Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Burning God by R.F. Kuang

65 reviews

laura_with_a_u's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective 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? Yes

5.0

*cue incoherent screaming then falling silent and staring at a wall silently for an hour*

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Toxic relationship, War, and Violence

Moderate: Religious bigotry

loup's review against another edition

adventurous 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Cannibalism, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Torture, Self harm, Physical abuse, Murder, Animal cruelty, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death, War, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Gore, Excrement, and Drug abuse

Minor: Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Slavery

mreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

I have no idea where to begin when thinking about the Poppy War Trilogy. Of course it's easy enough to say "talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same" but that just doesn't seem to fully encompass it. 

R.F Kuang has absolutely become a favorite author. Her use of fantastical magic with the unfortunate, brutal truths of history have raised the bar for the subgenre over all. The heartbreak that I feel in the wake of finishing this series is hard to put into words. But all the same I'm grateful to feel it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Racism, Addiction, War, Colonisation, Medical trauma, Violence, Sexual violence, Murder, Rape, and Death

Moderate: Cursing, Misogyny, Blood, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, and Cannibalism

Minor: Classism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Cursing

I have no idea where to begin when thinking about the Poppy War Trilogy. Of course it's easy enough to say "talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same" but that just doesn't seem to fully encompass it. R.F Kuang has absolutely become a favorite author. Her use of fantastical magic with the unfortunate, brutal truths of history have raised the bar for the subgenre over all. The heartbreak that I feel in the wake of finishing this series is hard to put into words. But all the same I'm grateful to feel it.

brainrot_197's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Racism, Confinement, Cursing, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Xenophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, War, Rape, Torture, Toxic friendship, Violence, Drug abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, and Murder

quill88's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Classism, Murder, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Toxic friendship, War, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Grief, Cursing, Drug use, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault, Alcohol, Animal death, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Trafficking, Slavery, Cannibalism, Confinement, and Pandemic/Epidemic

stitchof's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Rape, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Cannibalism, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Deportation, Gore, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Child death, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Pandemic/Epidemic, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Abortion, Addiction, Antisemitism, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Outing, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, War, and Xenophobia

linneak's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Gore, Death, Toxic friendship, Violence, War, Colonisation, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Classism, and Suicide

Moderate: Gun violence, Confinement, Eating disorder, Medical content, Xenophobia, Addiction, Alcohol, and Medical trauma

Minor: Child abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Rape, Child death, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, Animal death, Vomit, Cannibalism, and Panic attacks/disorders

faraway_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This saga is so cruel... 10/10 it destroyed me 😃

"Let them think of us as dirt, Rin thought. She was dirt. Her army was dirt. But dirt was common, ubiquitous, patient, and necessary. The soil gave life to the country. And the earth always reclaimed what it was owed."

"And she still loved him. She’d never stop. But that didn’t matter.You’ve abandoned me, she thought as he wept with relief into her shoulder. You thought you could fool me, but I know your soul. And if you’re not with me, you’ll burn, too."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Classism, Death, Gaslighting, Genocide, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Addiction, Blood, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, and War

egsy's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

1.5

Would NOT recommend.

I nearly didn’t finish this book but the completionist in me forced me to finish it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, Racism, Torture, War, Mental illness, Colonisation, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, and Violence

tinyjude's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

It was all there, laid out between them. All their shared fury, vindictiveness, bloodlust, and guilt. Her cruelty. His complicitly. Her desperation. His regret.

One of the most brutal fantasy trilogies I have ever read. I am rendered speechless, trying to absorb everything that happened, and feeling ultimately devoid of emotions and at the same time, overwhelmed because it has been such a haunting, horrifying and memorable journey. I knew that ending was coming for a long time, yet no amount of mental preparation saved my heart from sinking in those final pages at the complicated bond all these characters shared. So many bold decisions and unphantomable turns later, I have (been) finished (by) this trilogy, yet I regret none. The incredible historical and social commentary, the parallelism to real history mixed with such a complex and compelling fictional world-building and unforgettable characters, the writing style, the harshness and pain that flooded these pages as more and more lives were lost in so many different ways... 

I wish I could forget about it just so I could experience it all over again.

Rin has become one of my favourite irredeemable main characters of all times and I know I will miss her dearly from now on.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Blood, Colonisation, Murder, Racism, Violence, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Body horror, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, War, Xenophobia, Grief, Rape, Child death, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Drug abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Infertility, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Alcohol, Medical content, Misogyny, Cannibalism, Gun violence, Hate crime, and Suicide