I would say this is a great starter for someone who typically reads YA fantasy/sci-fi but wants to branch out into adult SFF and is unsure of where to start. For fans of An Ember in the Ashes, Throne of Glass, and Gideon the Ninth, this book has everything.

There's magic, rebellion, a touch of romance, and themes of colonialism.

While it IS a bit of a slog in the beginning, the ending is such a huge payoff.

I love this book. I love Touraine, and I would kill for her.

Rebellions in SFF are a dime a dozen, but rarely does the author understand how to do it right. CL Clark does an excellent job, and I would consider this novel a prime example to follow. I have some minor issues with it (mainly, that confusing last 20%), but at the end of the day, it's almost perfect and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoyed The Winner's Curse, The Poppy War, or The Wolf of Oren-Yaro.

Clark's unflinching dissection of colonialism, (French) imperialism, race, and religion is what makes this novel. And it's beautifully told through the eyes of Touraine, a young lieutenant who was abducted by colonizers as a child and trained to become a soldier for the empire. Touraine's roots are bled out of her; she's forced to assimilate, even if she's a second-class citizen under her new nation. But war is all she's ever known. She's a good soldier, and proud of it, and hopes to rise the military ranks and someday become a prime general that the empire would be proud of. She grew up in the empire and it's all she's ever known. The empire does not love her back, but it is familiar, it is safety, it is what keeps her fed.

Due to unfortunate circumstances, she's forced to leave the military and work as an assistant to Princess Luca, heir to the throne. Luca wants to stabilize her rule and expand her reach through Qazal (Touraine's native country), but she can't do that when rebels are resisting every inch of her rule. Thus, she commands Touraine to become a secret link between them, a negotiator for so-called peace.

In a lot of ways, this is a coming-of-age story about a young woman finding her identity and place in the world. My heart hurt for Touraine, for her youth and naivete, for her outcast status. The Qazali hate her for being a dog to the empire. And the empire hates her for being Qazali. All her choices are difficult (and many of them are wrong), but you root for her. She may be a tough, muscular soldier who is better at fighting than words, but she's also gentle, loyal, and so full of love. A good person caught in an impossible trap.

There is a sapphic romance here between Luca and Touraine, but it is not straightforward and easy. First, there's the obvious power imbalance between them, and then later on, the realization that their differences are too great to bear. Both women are stubborn and unwilling to back down from their fights... as they should! But it means you shouldn't come here looking for a sweet romance.

Actually, I hated Luca a bit. Touraine is so clearly oppressed, which makes it hard to stomach reading the POV of the delusional colonizer princess who thinks she's "better" than her countrymen because at least she's a pacifist. At least she thinks that the Qazali are humans, not animals. At least she respects them. But she's still invading their land, no matter how pretty her words are. Luca does gain some character development too, which was a pleasant surprise, but now I have no idea how Book 2 will go.

Touraine is a lesbian, Luca is bisexual, and no one bats an eye at anyone's sexual preferences. I appreciated that.

Now, onto the rest. The plot is kind of predictable, but it's still excellently done. This was an accessible military fantasy—lighter on the military tactics, heavier on the politics. I also appreciated how Clark did not include any unnecessary info dumping. The first chapter kicked off the plot immediately, and every scene had its purpose. The worldbuilding is also incredible... I was perfectly immersed in Qazal, as if I was living there myself.

This is another book to add to my DNF maybe to be picked back up later shelf. I don't know if it was just me or what but it felt like there was so much going on but not enough plot. The worldbuilding was so large that it felt like a slog to get through everything to the plot. I really, really was hoping to enjoy this work which is why I shall give it a chance another day.

this was a very interesting read! I enjoyed the politics and the writing style. i think the characters were great as well and quite enjoyable. i recommend it to other adult fantasy readers

4/5 stars

“It is impossible to come from one land and learn to live in another and feel whole… you will] always stand on shaky, hole-ridden ground, half of your identity dug out of you and tossed away.”

