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fruitea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, War, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Abortion, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cannibalism, Child death, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt
hayleyvem's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Racism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and War
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Vomit, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Abortion and Pregnancy
zoyaology's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, War, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, and Cannibalism
isabellaft's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Xenophobia, Violence, Toxic relationship, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, Rape, and Racism
Moderate: Abortion and Pregnancy
bookbaristeas's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Cursing, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Vomit, and Violence
kirbylover16's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Racial slurs, Rape, Racism, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Abandonment, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Self harm, and Sexual assault
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cannibalism, Child death, Colonisation, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Violence
Kinda everything...andromeda_1998's review against another edition
- 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
As the people who read my review of the poppy war will know, I love the character and worldbuilding in this series. R.F. Kuang shows us the brutality of war in a really graphic way. And I believe this is the only way to make people see the history of humankind. A lot of readers have problems with the gruesome depictions of war in this series but this is how war looks like. The most horrendous things have been done in wartime’s and we have to acknowledge the fact that humanity could have been spared a lot of horrors if we would just accept each other. R.F Kuang says it best: “They believe in a singular and all-powerful deity, which means they cannot accept the truth of other gods. And when nations start to believe that other beliefs lead to damnation, violence becomes inevitable.”
Why did I give this amazing book 4 stars instead of five? The start of this book is slow. At around a hundred pages the story picks up but around 300 pages it falls flat and I had to fight till around 500 pages in for the plot to pick up again.
This book could have been better and I feel one of the reasons that this happens is because there isn’t a lot happening between the characters. We don’t really get scenes where they get to know each other. This book focuses on the war talk and the strategy behind fights and sometimes you head just needs a break and some human interaction between characters could do the trick.
I would still recommend this series though! The books are amazing but before you start reading them check the triggerwarnings!
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Genocide, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Torture, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Abandonment, Abortion, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Cursing, Death of parent, Miscarriage, and Trafficking
ollie85915's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Rape, Self harm, Drug abuse, Violence, Blood, Death, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Genocide, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Abortion and Cannibalism
butchriarchy's review against another edition
2.0
My problem with the first book resurfaced with this one as well--the villains are too cartoonish, not given any plausible reason for being evil--you're just supposed to accept that they are. Some things I will give it credit for--the renunciation of an abuser, for one.
Real-world parallels abound as well as should have been expected, but it struck me as very Animal Farm-ish in that it feels as though no real effort was made to make them into their own entities. The textbook racism, white supremacy, and eugenics were very disturbing here, which should be a warning to people of color reading this book.
Rin came to some realizations that, while I could see the inklings of from the beginning, were discovered in a way that felt really abrupt. That's how many of the epiphanies and climaxes read to me, too, especially Feylen's end. They feared so much yet there wasn't enough detail or action to make their conclusions feel satisfying.
Another complaint would be how Daji is a walking stereotype, an extremely common misogynistic one that applies to a lot of female villains.
I had a lot of expectations for this book and now I just want to get the last book over with honestly. I'm still curious as to how it will end.
Graphic: Racism, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Genocide, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Death, Colonisation, Cannibalism, Abortion, Xenophobia, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, and Religious bigotry
anacarol's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction and Racism
Moderate: Rape, Cannibalism, and Genocide