uneven and sometimes down right unforgivably unfair. But I’d say this is what makes the story of The Unbroken so impactful. Luca as a future ruler of the colonizer in this case is responsible for the havoc that her people has caused for the Qazālis, I hope in the sequel we get to witness this being done to see an outcome of movement toward decolonization. Though for me personally the way the final stand off reached its blowing point when the story peaks, it wasn’t as I expected. Everything happened so fast and in the end it felt rather rushed. But this did not hinder me from enjoying the whole story.

Final thoughts! I am very surprised and impressed. If this is the first book from C. L. Clark, I can’t wait to read more from them. The world building, magic system, and amazing characterization is intricate and detailed. To make things even better the plot is fast paced, the moment readers start reading they can easily slip into the story. Besides the two main characters, the side characters are so well fleshed out and distinct. Though I must say, my most adored side characters lean towards the rebels more because of their found family aspect. One of my favorite side characters has to be Jaghotai, she is unstoppable, a bad ass, and so snarky. Jaghotai is that b*tch with sick boots and flying kicks. I love her! To make it even more perfect is how ruthless she is, not to mention that she only has one arm which makes her even more deadly. The reputation of her kicks knows no bounds! Jaghotai’s sub plot is also one of the best in the story, a woman as bad ass as her showing vulnerability and love is too emotionally quaking for me to handle. One thing I forgot to mention is the subtlety of the queerness is in this book. It is so classy and nonchalant the way Clark portrays the female / female / female romance. The tension and yearning is so deliciously lush *chef’s kiss*. All I want is for Touraine to wrap me up in her arms!

The Unbroken by C. L Clark did not disappoint at all! I am so happy I picked it up. Thank you again to Orbit and NetGalley for the arc for me to review. I highly recommend for everyone that loves political heavy military fantasy with strong female characters, mysterious magic, and yearning! So much yearning! This is the book for you. Also another thank you to Halla for helping me with the historical references in this review. Don’t forget to pre-order the book and to add it on Goodreads!

The quotes in this review were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

emily

Ava Noreen

Solid writing, intriguing plot, although a little too gory at times for my taste.

These characters are not likeable but they are fascinating. I got angry with them for the seemingly stupid choices they made, but then I realized that their decisions are motivated by fear and that their stories are an interesting comparison of decisions rooted in fear v.s. decisions rooted love and devotion. A lot of interesting themes were explored in this book, but at the same time, the plot was fast-paced and kept me interested. Loved-loved-loved the magic bits. Especially the lion folks and all that. So glad Niwai's character showed up (however briefly), I thought her character was just so cool. The fantasy element definitely takes off more during the 2nd half. 

I also really loved the commentary on being caught between cultures or between worlds. Tourraine and some of the other Sands are often torn between Qazāli and Balladarian culture, often scorned by members of both societies. Throughout the book, we watch Tourraine emerge from her childhood conditioning and begin to critically consider her desire to assimilate into Balladairian culture. The realities of being torn between two cultures, not quite fitting into either, is something that I (and many others, I'm sure) can relate to. 

I will certainly be reading the sequel!

Lauren Sullivan

content warnings: (view spoiler)[colonialism, racism, ableism, attempted rape (off-page but described), torture, PTSD, violence and death (including multiple hangings)  (hide spoiler)]

I wanted this book because of the cover, because, holy crap look at that woman’s arms. I’m shallow, OK? But yes, while Touraine is incredibly hot, this is also an intense and unflinching look at colonialism and belonging.

Touraine was conscripted as a child of five into the Balladairan legions from conquered Qazāl, derogatorily called the Sands. All traces of her life before were beaten out of her – the language, the culture, her own name. By contrast, Luca is the Balladairan princess, used to a life of luxury, though she was badly injured during a childhood riding accident that causes her a great deal of pain and necessitates her using a cane. Both arrive in Qazāl on the same ship with similar goals: to solidify Balladairan rule and crush the rebellion. When Touraine stops a rebel assassination attempt, she comes to the attention of the princess, and things snowball from there. Both women must figure out what – and who – they’re willing to risk to accomplish their goals.

“It baffled her, how stupid the rebels were about the balance of power: the Qazāli had nothing. Balladaire had numbers, equipment, supplies—they were winning, had been winning for decades. Some of the Sands might miss their families, their pasts, but it would be better to stay on the Balladairan side of the conflict.”

