[BWF] The Unbroken by CL Clark- 3 stars

[Jen K]

Touraine was taken as a child, one of many, to be raised in the colonizer country to be a conscript in the army. All local cultures, language and home were beaten out of colonized squad known as the Sands. Touraine's only goal was to be as like the colonizers as possible to be recognized enough to lead her squad and improve their situation instead of being lead by prejudiced captains. Then the squad was asked to return to their homeland where they are in opposition of people who look like them who are downtrodden and may be family while still being harassed by the leaders. Luca is a princess who is meant to be on the throne but still "proving" herself while her uncle leads. She needs a strong success in the colony to retake her throne despite the atrocities she sees happening to the local people. Her secret hope is to learn the local magic to heal her people and to be seen as strong and she is willing to do most anything to get it.

I really enjoyed the politics of colonization. As Luca and the colonizers continue to treat the colony as misbehaved children who must learn to give all their resources to be civilized instead of treating them as an equal for trade, the audacity of the colonizers is really well done. What I didn't like is Luca and Touraine and their relationship. The few tender moments really did not at all justified the really terrible decisions made by both thinking of the other. They both liked each other more for what they could do for them and repeated encounters did not make sense at all. Luca's escalation because she felt betrayed by one person without actually considering her needs was too extreme. I'm slightly interested to see what happens next but unsure about continuing the series.

BWF Tenacious Trailblazers: Letter U; Debut x 10