Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Пылающий бог by R.F. Kuang

70 reviews

atlaslan's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

Woah, I really cannot say a thing else. Woah. I've never read a trilogy so strong. I know this trilogy will stick with me for a long time. I jsut finished it so I can't say much more than I'm in awe. R. F. Kuang will never fail to amaze me. It definetly had its slow points but kept me intrigued throughout the book. Rin is such a deliciously complex character morally black in reality but so interesting to read about. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Murder, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gaslighting, Violence, War, and Classism

Moderate: Classism, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Drug abuse, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Racism, Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Cannibalism, Excrement, and Emotional abuse

amalas_bookstop's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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

5.0

This is without a doubt the best book in the series. R.F. Kuang finally found the perfect balance between the battles and character dynamics between each other. The pacing in this one was extremely well done. Compared to the last book this one seemed to read so much easier. This book had highs and lows and it wasn’t just extreme intensity on every page. Don’t get me wrong final book definitely had it a twists and turns, but it just felt way more settled. 

What an amazing ride! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Violence, War, Body horror, Child death, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Self harm, Bullying, Cannibalism, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Vomit, Classism, Colonisation, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Torture

ginalucia's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

 I gotta say, this book doesn't hold back - it's brutally honest and dark, making it kinda tough to fully connect with the main character, Rin.

As our main protagonist and antihero (the whole book is pretty much from her perspective), she’s hard to love. I know this was intentional. Her purpose isn’t to make us love her, it’s to teach us something about war.

While it achieves this, it does get stuck in a loop. Rin seems to be going over the same struggles and thoughts without much progress, which can feel a bit repetitive after a while. At times, I felt my brain drifting off as she came to the same conclusion over and over again.

The power dynamics in the story constantly shift, which adds to the complexity - but it can also feel messy and overwhelming at times. 

And when it comes to the big climactic moments? I gotta admit, I felt kinda detached. Like, I was expecting this big emotional punch, but it just didn't hit me the way I thought it would. But maybe that was the point - to show how you can become desensitised to war. In which case, nice work R.F. Kuang.

The Burning God, and The Poppy War series is a challenging read. It's not always easy to digest, but the honesty and depth of the storytelling are absolutely worth it. While this last book didn’t quite hit like the first two for me, I’m absolutely happy I took the time to get through it.

For more reviews and book recommendations, check out my YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/ginaluciayt 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Murder, Genocide, Death, War, Violence, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Suicide, and Hate crime

Moderate: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Vomit, Classism, Xenophobia, Animal death, Toxic friendship, and Forced institutionalization

xveronica_fx's review against another edition

dark 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Child death, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, War, Genocide, Murder, Racism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Cannibalism, Violence, Mental illness, Colonisation, and Emotional abuse

bookishedi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative 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? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Rape, Violence, Vomit, Addiction, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Deadnaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Racism, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Torture, and War

Moderate: Abortion, Abandonment, Animal death, Emotional abuse, and Cannibalism

johnathanwet's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Tragic and beautiful end to a truly gruesome series. I don’t think this could have played out any other way, and the tale Kuang has woven over this poor girl is truly on of a kind

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Genocide, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Grief, Drug use, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, War, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Drug abuse, Violence, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexism, and Murder

nataaaliya's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Racial slurs, Suicide, Child abuse, Classism, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, Addiction, Abandonment, Cannibalism, Child death, Cultural appropriation, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Dementia, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, War, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism and Cursing

cturn's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Blood, Genocide, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Body horror, Death, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Genocide, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Torture, Pandemic/Epidemic, Animal death, and Toxic friendship

itsjustgrumpy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

4.5

Ended the only way it could. In tears.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Death, Blood, Colonisation, Torture, Animal death, Grief, Murder, Child death, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Violence, and War

Moderate: Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Rape, Kidnapping, Slavery, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Cursing

k4meli4's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Death, Mental illness, Drug use, Blood, Torture, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Bullying, Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury