Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

The Burning God by R.F. Kuang

41 reviews

gundegaaa's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Death, Murder, Colonisation, Child death, Addiction, Drug use, War, Violence, Torture, Religious bigotry, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Self harm, Cannibalism, and Sexual harassment

opossumom's review

dark slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, War, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Alcohol, Xenophobia, Vomit, Violence, Murder, Misogyny, Genocide, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Animal death, and Animal cruelty

mousmoulo'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

screaming crying throwing up

chaghan appeared for like 10 pages max and tbh it was the highlight of the book for me. can we get a prequel about the cike or something their fucked up family dynamic meant so much to me and i miss them every day

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Drug use, Religious bigotry, Torture, Violence, and War

Moderate: Gun violence, Alcohol, Classism, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, and Vomit

Minor: Death of parent

obrooke1's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Classism, Drug use, Genocide, Grief, Murder, Animal death, Blood, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, Death, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, and Vomit

Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Rape

serena_hien's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Grief, Sexual harassment, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Animal death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, War, Classism, Colonisation, Cannibalism, Child death, Medical content, Gore, Suicide, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Drug use, Excrement, and Physical abuse

Minor: Sexual assault, Miscarriage, Rape, and Genocide

middumullu's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

still really enjoyed it but i think by this point i had gotten a bit tired of all of the same circles that have been happening over the past few books. still really enjoyed the characters

but i missed them all being together all the time,

and i felt like some of the newer characters were a lot less fleshed out. i think i liked the ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Excrement, Gore, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Grief, Rape, Self harm, Death, Medical content, Sexism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Vomit, War, Xenophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Blood, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Violence, Colonisation, Cursing, Dysphoria, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Cannibalism, Torture, Ableism, and Abandonment

Minor: Abortion and Miscarriage

again there was so much goin on in here that it is hard to remember in totality if something should be graphic/moderate/mild. for instance - there isn't as much medical content/trauma in this book as there were in others but it was mentioned several times and (to me) clearly informs character's actions (as do many of these tags). theres a scene where the characters visit a town that has been taken over by the west/Hesperians .

kirbylover16's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

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

3.0

The story starts strongly in part one, flops in part two, and is salvaged but rushes in part three. I love that women are at the forefront of this series and the focus on the East. All of it is super refreshing. The narrator in the audiobook is great. Rin's speech about ignorance and slavery was exemplary. But her continued growth from a naive child to a war commander feels unfinished. She never gets over the loss of her arm or Alton. It's only because of others that Rin lives (Jiang/Kitay/Souji/etc.)

If she had practiced with her arm as Kitay told her over and over when they were traveling the entire book, she could have won the sword fight against the weakened dragon emperor. She could have confronted Jiang and Daji about how they let Riga bully them and about not learning their lesson. Tell Jiang he can't forget Hanelai or what he's done but, he could do something now. Then go into a fight against the airships. Then have the Trifecta die. Instead, Jiang must save her again. They never fought anyone as the whole Trifecta and, Riga's only there for one scene." in one blow, she rid herself of the Trifecta ... two of the greatest forces the empire had ever seen, gone" Rin wasn't even the one to kill them. How anti-climactic! Then part three starts with another flashback and talks about silicones in the shadows like maybe they're not dead after all? I kept hoping they would show up, but no, they're gone. I thought Jiang's mental fight was one of the better subplots and the theory of him being Rin's father interesting, so his death was even more disappointing.

She squandered the Trifecta, especially Riga. It feels like the whole book was pointless or, the subplots overtook the main plot. The inconsistencies/plot holes/pacing makes this an annoying read that drags.

Why is Alton in this book at all! With everyone who died in these books, Rin never shows any emotion besides Alton and maybe Kitay. Which really shouldn't count. Kitay isn't even his person in this book as he's just her Horcrux.

half of the book Kitay isn't even with Rin. Nezha had him but, that doesn't make sense. Kitay refused to work for him, and they didn't know Kitay was her anchor, so why did they keep him alive? They knew Kitay was clever and would betray them.

