Reviews with content warning for Hate crime - The Poppy War

I was assigned this for school. The poppy war is a bloody, scorching coming of age story of an angry orphan who finds power within herself. Rin is such an interesting and complex character. Based on historical tribulations of China. Check trigger warnings. Kitay, Nezha, Altan, Jiang and Rin are such deep and beautiful characters. I will be continuing this series.

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

“I don't love you. And I can kill anything.”

Well, fuck the heavenly order of things. If getting married to a gross old man was her preordained role on this earth, then Rin was determined to rewrite it.

“Nothing is written," said the Phoenix. "You humans always think you're destinied for greatness. Destiny is a myth. Destiny is the only myth. The gods choose nothing. You chose. You chose to take the exam. You chose to come to Sinegard. You chose to pledge Lore, you chose to study the paths of the gods, and you chose to follow your commander's demands over your master's warnings. At every critical juncture you were given an option; you were given a way out. Yet you picked precisely the roads that led you here. You are at this temple, kneeling before me, only because you wanted to be.”

“Jiang was wrong. She was not dabbling in forces she could not control, for the gods were not dangerous. The gods had no power at all, except what she gave them. The gods could affect the universe only through humans like her. Her destiny had not been written in the stars, or in the registers of the Pantheon. She had made her choices fully and autonomously. And though she called upon the gods to aid her in battle, they were her tools from beginning to end. She was no victim of destiny. She was the last Speerly, commander of the Cike, and a shaman who called the gods to do her bidding. And she would call the gods to do such terrible things.”

“I don't need your pity. I need you to kill them for me. You have to kill them for me," Venka hissed. "Swear it. Swear on your blood that you will burn them.”

Content Warnings

uphorikbooks's review against another edition

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dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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? Yes

4.75

A great read, occasional pandering but an impressive debut.

Content Warnings

miciahsreads's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.25

characters - 1
worldbuilding - 1
writing - .75
enjoyment - .75
plot - .75

Content Warnings

kaequinn's review against another edition

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I am honestly shocked at how readily this book as recommended to the masses across my socials. Not because it isn't well written or telling an interesting story, but because it should be well understood what one is getting into before they open the cover.

This book has graphic depictions of violence, assault, drug addiction, and just about every other trigger warning you can think of. Again, not that having that kind of content is bad, it just should be very clearly discussed when talking about the book. Otherwise a reader goes into it, like I did, thinking it was going to be a (to quote a literal reviewer I heard) "Harry Potter meets Avatar: The Last Airbender." That is not this book. I cannot reiterated enough, that is NOT this book.

If you want a book that puts the horrors of the Second Sino-Japanese War into a fictionalized world, this is definitely a book for you. If not, please don't read it. If you're unsure, look up the atrocities that were done against Chinese civilians and then proceed with caution.

Content Warnings