This book is so hard to talk about that I’ve been sitting on reviewing this for a month now. Oops. I honestly kept coming back to this but I couldn’t find the words to explain how this book gutted me in the best ways possible. Really you just have to read it. But, I’ll try.

I completely, whole-heartedly adored Touraine. The whole way through this book, she is an absolute shining light of a character. The complications she faces are unbearable, and I honestly don’t know how I would have handled a single one of them if I was in her place, let alone all of them hitting her back to back. Touraine was stolen from her homeland as a child, conscripted into the army of the empire colonising her own people, then sent back to her homeland to quash a rebellion. It hurt my heart, honestly. Watching Touraine come back to a place she barely recognises, with a language she doesn’t speak, was incredibly powerful. Her loyalties are constantly torn. Between the rebels she ‘should’ help, the people she grew up with and the woman she’s drawn to, Touraine is constantly having to make decisions on a knife’s edge. I was breathless with anticipation for her next actions at all times. I actually ended up listening to the audiobook of this, and I listened to it in one sitting, completely ignoring my fiance so I could focus on the story.

This book is brutal. It’s not a fluffy rebellion story where ‘good’ conquers all and changes hearts. It’s a raw look at the ugly realities of colonialisation, of racism, and of the consequences of rebellion and warfare. Touraine isn’t ‘drawn to goodness’ or any of those usual cliches, instead she spends a lot of time conflicted over who she should help, what side she’s supposed to be on, and whether she should act at all. Even just reading along with her I was caught in indecision, and I can’t wait for more in this incredible series.

I’ve seen reviews complaining about the relationship between Luca and Touraine, and I guess that’s fair, but it’s important to me to point out that they’re a mess for a reason. These are two women who are diametrically opposed in a lot of ways, and more importantly the power disparity between them is a huge factor. Luca doesn’t want to dismantle the empire. Luca wants her throne back, to rule the empire. I personally adored the complicated relationship between them and the struggle to balance feelings with the realities of a rebellion that’s so much larger than either of them. Touraine’s choices are so, so complicated, and I’m so glad that this book didn’t lean into the ‘love conquers all’ narrative and instead highlighted how complex their power dynamic truly was and how much needs to change before they can fit together without rubbing on each other’s sharp edges.

It is a brilliant, engaging book that I pretty much ignored all my other tasks and goals for the day to read. The world is sharply drawn and the story engaging, while also grappling with colonialism.

I don't think Touraine and Luca's relationship quite went were I was expecting. I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting, but certainly to go further than it did rather than remain at the pinning level. In retrospect, it wouldn't have made sense to go further, given the character's current torn loyalties and priorities. It stayed true to the character's drawn lines and self-realisations and used their feelings, particularly Touraine's, to explore the conflict between what had been ingrained by education/circumstance and what one saw or felt.

This is a book that's very obviously talking about colonialism, the impacts on a country, on its people, attempts to assimilate children, and the justification of the white colonial powers. Touraine is holding onto a taught belief part of her knows is wrong but it's safer, easier to believe. Luca completely believe her ends justify the means.

If Touraine had been the sole POV character, I think the book would have made less of an impression on me, a white woman, because I did identify with Luca more. While my experience of life, naturally, doesn't line up with either of them, I could see much more of my experience in Luca. Seeing her grapple with the issues and then make the choices she did, and then interrogating my reactions to them, landed more. In that respect, Luca was a tool well used.

Touraine's internal struggle between being a loyal soldier and a rebel protesting all that's done to her was fascinating. A character divided is one of the tropes/character portrayals I love the most. I had a very clear "I am rooting for Touraine to ultimately choose X" sense, which sometimes makes me lose interest if the character takes a while to get there or goes another way, but here the uncertainty and the path she took was the really engaging bit. I was able to slip into her mind easily and feel that conflict.

There have been jokes and lots of references to Touraine's arms in the author's self-promo for the book. And Touraine is a very physically strong character, very muscled, thanks to her training. In that sense, she'd come under the "Strong Female Character" label. It was very interesting to see her contrasted to Luca, who uses a cane and deals with chronic pain in her leg and hip after a riding accident as a child. They are both strong in the way that matters - personality. Stubborn, full of their own beliefs. There are plenty of other strong women of all sorts in the book, and I loved that breadth.

This is the first of a new series, and I am very excited for the next book!

The Unbroken is a North-African inspired political-military fantasy. It follows Touraine, a soldier who was taken away from Qazāl to serve for Balladaire; and Luca, a Balladairian princess who was trying to quell the rebellion in an attempt to take the throne.

I really loved the worldbuilding. The author really did a great job in familiarizing and immersing readers into the world. The history and the different tribes really made for a deep and complex world. One that I can't wait to be explored more in the second book. The magic system also served well as a foundation to the story, instead of just being a tool to fight, but also as the main driver and motivation of the characters.

In terms of pacing, I did have a bit of a hard time with the book. Especially for the first half, it felt really dense and slow. And even when the story started to pick up and we got more actions, it didn't improve much. But I did appreciate the author for carefully and slowly build the world, the magic system, and the political tension.

Now on to the characters. The main characters were not very easy to like or sympathize with, and there were certain points where I feel like the character development took 1 step forward, only to take 2 steps back. They either made dumb decisions, or–in the case of Luca–reverted back to her colonizer mindset. And while it is perfectly understandable for Touraine because it was a part of her unlearning everything that has been wired into her brain since she was a child, I can't say the same for Luca. Even until the end of the book, she hasn't had significant character development and that made the (potential) romance between them a bit iffy for me.

