THE UNBROKEN was a veritable masterpiece to me. i've never seen a book so clearly capture the morally grey areas of politics, rebellion, and war. the fact that it cannot be concretely said that either touraine or luca is a hero is stunning to me; their faults are so heartbreakingly human and, frankly, relatable. i supremely enjoyed this read and was sad to see the book end at all.

I am almost finished with this book and I've got to say that I absolutely love everything about this. Never have I felt that strong female characters were completely fleshed out but this has hit every single checkmark I've ever had for liking female characters. As a woman I am floored by them. Touraine and her arms are what I'm living for right now.
As I reach the end I have my fingers crossed that this is open-ended enough to be a series cause I 110 percent need it.

This is a military/political fantasy and as I am a HUGE fan of that I can for certain recommend it for those that need more of that in their lives. It leans extremely Chaotic Bisexual. And I'm FOR IT.

Among all this ranting and raving I do have more to add on a serious note. It does cover rather well, I think, some issues involving colonization that are quite dark. It doesn't embellish on them too much but it implies very well. The world feels fleshed out and I wouldn't be surprised if the author has vast notes on the world building that would continue if this is a series. (fingers crossed)

If the lovely author of this sees this please continue. Thx <3

The Unbroken begins with Lieutenant Tourraine arriving in her homeland (El-Wast) with her comrades to quell a rebellion. Stolen as a baby and raised as a soldier, Tourraine seldom questions her loyalty to the Balladairan army and empire. However, during a hanging in which she’s the executioner, a man recognizes her. And even after his death, his words still haunt her. But that might as well be the least of her worries. She’s kidnapped by rebels and then, after being rescued, framed for the murder of one of the army’s generals — a crime punishable by death.

Meanwhile, Princess Luca seeks an assistant willing to switch sides. She aims to usurp the throne that her uncle currently claims. Tourraine has saved her from an assassination attempt, and so when the army condemns Tourraine for the murder, Luca takes the chance to save her from death. As the two grow romantically closer, the desire for power and freedom becomes more complicated than they expected.

The story alternates between Tourraine and Luca’s (third person) perspectives, providing insight into the politics and social dynamics of this world. At the same time, Clark keeps up with the tension and high stakes. Political intrigue fills the pages of this riveting novel. The world, queer normative, is immersive and vivid. Clark sets enough details to paint a full image of the setting and how the characters move in their environment. Women are in positions of power and referred to as sir. Princess Luca is physically disabled (uses a cane). The chemistry between Luca and Tourraine simmers then crackles.

Clark has crafted a riveting story about realizing where our loyalties lie and the consequences of defection and complicity.

The Unbroken (book link) by C.L. Clark is available from Orbit Books. You can read an excerpt here.

My Rating: 3.5 Stars
Thank you Orbit Books for providing me with an early copy

Let me start by saying that I absolutely loved the diversity in this story. Overall I really enjoyed both Luca and Touraine as MCs and while the book was dark, the character arcs and their development were fascinating. The magic, history and overall creation of the world was fascinating and the politics were so well done and intriguing.

That being said, this is a very bleak book, and I say that as someone who read and loved The Poppy War. I appreciated the severity and seriousness of the overall plot and topics being addressed, but I do feel that the book could've benefitted from some more lighthearted moments.

The Unbroken kicked off with a bang and I found the first 130 pages easy to devour. After that, however, things were pretty slow going until 60%. I can usually read any book in under 3 days but this one took me weeks to finish because I could only read a bit of it at a time.