Her blood family? her adopted family, the fate of the Speerly or the Cike? Nope, she doesn't care. 
What was Nezha doing? His motives make no sense and, Rin's motives keep switching. I shouldn't need to read a different book to understand the main character's motives. None of the relationships are healthy or wholesome. In general, there are too many characters to keep track of and, it feels like this book could have cut down and got to the point a lot faster. Why didn't she start teaching shamans at the beginning instead of at the very end? You can't introduce new characters so late in the story that only makes the ending feel even more rushed. Overall this was disappointing and, I don't understand how anyone can say this is five stars. 
Poppy War 5/5  
The Dragon Republic 3.75/5 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide

Moderate: Hate crime, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence

book_sense's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

 
I have zero sanity left after reading this.. this series. These characters. I have so much love for them. They are so real to me.. the ending. The fucking ending broke me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Blood, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

violaceae's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective 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: Violence, Death, Gore, Blood, Drug use, Murder, Child death, Genocide, Torture, Drug abuse, Cannibalism, Racism, Grief, Animal death, Body horror, Addiction, Rape, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Medical trauma, Cursing, Self harm, Confinement, Animal cruelty, War, Abandonment, Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

Moderate: Alcoholism, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Outing, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, and Rape

just_one_more_paige's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

 

And here it is, the grand finale. After waiting longer than I'd planned to, after finishing The Poppy War, to pick up The Dragon Republic, I got my hands on this final installment as soon as I could because I needed to know how it all wrapped up. With the amount of world and plot building, in physical scope and political complexity, I was on the edge of my seay to see how Kuang brought it all to a finish point. Also, being honest here, I wanted to get to it before I forgot too many of the details! 

 

This third book picks up essentially right where the second one left off, as far as action is concerned. A few weeks have passed since Rin and Venka and Kitay escaped from Vaisra and his Dragon Republic, leaving Nezha behind as well. They've taken some time to lay low, treat their (myriad) wounds, and try to decide what's next. Allying with the Southern Coalition, Rin finds (yet again) that the leaders are mostly there for their own gain and care little for saving Nikan or the people of the South. So, in a series of short term alliances and dramatic shows of force, Rin, Kitay and Venka turn to the people, especially those of Rin's provincial home province of Tikany, who are willing to risk it all and fight for her, following her banner of violent vengeance in the quest to free Nikan. Facing the intelligence and superior firepower of the Hesperians, the deep-flowing aristocratic power of the Dragon Republic and the North, with guest spots from deposed Empress Su Daji and the Trifecta, Chaghan, and more, Rin and her Phoenix leads a blazing swath of blood and death across the country. 

 

Phew. I mean, I thought the first two books were violent and deadly and horrific and fiery in all the ways (literal and figurative), but Kuang proved here that there's always more... This book brought particular attention to Rin's bloodthirstiness in a really unique way though. Up until now, she was a student or pawn or "just" in charge of the Cike...but here, here she really steps into a full warlord general sort of role, making decisions not based purely on winning a battle or merely staying alive, but in premeditated moves of power consolidation, shows of force, and in general affecting lives on scales she's never had access to before. It was a fascinatingly written transition, because the way it played off her connection and power-drawing from the Phoenix, which had been based purely on anger/vengeance before, the cold-blooded (and sadistic) murder choices she makes in this book come, in some cases, from a very different motivation. Watching Rin come to terms with that, and reconfigure her connection with her god as a result, was while terrifying realistically bloodthirsty, really quite insightful and hard to turn away from. I also really appreciated that despite these slightly more surface-level changes, Rin, at base, remains exactly who she is and has always been: ruthless. She still deals quite a bit with trauma-memories and guilt and PTSD, but has found a unique, and unsurprisingly not particularly healthy, way to deal with it that allows her to tamp it down and keep going. I appreciate this consistency of character because it would have been easy, if not true to her character, to "write" her growth into a better example of leadership. Along these same lines, the way Kuang explored the transition from war general brain to political leadership brain, the differences in wartime versus peacetime (in needs and consequences and qualifications), and if it is even possible to leave the paranoia of battle/need to keep fighting behind, was great. 

