The Unbroken

Somewhere halfway through I had already had my heart broken a million times, and I thought, “Sky-falling fuck, when's the sequel coming out.”

I did not expect to love this book, alas, here I am.

See, the thing is, I'm not usually one to read military and politics heavy books, not even in the fantasy genre. But I wanted to support an author whose debut (for adults, not YA) is about an adult, female protagonist. Having that character be an lgbt character? Bonus! There aren't many such books.

The military and the politics stuff is delivered in just the right amount to be important and pushing the plot forward while also making sure the ambitions of the characters are in the spot light. It's a perfect balance, in my opinion. Quite genius.

The world building, the mystery of the magic that may or may not exist.. All very intriguing.

The characters are flawed and will make you want to yell at them for stupid decisions (yes, I did such thing), but I like them even more so for that.

And perhaps more importantly, I like how colonialism is explored, how it's used to form and push and develop, not just Touraine and Luca, but the entire cast of the book. So many nuances. I think it'll stay with me for a long time.

It ends in a way that won't have you hate yourself for starting a first book in a not yet completed series. Still, I ache for a sequel asap.

I was not expecting this when I opened the book; a contender to a favourite 2021 read.

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r/fantasy Bingo Card 2021: Debut Author
Also fits: New To You Author, Published In 2021, Chapter Titles