That said, I am in love with the side characters especially the rebels. I live for Djasha and Aranen's relationship, Jaghotai's tough love and just how much of a one big family they all are.

Overall, this was a good read for me. The political aspect of the book is interesting, and is a solid opener to the series.

4/5 stars

I finally finished it omg. I fell into one hell of a reading slump in the middle of this book (not the book's fault), but I’m glad I stuck to the end and finally finished!!!1

<i>The Unbroken</i> follows two main characters, Touraine and Luca as they try to quell a rebellion and find peace between the colonizers and the rebels. (I'm oversimplifying the plot here, my brain's fried tonight) At its root, the book discusses heavy themes like the many aspects of colonialism, self hatred, internalized racism, etc through this riveting North African inspired military-fantasy story.

<b>“Balladaire was a land of gifts and punishment, honey and whips, devastating mercies.”</b>

The author does not hold back in dishing out hard truths at our characters, forcing them to confront the ugly realities that they might struggle to come to terms with. The dialogue between Luca and Touraine is at its best when they’re at each other’s throats (especially Luca’s), it’s satisfying watching Touraine rip into colonizers and unlearn the self hate she’s been taught to believe in since young. Both characters have that push and pull between them that makes scenes really engaging to read.

<b>“Is everything yours for the taking? Do you care about anyone but yourself?”</b>

Touraine is a really interesting character, she’s strong (seriously I love how they keep emphasizing her thigh and arm muscles), stubborn and loyal to a fault. Her character development is one of my favorite parts of the book. The little things she starts to reclaim, from learning the language to simply lifting her head higher and holding eye contact with Luca or any other official. Every step along the way, the author shows and emphasizes how tough that journey is and makes you root for her so much more. Luca on the other hand was harder to sympathize and like for quite a chunk of the book, especially since so much of her character is meant to mirror the way colonizers think. But to the author’s credit, she also has great character development, it just took a while.

The book is definitely more of a slow burn, a lot of military talk, strategies, etc. It’s one of those fantasy stories where the magic is not the main focus but still an element to the story. I love how the culture and discussion around colonialism is intertwined with the magic system. We do get some brutal fighting scenes too (though sometimes they’re a bit hard to follow personally).

Overall, I highly recommend this book, it’s just such a rewarding experience reading it. I cant speak on how well the representation is overall (there are a couple own voices reviews out there that are way more effective in pointing out interesting points I might’ve missed), but I do love how queer this book is, not just the two main characters but we get side characters who are unabashedly gay and married, like the rep is so casual in a sense which makes me :D every time.

tw: attempted rape, threats of rape, graphic violence and brutality, internalized racism and self hate

I first caught wind of THE UNBROKEN last year when the cover was revealed, and we all fell in love with Touraine’s arms and I have been excited for it ever since. My excitement was in turn met with a great story that I couldn’t put down, and for that I am grateful.

THE UNBROKEN follows Touraine, a soldier stolen as a child and raised under the rule and teachings of the empire, and Luca, the rightful heir to the throne. One, a direct result of the colonialism the other’s family has enacted and benefited from.
Clark’s writing, pacing, and worldbuilding are all highlights of the story for me. The way the lore is expanded in conversations had and painful memories shared, and how the narrative moves at a pace that benefits the action and unfolding of events.
The relationships – both between and within characters – in this story are complex and layered. We see fractured connections, tense reunions, and complicated formings. There are nearly no ‘easy’ relationships throughout the story. They are all deeply influenced by the actions that are taken and the lives that were lead before.

THE UNBROKEN is equal parts compelling and frustrating (in the best way). Our two main characters made decisions that had me yelling at my screen while reading. Touraine truly believes she can help her fellow soldiers if she plays by the rules of her oppressors, often putting them in further danger. While Luca wants to form an alliance with the Qazali and rebels though only for her own purposes, often seeking paths to secure the throne that are narrow-sighted and do very little to serve the people she is so determined to rule. Both Touraine and Luca made choices they simply could have chosen not to and while I understand why they did it, I was upset all the same. They both seem incapable of understanding that the effects of years of colonialism and oppression cannot be undone in a few simple steps backed by pure intention. They are also hesitant to face the ways in which they have been formed by their oppression and privilege, respectively.

We see the deep-seated effects colonialism has had on the soldiers it claims to have given a better life and the civilians who have been made to live under its rule for decades. The anger and hopelessness, the division between the Sands and the rebels, the erasure of whole histories and culture. It can be a lot to reckon with, but Clark explores it in such sincere, riveting, and often heartbreaking ways.

THE UNBROKEN has begun a truly intriguing tale, and I am excited to see how our characters grow, and where the story takes us. I will be excitedly waiting for the next instalment to arrive.

Thanks to Net Galley & Orbit for providing an eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5
The Unbroken is a tale of humanity as its most raw and revolutionary, complex and caustic, desperate and determined. A military fantasy chock full of politics and intrigue, betrayal and heartbreak that will reel you in inch by inch until it has you in it’s very sharp claws.


Our cast is beautifully diverse and varied, each character delightfully, realistically realised.

Touraine is headstrong and fiercely protective of those she cares for. Her story takes her far from the life she’s known since childhood, a life of duty and death on the battlefield. Our soldier struggles to reconcile her devotion to the empire she grew up in with the blood ties she discovers in the southern city of her birth.


