I’ve been awaiting the sequel to The Unbroken by the time I was halfway through. This sequel is action packed and does a fantastic job at advancing the characters and the world still reeling from the first. Keep reading my full thoughts in this book review of The Faithless.
Summary
The rebels have won, and the empire is withdrawing from Qazal. But undoing the tangled web that binds the two nations won’t be easy, and Touraine and Luca will face their greatest challenge yet.
Luca needs to oust her uncle from the Balladairan throne once and for all and take her rightful place as Queen. But he won’t let go of power so easily. When he calls for a “Trial of Competence” and Luca’s allies start disappearing from her side, she will have to prove her might. And she knows someone who can help…
Touraine has found a home in the newly free country of Qazal. However, she soon realizes that leading a country and leading a revolution are two very different tasks. And, even more importantly, if Luca won’t keep her promises, the Qazali could end up right back where they started.
Together, the two women must overcome their enemies, their history, and their heartbreak in order to secure Luca’s power and Touraine’s freedom.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
The Faithless is a story about compromises and sacrifice. It’s about being thrust into leadership, responsibility, and figuring out what of us will remain when we’re through. How Pruett, Luca, and Touraine have to reconile, rebuild, and seek retribution in the remnants of The Unbroken. Too often we are focused on a goal, only to arrive and wonder what next. For our characters, the hard work is far from over.
For Touraine, forced to become a weapon, who is she now in the ashes? If she leaves the land she fought so hard for, will she forget all she’s learned? And for Luca, the power struggles that await her at home are more than she ever imagined as she is forced to balance necessary sacrifices with heartbreak. The Faithless is a sequel that propels readers. It asks us what we are willing to sacrifice for power, a temporary victory, love. In this world where there is so much to unpack, dismantle, how do we begin chipping away at these systems of colonization?
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The ways our culture, language, and children are stolen from us. Or the compromises we’re forced for survival one day, even if tomorrow is uncertain. It’s a book that challenges, delivers magic, and examines power. With no easy answers, The Faithless is a tour de force. It’s about the ways power plays can end up recoiling, twisting around the fragile relationships we hold dear. Find The Faithless on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, & Blackwells.