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There are no heroes in this story (well, maybe Kitay). Only villains. I’m not sure if there’s a lesser of all the evils here.
I do love how Rin is horrified when she sees her first Hesperian and immediately assumes they are monsters only to have someone more worldly than her say “girl no that is just what white people look like.” Might be the only funny part of what is otherwise a grim book.
Oh, Fang Runin. What could you have grown into if you had a stable, peaceful upbringing? There’s only one more book in this series, it’s actually impossible that this will end well for her or anyone in her immediate vicinity.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, War, Classism
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I enjoyed this book more than the first. This is an action-packed sequel where Rin essentially faces the consequences of all her actions in book 1 for 600 pages. It is sad and harrowing - Kuang is never afraid to kill her darlings in increasingly gruesome and violent ways - but I forgot how funny some of the dialogue is, which is a sharp reminder that these characters are just kids who like to banter. The parallels with Chinese history continue and potentially become even more clear with the arrival of the Hesperian colonisers - if you know even the smallest bit about world history you will know that they are a truly sinister threat. The ending was absolutely brutal and I cannot wait to get my hands on book 3. I will say that I’ve grown pretty attached to Rin as a protagonist, but knowing how Kuang likes to treat her characters, I am very scared for the conclusion of this trilogy.
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia
Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, War
Moderate: Animal death, Abortion, Alcohol
Minor: Suicide
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse
Moderate: Gore, Rape
Graphic: Drug abuse, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, War
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Blood, War
Moderate: Drug use, Gun violence, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Vomit, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Alcohol
Graphic: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, War
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Blood, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Abortion, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Colonisation
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, Classism
Moderate: Miscarriage, Suicide, Suicide attempt