Book Review | The Unbroken

EVERY EMPIRE DEMANDS REVOLUTION.

Touraine is a soldier. Stolen as a child and raised to kill and die for the empire, her only loyalty is to her fellow conscripts. But now, her company has been sent back to her homeland to stop a rebellion, and the ties of blood may be stronger than she thought.

Luca needs a turncoat. Someone desperate enough to tiptoe the bayonet’s edge between treason and orders. Someone who can sway the rebels toward peace, while Luca focuses on what really matters: getting her uncle off her throne.

Through assassinations and massacres, in bedrooms and war rooms, Touraine and Luca will haggle over the price of a nation. But some things aren’t for sale.

In a political fantasy unlike any other, debut author C. L. Clark spins an epic tale of rebellion, espionage, and military might on the far outreaches of a crumbling desert empire. -Waterstones

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!

Thank you for reading my book review of The Unbroken! Have you read this novel? What did you think?

Buy from Waterstones here (affiliate link)

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