A slow/medium paced military sapphic fantasy.

In The Unbroken we follow Touraine, a Qazāli-born conscript in the imperial army of Balladaire. Like many other "Sands," Tourraine is returning to her birthplace after being stolen as a child and brought up as a soldier for the Empire. Touraines' loyalties are tested over and over again. Should she remain loyal to the empire as it is demanded of her ? Should her loyalties lie with her fellow soldiers? Should she sacrifice herself for her home and the people she barely remembers?

Clark craft-fully brings every detail of the worldbuilding and setting to life.

Central to the book are themes surrounding forced colonialism and assimilation and a deeper examination of the emotional and political challenges of of being a cog in a larger uncaring machine.

This is the first installment in The Magic of the Lost Series and I can't wait to continue on this emotional rollercoaster !

Really rich, dark, and lovely fantasy world exploring the effects of colonialism and revolution, and conflicting loyalties among those who serve the empire. Also some magic.

As a lieutenant in command of the Sands, soldiers stolen as children just like her, Touraine's loyalty is to those in her unit first, but she also has a longing to be accepted by Balladaire. Her behavior throughout the book is reflective of this desire. Touraine's story is the most compelling as she straddles the middle, looking for where she belongs. As a Balladairan soldier, she's called a traitor by Qazāl, but she will never be fully accepted by Balladaire either. She is forced to tread a path where she will always be a scapegoat because she is a victim of imperialism.

The story alternates between Touraine and Luca, the Balladairan princess without her throne. Luca arrives in Qazāl with hopes of quelling a rebellion so she may ascend her throne, taking it from her uncle who has cleverly placed himself there in her stead after her parents' death. Luca is similar to Touraine in that she also hopes to find a balance somewhere in the middle. Of course, her somewhere in the middle also includes her being in power. On the idealistic side, Luca wants peace between Qazāl and Balladaire, Luca is someone I wanted to root for because she appeared genuine in her desire for peace and had the qualities of what a good leader could be, with the understanding that good is relative. Is it possible to be a good leader if her desire for peace also requires she sits on the throne? Is it possible to be a good leader if those forced into becoming part of her empire desire to be free from her authority?

The book is well-written. Touraine's journey to self-discovery were elements that I especially liked. Touraine's story tugged at me and gave the book sad undertones that constantly had me questioning what it is like to lose one's heritage. It is character-driven with an overall plot that is interesting and provides a critical perspective of colonialism. The biggest drawback of the book is the painstakingly slow pace, which makes the already nearly 500 pages--over 500 pages depending on which edition is read--feel a lot longer than it is. If you can overcome the pacing like I eventually was able to, this is a book filled with layers worth reading. (3.5 stars rounded to 4 stars)

This book was captivating from the very first chapter. I was expecting to love this book, but I wasn't expecting the deeper themes of blood ties and colonialism. This was magnificent and I'm so happy to have read it. C.L. Clark is an author to watch.

There's so much here I loved but ultimately I had some issues with the execution. So while I feel comfortable recommending this, it fell short for my personal tastes (hence the slightly lower rating). I absolutely loved the world and both main characters but around the midpoint the characters' decisions (Tourraine's in particular) stopped making sense so the story lost some urgency for me. I was already invested enough in the characters to push on, but not with the excitement I had during the first half. But I was impressed enough that I'm happy to recommend this to people who love political fantasy that's more intrigue driven, and immersive, evocative worlds.

Soldier taken from her people at a young age returns to the homeland of her birth and joins the resistance. Love seeing a story of revolution against colonizers, plus magic and queer romance and really cool interpersonal dynamics. Great characters -- recommend to fans of Gideon the Ninth (for characterization, if not overall genre)

The Unbroken takes on so many things and does so expertly, tackling magic and rebellions and even a bit of romance, but above all, colonialism. This political fantasy follows two protagonists, Touraine and Luca. A Qazāli soldier, pejoratively referred to as a “Sand,” Touraine was stolen from her homeland when she was young to serve the Balladairan empire, and now stationed at home again, she begins to question everything she thought she knew. Luca is the Balladairan princess intent on making peace with Qazāli rebels to prove that, instead of her incapable uncle, she can be ruling on the throne. Their paths cross as loyalties form and wither and the “threat” of the rebels grows larger.

