I feel like I first became really aware of Tommy Arnold’s art from the Voidwitch Saga books by Corey J. White. Since then, it’s just been one epic cover after another for him, maybe most notably GIDEON THE NINTH & HARROW THE NINTH.

And add C. L. Clark’s debut novel, THE UNBROKEN, to that list of gorgeous covers. Because, wow. It’s just an absolutely mesmerizing piece of art, and the flawless design from Lauren Panepinto makes this one of the more iconic Orbit covers out there.

THE UNBROKEN is a phenomenal debut novel, and a hell of a start to a new trilogy! I was pulled into this world very quickly, and basically devoured this book in a few days.

Touraine is a soldier in the Balladairan Colonial Brigade. But not by choice. Her brigade is made up of conscripts, so when Touraine finds herself back in her homeland, Qazāl, to quash a brewing & violent rebellion, she’s…conflicted. On the one hand, Touraine is an excellent soldier, and an ambitious one. She’s fiercely loyal to the members of her brigade. But faced with the reality of having to battle the local rebels, that loyalty is about to be put to the test.

On the other side of the story is Luca Ancier, a Balladairan princess with plans to challenge her uncle for the throne. She is sent into Qazāl to oversee the military effort to put down the rebellion against the empire.

With the Balladairan Empire colonizing Qazāl, the atmosphere in this city is tense…like a lit fuse. A violent chance encounter brings Luca and Touraine together, and the lines between friend & foe become incredibly blurry.

This is a fantasy novel that greatly favors character development above all else, which is something I love. Also the whole approach to magic is right up my street, which is to say that it’s part of the story, but it’s definitely not the whole story. There’s also some flintlock fantasy elements here, which is always cool to see!

There’s just a lot of cool shit happening in THE UNBROKEN! At the center of the story are two really flawed & ambitious women, both struggling to find a balance between doing what they feel is right, and doing what’s expected of them. There’s also an incredibly fascinating mother-daughter relationship in the book.

THE UNBROKEN is set in a queernorm world, and features a really diverse cast of characters…there’s nonbinary representation as well as disabled representation. Clark takes a thoughtful approach here & the result feels very inclusive.

This is an incredibly vivid & strong start to a new fantasy trilogy, and I’m really excited to see where C. L. Clark takes the story from here!