The Unbroken

3 min read

It’s time for another installment of Ariel’s Arcs! Today I am writing about The Unbroken by C. L. Clark. In a fictional fantasy world, The Unbroken finds our main characters, Touraine and Luca, on opposing sides of an occupation. Touraine is a conscript fighting for the occupying force of her homeland, and Luca is a princess vying for queenhood of the ruling faction. What ensues is a masterful novel of political intrigue and military action that grips the reader from start to finish.

Something I appreciate about The Unbroken are the characters. They are extremely well fleshed out, and each motivation and goal (or uncertainty around those things) feels real and tangible on each page. The characters are full of agency, and through the power of their choices the plot moves itself along at a steady pace. As the start of a trilogy, The Unbroken sets up its characters in a powerful way that leaves me anticipating where their stories will lead them in the sequels.

A major theme of this book is about loyalty and one’s culture. Touraine is a conscript, but that life is all she knows. When she’s asked to make choices that may go against her birth nation, she is faced with impossible decisions. Luca, raised in the lap of luxury but still dealing with her own plethora of problems, is trying to solve several of her nation’s problems in order to establish herself as the natural choice for the next ruler. As Luca and Touraine’s stories intersect and collide, the amount of decisions multiply and loyalties are questioned to an even greater extreme.

Overall, The Unbroken is a solid part one of a trilogy. So much happens in each chapter, but the information is given to the reader in a steady pace so it doesn’t feel overwhelming. I’d recommend this book to anyone who enjoys some political intrigue intermeshed with military strategy and subterfuge. Reading this book made me feel like I was watching an adventurous movie; holding my breath at each exciting part, feeling empathy for each character’s struggle, and feeling inspired to travel and go on my own adventures once the tale is concluded.