Yes, I know this review is coming late on publication day. However I finished The Unbroken literally at midnight last night and have spent all day shirking my responsibilities while wondering how on earth I was going to write this review.
I primarily wanted to read The Unbroken for two reasons. Firstly, it’s an anti-colonial fantasy novel drawing from the history of French occupied North Africa. Secondly, look at Touraine’s arms on the cover. I thank publishing for giving us buff queer women with great arms in fantasy covers and beg for this design trend to continue. (Does two books make a trend? Publishers, please make it so.)
The Unbroken is a complicated, messy book that unflinchingly looks at the brutality of colonialism. Often fantasy books that draw inspiration from history are centered on the history of the British empire. Very rarely do I see fiction in English that covers France’s colonial history despite its horrors and impact. (If you have book recs, please hit me with them in the comments below!)
Reader, this book is brutal. Clark does an amazing job with the setting, history, and characters. Touraine is fighting for her family, only she doesn’t know exactly who that is anymore. Luca is trying to hold onto power, and is willing to make sacrifices she didn’t think she could in order to maintain order. The relationship between Touraine and Luca is the core of the book. Princess and soldier, colonizer and colonized, master and servant. The romantic and sexual tension between them is delicious as they each struggle with their roles within Balladairan society.
What I really like though is that Clark embraces how messy this relationship is. Touraine owes Luca her life. Luca needs Touraine to accomplish her goals and see her on the throne as queen. Touraine breaks Luca’s faith to try and save the people who are important to her. Luca fails to truly understand the impact of her power and actions, both on Touraine and the Qazāli, causing death and bloodshed she didn’t expect. This is not a ‘love solves all’ relationship. Despite everything though, Touraine and Luca are constantly drawn together and then pushed apart due to the power dynamic between them.
The Unbroken is a smart and complex book that is also entertaining. There’s a couple pacing elements that could have been tightened up a bit, but that didn’t detract from my love of the story and the characters. I’m very much looking forward to the sequel.

I received an advanced copy of The Unbroken from Orbit Books so I could share my review with you! I’ve also created a costume design inspired by the story, so come back tomorrow to check out my rendition of Touraine!

Content Warning- The Unbroken contains scenes and discussions of rape (threats and past attempts), torture, violence, colonialism, and war.

Touraine is a soldier, stolen away from her homeland as a child to serve in the Balladarian army. Her loyalties lie with her fellow conscripts and with Balladaire, the nation she has fought her entire life to protect, but when her unit is reassigned to her former homeland, Touraine begins to question everything she thought she knew. Tasked with quelling a rebellion amongst her own people, Touraine realizes that there are no winners with blood and loyalty conflict.
Luca, the heir to the Balladarian empire, has left her homeland to prove herself capable of ruling by easing turmoil in one of the colonies. When she arrives, however, Luca is met with a ruthless ruling-class presence and unrest amongst the masses. She finds herself in need of a negotiator, an assistant to pave the way towards peace. When Luca crosses paths with Touraine, their fates become intertwined in a desperate bid for harmony between nations.

You can get your copy of The Unbroken today from Orbit Books!

After reading the synopsis for The Unbroken, I knew instantly that this book would be one of my favorite reads of the year, as I am a sucker for queer fantasy novels. Even with these high expectations, I was still blown away by the depth and quality of this story. The Unbroken speaks to the dark truths of colonialism in a fantasy setting, making a powerful statement about the inequities and violences of coloniality in the past and present world. Additionally, the world of The Unbroken is queernormative, so there is a lot of casual and prominent LGBTQ representation. Beyond these vital larger themes, The Unbroken has amazing character development, making it an incredibly immersive read. I am eagerly anticipating the sequel, which is slated to be released sometime in the future (hopefully not too long)!

My Recommendation-
If you love complex fantasy worlds with important statements about reality, you absolutely must read The Unbroken! This book would be a great read for fans of fantasy novels like Bone Shard Daughter and The Black Sun!

I often struggle with military fantasies because of the amount of fight scenes, which is usually my least favorite part to read about, but this book had just the right amount. It focused more on politics, strategy and the discussion on the effects of colonization. I liked how normalized queerness was in this world. The characters were interesting and complex but where this book fell short for me was relationships. Whether it was comradeship, romantic, parent-child or any other relationship, most of them were underdeveloped. Which in turn, made some of the decisions the characters made look out of place? The relationships presented on the page didn't match the "feelings" the characters supposedly had towards each other. Other than that, it was a great read and I'm looking forward to book 2.

Thank you to Orbit for providing an advanced reading copy!