Luca is determined and ambitious in her fight for her rightful throne.
The princess fights for a more equal society in the colonies her empire rules and delves deep into its histories in an attempt to protect her own people in the process.

When Luca and Touraine’s paths collide the fate of the colony and the empire hangs in the balance.



I absolutely loved how real and painful and brutally honest the author is in capturing the internal turmoils of our characters. Their desires and fears, the actions they take when driven by one or the other or both of these emotions will make the reader pause and ask themselves, “would i do any different in this or that situation?”

The sapphic romance subplot, while given time to develop and never rushed, didn't quite manage to capture my heart but given this is a series I'm willing to give it a chance in the sequel.

Oddly I found myself very invested in certain side characters, almost more so than our main girls, and there’s a certain General’s and witch’s backstories I'd love to read more about.

The plot in this story felt a little circular at times until about the last twenty percent where the action kicked off and dramatic events unfold one after another.
But this could be due the fact the story is set almost entirely in one location.

A location I will add that is explored through gorgeous world building. Every temple wall and market bazaar, every sunset and desert vista is described in lush detail that brings the world beautifully to life on the page.
The magic systems are simply wonderful to read about and I would love to learn more about them in book two.

Personally the balance of intrigue versus action felt a little too heavy on the intrigue side and I often felt frustrated with certain decisions characters made but I will say these were probably some of the most realistic things about the book.
These aspects just simply weren’t to my personal taste.


Overall, while this story didn’t quite hook it’s claws into me as deeply as I wanted them too, I cannot fault it. I have high hopes for the sequel and will definitely pick it up.
A sublimely written and well thought out excavation of what it means to fight for the right to be equal in a desperately unbalanced world.

This book was painful and I loved it. A truly epic fantasy rooted in the brutal reality of colonialism and war, with yearning between two complex women on opposite sides added on top for extra flavour. This was an excellent debut and I can't wait to get my hands on the next book in the series.

(Many thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.)

The Unbroken was really a good fantasy book and I enjoyed it very much. The worldbuilding was detailed enough and the characters were well developed and fleshed out. I also enjoyed the politics and the search for magic. The only thing that needed more development was the romance between Luca and Touraine. Nonetheless, I really recommend this story!

Huge thank you to Orbit Books and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC copy of The Unbroken for this book review. This is one of my most anticipated releases of the first quarter, and I was so excited to receive a digital proof!!

The Unbroken fully lived up to all the hype I have heard about it, I loved every second of this novel! From the world building to the politics to the characters, it was all brilliant! I have been let down by previous anticipated reads so far this year, but not this one!!

I will start off this review by saying that this book is dark. It is a dark fantasy. From the first page we get a sense of the tension and unease that fills the city. It is also a brutally violent world, and there are some graphic displays of this violence, which I would be aware of before starting to read. The characters go through a lot of dark places and events, both physically and mentally, so please be aware of this element too. Before reading make sure you take this into consideration, because I do think it could be a tough read.

Clark does a brilliant job of setting the novel and the surrounding world up. With a map at the front of the book (I love a map, who doesn’t?!) they make sure the world is clear. With so much political machinations in the novel, making sure the world itself is clearly laid out is key, and Clark does this brilliantly.

This novel is definitely more of a political fantasy, the politics of the world are prominent throughout. I haven’t read many political fantasies, but I am determined to expand my fantasy reading to include more. The Unbroken is a perfect example of a well done political fantasy. The reader is drawn fully into the ins and outs of the politics of the world, and how the changes will affect the characters.

My other favourite element of The Unbroken is definitely the characters themselves! Touraine is our main character, who we follow throughout the novel. She is a lieutenant in the army who is loyal only to her fellow soldiers. When she and her company are sent to stop a rebellion in her home nation, she begins to question those loyalties, and who she is fighting for. Touraine is so cool, she is hard and cold, and her banter with her company, when she lets her guard down, is brilliant, and her budding relationship with Luca the Crown Princess is perfect! I loved these two together, the pining and the flirting was excellent!

Overall I loved this novel. The politics, the fighting, and the relationships made this a brilliant, page-turning read! I can’t wait to continue this series!

The Unbroken is, first of all, a hell of a story. It’s got magic. It’s got muskets. It’s got monarchs. It’s got rebellions and mysteries aplenty. But it’s also got a heck of a lot else going on, exploring the choices and consequences of colonialism, of conscription, and of the idea of agency, of choice. It’s a book with Big Ideas lurking like a crocodile beneath the waters of its heart-thumping narrative, ready to make you think, even as it dazzles, terrifies and delights in equal measure. It’s also unabashedly a queer story of love, and loss, and connection. It is, in other words, a book which fills every inch of its pages with wonder, and is really bloody good.
Emphasis on the bloody.


Touraine is the gyre at the centre of the story. Taken from her country as a child, after its conquest, she was raised by the conquerors, the Balladaire. Educated to be “civilised” by their lights. Trained as a soldier. Conscripted to lead her fellow dispossessed into the worst of the conflicts begun by their colonisers. Always left feeling under the weight of expectation, even from those Balladaireans who are willing to see her as something like a person. Touraine has trained herself to live a life of strict control, conforming to external expectations, forcing herself into the mould that her captors, her surrogate parents, her life, has prepared her for. And the story looks at Touraine, and asks her questions, and asks us questions. Touraine fights for Balladaire, partly because there are no other options, and partly because, embedded in their culture, she thinks they’ll win. And so she struggles to be more like them than they are themselves, trying to win her small command of conscripts room to breathe, maybe even room to choose. There’s an old pain and old scars there, a code of submission and adoption, but also that sense of struggle. Even as she has fought Balladaire’s wars, she fights for her people, for the family that she has now, the conscript company under her.Trying to fit them into a world which aims to make them like itself, but denies them the opportunity to be equals.


The Unbroken is often a painful, affecting read. In Touraine and her conscripts, we can see the face of a colonial past laid bare, a generation after brutalities and madness. Now the survivors are trying to find something to hold to in the rubble. Watching Touraine try to squeeze herself into Baladaire’s expectations, like a uniform a size too small, is painful. Watching her friends argue for revolution, or just to keep your head down, as things won’t improve, is painful - but it’s an honest pain, one which rings true.


And as Touraine is trying to find an identity, she is flung back into the land where she was born. A land that seems familiar but isn’t. A land which has no place for those returnees walking the thin line between the conquerors and the occupied. Because the conscripts are sent back to their birthplace, to enforce the order of their colonial masters, and prove their assimilation and their virtue to those with the power to hold their reins.


One of those is Luca, princess of Balladaire, and possibly its queen. Luca is interesting in herself. She struggles with expectations of her own, a permanent physical injury and her gender making her less than ideal monarch material, in a colonial polity recently ruled by her father, a conquering king. But Luca exists in a cloud of privilege. Her limitations are real, but her boundaries are wider; she twitches in pain from a ruined leg, but does so under silk sheets, while planning how to take her throne. And to do that, she’s come to this conquered corner of her kingdom, to settle a rebellion, and prove her right to rule in one stroke. Luca is incisive, intelligent, and, given the right circumstances, ruthless. She reads, a lot, in an effort to be a good ruler, to decide what a good ruler actually is. Luca is, by many lights, a good person, even if her kingdom is settled on old debts, paid in the blood and bones of the people whose land she now finds herself strolling through, with an armed guard. Because Luca wants two things. She wants magic. - old magic, from before this part of the world was a part of Balladaire - and she wants to solve the rebellion. And for that, she needs someone she can use to get inside. Someone like Touraine.


The relationship between these two, the princess and the soldier, is a delight, and it’s at the heart of the story both in terms of the larger themes and the sheer emotional energy. Luca canb see strength and loyalty and courage in Touraine, but also looks at her as a tool, as someone she can love, but also someone she can use; and Touraine can admire Luca, can see that she is struggling to do what she thinks she must to build a better world in the long term, but can’t help but wonder what right she has to make those decisions. In a land in its second generation of occupation, are the reforms Luca plans genuinely good? Or are they sops to contain conflict, and, in any case, merely gifts given back to a people who used to own them?


In some ways they’re sweet, even cute. And you can feel the genuine chemistry, the bounded romance of the two leads as they try to feel their way toward common ground, toward connection. But Luca, even in her gifts, in her need, in her way of thinking toward Touraine, can’t help but take some of her choice, some of her agency. She gives things which help, which might be things Touraine has wanted - but they aren’t a path chosen, but one defined. And Touraine struggles with memories of the lash (real and metaphorical), trying to show Luca that this poart of her world doesn’t want her, that Luca’s steps toward peace are a bandage on a suppurating wound. And while she does that, Touraine is trying to work out who she is, walking beneath a sky that is so strange but familiar from childhood, looking at faces in the street that might be family and never know it, looking at a people who are part of her, but no more accepting than those who tore her away from this place to begin.


OK, I went on a lot here.


But these two, they orbit each other. And they show us some of the roots of structural injustice in the way they act, react, speak, move. The way that a generation after horror, even the best of intentions may not move the needle. The future is paying the price for the transgressions of the past, and it may not even realise how its options are limited.


I want to say more, but can’t spoil it.


But I’ll say this. The atmosphere is right. The world is right. The way that there’s a rich class of Balladaire adventurers, profiting on the backs of a people now theoretically part of their kingdom, but never, never equals. The way that elite leans on the monarchy and their armaments to enforce a rule under the threat of blood and fire, and threatens its own crisis if not appeased. The way that the third generation are a hybrid, reaching out to the conquered, trying to make something new, but still so very scarred on both sides by the past. The way that acculturation has taken hold, in street signs, in a melange of language, in code switching, language switching. The way that certain neighbourhoods have silent lines around them, and the way certain people are punished while others walk away. It’s colonial power to a T. It’s an intricate, beautifully observed world, one that makes my bones ache with its familiarity and its injustices.


And it’s a world of conspiracy. A powder keg, waiting for the right spark to throw it into something new.


I haven’t said enough.


But I’ll say this. The Unbroken is one of the most thoughtful books I’ve read in years. It’s a book with a world you can recognise, a world which does not compromise in what it shows you. A world that allows you to see real people and their relationships - family, friends, royalty, conscripts - and doesn’t wave away the costs that those relationships have, or the actions that brought them about. It’s a hard story, sometimes. But also one which feels true. It’s a story which held my heart in its hands, and which brought both sorrow and joy in its journey.


It’s a damn fine book. It asks big questions, and refuses to give easy answers. It gives you fantastic characters, and asks you to see them as people, not archetypes. It gives you rebellion and revolution and magic and gods, and asks you to think about what happened to make it so, while the muskets crack and the blood falls to the floor. It’s a book that talks about identity, and faith, and family, and what those mean, and does so with an unflinching eye for truth as well as genuine warmth.


