Life got in the way and I could not finish the book. Thanks to the publishers for the chance to read the book.

I loved book one of this series, and I was not let down by book two. I love complicated, frustrating characters who have flaws.. so this series is 👍 for me.

The relationship between the MCs is great, and the secondary characters are strong too.. which is so important in a series for me.

Can't wait to see book three!

Unfortunately I requested this before finished The Unbroken, but I have since read the first one and decided not to continue on in the series. the first one was just longer than it needed to be and had many parts that simply dragged that I found it boring and difficult to push through. I enjoyed the author's writing style, but I didn't find either of the main characters to be likeable or enjoyable enough to make me invested in their stories.

What a great sequel! Loved the new setting and introduction of the new characters. I would absolutely encourage others to read book 1 and 2!

Also, a lot of fun new characters were introduced! I loved Sabine, and Fili is very neat!!! I love the plot in this book a lot more, and I really love the way it is heading so much. It was also cool getting more familiar with Lucas home country. I'm really looking forward to the third book now.

Thank you to Orbit Books and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC for an honest review! The Faithless was one of my most anticipated books of 2023 and it did not disappoint! The Unbroken was one of my favorite reads the year prior and I could not wait to sink my teeth into Clark's next installment. The Faithless further expands Clark's vision and shows us more of the world that she's masterfully crafted. Touraine and Luca continue to thrill and frustrate me throughout the story, but I can't wait to read what happens next.

I will not be giving a review for this because of chose to not finish the first book in this series. The star rating is not how I would rate the book, it is just because it is mandatory on reviews.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Book two of the Magic of the Lost series, I enjoyed this thoroughly, though probably not as much as the first. I loved the swap to a newer setting and newer characters, ESPECIALLY Sabine. She was an absolute delight to read. I'm always a sucker for more of the sapphic pining, and amazing character development, especially for Luca. I'm entranced and I am excited for the next book.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars--

I wanted to love The Faithless as much as I LOVED The Unbroken. But I just didn't. Perhaps because it seemed more Luca-focused and Touraine was less in her element as an ambassador in Balladaire. I also felt like Luca and Touraine's trust issues, while understandable, began to feel tiresome as a main plot-driving device. And yet, I still enjoyed their unlikely romance and the overarching issues of colonialism that this series tackles.

Many thanks to Orbit Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I will say I enjoyed this one less than The Unbroken - perhaps because court politics is never my preferred form of fantasy - though Clark again does a fantastic job of portraying people who genuinely want good and justice and fairness but their power and privilege and “principles” get in the way. Luca really shines in this one because of how torn and cornered she is: her heart, her training, her nostalgia, her research, and her judgement are all pulling her in different directions. Touraine would have been my absolute last choice for an ambassador and she consistently shows how ill-suited for that role she is, which also consistently brings us new plot points.

Where this falls short is, again, timeline maintenance. It’s very difficult to gauge the passage of time, and the skips of weeks or months at a time made the story feel jagged. Another missed opportunity is with the side plots: Pruett and the carpenter’s apprentice were WEALTHS of potential distractions to keep from making the time jumps feel so incongruous, and while they ended up both being rather important in the grand scheme of things, they didn’t show up enough on page for my liking.

I have high hopes for the next book though.

I do not have words for how good this book was. I am constantly stunned by the in depth world-building and beautifully intricate plot weaved by CL Clark. The magic system is only on par with the character development. I look forward to book 3!

It was so great to be back in this world. CL Clark has done such a great job writing a unique, complex world full of characters you can't help but love (and occasionally hate.) Overall, this is such a great series and I cannot wait for book three!

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

DNF @ 45%

The first book in this series wasn't my favorite but it had promise. Unfortunately, I just don't care about these characters or this conflict. I find nearly every scene to be overdramatic and everyone is always so mad at each other and not communicating.

This series has great world-building and an interesting magic system. However, Luca is totally insufferable, and the romantic subplot has no legs. Luca and Touraine have no chemistry, and it really lowers the stakes for me.

I loved the Unbroken and am happy to say the Faithless proved to be even better!

The plot is so well thought out and the military fantasy subgenre is so underrated. In my opinion it allows for readers to truly see how the characters struggle with the decisions they make and to truly relate and appreciate the relationships we are introduced to.

I am super excited to get into the third book to find out how the story continues to unfold. I would absolutely recommend giving this one a shot if you enjoy a character driven story and characters with a level of depth that keeps you wanting to unravel more of who they are.

I absolutely loved book 1 and was prepared for book 2 to not measure up. Not because Clark isn't capable of writing yet another perfect book, but I didn't see how book 2 could be better. I am so happy to be wrong.

This book was excellent. This is what sequels dream of being.

The world continues to be complex and gritty, and I walked away from this wanting to know the characters more, to continue being part of this world.

Cannot wait for book 3.

4.5 rounded down.

The Faithless is a worthy follow-up to The Unbroken. I love these characters and this world and was pleased to see that Pruett now gets POV chapters. While this was a fun read, it took me longer to get into it than the first novel and it didn’t quite punch me in the heart-brain as hard as the first one.

I am hoping the next novel is even longer and takes more time to explore all of these new characters that have been introduced, alongside the new magics and settings. Praying to the Balladairan and Qazali gods that the next novel is out sooner rather than later! Thanks to C.L. Clark for creating such a fascinating world 😊

Cherae has done it once again with the sequel to The Unbroken. There is nothing that i love quite like some court politics and boy did they deliver. I think for some it may be a bit of a dragging point in the story, but i eat that stuff up!! It was quite interesting to see how different the dynamics were in Balladaire versus Qazal and for us to get to learn more about Luca.

