Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Опиумная война by R.F. Kuang

2257 reviews

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

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Great writing and good story, just was not prepared for the very intense themes within the book of war crimes and r*pe. Definitely a big trigger warning to anyone interested in starting the series! 

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

I've read this book now 3 times, and I still discover new things everytime I read it. 

Love this book and series to pieces truely. I'm excited to re-read the rest of the series. 

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challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

R.F. Kuang is an amazing writer and storyteller. This was heavy in world building but not so much so that I felt lost. The topics especially towards the last third of the book were difficult to read but handled well by Kuang. Similar to Babel, I believe all the characters are very flawed in their own ways but you do find yourself rooting for them even if they might seem in the wrong (looking at you Rin). However this book basically gave me a big warning not to expect any happy endings here so going into the next two books with that in mind. 

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring 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

The beginning was definitely slow and the droning expedition almost lost me, but once everything clicked together, it CLICKED. The fantasy aspect of the world building is phenomenal, the characters are so well-rounded and an utter joy to read. They were all so realistic in their actions and their dialogue interactions. However, despite that, it was a little slow at times.

Despite this being her debut novel, I can FEEL the love, dedication, and research she has placed into this story. The depictions of war were gruesome and so overwhelmingly REAL that my jaw dropped multiple times. If I had a shot for each "oh my god"/"dear Lord"s that came out of my mouth, I'd be hammered. Dead, even. It should definitely be considered a hard read, but it seemed necessary to really drive home the desperation of war, and the situation the country (and it's people) were in.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark sad tense medium-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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

This book was a good mix of historical fiction and fantasy.

I thought the first half of the book was harder to get through. It was a bit detached and read like a textbook, which could speak to the genre but wasn’t particular enjoyable. I had a hard time feeling grounded as the first few years at the academy passed and even during her training.

The book picked up when
The Federation attacked Sinegard. The war after that was compelling and a great read.


It was interesting to see Rin come to realisations about war and humanity and the brutal both can be. The aspects of Shamism and the gods were interesting to explore.

It left a lot open for the next books. So it’ll be interesting to see where it goes next.

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

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