It’s great, is what I’m saying. Read it, right now.

Content warnings: past attempted rape, threats of rape, torture, violence.

The Unbroken is a military fantasy adult story and I can definitely say it 100% deserves the hype that has been built up around it. In terms of representation alone it was fantastic – with a black lesbian main character, another main character who is bi and has a physical disability due to injury, a non-binary side character and lots more rep within the side characters. Clark has created a queernorm world which is great to see.

But being able to be free with your sexuality is basically the main freedom you get in this world.

Our two main characters are Touraine, a soldier who had been stolen as a child to fight for what is basically a conquering nation, and Luca, who happens to be the princess and heir for that nation. Touraine is basically brainwashed from being a child into believing that she was fighting for the right, “winning” side. Luca is a little more complicated in the sense that she doesn’t think what’s happened before is necessarily right, but she doesn’t want to retract all the work done as she’s worried she’ll lose the chance to become queen if she does that.

Events happen which lead to Touraine having her role of Lieutenant stripped from her and she ends up being Luca’s “assistant” instead. From then the story remains a political play for the most part – Touraine is sent to try and negotiate with rebels on Luca’s behalf. The princess is of the belief that if she can stop the rebels in any way she can basically win her throne. The rebels though are understandably pretty reluctant to say the least – they’ve had children stolen and families killed thanks to the armies which would come under Luca’s command.

For the most part though, Luca tries her best to make an effort to have everything happen peacefully. She even takes a big risk in an effort to win peace for all. I really liked her character and she was probably my favourite out of the two to follow, but she was still flawed in some of her actions. A lot of the time she had to just let bad things happen, because she couldn’t see any other way and didn’t want to lose support of the ‘nobles’, which are basically racist yet wealthy idiots.

Touraine is a lot more complicated as a main character, she’s effectively having her emotions tugged between her “family” (the other children stolen to become soldiers), Luca, the rebels and the army itself (her main dream was to become high up in the ranks so that her and her soldiers would be given more respect). She struggles to work out who’s best to defend and side with, leading her to basically have a journey of self-discovery along the way. I think she ends up making the best choice overall but at times I felt like screaming at my Kindle because she kept making dumb mistakes along the way. But, she’s clearly been brainwashed so at the same time it’s great to see her realise that and come out of the story as a better person, with more of an idea of who she actually is instead of who she thinks she should be.

If you enjoy a sweet trickle of magic then you’ll really enjoy this story, we have hints very early on and they just grow the further on you read.

So yeah, I really liked this overall! It was a great debut and I’m excited to read more from this series.

3.5 STARS

I loved the setting, world building, action and the great representation in this one.

The main characters action were frustrating but I also liked seeing her make mistakes and growing.

Every now and then parts did feel confusing and too ambiguous for me which did effect my enjoyment.

I was also a little disappointed by the lack of romance as I loved seeing Luca and Tourine’s interactions but I’m still hoping they’ll be some in the sequel!

The ending left me intrigued to see where the story will go next.

