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Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Опиумная война by R.F. Kuang

1878 reviews

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark reflective tense fast-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 dark sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
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 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 sad 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

I really really wanted to love this book and I love an
antihero
, however this was a slightly traumatizing read. It was well written and I will admit I went in blind, so maybe I just wasn't adequately prepared for the read.

I started out wanting Rin to succeed and I ended the book sort of disgusted with her. I feel like Altan was a better character than her in terms of complexity because she made almost parallel decisions as Altan without the same background and context as him. She had people supporting her and showing her an alternative and literally chose violence.




Expand filter menu Content Warnings
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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging dark reflective 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: Complicated

TW: Racism, genocide, violence, war, drugs, addiction

Wow. This book was a dark and wild ride. The first half is quite different to the second - in the first you follow Rin in a school-based setting, while the second half is war-based and a lot darker. 

I enjoyed that the characters were complex and morally grey, you really weren’t sure who to root for at times. The book may have been fantasy, but it brought many issues that our world has faced and is facing to light - including genocide, racism, war and addiction. It held nothing back, there were definitely some graphic descriptions and heartbreaking moments. There were some good twists and gasp-worthy moments, along with some slower repetitive parts which stopped it from being a 5 star read. 

I would recommend this book if you enjoy dark, political and war-based fantasy books.

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dark medium-paced

This was an engaging and thought-provoking fantasy story. While the characters and fantasy elements are really neat, the plot is inspired by the Sino-Japanese War, which I knew nothing about, and it challenged me to educate myself on that part of history.

Though, and I cannot stress this enough, please go into Chapter 21 with caution. Huge content warning for that chapter specifically. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

This is the most impactful book I've read in a decade 


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