Touraine’s arc was one of my favorite parts of the book, difficult to witness at first but resulting in an ultimately satisfying growth. Touraine’s mindset as a colonized person is twisted and disturbing to read, the way she believes the warped things she had been taught about her own people and thinks that if she commits more and more of herself to the empire they will finally see her as more than a Sand—but it is all too reminiscent of the thinking patterns that colonized people have in the real world. Clark handled this frame of thinking with care, challenging it through other characters’ criticisms while ensuring that the reader understood that it was a result of colonial brainwashing. Throughout the book we get to watch Touraine work through her complicated thoughts and feelings about the empire and her and other Qazālis’ role in it, and her development was truly fulfilling.

While I enjoyed reading from both Touraine and Luca’s perspectives, I found that Luca wasn’t as compelling of a character as Touraine was for me. Even if it weren’t already a bit unsettling to read from a colonizer’s perspective (which was the point and well-done, with no justification for horrible actions), I didn’t feel a strong connection with her as I did with Touraine. Luca was an interesting character and I loved the insights that her POV offered, specifically with how colonizers may believe they search for “peace” but fail to realize that without justice for the colonized, there can be no peace. But in comparison to Touraine, who had such a strong character arc, Luca fell a bit short for me.

As much as I might have liked Touraine and Luca, though, I truly did not enjoy their romance. I knew beforehand that it would be a colonized/colonizer romance and I was apprehensive about that, but it was written in a sensitive way, so that wasn’t my main issue. What bothered me was that there was a lack of development and chemistry between Touraine and Luca. This didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the book since the romance wasn’t part of the main plot, but their relationship still was a large influence on some of the storyline, resulting in more emotional parts falling flat for me since I honestly could not see how their feelings had developed.

Whatever I found lacking in the romantic relationship was luckily made up for in other relationships. The found family Touraine found was heartwarming, especially in how they played a large role in her growth and escaping from her brainwashed mindset. I loved Touraine and her mother’s relationship the most, though; nothing is unaffected by colonialism, and that includes relationships and family. Touraine and her mother’s growth, from misplaced resentment and misunderstanding to the love and fondness they were never allowed to feel, was so lovely, serving as a source of joy and an outlier in the tragic outcomes of families in a colonized land. It honestly made me want to cry at certain parts.

If you were to ask me what the highlight of this book was for me, though, with complete certainty I would say the way politics and colonialism were written. How different facets of colonialism were explored on a more personal level through the characters themselves was masterful already, but equally impressive is Clark’s portrayal of the effects of colonialism on a larger scale. As inspired by France’s colonization of North Africa, what the Balladairan empire did to the Qazāli people and their land was painful to read, from the suppression of Qazāli religion and language, to the pitting of rebels and Sands against each other despite being from the same culture. The fact that, from its characters to the broader setting, almost every aspect of this book is influenced by colonialism only serves to reinforce the idea that colonialism is a completely destructive force and leaves nothing untouched.

The Unbroken is definitely on the slower side, so if you’re looking for a faster-paced fantasy this might not be for you. I myself wanted things to move more quickly in the beginning, but if you can let the story slowly unravel in the first half, you’ll find yourself quickly devouring the rest. (It took me several weeks to read the beginning, and then I binged the last half in only a day.) This is truly a book to savor and take your time with in order to fully appreciate all that it encompasses. If you enjoy fantasy with a complex examination of colonialism, you will undoubtedly be satisfied by what you find within the pages of The Unbroken.