 

As far as other character interactions are concerned, Kitay's continued horror at and discomfort with her choices and actions is also written exactly as it should be (in my opinion, anyway), and I loved the complexity between them and their relationship that grows out of that major difference in their POVs. It was incredibly nuanced and made all the better (and it was really dang good to start) by the continued interweaving of each of their interactions with and reactions to Nezha and, as the story progresses, seeing the way their trio mirrored (in many ways) the disastrous inner reality of the Trifecta was a spectacular example of the cyclical nature of history and relationships. The parallels of the three, the intricacies of dependency and need and love and betrayal, and the ways those played out so similarly, as the interdependence and power struggles and going-to-your-head of it all tears them apart from the inside out with myriad external fallout...it was all so well done. Also, the way it only takes one small moment to change trajectory had me on tenterhooks waiting to find out if they'd make all the same mistakes or if they'd choose a different path. 

 

Some final thoughts. Goodness...this book was nonstop for the entire 24 hours of listening (yup - I went with the audiobook again because I really enjoyed the narration of the last one). The depth of detail in the war and political strategy stays top-notch. I know I've said this in every review so far, but it bears repeating: Kuang's combination of twentieth century Chinese history and full-on magic/mythology (especially of Rin's fire and the Phoenix, but also Nezha and his Dragon and, no spoilers, but some new god-connections as well) is truly some of the best writing I have ever read. There is so much depth to it all, so much detail.  The continued presence of the Hesperians, their clear parallels to Western culture and technology and faith and "superiority," also stood as a clear commentary and condemnation of the harm colonialism, that was impossible not to see...and impossible to pretend it was anything other than the horror it was. I loved how Kuang also simultaneously exemplified how the native peoples weren’t (and shouldn’t have had to be) good/special/unified or “better” in any way, in order to be able to continue to live in their own traditions and beliefs. Because in the end, how were their beliefs, false unity, infighting/inequity, etc. any "worse" (read: less worthy of existing) than their oppressors' version of those same things? Last, what a spectacular, perfect, stunning ending! I was shattering and I loved it. I was definitely slightly concerned that the ending would wrap too cleanly or would feel too perfect, considering on what a large scale Rin had smashed the existing structures to bits. But the ending was perfect - in line for her character, her relationships, her role in the world, the overall situation - it was truly the only way, it felt right in every way, and it was everything. 

 

*deep heaving sigh* I cannot believe this trilogy is over. Kuang wrote something so special here and I loved it. The development of the world (historical fiction and high fantasy) and characters was ambitious and compelling and developed to perfection. As a reader, I both hated and loved Rin (with a lot of feeling) at the same time. And just as she destroyed and cleansed and rebirthed Nika through Phoenix fire, I feel like I went through a similar experience while reading it. That’s the freaking skill that Kuang brought us with her writing. 

 

“You don’t fix hurts by pretending they never happened. You treat them like infected wounds. You dig deep with a burning knife and gouge out the rotten flesh and then, maybe, you have a chance to heal.” 

 

“…the battles were easy. Destroying was easy. The hard part was the aftermath.” 

 

“The point of revenge wasn’t to heal. The point was that exhilaration, however temporary, drowned out the hurt.” 

 

“And you should know by now that when you leave your enemies alive, wars don’t end.” 

 

“Let them think of us as dirt, Rin thought. She was dirt. Her army was dirt. But dirt was common, ubiquitous, patient, and necessary. The soil gave life to the country. And the earth always reclaimed what it was owed.” 

 

“Rin was a monster, a murderer, a destroyer of world. Nothing but blood and ashes ever trailed in her wake. The world was a better, safer, and more peaceful place without her in it. He believed that. And yet…” 

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Cannibalism, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Genocide, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War