Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

95 reviews

middumullu's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

Very good book. If you want to read, please please go through content warnings. I loved just about every character and also could not put this book down. It was very dark and very disturbing and intriguing. I don't think the summary does it justice - over half of the book is spent on war, not schooling. Honestly just want everyone to go to therapy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Sexism, Torture, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Blood, Body horror, Grief, Medical content, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual violence, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

Maybe I forgot some? There's just a lot of traumatizing events and a lot of trauma that presents in a variety of ways. Since it's based on history, there is a chapter that graphically reflects the rape of Nanjing. also war is rough, there's a lot about corpses, drugs, opium use.

thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

my first military fantasy, and hands down the most violent, brutal, blood-soaked book ive ever read, as it should be. i like stories that make me feel things, and the poppy war def succeeded in that regard (heck, i even dreamed abt it), thought it also comes w/ countless tws.

the writing, like the story, was done w/ military precision: no needless prose but impactful all the same, w/ kuang wholly embracing the show-not-tell mantra. perhaps benefiting from its parallels w/ chinese history, the worldbuilding is rich and steeped in culture, beliefs, and lore, and i particularly liked the almost dizzying array of myths, gods and legends, as well as its critique of the west.

the book's jam packed w/ events, and it was a lil dreadful to see rin go from a shopgirl to a full-fledged soldier in a brutal war, entangled w/ gods, tho many of the plot points were predictable (jiang, empress, tearza, for example). the vast array of characters were a delight, whether from sinegard or the cike, and it was gripping to delve deep into many of them (esp altan, very complex, tragic, vengeful altan..). i also liked how there's a price to the magic in nikara, as it rly raised the stakes, tho i wish there were more detailed explanation for why rin shouldnt wield it.

and ofc, the blood-soaked brutality and savagery of war in this book shouldnt go unnoted. it was of a horrible, horrific scale, made even more sickening by the fact that they actually happened, they were fact-based. and i certainly couldnt help reflect on the legacy of their real life counterpart, and how it all still plays out in chinese geopolitics and conflicts today. also still cant get over the fact that kuang's basically the same age and she wrote this in college like wtf am i doing w/ my life...the poppy war wasnt a perfect book but it was one that made me feel a lot of things, and that rly rly counts for sth.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Murder, Violence, War, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Genocide, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Torture

Moderate: Slavery, Domestic abuse, Colonisation, Mental illness, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Racism, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, and Rape

Minor: Child death

ivxjayy's review against another edition

amazing world building but I couldn’t deal with the characters and their motivations. the plot is mostly character driven, and our main characters are contradictory and messy thus the story follows the lead and lacks some logic and any sort of justification. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Rape, Self harm, Addiction, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Torture

Moderate: Abandonment, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Child abuse, Addiction, Bullying, Cursing, and Toxic relationship

definitely 18+ read, might not seem like that at first but it gets graphic the further the story progresses. this is absolutely ADULT fiction, not young adult and not for the faint of heart. be certain to check trigger warnings.

sashasgarden's review against another edition

dark medium-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

5.0

This was my first time reading grim dark fantasy, and it felt like a punch in the gut. Never before had I been rendered helpless by a book the way The Poppy War left me.

My stomach had turned completely upside down. I couldn't eat for a couple of hours, because I was certain I would throw up.

Now, I confess that I am a very empathetic person, so usually war-related things leave me in a dazed, numb or frozen state.

Nothing had prepared me for this.

You get thrown into the middle of a war, simple as that is. The story follows Rin, a girl that from the beginning has to fight with all she's got to make a future for herself, only to discover the future that awaits her isn't looking that bright either.

I don't like Rin as a person, but I don't believe I'm supposed to. Most, if not all characters show to be ambiguous and crossing the path between good and bad. The world presented by R.F. Kuang is cruel and merciless, and it becomes even more terrifying once you realize it's based off of real chinese history.

The Poppy War has a perfect combination of fantasy and history, and makes one thing clear: nobody wins during times of war.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Grief, Gore, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, War, Violence, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Rape, Physical abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Colonisation

danielle_sips_tea's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Self harm, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Vomit

rileysradreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, and War

virgoreading's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, and Murder

Minor: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

kiwikarelus's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, War, Torture, Addiction, Violence, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Grief, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Violence

mochalirious's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.25

This was a miserable read but in the best way possible. 
After finishing the last page I sat on my desk uneasy and alittle dazed. I thought I was pretty good with reading violence and I started this book with "how bad could it be?",oh it's bad. It gets real dark real bad. 

While I cant say I had 'fun' reading this, I couldn't put it down. I enjoyed the author's choice in building her characters, relationships, and her decision to depict some of the scenes as disturbing as she could and not to romanticise or sugarcoat it especially since the book is inspired by real historical events in China. War is horrifying and the author did a damn good job nailing that message.

the lack of romance in the book which I find a tad annoying and repetitive in other fantasy books with war heavily embedded in their plot, was super refreshing. I don't mind a slow burn and maybe book 2 contains romance in it but so many fantasy books have the  obvious oh-those-two-people-are-gonna-end-up-together romance in it when I just want to enjoy the world the author created. 
Also am very terrified of and for Rin. I totally understand why kitty was disgusted by rins decision at the end but I also get rins view too. This girl is going to set the world on fire and I am terrified

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Murder, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, and War

violaceae's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Xenophobia, War, Violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic friendship, Vomit, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Sexual content, Child death, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Misogyny

Minor: Abortion, Alcoholism, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Infidelity, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Eating disorder, Death of parent, and Chronic illness