The Unbroken by C.L. Clark is a powerful anti-colonial military fantasy that is sapphic to boot. Though its length is about par for books in its genre (i.e., long), I read this in just over 24 hours. The stakes are high. The characters are round, personable, interesting, and fiercely lovable. The romance greatly disappointed me, but that was my only complaint. The string of events that sets off the plot hooked me; with each new development, the barb sunk in deeper. I needed to know what would happen to these people, to this nation, to the two women at the centre of the storm. I've heard this described as slow, but for me, just as Touraine herself walked a knife's edge, so did The Unbroken (and the book pulls it off rather better than the character—sorry, Touraine): it had the depth of a slow, character-driven book while maintaining the intensity of a plot-driven fantasy page-turner.
I'm surprised at how invested Clark had me in every strategic decision. There weren't many of them, but each hit the sweet spot of surprising but inevitable. I understood the motivations of every group, including the walls they felt backed into and the desperate decisions they made to try to escape those tight corners. Impressively, Clark gave us both a bird's eye and on-the-ground view of the conflict.
And, most importantly, The Unbroken reveals a powerful point under all of the blood and rubble: not every hard choice is the right choice. More often than not, the wrong choices are more difficult emotionally but easier logistically; the right choice is more work, but you will recognize the feeling it gives you: it is liberating.
Thank you for the ARC!

The Unbroken takes elements of a military fantasy and adds in deeply complicated characters with plenty of political intrigue. This is a gritty read that never shies away from the brutal realities of colonialism and imperialism. It vividly highlights the extent people are willing to go to fight for their freedom, identity and sovereignty – even when the odds are stacked against them.

The story begins as a ship with a military contingent from Balladaire approaches the shores of its fractious colony Qazāl. On board is a colonial regiment comprised of men and women who were kidnapped throughout the colonies as children and conscripted to be troops for the Balladairan army. They are always the first to be thrown into front lines but despite years of difficult service they are still looked down upon by their Balladairan peers. Even the regiment’s nickname, the “Sands”, is used disparagingly by their superiors.

One of these conscript soldiers is a main character Touraine. She was stolen from Qazāl itself as a child, but she’s reticent to feeling any particular tie to her homeland. Touraine has no doubt that the deployment of the Sands to help deal with a rebellious uprising in the Qazāli city of El-Wast is as much a test of their loyalties to the Balladairan empire as it is a measure to ramp up military might over their colonial holdings.

Touraine is considered a “model” conscript who believes if she proves her unwavering allegiance to Balladaire, she and the other Sands will finally be rewarded as they deserve. She adhered to their every rule to discard any cultural influence from her homeland right up to the Shalan language used in Qazāl. Everything from her education and martial training to her Balladairan name was instilled in her with the purpose of “civilizing” her in their service. With her finally returning to her homeland for the first time in over twenty years, Touraine’s priority is to protect her fellow Sands and ensure none of her troops are punished for sympathizing with the resisting Qazāli. She’s seen firsthand just how fatal Balladairan punishments for disloyalty and defection can be.

The conscript soldiers are also accompanied by the Balladairan princess and heir apparent, Luca. She is the other main character and has a more calculating agenda of her own. She does not intent to let her uncle be the regent over the empire forever. Despite his assurances that he’s eager to let Luca rule once she’s prepared, she knows what he’s really waiting for is the chance to attack her competency and take the throne for himself.

Luca’s decided that the situation in Qazāl will be her chance to demonstrate her ability, and she does not intend to let her disability or sneering Balladairan aristocrats get in her way. She is well-educated, speaks Shalan fluently, and believes that she can right some of the many wrongs that have been done to the Qazāli people. In her mind, if she could just find a way to negotiate with the rebels and rectify some of the greater grievances in Qazāl, then all will be pacified and nothing will come to bloodshed. She also intends to focus on her secret goal – to investigate any traces of magic that would be taboo back in Balladaire.

Touraine and Luca soon find themselves thrown together through an assassination attempt and a set-up until eventually Touraine ends up as Luca’s liaison to the rebels. But things only get more difficult from there as they both learn that their goals aren’t simple as they wish them to be.

