Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

508 reviews

anxiousshorebird's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

3.25

This book was difficult. I found myself rolling my eyes and struggling to continue through the first half. At one point I resigned myself to reading purely out of curiosity, rather than enjoyment. Normally I would DNF a book loke that, but I've seen trusted reviewers praise this book and I was curious about the mysteries slowly being uncovered. Then about half way through I couldn't stop reading. 

This book suffered from mismatched tone and some bad pacing. It felt like a YA magic school novel (complete with a Draco Malfoy type character) for way too long. Then by the end it was a grim dark, violent, war torn character study. It felt like an abrupt shift. Looking back, I see some merit to experiencing the MC's journey from determined teenager to hardened soldier along with her. While reading it, however, I found myself wishing her origins were told through intermittent flashbacks. 

I really enjoy the world that Juang created. I love that she hasn't shied away from a DEEPLY flawed main character. Frankly, I don't even like this MC. But o sure loved reading her story once I got passed the slog of her schooling. 

All in all, it's far from a 5 star read for me, but it's a very commendable debut novel. I won't hesitate to read the rest of the trilogy. I plan to read a light romance before the next Poppy War book though, because this shit got DARK. 

Speaking of, please check the content warnings. Since the beginning is so much more tame than the rest, it's worth the risk of spoiling yourself a bit to make sure you know what you're getting into. I recommend skipping chapter 21 if you're someone who can take a lot, but have a limit. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, War, Body horror, Death, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Blood, Violence, Drug abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, and Torture

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Self harm, Addiction, Excrement, Animal death, Infertility, and Pregnancy

Minor: Alcohol, Racism, Toxic friendship, and Trafficking

robinudell's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

Amazing to me that Kuang wrote this at such a young age- it's dark and insightful and ambitious, and I'm excited to read the second two books to see how her writing develops!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Rape, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Self harm, and Torture

markseyy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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: War, Drug abuse, Genocide, Rape, Gore, Murder, Violence, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Self harm, Addiction, Animal death, Death, and Drug use

thehannahclaire's review against another edition

challenging 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

4.75

Please read about the Nanjing Massacre/ the Rape of Nanjing before reading this book. I’m so glad this book introduced me to a portion of history I was not taught, even though it is gruesome. Nevertheless, this book has one chapter that included the most horrific scenes I’ve ever read or heard of. It’s not just about checking trigger warnings because this book isn’t just triggering— it’s traumatic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Gore, Child death, Grief, Death, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Torture, Sexual assault, War, Hate crime, Rape, Violence, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Blood, Body horror, and Addiction

Moderate: Self harm, Cursing, Vomit, and Classism

renorsomethin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny 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: Addiction, Violence, Drug abuse, Murder, Torture, Genocide, Sexual assault, Blood, Physical abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Gore, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Self harm, Colonisation, Infertility, Cursing, Vomit, Classism, and Xenophobia

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Child death, Classism, Xenophobia, Animal death, and Death of parent

chrisb913's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

If you want a slice of emotional damage with your trauma pie, this is the book for you. Please check trigger warnings. Kuang does a phenomenal job mixing real world issues and history into such a unique and incredibly built out world. The characters were incredibly well written. Even the characters I hated at the beginning, I felt bad for by the end of the book. Also i absolutely loved the magic system. Typically I enjoy the magic to be a bit more concrete, but the way Kuang wrote an increidble rich and captivating magic system, all while keeping it vague and mysterious due to it being almost forgotten was 🤌🤌. This was a masterfully written book and I cannot wait to read more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and War

Moderate: Drug abuse, Addiction, Rape, and Drug use

Minor: Animal death and Infertility

arguhlincozzi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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: Abandonment, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Child death, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Body horror, Classism, Racism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Torture, Violence, War, Gore, Body shaming, Child abuse, Grief, Murder, Rape, and Emotional abuse

julee_melii's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, War, Death, Sexism, Blood, Drug use, Gore, Violence, Child death, Addiction, Body horror, Genocide, Xenophobia, Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Torture, Animal death, Colonisation, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault, Slavery, Kidnapping, Rape, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Pregnancy

annjulia's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Child death, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Violence, Murder, Racism, Rape, Animal death, Blood, War, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Addiction, Drug use, and Genocide

yoliesbookdates's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Slavery, Mental illness, Death, Animal death, Abandonment, War, Violence, Sexual violence, Torture, Kidnapping, Confinement, Grief, and Forced institutionalization