Magia, colonización, relaciones complejas, política y una revolución son los pilares que componen The Unbroken, la novela con la que debuta C. L. Clark en la fantasía. Este inicio de la saga The Magic of the Lost es muy prometedor, aunque tengo mis reservas en cuanto a su ejecución. Pero esto no me ha impedido disfrutar de una novela llena de acción, sangre y confabulaciones.
A Touraine la secuestraron de Qazāl cuando era niña y la llevaron a Balladaire para convertirla en una soldado fiel al imperio. Años después, regresa junto con su pelotón de colonizados a su tierra natal. Nada más pisar el puerto, alguien la reconoce: un hombre, que planea un intento de asesinato hacia la princesa del imperio, Luca. Touraine lo detiene justo a tiempo, salvando la vida de la princesa. Pero el hombre ha pronunciado su antiguo nombre y le ha dicho que se parece mucho a su madre. Su madre, a quien ya no recuerda. ¿Sigue viva?
Luca, la princesa, debe demostrarle a su tío su valía para poder ascender al trono de su imperio. Esta segura de que, si encuentra la mítica magia de Qazāl, obtendrá el poder necesario para convertirse en reina. Sin embargo, su llegada a Qazāl tiene un inicio sangriento: los rebeldes están cada vez más activos. Luca está dispuesta a luchar por la paz, cueste lo que cueste. Recluta a Touraine para que sirva de intermediaria entre los rebeldes y el imperio, sin saber que la soldado cada vez tiene más dudas sobre su lealtad para con el imperio.
A partir de aquí, las escenas de acción se suceden: hay asesinatos, intrigas políticas, encarcelamientos, secuestros, tortura. Aunque no es un libro que se ceba en lo escatológico, sí que hay algunas escenas un tanto sangrientas. No en vano el pueblo de Qazāl está dispuesto a hacer lo que sea para deshacerse de la tiranía del imperio.
Una de las cosas que más cuida le autore en The Unbroken es la ambientación. Toda la cultura, historia, arquitectura y vestimenta de Qazāl se basa en la cultura, historia, arquitectura y vestimenta árabes; en concreto, en el periodo de ocupación francesa. Balladaire, de hecho, está basado en el imperio francés, como vemos por los nombres y las descripciones de esa lejana tierra. Sin embargo, toda la trama transcurre en Qazāl y es, por tanto, lo que más vemos. Quizá en futuras entregas, C. L. Clark nos lleve a visitar Balladaire, pero por ahora aún queda mucho de Qazāl por descubrir.
La cuestión mágica, aunque poco desarrollada en esta primera parte, ya apunta maneras: hay distintos tipos de magia y todos parecen proceder de distintos dioses, aunque hay naciones que han renegado a la idea de someterse a una religión. En The Unbroken se desarrolla sobre todo la cuestión militar; el ejército está basado en lo que podría ser un ejército occidental, el típico que vemos en películas estadounidenses. Sin embargo, hay una cuestión que destaca enseguida, y es que en el ejército hay muchísimas mujeres, tanto soldados rasos como en posiciones de poder. De hecho, en la novela hay muchas más mujeres que hombres y no es raro encontrar parejas de mujeres. Hay, además, un personaje secundario no binarie que se presenta con total naturalidad. La opresión en The Unbroken, por tanto, no viene determinada por tu género u orientación sexual, y eso es de agradecer, porque ya hay, para mi gusto, demasiadas novelas de fantasía repletas de violencia contra las mujeres y las personas LGBT+.
Otro aspecto que me ha gustado mucho en The Unbroken son sus personajes, sobre todo la evolución de Touraine a lo largo de la novela. Al principio, Touraine se aferra con todas sus fuerzas a las leyes y costumbres de Balladaire, porque quiere impresionar a sus superiores y ganarse su favor para poder mejorar las condiciones de su pelotón, marginado y oprimido por el resto del ejército. Sin embargo, nada más empezar la reputación de Touraine sufre un revés muy importante y su papel en el imperio cambia radicalmente. Este hecho la llevará a conocer a la princesa Luca, que la acoge como su ayudante. Touraine no tardará en convertirse también en su confidente, pero la distancia entre ellas no deja de crecer a medida que la exsoldado va percibiendo las injusticias que se cometen a su alrededor.
Tanto Touraine como Luca son personajes con una escala de grises impresionante. Aunque intentan actuar por el bien del pueblo de Qazāl, a menudo su situación personal y las expectativas de otras personas les nublan el juicio y acaban cometiendo errores imperdonables. Esto es, al final, lo que mueve la trama e impele a leer: la magnitud de la condición humana reflejada de una forma magistral. Además, ambas mujeres son la personificación de las consecuencias del colonialismo: Touraine se halla en la frontera entre dos naciones, sin pertenecer por completo a una de ellas. Luca no acepta su papel de colonizadora, sin darse cuenta de que lo ejerce cada día y en cada momento.
Touraine was starting to think it was impossible to come from one land and learn to live in another and feel whole. That you would always stand on shaky, hole-ridden ground, half of your identity dug out of you and tossed away.
Las ideas detrás de The Unbroken son muy buenas y, además, necesarias. El mensaje que transmite, que la colonización puede ser revocada, que un futuro de sanación y libertad es posible, también es muy necesario.
Sin embargo, la novela tiene algunos fallos a nivel técnico que me complicaron su lectura, sobre todo al principio. Tardé mucho en entrar en ella y el ritmo nada más empezar ya me pareció bastante irregular. A veces, los cambios entre escenas son tan bruscos que no sabes lo que está pasando, y la separación de los capítulos, que alternan la perspectiva de Luca y de Touraine, no es la más adecuada. Esto, no obstante, solo son un par de cuestiones técnicas que se pueden obviar siempre y cuando la historia te interese. Y, creedme: os interesará.
En definitiva, The Unbroken, de C. L. Clark, es un primer libro decente para una saga que promete muchísimo. Aunque esta primera parte se centra sobre todo en la tensión política entre Qazāl y Balladaire, estoy segura que las siguientes entregas nos traerán más magia, más señoras sáficas en el desierto y más enigmas que resolver.

I knew from the moment I first heard of The Unbroken that this book was going to hit a bit too close to home. Military fantasy inspired by the French colonisation of North Africa? I was planning for it to be a raw sort of experience and it was.

Touraine is a conscript soldier. She’s been kidnapped by Balladaire as a child, grew up fashioned into the perfect weapon of the empire, sent as cannon fodder in its gruesome wars, and shipped back to a home she doesn’t remember to help keep the peace against a rising rebellion. My heart ached for her. Her loyalty was torn – who is she supposed to follow? The empire that taught her all she knows, or her homeland, her people, the country she never really belonged to? Does she really belong to the empire, in other ways than simply being a tool it can use and discard? Following the soldier as she figures out who she is, who she should fight for, was the highlight of the book. She came to Qazāl with simple enough goals: do her job as a soldier and protect her fellow conscripts, whom she considers as family. I felt like shaking her when she parroted empire propaganda, when she believed in an illusional meritocratic system where if she fought enough and bled enough, she’d be Balladairan enough. Empires do not work this way, Touraine.

Then there’s princess Luca, the future queen of this empire. Under the regency of her uncle, she is in Qazāl to learn the ropes of ruling. She is a scholar, fierce, always trying to find the right thing to do, to reach a balanced decision. She saved Touraine’s life and took her under her wing. The two women, despite who they both are and who they both could be, get close. Words cannot possibly express how much I hated Luca. It led to some surreal conversations with friends who talk about the book saying “hey I’m 30% into the Unbroken, what did Luca do? She seems ok”. I hated her from the first time she appeared and I never let go of this delicious hatred while reading the book. Cherae is truly a genius for creating this character.