Story wise, there were times the pacing the plot could be rather slow. I wouldn’t have minded it as much if didn’t feel the narrative build up towards key events were missing some key details or moments that would have made the climax more impactful. But this is something I can overlook as the major themes apparent throughout the story were always engaging and dealt with in a thoughtful manner.

There just really are so many elements to this book that are hard-hitting. Touraine in particular has a truly fascinating character arc as she struggles with her faltering allegiance to Balladaire and lack of sense of belonging. She is never accepted as Balladairan but feels alienated from her own culture as well. The only place she feels she belongs is with the Sands, and her desperation to try to protect them from hostility from both sides often leads her to make terrible choices. Touraine can be frustrating but it’s relieving to watch her slowly realize that entire system that keeps her chained as a conscript has always been built as a method of enduring subjugation. Watching her interactions with those who challenge her beliefs – most powerfully from a long-lost relative – are some of the most powerful moments.

Then there’s also the incredulity of watching negotiations that are meant to be in “good faith” and questioning how that can possibly take place with the severe power disparity between the conquered and the conquerors. It would just highlight more of my frustrations with Luca’s mindset whenever her initial intentions to try to improve conditions for the Qazāli would always fall back into embracing the system and brute force whenever she felt cornered.

I do have to touch a bit on the romantic subplot. I’m not much sold on the romance yet for a few reasons. The first is that there’s such an obvious power imbalance and that Luca rarely shies from lording her station when things aren’t going her way. I also can’t quite pinpoint any concrete romantic development between them that explains their sudden strong feelings for one another besides their physical attraction to each other. With this and the fact that their relationship tended to fade into the background when compared to the other events of the plot, I couldn’t get invested in the romance. But I’m interested to see how it will develop in future books.

The relationship that absolutely did sell me, however, was the relationship between Touraine and Jaghotai. It was messy. It was complex. At one point it was like a punch to the gut. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a mother-daughter relationship like this in fantasy and I’m on board to see so much more of it.

I’ll be looking forward to what the future installments will bring for these characters.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for providing the free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Shout out to Netgalley and Orbit for the e-ARC of this book!

This was unique military fantasy book with strong themes of colonialism, identity, and found family vs. blood family, with the slightest sprinkling of a romance in there. I might be in the minority here when I say that I enjoyed the first 50% of this book more than the last 50%. Most of the other reviews I’ve read have had the opposite opinion. The first 50% felt full of political intrigue and world-building and learning the characters…the last 50% felt too full of action. My biggest gripe with the latter half of the book is the constant changing of sides and changing of opinions by characters who were portrayed as committed to their cause. It got to the point where I wasn’t sure what each character believed and I didn’t care to know anyway, after they changed so much with little on-page thoughts about it.

In terms of characters, I liked Luca a lot more than Touraine, mainly because Touraine’s characterization was not consistent to me. She is portrayed as a great soldier and leader, but she is constantly making impulsive decisions that seemingly work against her ultimate goal. Luca also made a lot of bad decisions, but her logic was clear, at the least. I am also just more partial to politically based POV characters so I found her chapters more interesting. Overall, I found both Touraine and Luca to be more tell than show, which made them difficult to connect with, both individually and together.

On the note of POVs and chapters…I am unsure how the physical copy is formatted but there were changes in POVs mid-chapter and I sometimes had a hard time telling because of the formatting, made worse by some time jumps that weren’t clearly illustrated either.

I also really did not like the magic system. It felt very mystical and unexplained to a frustrating degree. When some aspects were explained, it was done so in a confusing way that did not invest me in the magic at all. All of this is compounded by the mixture of religious aspects into one particular type of magic…without revealing spoilers, having someone suddenly believe in a religion they’ve been around for such a short time, at a very convenient time for the climax of the book….it just rubbed me the wrong way.

Overall, I liked the book, more so in the first half than the last, but I am on the fence about if I will continue the series. This first book felt jammed packed with half-developed aspects, which did not help this particular book, but presents opportunities for expansion in the sequel.

