Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

367 reviews

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

this book was phenomenal. it single-handedly pulled me out of my reading slump, and i could not put it down!!!!!! anyone who's interested in reading or curious of this book should really take the leap because the emotional distress is worth it. caution, this book is not for the faint hearted–there are a slew of triggers throughout. I hold Rin, Altan, Nezha, Ramsa, Kitay, and literally every character under the Nikaran sun (favourable ones, of course) so close to my heart. it simultaneously rips and beats for them. 

i really hope Nezha isn't dead. like i can't do this. especially after Altan??????????????? i'm really holding out on hope right now, that's literally all i have left. though i do have an incredibly strong gut feeling that he isn't, though he'll probably be extremely mentally distressed and fucked up because i'm assuming (if he's alive, which i'm 85% certain of) he's been held as a prisoner of war, and the universe fucking knows what the federation would have done to him. as i'm typing this, i just came up with a (paranoid) theory. what if Nezha isn't actually dead/captured and he's allied w the Empress and already knows of her plans and shit, so if Mugen "kidnapped" him, he wouldn't actually be a prisoner, but be unharmed. also, i'm super curious about what Enki said about Nezha being a shaman. i personally think that Enki is right, and Nezha never recovered from it, but did his spiritual/god/shamanistic mojo to walk again. and that's also why i think that Nezha isn't actually dead, because that seems like a hell of a foreshadow, and why would Kuang plant that if she wasn't intending on bringing him back???? idk just food for thought

and i don't trust Chaghan, i hope he doesn't have ill intentions. and Su Daji can suck my fucking dick, i've never trusted her. i hope Kitay doesn't turn his back on her forever; their friendship genuinely gives me so much happiness bc i feel like he's the first person that Rin has trusted/viewed as a true friend. I love Ramsa he's so adorable. and JIANG ZIYA IF YOU DONT COME BACK ISTG I WILL RAIN HELLFIRE ON YOU. and by the end, i understand why (because she felt like she was backed into a corner and there was literally nothing she could do to save Nikara from Mugen) but Rin was getting on my nerves. but i suppose that's what it means to grow into your own person, and not simple follow the formula of Sinegard's training (or just in general). and i feel like that's part of what Jiang taught Rin, even if it wasn't active teaching, but a passive learning that Rin adopted by observing him. and idk she went in the opposite direction of everything he taught her, but i feel like it's something that he simultaneously taught her too. 

sorry for the rant, i've never really reviewed/commented on something online, and none of my friends read *skull emoji* so i just had a field day of all the thoughts and theories running through my head :)

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This is the start of a fantasy series set in China that is roughly inspired by the second Sino-Japanese War. It incorporates folklore and magic and is quite unique in the fantasy genre.

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adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious 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: Complicated

This book was amazing! This is by far my favorite book. This story is so captivating and interesting, I love the magic system in this book. The characters were also amazing. Chapter 21 was a bitch, and made me cry.

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-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

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dark medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book feels like two totally different books - maybe even three. The first part feels like standard magic school, the second part feels like weird group-of-people-with-powers hijinks, and then part three goes full HORRORS OF WAR and never stops. It feels very disjointed. The pacing is sloppy. None of the characters from part 1 feel particularly interesting, where as the part 2 ones feel more fleshed out.

Felt like the worldbuilding was just straight up bad, but it had some good ideas (mostly the way the pantheon was handled), so it wasn't a total wash.

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adventurous challenging dark sad tense slow-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

This was even better the second time around (and via audio). 

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

This book truly lived up to its hype. So well researched and well crafted, left me on the edge of my seat. I’m immediately going to buy the sequels. 

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I was going to give it more stars, but I can't decide how I feel about Rin and the path she takes. I liked the beginning and middle of the story considerably more than the ending, but when the war begins, the writing loses momentum and starts to feel a lot drier and less interesting. It definitely does an excellent job at portraying moral ambiguity, however, and I'll probably be finishing the trilogy to see what's up.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark emotional medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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