The Unbroken is a fantasy story of colonization and oppression can turn people against their own people. We follow two women, one a solder and one a ruler, but not 100% happy and learning to rely/use each other to get what they want. From that use, a romance?

I was really drawn into this book by the idea of a solider fighting in the streets and an enemies to lover relationship between two women. That part of the book did not let me down, but I felt like the story was much too slow. I was at the 50% mark and felt like nothing was happening. I wanted to love the book, it had so many good things to say, but unfortunately it wasn't paced well. I do think some of that is personal taste and that many other people would really love the book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Orbit for giving me a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was dense, and most authors could probably spread this content across a whole trilogy, but I loved it all the same. There were moments here and there I got a little lost, but that might be due to me taking quite a long time to read this, plus listening to it on audio (and my mind wandering for moments here and there despite my interest).

First, I love that this book is set in a world where being queer is normal, and we didn't have to deal with any homophobia or hate for the queer characters. They were able to just love who they loved, and the only issues about relationships were based on class/race (which was the main issue of the book overall, so this makes sense). It just made me really happy, just getting to see all these women love each other, and not getting shit for that aspect of their lives.

I've read a lot of books about rebellions, and the colonizers learning (willingly or not) that their occupation was not wanted nor needed, and being forcibly removed. I haven't read a lot of books where one of the POVs is one of the colonized, but who has been raised as a colonizer, and it was really intriguing reading this story from her point of view. Touraine had to deal with hate from all angles, had to confront her biases of her own people forced on her by the colonizers at a young age, and try to figure out what she wanted for herself, away from the manipulation of those around her. Luca, the queen/heir/princess, was also an interesting point of view, as a colonizer, because she was overall a gray character. She wasn't anti-rebellion, but she also wasn't pro-colonizer (her own country). She straddled a line of wanting to help those hurting and recognizing the victims of colonization as such, and as members of her kingdom that needed protecting, but also being unwilling to fully leave and sacrifice her potential title and what the colony did for her country. She was constantly rationalizing her decision to stay, or pushing off actual action until she was in a safer position of power, and this book was her learning that change isn't always safe, and sometimes you just have to push for what is right, no matter the personal cost. It meant she had to learn alongside Touraine, but we didn't have a phase of her being horrendously racist and horrible just to see her grow later. She was far from perfect, and allowed for the suffering of the colonized to continue, and we still were able to see her grow from this without having her start off as irredeemable.

It's hard to specifically discuss the plot without spoilers, since so much happens in this book beyond what the synopsis introduced. It's a story that kept me on my toes, unsure of what would happen next. Touraine was in many positions in this book as she learned her culture and country again, and each position led to a new angle for the plot to take and tell the story from. I think I'm still getting used to the insane amount of content adult fantasy contains in terms of plot, but I loved how full this book was, and how no moment felt stagnant or like we were waiting for something to happen.

Overall, I loved this and I can't wait to read the sequel! (I also can't wait to read more of the 2021 sapphic BIPOC fantasy trifecta!)

***I received an uncorrected proof of this ebook from netgalley in exchange for an honest review***

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

Okay first of all… that COVER. How bad*ss does Touraine look? Stunning. Iconic.

If I was more interested in military-inspired fantasy, this would have easily been a five-star read for me. That being said, I am pretty unfamiliar with real-life military structure/strategy, so I was left a bit confused at certain points. (I was honestly so lost at the start that I didn’t immediately notice it was dual POV, oops) I was still able to follow along and appreciate the spectacular world-building and characterization present. It took me a few chapters to dig into the meat of the concept, but once I “made it”, I was hooked!

My only complaints were that a lot of the side characters felt obvious and trite… Hard and cold Cantic, classic villainous bully Rogan, etc. Also, the pacing felt somewhat off. There were portions of the book that dragged on and on, and the high-action scenes were just a bit too sporadic in the long middle.

I look forward to book 2 and the continued development of the world and characters!

