Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

259 reviews

naisdayz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

absolute insanity. gonna need a day or two to recover

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Gun violence, War, Gore, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Violence, Physical abuse, Addiction, Trafficking, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Kidnapping, Murder, Racism, Rape, and Sexual harassment

3hdragon's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.25

I can’t recommend this book. The pacing is all over the place, the plot seemed to have too many patches to make a cohesive plot, and the MC becomes increasingly less likeable throughout the book until by the end you’re rooting for her to not make it. She becomes more powerful and more bratty until you’re screaming at her to please make better choices and stop hurting everyone around her. By the end I was hoping she wouldn’t make it and the sequels would be about someone else. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Kidnapping, Racism, Bullying, Child abuse, Murder, War, Gore, Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Grief, Body horror, Child death, Torture, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Cursing, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Genocide, and Classism

77mimi's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.5

[reread]
when i first attempted to read this book i had gotten 60% in and fully realised the route it was taking and paused; i returned to the book as i had a sudden thought about altan trengsin and wanted to pour over every sliver i got of him from kuang

historical context will be your best friend in order to understand the full depth of this story, but even with just surface level knowledge, i feel most readers will be able to grasp the significance of each moment
kuang’s writing and exposition of the story is very accessible despite the heavy and difficult topics; character complexities, flaws, greyness — all depicted so well, even in just tiny snippets, without also being condescending to the reader

(i’ll come back to this review once i can fully articulate my thoughts)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Genocide, Self harm, War, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Rape, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Mental illness

pagesihavenotyetread's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Violence, Suicide, Bullying, Murder, Racism, Sexism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Colonisation, Classism, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, War, and Xenophobia

ashlyn922's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Abortion, Violence, Animal death, Addiction, Self harm, Body horror, War, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Toxic friendship, Torture, Child death, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Rape, Genocide, Classism, Infertility, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Gore, Grief, Blood, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Vomit, Abandonment, Slavery, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship

fromvee's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

It was a pleasent suprise to find myself SUPER invested in this book. Rin did not feel like a very complex character but I found myself invested in her corruption arc. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Classism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Rape, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, and War

cowboylatte's review against another edition

Incredible writing and atmosphere. Will absolutely look into RF Kuang’s other works.. but the gratuitous (and real) violence of chapter 21 was too much for my heart. Incredible, but too much for me right now. Might try again at a later date.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Rape, Body horror, Murder, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Kidnapping, Colonisation, Child abuse, Child death, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Sexual assault, and War

shortdj's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Murder, Drug use, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Excrement, Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Bullying, Torture, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Grief, War, and Rape

lilly24's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book and the entire saga, is a piece of art. We can see the work behind. The author did a lot of work and depicted everything with so much precision that it became sometimes difficult to read (!chapter 21!). It's heartbreaking, it's horrendous and I love it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Hate crime, Toxic friendship, Dementia, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Alcoholism, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Abortion, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Dysphoria, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Abandonment, Alcohol, Death of parent, Deportation, Drug use, Murder, Self harm, Slavery, Stalking, Terminal illness, Torture, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Sexism, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Cultural appropriation, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Excrement, Xenophobia, Classism, Cursing, Gaslighting, Racism, Bullying, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Colonisation, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Rape, Trafficking, Violence, and Vomit

icy_queen's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, Genocide, War, Self harm, Physical abuse, Murder, Kidnapping, Gore, Death, Colonisation, and Blood

Moderate: Addiction and Bullying