This book doesn’t pull any punches about living under colonial rule. I can’t say I know much about French colonialism, but it reminded me strongly of reading Merzak Allouache’s Bab el-Oued, set in post-colonial Algeria, specifically a scene where a French family comes and reminisces about living in the apartment now home to an Algerian family. In this book, the roads are referred to as “rues,” they eat dishes with chickpeas and flat round bread, and the military uniforms are reminiscent of French legionnaires.

“By the sky above, she wanted to be enough.
No. More than enough. She wanted to be a queen for the histories. Someone who changed Balladaire for the better. Someone who changed the world.”

Touraine and Luca are two sides of the same coin, both trapped by into harmful patterns by what they think they want. Touraine is trying to live up to the ideal of the perfect Balladairan soldier, in hopes of one day getting promoted to better protect the Sands. Luca’s trying to live up to the memory of her father as a wise ruler and she believes the only way to force her uncle to cede the thrown is to take care of the growing rebellion in Qazāl. The truth is that both women are up against impossible odds: no matter what Touraine does she’ll never be Balladairan, and Luca’s father was an imperialist despot, hardly worthy of emulation. Touraine isn’t Qazali and isn’t Balladairan, the only people who know how she feels are her fellow Sands. But early on, after certain events, she’s separated from them and becomes part of Luca’s household. But still, the Sands the only family she knows, so when they’re threatened, she does what she has to to save them.

“The princess leaned against the door, and when Touraine was dressed in the vest and trousers, she made an appreciative sound in her throat and smirked. “It’s a crime to keep those arms of yours hidden away in an army coat.”

This book is intense, and at times I had to put it down because I was simply too emotionally involved. Luca and Touraine make a series of increasingly worse decisions in order to take care of the people they care about. The romantic pull between Luca and Touraine was… complicated. There were times I rooted for them, but most of the time I wanted smack some sense into Luca. It’s not that she isn’t trying to do right by Touraine and the Qazāli in general, but merely having good intentions doesn’t excuse the harm she’s actively causing. The power imbalance, too, gave me pause, but I’m curious to see where their relationship goes next.

“There was something like family here, even if it was the familiarity of desperation, scrounged from necessity and danger. Just like the Sands had become her family.”

Even more complicated, though, was the relationship between Touraine and her mother, Jaghotai. It’s all the pain of colonial Shālan squished down into one interpersonal relationship, and I hurt so much for the both of them. I loved Touraine’s troop of Sands, Luca’s guards, and the rebels, especially Aranen. They were all separately drawn characters with their own motivations. It took a while to get to the magic system, but I enjoyed it. And that’s my main criticism of the book: the pacing was extremely slow and uneven. It took a while to get to the meat of the book, and especially toward the end the pace was almost frenetic.

“Every time she was here, she felt helpless. Always at the mercy of some Balladairan or another, hanging from their whims. Not tonight. Tonight, she came of her own will. She didn’t want mercy. She wanted them to burn.”

Overall, this was an utterly engrossing read, and I will definitely be picking up the next in the series.

I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Katharina Hoffmann

3.5 stars

I have mixed feelings about the first book of the “Sapphic Trifecta” as the trio around The Unbroken, The Jasmine Throne and She Who Became the Sun is now lovingly called.
This book wasn’t bad, it didn’t do anything wrong, the representation was amazing but it just didn’t grip me emotionally. It didn’t give me the “oh my God, I need to know what happens next” feeling that I want high-fantasy books to give me.

The Balladairian empire is a European style empire stretching across the world and making a profit from those they have conquered. But a desert colony called Qazal has still not yet fully accepted it cannot have independence. Luca the heir to the throne is visiting as part of her wider plan to prove her worthiness for the throne. Tourraine, a Lieutenant in the Balladaire company known as the Sands – the children of the colonies taken away from their homes back to Balladaire to be trained to be loyal to the Empire - saves Luca from assassination by Quazali rebels. Tourraine is loyal to Balladaire and seeks advancement to help her Sands who are always viewed more as cannon fodder rather than an integral part of the military. But for Tourraine, this soon gets her in trouble thanks to the revel’s ruthless leaders and Balladaire’s inability to believe even one of its best soldiers. Luca intervenes and sees Tourraine’s intelligence and Qazali heritage as an opportunity to both attempt to reduce tensions in the country and get her hands on magical powers that may seal her move to become Queen. Each woman needs to face decisions of what is the right thing to do versus their loyalty or affection for the other.