If you love a slow burn that will literally catch you on fire while you wait - may i introduce you to The Magic of the Lost Trilogy. I was so happy to see that we finally got some pay off on the tension that was so present in the first book.

Overall, C.L. Clark really knows how to write good high fantasy and i cannot wait to see how the third book wraps up this intense trilogy!!!

4.5/5 stars

We've had Touraine's Arms, now it's time for... Luca's Legs


How do you follow up on the iconic Touraine's Arms cover illustration for The Unbroken? Why, with Luca's Legs of course! And Luca's slouch. Also, Luca's unpleasant little princess smirk. Luca's strained trouser fabric, and its several folds. In this analysis of Luca as portrayed by Tommy Arnold on the cover of The Faithless, I will... wait, uh, remind me what I was doing here again? The text! Yes, I remember now, the text. Of the book. Let's tear our eyes away from the cover for a minute and talk about the insides of The Faithless, the middle volume in C. L. Clark's trilogy about empire, resistance, and extremely handsome ladies.

(If you're new to this series, and wondering whether The Unbroken will be your thing to start with, I covered that in Strange Horizons so go and check that out instead. I start that one out by talking about Touraine's Arms, so there's a pattern emerging here, and very correctly so in my opinion.)

The Faithless begins in the middle of the political reorganisation that began at the end of The Unbroken. The colonising nation of Balladaire has chosen to pull out of Qazāl and recognise its independence, ending decades of oppressive rule. The treaty for this has been negotiated between Princess Luca, who had gone to govern the colony in a bid to secure her ascension to the throne in place of her regent Uncle, and a new leadership of former rebels. Among those rebels is Touraine: Qazāli by birth, stolen from her home and raised as a soldier by Balladaire, defected after realising that her coloniser superiors will never see her as anything more than a tool, and now the heir to a magical power which she isn't sure how to use. Through the events of The Unbroken, Touraine and Luca are well acquainted, by which I mean "Luca tried to use Touraine as a tool, Touraine had a severe case of divided loyalties and eventually decided not to go with the brainwashing coloniser, in theory Luca has worked her way around to respecting that". Also, they have absolutely scorching sexual chemistry every time they get within 50 metres of each other, and both of them continue to sometimes mistake this for mutual trust and respect. Luca mistakes her horny feelings for respect so much that she requests the Qazāli appoint Touraine as Ambassador to the Balladairan court, and the Qazāli, seeing in this an opportunity to ensure Luca upholds the terms of their treaty, are happy to send Touraine into the lions den. See, Luca has every intention of honouring her treaty, but she's also still not the Queen, and her Uncle is using the political leverage he has gained from her "failure" in Qazāl to force a trial of competence and push her out of the succession entirely.

The events of The Faithless therefore mostly revolve around the Balladairan court, as Luca struggles to build political alliances and ascend the throne and Touraine struggles to gain respect as a representative of a former colony, to improve the lot of Qazāli who have settled in Balladaire, to protect the people in her delegation, and to field the varied requests for help from Luca. One of the more frustrating elements of The Unbroken was the extensive list of bad decisions and reversals from Touraine, even though they made intellectually as a portrayal of a woman stuck between the indoctrination of a colonial upbringing and a birth culture that views her with ambivalence because of her proximity to colonial power. In The Faithless, Touraine's decisions are similarly complex and still lead to Bad Times sometimes, but they come from a foundation of wanting what is best for Qazāl over Balladaire even when she doesn't know how to achieve that in the Balladairan court, and the extent to which helping Luca achieve her ambitions will be good for her own country (and, relatedly, to what extent she's doing it for horny reasons). Luca and Touraine are still far from being on an equal footing in this book, and that imbalance permeates their every interaction. But Touraine's greater confidence in herself, and her clearer recognition of the power imbalance, add a new dynamic to their relationship and, frankly, make it easier to enjoy its progression without being consumed with annoyance over Luca's exploitation. Their relationship is still deeply fucked up - and that's the point - but it's marginally less "Touraine, please just run away, Touraine, no, TOURAINE", and I found that added to my enjoyment of the story.

While it's difficult not to miss Qazāl, and some of the characters who we leave there, Balladaire makes for an equally fascinating setting, full of intriguing side characters both new and returning. First off, the aesthetics are wonderful: Balladaire is French inspired, and Clark kits out her sapphic elites in masculine French court outfits with plenty of mention of sword hilts. While we spend much of our time watching elite political machinations there's also exploration of broader sociopolitical dynamics, including Qazāli migrants who feel oppression in Balladaire is a better situation than economic uncertainty in their own country, and anti-monarchist sentiment among the broader population. One of Luca's plans to gain power involves rediscovering the "lost" magic of Balladaire, whose eradication was part of the country's colonial narrative: magic is uncivilised, science is civilised, therefore scientific Balladaire needs to go to other countries which still have their magic and replace it with good clean scientific thinking (and, of course, harness that magic for their own military use, but that bit's not in the school curriculum). It would be a spoiler to say how this plot thread develops, but the wrinkles this adds to the worldbuilding are so deliciously "oh damn, of course" that I had to scream out loud for a bit after Luca figures it out. The Faithless also spends some time fleshing out Masridān, another region under Balladairan colonial rule whose people are of the same ethnic group as Qazāl, through the eyes of Touraine's former comrade and lover Pruett, who has been sent to build alliances but finds little immediate aid among the city's leadership.

If you liked The Unbroken, I think you're going to be very satisfied with where Clark takes things here, and how well the table is laid for the end of the trilogy (read: how very, very fucked our girls are). I, for one, can't wait to see whose body parts end up provoking thirst on the cover next time.