One must first feast their eyes on the cover. If this glorious cover doesn't besotten you, then perhaps this synopsis clip will: "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 believe this is C.L. Clark's debut novel and she is going to be one to watch for. My first impression was, "C.L. Clark knows how to write." I took a look at her bio and was highly impressed. Oh yes, she's a writer alright!

A powerful, gripping story of shady politicians, militants, magic and some serious arm candy going on. Imagine being torn from your homeland and raised to be a solider to fight for an empire that stole you. Then when you are grown you are sent back to the country of your birth to fight the people of your blood. This story had some wonderfully, intense moments. C.L. Clark has a way with reaching down deep and grabbing the soul.

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book, so I could give an honest review.

This book is all about messy, complicated relationships, and how they're even messier and more complicated by colonialism and power dynamics. It's also about the messed-up choices people make in pursuit of their ideals and goals, the lies they tell themselves and others, and the how vulnerable they become when they start telling the truth. The interpersonal dynamics of both the major and minor characters in The Unbroken are what take a good story and make it great.

This ARC’s a little hard to for me to review because I was so looking forward to it and I loved the cover so much and the things I didn’t like about it are so subjective. But hey, we know that there are some things I don’t like that a lot of you really love and vice versa, so this isn’t at all a blanket condemnation.

First off, it’s a military fantasy take on a colonized North African-inspired realm and is exactly as grim as that sounds. It’s harsh and violent and I spent the whole time just too tense and anxious to really enjoy it. And that’s the first point where we may differ, you could have a much higher tolerance for literally just this specific genre and tone.

I was also just conflicted about the second POV character. The first is our main character, Touraine, taken as a child and now conscripted into the empire’s army, part of the regiment made up of colonized subjects who’ll never get the opportunities or rewards the other soldiers do. Touraine’s hoping to change that and of course it’s never that easy or simple but a naturally rootable character, right. But the other POV is the actual princess of the empire. I have to say, I felt fully conflicted about how I was supposed to feel about her parts, considering the sympathy she inherited from getting such a large perspective was offset by who she was.

It was hard to root for the romance, and I wasn’t sure why they liked each other or if we were even supposed to want them to be together. There’s such an imbalance, not simply in the obvious uneven dynamic, but because the narrative places one of the characters so much more in the wrong. I would have actually been okay with no romance over this, I think, which says a lot.

On the plus side, it’s an interesting and well-drawn world, one we rarely see in genre fiction, and the prose is good, it kept me drawn in (obviously putting aside the subject matter). It does take talent to keep you emotionally invested enough to get nervous and angry, which, I was, a lot. Touraine, the main, is so often the victim of other people’s actions and bad luck, but is almost illogically blamed for things that just aren’t her fault. I know realistically people are like that, just denying reality, but this went beyond that for me, where it was more about who the narrative placed in which position, and people who were on the “good” (overall wronged) side could be as horrible as they wanted on an individual basis. It was tough to take, when someone would hurt her and she would apologize. But as I said, it takes skill to make you care and continue to that point.

Ultimately, y'all very often like things I don't, so I would say to try it. It does take a while to set up, really mostly gets going more than halfway though, but I can’t deny that I raced through that last half. And if you can compartmentalize better than I can, you may even like the romance. The Unbroken comes out on March 23rd, tomorrow.

4.5 stars.

My first ever ARC and it did not disappoint!

Unbroken follows two main character POVs. One is Touraine, who was stolen as a child from Qazāl (a Balladairian colony) and raised as a "Sand" (basically enslaved soldiers) in the Balladairian army. As she is stationed back in Qazāl for the first time in her adult life, her fate intersects with Luca, the Balladairian princess looking to prove herself by getting the local Qazāli rebellion under control.

Obviously, the story overall is a critique of colonialism. I might be misinterpreting, but I believe the specific setting was inspired by French colonization in North Africa. Don't quote me on that. What you may expect is a heroic rebellion with epic battle scenes and in-your-face lessons about social justice. That's not the case. We actually get a very raw and gritty story that accurately displays the imperfection of rebellion and peace. This was most notably definied in the characters.