I am trying not to transform this review into a Luca rant because the book is so much more, but I am going to explain. Luca has a different vision for the empire and its colonies than her uncle and most of the nobility has. She doesn’t believe in violence. She wants to reach a compromise with rebels. She wants peace. She reads books about being a fair ruler. Ain’t she great? The problem is, there is no such thing as a good colonizer. Ideals are cheap and empires are gluttons for blood. She can be the benevolent type of colonizer, speak the language, want to understand the customs, she’ll always be a colonizer first and foremost. So whenever Touraine, as her envoy, was getting annoyed at the rebels’ reticence for a compromise, I wanted to yell that there is no possible compromise between “I want to stay in your country and bleed it dry of its resources while erasing its culture and kidnapping its children to feed our military” and “I want you to get the fuck out of my country”. I am getting angry again.

Luca’s interest in Qazāl also lies in its magic. Healing magic, more specifically. The colony hasn’t entirely forgotten the ways of old, even with the empire’s enthusiasm in crushing religious beliefs in the name of rational thought (“religion yucky, rational thought TM is where things are at” is basically the position of real France as well). In an empire shaken by plagues, magic can come in handy. Amidst the turmoil of a colony in the verge of open revolt, Luca and Touraine also try to figure out the source of these powers and how to harness them in the service of an empire that cannot possibly let go of even the idea of an additional resource to wrongfully appropriate.

The story is a journey paved with torn loyalties and spattered with blood, and I loved it. I loved watching Touraine grow and see past her brainwashing, I loved her interactions with the rebels and her fellow conscript soldiers. The Unbroken manages to be an inflinching book about the ugliness, in all its forms, of colonization, while at the same time putting at its heart people that feel real and with whom you deeply sympathize (not Luca, though). There’s much more to learn about the magic, and the ending of the book clearly signals a new beginning. I am looking forward to more.

This book is not at all what I expected it to be, and if I’m being honest I have no idea how I can rate this book. It’s so unlike anything I’ve ever read before and despite it being so, so strong and well-thought-through, I can’t say I loved this book. Did I love reading it? Yes, definitely. But despite fascination, this book didn’t make me feel enough to say I loved it.

And still I definitely recommend this. It’s powerful and important and unique and, again, so strong! It deals with a lot of heavy themes, too. I do think my favourite aspect of the story is Touraine’s character arc because wow. It was so good to a mind-blowing extend, one of the best ones I’ve read about for sure.

Touraine’s story is one of overcoming her internalised racism and the thing that made it so good for me was how she didn’t just realise it and moved past it, but she had to take little steps to overcome it. I loved seeing her development and it is definitely something everyone can learn from.

As for the romance; it’s a very small part of the story. Most of it is just sapphic yearning and tension which I actually really didn’t mind. There was definitely chemistry between Luca and Touraine, but there’s so much that needs to happen with Luca’s character before I would actually be able to root for them. But then I think that’s exactly what the author intended to do.

C. L. Clark is definitely an author to watch though. If this is her debut, I don’t think I will survive whatever else will follow in this series and other books. I loved the honest writing this book had and how it truly grabbed me. The dialogues are so, so good, too! Every character just had such a different voice and I could see each of them saying the things they did. It just…fit.

Now, why only 3.5 stars? First of all, it’s a gut feeling, but most importantly: it is because I think that despite all the things I’ve praised this book for, I think the sequel can be an absolute masterpiece. The Unbroken leaves a lot of room for an astounding second book that will steal my heart! So, ehm, I need it right this second!

Overall this book is really well-thought-through, powerful, impactful and many other things. Despite not leaving me a mess, it did leave me craving for more! If the second book had been lying next to me, I can assure you I would’ve picked it up not even three seconds after finishing The Unbroken. Consider this 3.5/5 very positive!

SIGH. I wanted to love this book so much and I'm so sad that it wasn't the case.
The Unbroken promises political intrigue, magic, sapphic romance between a princess and soldier, basically it was everything I look for in a book. But it turned out that my feelings towards the book are tepid at best and I just have too many problems with the book.
- The pacing - One of the main problems I faced with this book was just how slow it was for the first 60-70% of the book. I almost DNF'ed it several times because the pacing just didn't pick up and when it did, it was too little too late.
- the characters - this was one of the few books I felt completely emotionally disconnected with the characters. I couldn't understand their motives, I couldn't feel any connection between the characters, I just couldn't figure out WHY the characters were doing the things they were doing because nothing made sense. I could feel absolutely no chemistry between the two main characters Touraine and Luca.
- Most things were TOLD, not SHOWN. It was all a weird sense of disconnect, like watching these scenes unfold while you are standing behind thick glass. Am I not supposed to feel *something* when the main character is being shot? I just felt…nothing. I was in fact cheering on the firing squad.
- I was expecting at least some bit of magic (the series is called Magic of the Lost after all), but what I got was a very vague explanation and *maybe* 2 pages with characters using that power? There was a lot of unexplored potential - like the lost and mysterious city that we never visited - that could have been explored better.
- look, I don't mind reading fantasy books with colonialism and oppression as long as there is some hopeful message at the end (sometimes it gets depressing seeing people who look like you being oppressed in real life and in fantasy. At least for me) but giving the oppressor, who is also the main character a voice, and repeatedly making her sound humane? I don't know how I feel about that.
I’m not even going to mention the existence of other tropes I hate like a bitter ex, characters leaping to baseless conclusions, one character making all the bad decisions but not suffering any of the consequences (see the cheering on part above).

