Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang

92 reviews

bookishedi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Racism, Religious bigotry, Addiction, Blood, Bullying, Confinement, Colonisation, Death, Murder, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, and Self harm

Moderate: Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexism, Misogyny, Rape, Physical abuse, Abortion, Slavery, and Miscarriage

Minor: Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

lydiasturges's review against another edition

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

5.0

Oh my god. Oh my god.

Nezah’s betrayal???? I was hoping Rin would have just the tiniest bit of happiness. I knew I shouldn’t have trusted Viasra, but I didn’t expect him to go that far. I’m distraught that Rin and Kitaly will have to go directly against Nezah who I LOVED getting to know this book. Ramsa and the rest of the Cike?? I’m unwell. Rin thinking about allying with the Empress??

 

The constant changing relationships and alliances should have been exhausting to keep track of, but it was such a compelling plot to see how things developed. I genuinely enjoyed this book more than the first book. There was more focus on Rin’s relationships which made the story more enjoyable to me. I never knew where the story because the politics/strategies of war are above me, but I enjoyed always feeling on edge. I felt like this book had more stakes because I was genuinely concerned about whether or not they would succeed multiple times throughout the story. 

The author is just brutal to Rin and what she’s going through. But all of her suffering isn’t gratuitous. It clearly is designed to push her into a dynamic and complex FMC that you can’t help but root for. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Genocide, Confinement, War, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Drug use, and Classism

Moderate: Vomit, Suicide, Torture, Sexual violence, and Religious bigotry

blyberry345's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Addiction, Classism, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, War, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Rape, Violence, Racism, Sexual violence, and Murder

Moderate: Mental illness, Child death, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Abortion, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Gore, and Blood

sxbui5's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Gun violence, Confinement, Violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Murder, Child death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Rape, Physical abuse, Cursing, Classism, Mental illness, Genocide, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death, Colonisation, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Torture, Sexism, and Blood

johnathanwet's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I have so much praise for this book but I just finished it and cannot get my thoughts in order yet.

Absolutely phenomenal read. Don’t think I’ve ever read a book that was just so difficult to get through, the brutality is next level.

For later:
- historical context
- bodily autonomy 
- substance abuse 
- reality of war 

I will come back once I’ve finished reeling.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Rape, Drug abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Child death, Death, Grief, Religious bigotry, Classism, Colonisation, Pregnancy, and Gore

ilovebarbie12dancingprincesses's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Misogyny, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Gore, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Racism, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Drug use, Genocide, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Blood, Torture, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Drug abuse, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Suicide, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War

undergroundalto's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Murder, Rape, Classism, Gore, War, Blood, Mental illness, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Sexual assault, Violence, Bullying, Drug abuse, Grief, and Sexism

Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic, Racism, and Religious bigotry

jhbandcats's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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

3.5

This book was a disappointment after the glorious Poppy War, the introduction to Kuang’s fantasy world of early 20th C China. I struggled throughout the book because I found Rin, the main character, so annoying. In The Poppy War Rin is learning about how powerful she is. For a great deal of this book, especially the first half, she’s helpless and whiny and angry and impossibly rude. She is decidedly unpleasant at best. 

I found the battle scenes riveting, and Rin’s interactions with her closest friends the most powerful. I especially liked the increasing closeness between Rin and her best friend Kitay, and I loved the scenes with the contraption he makes for her. 

I still remain in awe of Kuang’s scholarship and writing. She is always an excellent author. I’m going to read the third in the trilogy with hopes that it will be more engaging than this one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Racism, Torture, Colonisation, Classism, Confinement, Violence, War, Death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Addiction, Blood, Gore, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

getlitwithamy_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious 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

4.75

R.F. Kuang’s sequel to the profoundly thought provoking POPPY WAR adds even more tension and impact when it comes to the effects of war. 

The story starts right where THE POPPY WAR ends. Rin is coming to terms with the events that occurred at the end of the previous book, and Kuang doesn’t hesitate to show her struggling with this.

She also shows Rin’s deep drug addled state where her reliance on opium interferes with her psyche.

As THE DRAGON REPUBLIC continues, readers see how important political alliances are in terms of war. Kuang does a great job at showing how ugly the behind the scenes discussions can be. 

This book dodged the second book syndrome. It was even more captivating than its predecessor, and it holds THE BURNING GOD to a high standard since Kuang provides so much buildup in the end. Much praise for her and this book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Drug abuse, Mental illness, War, Body horror, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Death, Murder, Self harm, Sexual violence, Blood, Drug use, and Genocide

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Abortion and Pregnancy

siranella's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

If you enjoy Poppy war (first book) definitely read this one. The stories continue, a war between good/bad, right and wrong, responsibilities, love/hate, danger/peace. The book has all. Red. It.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, War, Addiction, Vomit, Violence, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Torture, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Rape, Self harm, Racism, Physical abuse, and Mental illness