I'll start with Touraine. First of all... move over Michelle Obama, Touraine's arms on the cover are goals. I absolutely loved Touraine. She's not witty or charismatic. She's stern, reserved, and resilient. And she is very flawed. We see her development as she considers all of her loyalties-- the empire, her native people, and her fellow Sands who get always caught in the bloody middle. Touraine's confusion between these conflicting loyalties results in many calculations of what price she is willing to pay. It never feels like the right decision, which struck my heart over and over again as I felt her pain of trying to please and protect.

And then Luca. I didn't like Luca as much, which I think is to be expected. She's a "villain" to some. What I appreciated was how Clark did not fully demonize Luca for the side she represented. Like Touraine, she made just as many horrible decisions. We saw how she really believed her choices would bring the best results in the long term...how being in the privileged position deludes you into thinking you know what is best for the oppressed. Wow, it was heavy.

Because we focus so heavily on the characters and their choices, the book ended up being much more political than I expected. It was less military strategy and more back-alley negotiations. The first half of the book was a lot of political maneuvering in an effort to try and come to "peace", which of course was defined differently by all sides. Eventually, we freefall into intense action and the book became SO hard to put down.

I did have a few minor grievances with the story. We see a few too many "small world" conveniences, such as Touraine quickly coming into contact with people from her past almost immediately upon arriving in Qazāl. I didn't get a sense of how big the city was, but it was just a bit too unbelievable at points. Also, while I enjoyed the dynamic between the two main characters, the intended romance felt a bit clunky. The relationship served its purpose in the story, but I would have rather it have been more platonic or more fleshed out. It was a bit lukewarm for me. Also, the magic system was intriguing, but I hope to see it more developed in future books.

Overall, this was a fantastic first novel in the series and I've already purchased a copy for my shelf. I'd highly recommend it to all fantasy lovers, especially those who are looking for a brutally honest and thoughtful story.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

**Please see content/trigger warnings at the end of this review**

This story has a military setting with a lot of political machinations. Touraine is a leutinant in the military arm of the Empire. She was kidnapped as a child and forced into service in a squad made up entirely of other captured children and abused until she fell in line with the Empire’s goals. She was forced to forget about her home, her culture and her language with the replacement of the Empire’s ideals, who are her people’s colonizers. Now she’s headed back to her home with her squad, on a mission with the Empire’s princess because the princess (Luca) is determined to find the magic that’s inheritant to the native people.

The set-up for this book is very interesting: military, politics, colonialism, magic, social commentary, very interesting worldbuilding, sapphic romance hinted at, etc. It followed through on only some of the promise though. The political intrigue was very high, and if you are someone who loves political fantasy, this is up your alley. The military aspect was interesting, but also heartbreaking, because you are following a squad who was forced into military slavery and then they are treated as “canon fodder” for the Empire and are hated by everyone else in the military. The social commentary and worldbuilding were also very interesting.

What weighed it down for me was how slow the book moved for the first 50% (that’s a long time to hang before anything really happens). The magic-the whole reason why they’re there-isn’t explained or really delved into (it’s literally “they pray and have faith” and it works). The sapphic romance really doesn’t work because it’s not developed, between people on opposite sides of a divide that’s not overcome, and there’s a HUGE power imbalance, basically it was set up like you are supposed to root for this couple and I just wasn’t invested and it all felt off. Oh, and everyone betrays everyone. Multiple times (this could be a selling point for you, it wasn’t for me).

I’m curious to see where the next book goes and if it explains more of the magic and what’s going on.

Content/trigger warnings: violence, murder and death, bigotry, threat of rape, mentions of past rape/abuse, colonialism, military slavery, racism.

*Thanks Orbit Books and Netgalley for this ARC!*
(triggers at the end)

this book really had me in the first half huh. i will never sympathize with a colonizer tho, you almost got me at the end 🤩


trigger warnings for
extreme bodily harm, torture (on-page, referenced), imprisonment, starvation, death (on-page), massacres, genocide, colonization, imperialism, death of a loved one, grief, body gore, abuse (psychological, emotional, physical), war

Thanks to NetGalley & Orbit Books for the advanced reader copy. I hate having to DNF ARCs but I think this one is just not for me, plus it takes quite some time for the "story" to start, judging by other reviews, and I don't like books where I have to read almost the entire book for the story to pick up. DNF'ed at 20%.