That said, I did like some parts of the story (barring the characters), the setting was cool (it is set in the deserts inspired by North Africa), and it had a very good disability and queer rep. The world is queer-normative, which is something I appreciate in every book.
I wish the book did justice to THAT epic cover or its title. Even though I didn’t like it, I can see people who like political intrigue and don’t mind the lack of magic or fantastical elements liking this book.

Rating: 2.75 / 5.

Trigger warnings: repeated mentions of rape, a guy threatening rape.

The Unbroken by C.L. Clark is heavily influenced by the French colonization in Northern Africa. Firstly, I love how fantasy writers are exploring these historical atrocities in detail. From the Qazal slums to Balladaire’s rich district, Balladaire has destroyed the Qazal way of life not only by the land they stole but also the children who were stolen and the erasure of religion.

Touraine returns to Qazal as a Lieutenant and despite being a native of Qazal, all Touraine can feel is disgust. To her, the natives are uncivilized and her “education” as a soldier sets her apart. This internalised racism and Touraine’s development is one of the core themes of The Unbroken. Touraine was stolen as a child and fed propaganda against her own country, so her return is not

I found Luca’s narrative especially compelling. Her own racism and privilege is so clearly read but tied up in these beliefs that she is doing good. But let’s be clear here: Luca wants to do good by her people and this does not include the Qazal.

The Unbroken explores how the effects of colonization cannot be outdone by a few good intentions. Luca can choose to raise the pay of the Sands or reach out to the rebels but like, Touraine said, at the end of the day, Luca and the Balladairans occupied land that was not theirs. They took and took from the natives and thought that by employing them or building a school would be a good enough bargain. Truly though, what is a good enough reparation for the lives they took, the land they desecrated and the religions they banned?

I love how complicated the characters were from Touraine’s own internalized racism to her confusion about being her identity. As a biracial, I could relate to some of Touraine’s emotions. I understood what it was like to feel unwelcomed, to feel othered, but not the experience of someone who had been stolen away and used against their people. You could tell with the way Touraine felt about wanting to learn Shalan and how it resonated with her. There is something so heart wrenching of hearing your native language and even when you don’t understand it at times, it fills the blood. It caresses your memories and pulls you in.

The worldbuilding in The Unbroken was so fascinating. I love how the author integrated language, architecture and the history of the land. The world of The Unbroken was so full of life. IT wasn’t just a description of Qazal’s architecture but the author actually showed readers how things like a building or clothing are changed when a country is colonized. Personally, I also liked that through Luca we find out some of the policies like food rations, the Sands and how public approval swayed political decisions.

The Unbroken is an astounding debut of the author C.L. Clark.
This military fantasy explores postcolonial themes. What is it like to be torn between two cultures? The protagonist Touraine doesn't really belong to either side. Stolen from her home as a child and trained as a soldier her only wish is to fit in, to obey, to be a part of the culture of her oppressors. Then she comes back to a home she cannot remember. Clark shows war without glorifying it. In fantasy there are generally too few characters who are maimed or injured, despite there being war all around. C.L. Clark doesn't hold back on this matter. There are not only injuries from war, our second protagonist, the princess Luca, is disabled. I cannot know for sure because I am not myself affected, but it felt like the author did a really good job in presenting a disabled character. I really loved how some things were turned around and showed in a different way. The Balladairan Empire doesn't want to spread a religion, they are an atheistic nation and despise everyone who believes in a God. So they want to convert their colonies to atheism. The magic in this world is connected to these gods, but in this first installment magic is only a side note. I am curious and hope that it is explored more in the future books.
A minor critique is that the text reads like a debut. In some regards it lacked a little bit of fine tuning. There are a few info dumps, a few plot conveniences, but nothing that impacted my enjoyment overall. Some of these plot conveniences happened around the love story, it was not really believable why this person would be in the position they were in (I leave it there without getting into spoilers). I had to suspend disbelief a little bit, but I didn't mind, because I liked the dynamic between the two woman slowly falling in love with each other. Luca and Touraine are characters, that are not always easy to follow. I can really see this book being polarising. Both protagonists are not easy to love, but I love to follow them as characters. They are not good persons, and that doesn't mean they are a little bit edgy, no, they are really morally grey. They do bad things, they do stupid things. But though I as the reader cannot always relate to them (and sometimes want to scream at them), their actions fit into their individual mind-set. The Unbroken definitely made me curious about whats to come. With such a debut I want to follow C.L. Clarks future works.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This book chimes a lot of familiar and timely notes right now, with its discussion of colonialism, empire and pandemic. I liked the overall premise and loved getting to see fantasy from the perspective of the colonised rather than the coloniser, plus great LGBTQ+ representation. Unfortunately there was something about the writing style that put me off slightly, but obviously that's personal preference and I hope this book finds its audience as it deserves.

Proof that we are all ready for a smarty, layered story that touches on colonialism, racism, and power structures.
Proof also, that the world is more than ready for all of the tough, bad-a**, poc queer content, and if you don’t believe me, just do a search for the hashtag #TourainesArms and see how many women are loving it. Plus powerful, tough, OLDER female characters ! Women who don’t disappear once they get to a certain age *chefs kiss*
Excellent world building, great social commentary, perhaps needing a little tightening around the third act, but well worth a read.