#cl clark

This book was sitting on my pile to read from the library and the idea was for it to be a sort of palate cleanser, as I haven't read some pure fantasy for a while. I really wanted to like it, I really did, but man it was a drag to read. It took me way longer than it should have to get through this and it was a relief to be done.

All that said I didn't hate the book, I think it did a lot of things well. I found the premise to be quite intriguing I thought the world was also well built. I was really into the idea of lost magic being tied to indigenous people and the power they hold because of their faith and connection to the world. The whole story provided an interesting commentary on colonialism and what happens when someone falls in the middle. What is right what is wrong, and how we have to keep moving even if we seriously fuck up. I also thought, though not particularly flowery the prose was well done. I found that the structure of dual POV added a nice touch too.

On to my issues. It was so slow, I feel like so much of the book literally nothing was going on and a lot of exciting moments occur off the page. I am all for a book that is slow paced and revels in the more quiet moments, but this one just didn't do it for me. Part of that was likely attributed to my general indifference to the main characters. I in all honesty did not care much for anything Luca and Touraine did. Once again I really wanted to like them but I just wasn't feeling it. Their whole forbidden romance felt like an odd undertone to add to what is a pretty sad story about colonialism and attempts at rebellion.

Hands down the hardest part of being a lesbian, for me, is the books. I love reading, but holy fucking shit is it a whole thing to find a *good* book to read.

I've seen The Unbroken by CL Clark recommended on several posts in r/lesbianbookclub so I finally gave it a try. Ignoring the subpar romance that we dont actually see developing beyond one 'shared bed' moment and then a sudden love declaration at the very end that was completely out of the blue, and the less than great execution of what was a very interesting idea... The whole plot is a complete moron whose 'only loyalty is to the sands' being very loyal to the woman colonising her people, betraying everyone for literally no reason, somehow being attracted to that woman, that coloniser princess being completely incompetent despite being described as intelligent and capable politically (she isn't) and failing to actually achieve literally anything. And then she throws a tantrum, decides she no longer cares about the people shes actively colonising –though personally, despite her saying so, I never saw any actions that suggest she ever did, she was as ignorant as ignorant gets– and lets her 'lovers' friends (colonised and oppressed slaves) get hung in front of her, because apparently thats very 'queenly' and a few pages later they're holding hands and being all lovey. What the fuck??

Three people were possessed, in a sense, by their god and it was so completely anticlimactic and achieved such nothingness that I almost forgot it happened. Could have scrapped that whole plotline because it was pointless.

Now after allegedly helping free her people (allegedly because she didn't actually do much besides enjoy the company of the woman allowing them to be enslaved), and chasing her girlfriend and their oppressors out of their land, she's apparently in love and writing letters to her. The woman who didn't give a fuck about the sands who were supposed to be her only loyalty.

I usually don't hate on books online, I write a review for myself so I don't reread it, rant about it to someone in my life, and move on. However, I felt this was necessary so hopefully at least one person can avoid the frustration and rage I felt at this book.

Im reading Magic of the Lost - C. L Clark and I just need to see the map to understand things and it sucks going back pages to see it lol. Sharing it here instead