This book is unusually long for a fantasy book, almost 600 pages so it didn’t come as a surprise that it was often slow-paced. That, I didn’t mind. The author took a lot of time and effort to build a very intricate world with well-rounded and interesting peoples, rituals, regions, and styles of government. Everything felt really thought-out, and I was reminded of my WW1 history lessons in which we learnt how all the European countries were connected, what kind of treaties they agreed to, what good went where in exchange for that. In conclusion, the world-building was fabulous even if it was sometimes at the expense of my patience.

I very much appreciated how queer-normative the whole world was. Both MCs are queer, and their changing relationship and growing attraction are explored throughout the book. Luca is not only queer but also disabled, as she uses a crutch to get around because one of her legs was smashed during a riding accident. 

The relationship between Tourraine and Luca develops slowly and resembles a cat-and-mouse game, as they turn from strangers to confidantes, moving from attraction to betrayal to anger and hatred. If you’re looking for a love story, you won’t find it in this book. What you get instead is a relationship between two women that feels very, very real. That takes its time and has real ups and downs. No melodrama, none of that stereotypical YA stuff but two people whose relationship is deeply affected and shaped by the war around them and the different sides they sympathise with.

Another aspect I really enjoyed is that the author didn't hold back in describing how gruesome colonisation is. How coarse soldiers are, how rough war and politics are. Swear words appeared frequently in this book and the style and language felt appropriate given the topic.

As I said at the beginning of my review, I have nothing bad to say about this book. It might have been a bit tedious to read during some parts but in hindsight, I don’t think that was much of a hindrance for me. Maybe it just wasn’t the right time, maybe I simply wasn’t in the right mindset when I picked it up, but the reason why this only bagged 3.5 stars is that I wasn’t as emotionally invested as I would have liked to be and no one feels more sorry about that than I do.

Alexia Beatrice Guglielmi

Sahi K

CW: mentions of past rape(or attempted), violence and gore, torture 

I’ve been so excited to read this book since the first time I saw the stunning cover and realized it was sapphic fantasy. And I truly never expected Orbit to approve my request for the advance copy, so I’m definitely thankful to them for being able to read this wonderful book sooner. 

The writing in this book is stunning... that’s it. I don’t even wanna extrapolate more about it because the author’s words speak for themselves. The vivid descriptions of the desert city make you feel the heat and dust, the characters’ inner monologues makes you feel so connected to them, and the unfairness of the world makes you feel despair. The pacing is also perfect (though not everyone might agree with me) - it starts off slow and takes time to get interesting, but the buildup the author creates makes for excellent payoff towards the end where everything happens at breakneck speed and we are left catching our breath. But the book is also pretty grim throughout with hardly any levity nor much hope, which can make for a depressing reading experience but the excellent writing, exciting plot and complicated characters more than make up for the bleakness. 

I mentioned in another review of mine recently that I seem to gravitating a lot towards fantasies these days which explore the themes of colonialism and prejudice and racism, and this was no different. The author shows through her world how centuries of colonization entrenches prejudices, which become so ingrained that people don’t wanna look past them even for the sake of their own prosperity. It just becomes easy to oppress and punish and subjugate the colonial subjects, rather than treat them like an equal part of the empire; even if it foments rebellion leading to destruction for both sides. 

The author’s exploration of identity, through the eyes of the soldiers who were long taken away from their homes and trained to fight for the empire, now being turned on their own birthplace, was pretty emotional. It was heartbreaking to see these soldiers unable to forget their years of training and hope for some equality and respect, while also being conflicted about oppressing the people who are their own. Not feeling like they belonged anywhere was quite distressing and the author perfectly captured this anguish. 

The cast of characters are splendid. Touraine, the conscripted soldier and Luca, the rightful queen make for an excellent source for conflict and yearning and the author does it to perfection. They are also immensely flawed, making many decisions without thinking through the consequences, leading to most of the unexpected twists and turns throughout the book. This makes them not likable at all times - there were moments I hated them and then wanted to hug them right after - but they both are immensely sympathetic characters and you hope that things go in their favor. My only gripe is that the amount of yearning and the number of loving interactions they had with each other didn’t feel proportional, and I wish their relationship was developed more. 