The Unbroken // by C.L. Clark

I have some really mixed feelings about this book. The rating really is a 3.5 that has been rounded up to a 4. I liked Clark's writing style a lot. She pulled me into her book and I was anxious to return back to it every time life called me away. But at the same time, there are several things I really struggled with as well.

I'm a big fan of multiple POVs so having two narrators was great. We got to follow both a suppressed warrior as well as a privileged princess. These two could not be further apart in station in their country. I've always liked to follow along and see the moment where storylines converge. That actually happened pretty soon in this book! I also liked how Clark incorporated the different themes of this book as well as having made this a queernorm world. She created a setting that was so easy to imagine with magic that was so fascinating to learn about. I cannot wait to read more about that in the next book! There are multiple scenes in this book that have really tugged at my emotions. The sense of belonging, the devastation of defeat, the camaraderie of being with someone that understands, and the thrill of fighting for the right cause. Those are the things that kept calling me back to this book.

Despite this though, there are multiple things I struggled with. There were a lot of bad decisions made in this book and as is often the case, they could be blamed on the romantic feelings of characters. My issue with this though is that the romance between the main characters just wasn't really that believable. Based on the scenes we experience, I just did not really understand where their feelings came from. I didn't see how they really knew each other well enough for that or had much of a reason to like each other. It felt more like we were being told that they cared for each other than we were shown. That made many of the bad decisions so frustrating to deal with. I also found many of the characters a bit one-dimensional, like they could only really have one goal or main emotion. I would've enjoyed a little more complexity to them. The only character that really felt like she made complete sense to me was Pruett. Now that's a person I would love to follow for an entire book! What an amazing, no-nonsense character! I'm also a bit disappointed with the very last scene but that's still based on my feelings of the relationship that was the center of this story so that's not surprising. It does promise an interesting start to the next book though!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

“𝗔 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘄𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸.”—C.L. Clark

The Unbroken is a brutal fantasy inspired by North African history. It address colonialism, racism, harsh politics, and the struggle of the oppressed. The themes in this book were deep, heavy and tense. Its characters, refreshingly imperfect. The plot, slow in places and rushed in others. The world building, layers upon layers. I wish I could say this was an easy read. It was anything but. Most truths are hard to face, this was no exception.

The story follows Luca and Touraine. Two women from very different backgrounds. Luca is the kingdom’s princess, while Touraine is a military conscript who was kidnapped as a child, trained, and returned to the very city she was born in. As the story progresses, Touraine is forced to question everything she believes, while Luca must fight for control of her right to rule. Both women are thrust together to face the growing unrest among rebels who want nothing more than to regain control of their homeland. Together, Luca and Touraine grow and learn to question. Neither is perfect. And they both make regrettable mistakes. There is a smidge of romance between them too.

“𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲.”—C.L. Clark

The world building was impressive and complex. However, for a “fantasy” there weren’t many fantasy aspects other than this being in a fictional world modeled off real world. There was some mild magic. Nothing crazy, though.

This was a tough read for me. There was nothing “feel good” about it. It was dark, brutal, and difficult to confront. But aren’t all truths? The writing was beautiful, and occasionally the pace was a little slow for me, but the ending was done extremely well. I was satisfied as I shut the book.

While this book wasn’t my preferred flavor, because I like light, feel-good, guilty pleasure reads, it was undoubtedly GOOD. The only reason I’m not giving it a higher rating was because it just wasn’t my cup of tea. My ratings are most heavily based on my overall enjoyment. But there is so much merit to the writing, the themes, the storyline, that it deserves praise. I’m on the fence about the sequel. Will I read it? I want to say I’m interested to see what happens, but there are also so many great books out there. I have a feeling it will land on the “indefinite TBR” where I’ll “get to it eventually” but never quite get to it.

𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: 𝟯.𝟱/𝟱⭐️

A huge thank you to Orbit and NetGalley

So I know this book was released three months ago but I am very behind on my ARCs if you can't tell. I've kind of completely switched to audiobooks so reading eARCs has kind of taken a back seat. I'm glad that I finally read this though! It's a such strong debut book with great characters and an intriguing plot.


Our two main characters are Touraine and Luca. Let's talk about my favorite character Touraine first. I loved her so much. She had such an interesting dichotomy to her. Struggling with everything she's always known and what she wants to find out and decide for herself. At the end of the book she's in such a good place and that made me very happy.

Now Luca. She was not my favorite. Honestly she kind of annoyed me a lot throughout the book. I only really cared about her in relation to Touraine and any chapters or scenes with just Luca I was half listening to. She had a white savior complex that irked me so much. She got a little better at the end but I still don't really like her.


The world Clark created is so rich and vibrant that you couldn't help falling in love with it. I was instantly hooked to the story and was eagerly following each character's story line. The way the politics and rebellion were handled was so well done and made for a really interesting read.



I'm excited to see how the rest of the series continues. There isn't much information on the sequel but I am wondering if the same characters here will be featured in the sequel or will we follow new characters. I definitely recommend this series, especially if you loved The Poppy War as it has similar vibes.

Loved this. The unbroken was one of my most anticipated reads and it did not disappoint. Would recommend to anyone if they love fantasy especially with sapphics.

I’m not going to lie; I had a difficult time reading The Unbroken by C. L. Clark. But I think that was the point. This book deals with colonialism head on. You follow two different perspectives, Touraine and Luca, both from very different backgrounds. It is a rough ride for both characters and as the reader you find yourself questioning their decisions and motivations. While there is/are antagonists in the book Clark does a masterful job of reminding us that each person is capable of great good and terrible wrongs. We are complex beings, and our actions affect others. It is in how we handle these situations and their repercussions (both good and bad) that our character is built.
This is a hell of a book and while I have rated it three stars, please know that the longer I sit with it the more I have grown to appreciate it. Sure, there are some things that maybe did not flow as well as they could have, or sections where we were told a bit more than we were shown, but over all it carries a very impactful tale, and I am genuinely interested in where the series goes from here. From a developmental standpoint I think it ran a little longer than necessary and slowed a bit in the middle, but I still think it was a solid debut novel.
The fantastical world in which it takes place is wide and vivid even though we are only seeing a small section of it in this first book. The magic is also only glimpsed though it is hinted that the more invested in change our main characters become the deeper these magics will be explored and understood. I am eager to learn more about the other cultures mentioned and hopefully see their landscapes depicted in future books. All in all, I found The Unbroken to be an interesting and memorable read. It tackles tough topics and keeps rolling. I do not think enjoyed is the right word to describe how I feel about this book. Absorbed I think is more accurate. I think on it quite often and I do believe it will stay with me. I anticipate rereading it when the next book is up for release.
So, do I recommend reading The Unbroken? Absolutely. I anticipate C. L. Clark being a name we become very familiar with in the future.

4⭐️ read. Thank you to Orbit Books, C.L. Clark and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. Overall, I enjoyed this story very much. The stunning descriptions of Qazal drew me in to the story; the differences between Old Medina and New Medina were so stark. The dehumanizing treatment of the Qazalis by the Balladarians was so heartbreaking; the dismissal of them as “dogs” was unimaginable. I felt for the “Sands” who were conscripted to fight for a people and army who didn’t value them.The character development of Touraine and Luca really made me invested and I truly rooted for both of them to succeed. Both Touraine and Luca were incredibly flawed and made the most frustrating decisions ever, in the name of fighting for their people and the throne, respectively. I also mourned for the deaths of some of the characters and hated that others weren’t appropriately punished, even though a couple were vanquished in the end. I did find that I struggled through the first third of the book; other than the first few pages, the action was quite slow, even though it was heavy on character development. Once I passed that mark, I flew through the rest of the book in a few days. I can’t wait to see what unfolds in Book two.