The Unbroken follows two protagonists, Touraine & Luca. Touraine was taken from her family as a child and raised to be a part of the opposing enemy's military. Luca is a disabled woman who has a fascination with magic. They must work together to navigate the politics of this unique world taken over by colonialism.

I had never read a military fantasy book until now...I guess now I know I definitely don't like this particular subgenre, lol. For one thing, there wasn't really much fantasy at all, and it was more politics than anything. That was difficult to keep track of since the world-building wasn't expanded on as much as it should've been.

The descriptions of the landscape and buildings were spot on and executed perfectly! The in-depth look into colonialism and its consequences are fascinating to read, so this book would definitely appeal to those interested in seeing a fantasy world with not-typical themes and elements.

Touraine was a frustrating protagonist, her decisions were confusing, I'm not a fan of unreliable narrators, though I can understand how appealing they are. Lucas was great disabled representation, but not enough to keep me reading, unfortunately.

Again, this story is heavy military/politics moreso than fantasy as well as darker themes of colonialism strewn into its story, so this would appeal to those who like these elements best. I can see the appeal though, it's just not going to be for everyone.

Okay, this LITERALLY took me a month to read.

Part of that is because I'm so busy. Trying to read any book right now is going to take a lot longer than normal. But even so, the bar for a book to grab me and forcibly dunk my head underwater until I finish it is not that high. Part of why it took so long is that the story seemed to just grind on and on, and it was a struggle to be interested.

I advise anyone who LOVED The Traitor Baru Cormorant to take a look at this book.

It's not nearly as grim, brutal, or dark as Baru, but there are a lot of similarities:

• Colonial/imperial oppressor theme

• Touraine was co-opted as a child to work for the empire that conquered her people, and must sort out her true desires and loyalties

• "Infiltrate and suborn the rebels" plot

• Oh no, the rebels are too sympathetic

• Fraught, traumatic lesbian romance

• Many betrayals

The ending is happier than Baru of course, and happier than I expected. I liked Touraine as a character, but the whole book was just slow and didn't grip me emotionally. There were so many betrayals I almost lost track of who had done what and for what reason. I was hardly able to care about any of the relationships, even though I wanted to invest in Touraine's squad and the dynamic between her and her mother.

Overall, I'm glad I'm done with this book because now I can move on to something else.

4.5 Stars
I'm not gonna lie I was a bit worried in the beginning that I wasn't gonna like the book. Oddly enough I love interacting with Tourraine she makes me want to hug/punch her. I wasn't expecting to follow Luca's POV but since I do crave character development Clark executed that well. Lua very much leads with her head and Tourraine does lead with her emotions which makes for a nice clash that I crave. The political intrigue has me gripping my arms but I do feel at times that Luca doesn't exercise that part of her very much but maybe this is part of the long haul where all of her chess pieces falls into place in book two. Either way I look forward to more from the author and this series

C.L. Clark unrolls onto the red carpet version of the book world with a gastronomic anti-colonialist fantasy. In The Unbroken, they achieve what most authors writing a non-western inspired fantasy can’t. A complex tale, with deep bruises and brightness in every character and every corner of the page. One that reaches far into the mind and into a person’s heart, with depth built so far that I could not even want a less complicated or nuanced world than the one I have read in The Unbroken.

We’re catapulted into a terrible and beautiful world inspired by French colonized North Africa. Touraine is a soldier, trained and molded by the Balladairan empire she was stolen from her mother, and from Qazāl, as a child. Years later, she and her fellow soldiers arrive in Qazāl on a mission. They are sent to crush the rising tensions in Qazāl, a rebellion is brewing and about to pop off.

Accused of betraying the empire, the calculating and cool princess of Balladaire, Luca, saves Touraine’s life and enfolds her into a plot. In a hunt to save her people and claim her throne from her tyrannical uncle, Luca hopes to find magic and peace amongst the war and brutality in Qazāl. However, Touraine is her tool, a go between the empire and the rebels. Within the Qazāli neighborhoods are the rebels, where Touraine meets, drinks coffee, and chats with her own people, among them healers and a sharp tongued woman called The Jackal.