The side characters were also equally well written and memorable, I kept wanting to know more about them. Particularly Aranen, Djasha, Bastien, Gil - I wanted to know more of their backstories coz they were so interesting. There were also quite a few who I truly despised but they were not the kind of mindless villains we sometimes encounter, so I enjoyed their portrayals too. 

Truly, this is an excellent debut and I’m glad that I got to experience another new author this year. If you want rebellion and intrigue and magic interspersed with complicated characters you don’t know what to feel about, then this is perfect for you. If you can wait out the slightly slow buildup and don’t mind your fantasy worlds bleak, then you’ll be blown away by the time you reach the end. I definitely was and I can’t wait to see where the story goes next.

Jennifer

Reading two thematically similar books close together is an interesting encounter, especially when the former book induced you a book hangover. In this case, I was reading two diverse high fantasy books back to back: both books feature political uprising, social commentaries, and oppposites attract sapphic romance. So this is a quick disclaimer that how I've rated The Unbroken at the time of writing this review is likely affected by what I've just read recently (hence my current rating is provisional and is subject to change).

Book hangover aside, C.L. Clark's The Unbroken is a passionate and treacherous opening novel of the Magic of the Lost series. Set in a North African-inspired fictional world, this is a story about the brutal effects of colonialism to the people residing in an empire. Through the lens of two distinct characters: Touraine and Luca, C.L. Clark weaves out a solid social commentary and detailed the different vantage points of seeing how a political uprising unfolds behind the battle fronts.

The central themes - the social commentary about colonialism and how it goes hand in hand with the political uprising, is the standout of The Unbroken. One thing I love about intricate epic fantasy books is that it provides authors an opportunity to explore the societal structures within the worldbuilding that thematically parallels the ones we've seen in real life. With the colonialism in The Unbroken, Clark shows not only how the political structure (+ the loyalty) within an empire changes but also how there are significant societal & cultural damage to its people - many of these lasting damages could still be felt after several generations.

Let's quickly return to the characters. Personally I had more impression and emotional investment in Touraine's perspectives. Touraine's narrative is very much centred upon the effects of colonialism. From her lens, I get to observe the brutal and traumatic effects of how an empire could swallow the original ways of living to so many levels for such a long lasting effect.

Sitting on the other side of the political spectrum is Luca, who is an important figure in the empire. While I think Luca is a clever character in her own ways, I felt that her chapters are a bit less emotionally engaging than Touraine's as Luca's narratives comes from a more familiar vantage point to anyone who has read real historical events about colonies. 

So if there are a few drawbacks that I'd address in The Unbroken, one of them will be due to the Luca chapters. Not that Luca is unlikeable, but because I wasn't as emotionally invested in her chapters I didn't really care about her relationship with Touraine that much. I was actually pretty neutral about their relationship together: while I think it's paced nicely and provides surprising events in the novel, I just wasn't very engaged in how the relationship develops over time. I think another drawback is the worldbuilding. Overall, the worldbuilding is quite solid and the details didn't overwhelm me but I believe a few more atmospheric descriptions in the prose would make it more immersive & make me feel like I'm escaping ino this North African inspired world.

So my minor concerns and provisional rating aside, The Unbroken is a pretty solid high fantasy novel featuring a diverse cast of characters and exploring the ugly side of colonialism through its raw & gritty writing. I personally wish I was more invested in the relationship and Luca's headspace, but with its excellent thematic content and plot twists I'm looking forward to finding out what happens next!

N.B. Content warnings of The Unbroken could be found under the author's page

(3.5 stars out of 5)

Toni Turner

I am intrigued and will be checking out the next book, but these two idiots made me want to pull out my hair in a not great way. I love Touraine, but Luca needs to figure her shit out.

I didn't expect this from the description of the book. Engaging, immersive, and compelling. I'm at the edge of my seat waiting for the next book in this truly fascinating universe. 

Nickie Mohler

I really enjoyed this one. It has everything I love. It's epic, military fantasy, with very little romance. It's political and action packed. I loved Touraine and Luca! Such a wonderful dynamic between them. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because I was confused at times about the countries and different cultures. That could just be me. 

I loved the writing and will keep an eye out for more from this author.

I received a copy from Net Galley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Adrianne &
The Unbroken by Cherae L. Clark

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Adrianne &
The Unbroken by Cherae L. Clark