Reviews with content warning for Colonisation - A Broken Blade

It isn’t a perfect book, but it is damn good nonetheless. I had been sold it as a “sapphic romantasy”, so I was really confused when the m/f romance started. The main character is bisexual, an alcoholic, and absolutely tormented and broken. The cast of characters was brilliant, and the undertones of discourse about colonisation were fantastic. I am off to read book two!

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escaperoom's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

i think this book had a lot of potential, but it sadly fell through once the love interest was introduced. this is one of those books where romance just does not work. it wasn't written very well at all, it fell flat and felt like insta love. i also feel like the it wasn't needed. keeras character had a lot of potential by herself and was very fleshed out. this book could've been a 5 star masterpiece to me with just the found family. and honestly, i skimmed past the spicy parts because they made me feel icky. like i said, the romantic connection was just NOT THERE and felt so forced. on a positive note, the world building was good and the magic system has great potential. i just cannot get over how well keera was written too. and lastly the sensitive topics in this book were handled extremely well. sadly though, i will not be continuing the rest of this series.

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cecurtis89's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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ghostcowboylex's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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jl23's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I really enjoyed this book and have continued on in the series. The beginning of the book was relatively slow for me. I had a hard time really getting into it due to heavy world building which I still enjoyed.
About halfway through the book is where things really begin to pick up. There are some LGBTQ+ themes. It is a slow burn romantasy with strong plot lines. There are many lovable characters and it very much has found family vibes. I really enjoyed the character development.
If you are looking for something that is smut heavy this isn’t it. If you like strong stories with some spice this might fit the bill. This book is more timid in the spice department book two has more but still pretty tame. So if you aren’t comfortably with any now you know.
I feel like overall the cast is relatively diverse. There are themes of discrimination amongst races of fae, elf, halfling, and mortals.
The main character very much gives me Aelin from “Throne of Glass” vibes. She is strong but jaded and has certain level of self loathing that plays heavily into her character arc.
*spoilers below related to LGTBQ+ themes*

The main character is bi-sexual however, the end-game relationship is female-male. If reading about female-female love interest isn’t your thing (which is the case for me typically) I would still say give this a try. In book 1 there is mainly just mentions of her past relationship and there isn’t much detail. Book two goes into that story line a little more but I found it was relative and very well written. There was one scene that wasn’t for me personally but I just skimmed a couple pages. I’m happy there is diversity in these books and I know that some may not be as open to certain themes or may feel uncomfortable or maybe it just isn’t for you and that’s ok. I just wanted to put it out there for those who may not be interested in these themes or may be new to them.

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jocogr's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

5.0

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caphine's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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crinkledmochi's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I enjoyed this book and will definitely read the next one to see what happens but some of the twists and turns were kinda obvious and the characters could’ve been a little more fleshed out

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