Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

94 reviews

antoneh's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Xenophobia, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Colonisation, and War

sacredgayometry's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Beautifully written and culturally expansive- the world building and magic system are fascinating. There are some very dark and upsetting moments that feel difficult to read, but the overall result is a great read with incredibly complex characters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Bullying, Eating disorder, Sexism, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Death of parent, and Alcohol

If you have trauma related especially to heroin or opioids, they are often mentioned and abused and this may not be the book for you. There is also heavy allegory to the conflicts in China and Japan surrounding opium and colonization and the wars that have occurred especially during feudal periods. I found it reminiscent of the Vietnam war and World War II. War crimes are a heavy theme. Very well written but can be a very difficult read.

jlautry's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

 A war orphan earns her way into an elite military academy, and becomes a shaman with the ability to call upon Phoenix, the god of fire. 

 

This is the first in a series of three books. It gets rave reviews so I thought I’d give it a try. It was a good, solid read, even for someone like me who doesn’t really read fantasy. The storyline was good, the characters were interesting, and the world development was great. While I thought this book was good, I probably will not finish the series. I found myself skipping the parts heavy on the fantasy because it didn’t keep my interest. It is a long read (530 pages, small font, narrow margins), and the chapters are long, both of which are things I don’t like in books. Despite those things, it kept me, the non-fantasy reader, engaged for most of the book. 

 

Bottom line: If you like fantasy, you will most likely love this book. Please check trigger warnings before reading as it checks off nearly every one of them. However, 95% is in chapter 21, so if you’re concerned but still want to read it, just skip that chapter. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and War

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, and Classism

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Infertility, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

alvina_ashraf's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense slow-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? No

5.0

 The Poppy War is chaos and gore amped up to a point where you find yourself repulsed by what you are reading. The author took some usual tropes and spun them on their head while never making them the point of the story. This story is about war, death, destruction and guilt. It is a chunky one so it'll take a lot of your time but you'll definitely feel like you've achieved something once you are done with it. Also, it is emotionally draining especially the last couple of hundred pages. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Genocide, Gore, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, and Abortion

mikah_wazowski's review against another edition

dark

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Genocide, Gore, Rape, Self harm, Torture, Blood, Excrement, Abortion, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and War

apersonfromflorida's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Rape, Torture, and War

Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Slavery, Blood, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Bullying, Xenophobia, Excrement, Abortion, and Fire/Fire injury

sassmaster_lex's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Abortion, and Murder

reddeddy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Self harm, Excrement, Police brutality, Trafficking, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Classism

Minor: Ableism, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Police brutality, and Alcohol

toffishay's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This book is brutal dude! The world-building is awesome, the character's feel so real. I put off reading it for so long because I knew that I would get sucked in and I literally read it all in a day. So much happens in this book and you are never let up for even a moment. If you are a fan of recent YA fantasy like Children of Blood and Bone or fantasy classics of Octavia Butler, particularly the Parable of the Sower and the Parable of the Talents then you will get sucked into this book too. Definitely check content warnings, because some parts are extremely difficult to read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Xenophobia, Vomit, Trafficking, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Emotional abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, and Abortion

ccpetrikas's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail