Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

100 reviews

gembomb's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes

4.5

A coming of age story centred on a orphan girl who is desperate to improve her life by any means. I couldn’t put this down, fluctuating between cheering her on and willing her to take another path. My only discomfort was the disparaging way organised religion was discussed, the opinion felt definite and lacking empathy (this air seems like a consistent theme throughout the story). I need to read the next one soon.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Drug abuse, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Genocide, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: War, Xenophobia, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, and Blood

kal_of_krypton's review against another edition

adventurous 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

4.5

This book starts off slow for me but once it really gets into the world building it became a faster read. The main character Rin, feels very realistic I enjoy her as the flawed main character that she is. The fantasy elements and the discoveries about the world kept me engaged along the way.

I am especially enthralled with how the author built their magic system into this world. I am a big believer that magic should come with drawbacks and this type of magic really raises the stakes. The rules felt natural to the world and felt like it made logical sense as well.

The beginning has a lot of exposition that can be hard to get through. For the most part though it feels rather natural. It feels like you're learning the world with Rin rather than halting the plot to get you caught up on something the main character should already know. This book does not shy away from any topic though, it's very incredibly dark, please be mindful of the content warnings. This book takes place during a war and it makes sure that you know.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Child death, Blood, Addiction, Torture, Self harm, War, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Racism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Death, Child abuse, Body horror, Grief, and Genocide

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Minor: Toxic friendship, Bullying, and Cursing

laziceva_kala's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

I'm not going to lie, the book is good. A little on the slower side for my taste but the story was really good. The violence, depiction of war was all incredibly written and it made my stomach turn at some point. 
I do have to say that I didn't like the main character, Rin, that much. I had multiple issues with her but it didn't ruin the overall book. I have the remainder of the series but I'm not sure I will be picking it up right away. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Rape, Violence, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Racism, Genocide, and Murder

dakotahrey's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I know the content warnings are a lot, but this book is based on the Nanjing massacre so they're very valid lol. If you can stomach detailed war crimes you'll be able to read the book, but there were some parts that were explicitly detailed and were hard to read.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Torture, Murder, Violence, Child abuse, Genocide, Gore, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, War, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Drug use, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic relationship

reka111's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious relaxing sad tense slow-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

I have become something wonderful, she thought. I have become something terrible. Was she now a goddess or a monster? Perhaps neither. Perhaps both.

The review contains spoilers!!!

Right now I feel so many things that I can't say; I want to burn the world, sob until I'm nothing but an empty dustpan and dance with the wild wind at the same time. So right now I feel everything and nothing, death and life, sorrow and happiness at the same time. I just finished reading it a few minutes ago and I can't get the words out of my head, I have so many thoughts about this book. 

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I have never read - and probably never will - another well-crafted book in my life.  This story has a past, present and future.  It tells about gods and mortals at the same time. The world itself was very interesting and I can't wait to go back there again, I'm not exaggerating when I say that although it was brutal (definitely not for those who can't stand blood and death, etc.) it still had its own beauty, something unfathomably beautiful in it.  I really liked that the writer drew a lot from mythology and brought real nightmares to life. 

Rin (Zsin in Hungarian) was a great main character, a real unquenchable flame.  I simply loved that we could trace what fire, power and so much death were able to do to that innocent little girl. Runin was very nice to me at first and still is, but I feel that later on I will lose her, she will be burned by her own flames and I can't do anything to save her. The knowledge that history will (probably) repeat itself fills me with great pain.  But actually I understood, I understood her soul, her whole damned being.  Although she didn't do the right thing many times, in the end most of us would have done exactly what she did in these situations, even the strongest will break during a long fight (just like Altan) and I'm sure that sooner or later Runin will break too. It's fate, you can't avoid fate and finally you can't make a deal with it, but you can indeed delay it. 

Nezha (Nö-Csa in Hungarian) I'm not lying when I say that I fell in love from the beginning, but really, but who's to blame?  I'm begging you, this boy knows something, he chains people to himself, I'm not at all surprised that Runin falls in love with him later on.  I liked his character. He goes through a huge development during the book (I've rarely seen character development like his).  He went from being a spoiled and cruel tyrant to an understanding and relatively forgiving person. Basically, Nezha is an excellent fighter, but he doesn't always think through what exactly he wants.  I want to know what happened to him and I want to let him know that he is not alone, that Runin wanted to go after him, that she was trying to save him even at the cost of her own life.  I hope we get more of him in the next book. 

Kitay and Venka are secondary characters, but they are very important in shaping the main character (Runin) into what she is.  Despite everything, Kitay stuck by her, he was her friend and one of her most devoted allies in the academy and beyond.  The voice of common sense, although he too was broken by the war, he did not forget that he is human, like anyone else, that he lives and breathes like any other living being and nothing is more important than that.  A part of me died because of Venka and I haven't recovered from it since, it's unbelievable that one of the best students of the academy, one of the most dangerous girls, was treated like this. It's disgusting what they did to her, it's disgusting what they did to women, but in war there really is no such thing as a winner or a loser, only broken souls, I feel that she will never recover from what she had to go through, I think she suffered more than anyone else.  I wish she had died, she would have been a real blessing compared to what they did to her. 

Jiang (Csiang in Hungarian) is my guardian, my hero and my support.  When I first read about the disappearance of the Gatekeeper, I didn't even suspect him, I saw him as a simple, a bit sloppy, but kind master (even after what was revealed), but then the gatekeeper who released monsters into the world started to suspect him, but he disappeared in  from picture.  And it made the seal even more suspicious.  My heart bled for him in prison, he never deserved what the empress did to him, it was simply cruel. 

Altan was so broken, so damned broken, it's a wonder he didn't fall to pieces.  He still fought bravely for his people, his country and himself. I'm glad he got the closure he deserved, I'm glad he got the revenge he deserved and I don't regret supporting him at all, because he deserved everything and even more.  They ruined his life, he carried more bleeding wounds than anyone else.  He needed this, he really needed this, he needed to find peace and be reunited with his people and family. 

I don't want to go into the Cike itself, but I loved them very much, each and every one of them with my whole soul.  They are a real family, not just outcasts and not just criminals, they are a real team. 

Betrayal is nothing new, especially not in books like this, but it still hurt, because a ruler's job is to rule her people, to protect them like gods, not to turn against them.  Not only Rin wants to kill the empress but also me. 

Other characters who died and deserve at least one mention: 

Tir 
Although we knew very little about him, I felt sorry for him and I feel that if I had been there, I would have tried to save him and help him. 

Irjah
(Ircsa in Hungarian)
I thought my soul would never stop sobbing. He deserves a thousand times better.

Raban 
my dear Raban, I am so used to his presence as to his air, my heart stopped when he died. 

Basically, the plot was easy to follow, but sometimes the time jumps really bothered me, we literally jumped weeks, months and years in just a few pages, which is fine, but I would have been very happy if the author had prepared me a little for these.It was terribly interesting, even though it took me so long to read it, although it is not exactly an easy afternoon's read with its 580 pages, and it dissects topics that cannot exactly be called easy.  Despite the fact that this was the first book about actual war, torture and death that I read, I took the hurdle quite easily. I'm not a big fan of these acts of violence, but they didn't really bother me either, because they showed me what a bloody war is like, the unvarnished truth. I can't wait to read the next book! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, War, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Kidnapping, Child death, Cursing, Death, Violence, Death of parent, and Mental illness

Moderate: Toxic friendship and Toxic relationship

Minor: Abortion, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

inthemoonforcheese's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Colonisation, War, Xenophobia, Torture, Sexism, Rape, Racism, Medical trauma, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Drug use, Drug abuse, Cursing, Confinement, Animal death, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Infertility, Gore, Genocide, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Excrement, Domestic abuse, Death, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Classism, Child death, Body horror, Blood, Abandonment, Ableism, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Addiction, Vomit, Trafficking, Mental illness, Gun violence, Child abuse, Slavery, Sexual violence, Hate crime, and Forced institutionalization

coligmueller's review against another edition

5.0

This book made me think of that tik tok sound: 

“It’s so great to meet you. I love your book! … you scare me a little.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Drug use, Death, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Bullying, Child death, Child abuse, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Colonisation, Confinement, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Sexual assault, Cursing, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, and Blood

bridgetebooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Toxic friendship, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Medical trauma, and Torture

rnbhargava's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-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

4.5

This book, a fantasy, fictionalized variation on China in WWII with the aftermath of the Opium Wars also in the mix, is frankly amazing. The writing becomes more dark and elaborate as the protagonist Rin ages and becomes less innocent through fighting in war at much too young of an age. The mythological aspects are very inventive and refreshing. The Cike is like a sort of Thunderbolts from Marvel or Suicide Squad from DC, if you’re familiar with these comic book teams. All of the characters that Rin is mentored by and/or befriends brings different aspects of her developing personality to the fore. I can’t wait to see what choices Rin makes in “The Dragon Republic” for better or worse. All of the characters are so intriguing and many of them easily could have been protagonists in their own rights. I got quite attached to everyone. This book is an experience. My only slight gripe is that many characters that the protagonist knows have a sort of low key plot armor so that they can be used to illustrate certain aspects of war later in the novel despite it seeming that they shouldn’t have survived some earlier world building regarding how the war is playing out in different fronts. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Body shaming, Kidnapping, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Medical content, Torture, Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Racism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

All of these triggers are evident in this narrative whether they’re something that happens to the main character, someone she knows, or is just generally part of the world. It is a brutal world that is in the midst of war and the protagonist is part of a group that’s kind of feared. All of the brutality is mentioned quite specifically in increasingly dark detail as you progress in the novel. Be aware, it doesn’t hold back.

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

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

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