![]() ![]() While the cane-wielding princess is incredibly intelligent, she is marred by her prejudice against the “uncivilized” Qazāl people and her desire to ascend to the throne, with the latter desire often pushing out her kinder tendencies. ![]() Princess Luca, heir to the Balladaire throne, is sympathetic to the systemic mistreatment of the Qazāl people, but balks at the idea of their self-determination. The Balladaire Empire occupies the hot, desert Qazāl lands, profiting from their trade routes, quarries, and bodies. While the enemies-to-lover theme is certainly present, it mostly functions to accentuate the novel’s underlying concept: every empire falls, whether in the bedroom or on the battlefield. ![]() Readers follow Touraine’s journey from an obedient lieutenant to a revolutionary of her own making. Situated in a setting reminiscent of North Africa, Clark pens a precise and horrifying tale of the Balladaire Empire’s cruel domination over the Qazāl people. ![]() Clark’s debut novel The Unbroken is a military political fantasy teeming with sapphic romance, treacherous espionage, and violent-but-necessary revolution. ![]()
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