Frequently, due to the Fantasy genre’s over-reliance on English inspired epic fantasy people lean on that colonial inspiration but Clark’s main gaze lies elsewhere, in a world inspired by France’s colonization of North African countries, such as Algeria. Inspirations in fantasy aren’t always summed up to one place or time. R.F. Kuang’s The Poppy War is inspired by ancient China and yet she picks from modern Chinese history. Colonial history is wide, and often a related experience between the reaches of colonial powers. But going into any fantasy inspired by colonialism, there’s always that reminder that it is fantasy. It doesn’t have to be based on one inspiration or even stick to our own colonial realities. Clark is experimenting with the pain of this earth and the possibilities of magic.

In The Unbroken there aren’t any easy answers. There is immense nuance Clark’s world, and to real countries reeling from colonialism, than what first meets the eye.

The most difficult part of reading this book is the way some characters experience the same realities, hopes, and lies people living in countries still healing from colonization experience. It’s the swallowing and changing of the mind. The perspective is so close and makes aspects of historical realities shine with such clarity. In fact, that’s what is so brilliant about fantasy writers like C.L. Clark.

For Touraine, she is fed off of hope by the empire. If she works her way up to the top of her military career, that would prove not only to Balladaire but to other Sands that Balladaire rewards loyalty with fairness. That is what she, and others, live off of. The hope to be treated like everyone else. It’s the self hatred that is so raw and brutal in The Unbroken.

But for her fellow Sands, it is not about wanting equality from Balladaire. One character, Tibeau, explains he doesn’t want their help or anything that comes with a collar. A reminder that Balladaire (or really any western nation of our own world) does not give its gifts without a price.

In Luca, we find privileges, frustrations, and a calculating mind just trying to find a way to prove to her empire that she doesn’t need to be able bodied to be a worthy ruler. Both wanting a way to prove themselves to Balladaire, a princess and a soldier without privileges of a citizen or a princess. Clark touches and then shatters through the naivety of colonial violence but also peace. The reason Luca’s interesting is the push between her and Touraine. She’s not above the more violent colonizers but within it, a part of it. She’s both dangerous, kind, and not someone easily summed up or pinned down.

That’s risky and brave, and it’s the type of story I don’t often get to read. One that stares right into your face.

Clark is doing something with Luca and Touraine’s relationship beyond romance. But I don’t think it appropriate to go into this thinking ‘sapphic romance’ when it’s really not prominent enough to be labeled as romantic, which isn’t to say that it won’t lead to one. A majority of their relationship is political and developing in a way that I would not label it ‘romance.’ There’s a privilege and power pull between the two of them. There’s a mysterious air that I sense Clark doing with them and I’m very curious to see where Clark is taking us.

What makes Clark’s writing stand out really comes down to their character building, and such perfectly written descriptions. I can sense their confidence in a scene just by the way they zoom into a scene and create just the right mood and tone with a descriptor or a body movement.

Cantic remains one of the most interesting characters, and yet she’s an utter monster. A parental/authority figure to Touraine, a general, and all around a severe bitch. God I hate her but she’s interesting. Although I loved reading about her, I made a ‘ways to torture Cantic list’. She’s like a dangerous object that you really do not want to touch but you just think it’s so fascinating. All those jagged edges. Reading a scene in The Unbroken is much like watching something out of a film. I can picture Clark going over word over word just to find the perfect description.

How much I love the writing in this book is beyond explanation. The descriptions are so good! Simplifying a description does wonders for this book, as it allows me to truly see a scene on a level that an overabundance of descriptions cannot. A Balladairan man described as having a spring in his step, coffee likened to the churning by boots on the march, or the curling of a general’s hands. The visual of Cantic’s coat flapping in the night air. There’s such a freshness to Clark’s writing.

The Unbroken is like being hugged by some knives, very beautiful and sharp knives. C.L. Clark is a new favorite author of mine. Highly recommended