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bites_of_books's review against another edition
- 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
Talk about character development, complex relationships, both with family, friends, and even enemies! Twists? Check! Reveals? Check! Incredible suffering? Absolutely.
I said it in my thoughts about the previous book, if you can't read about war and horrible violence, don't even try this one.
While some stories that have military tactics and such aren't my thing, I was on board with this one. I needed to know exactly what and why certain things needed to happen. I was intrigued from the first page since we do get more backstory on characters from the first book while continuing with Rin's story. Rin... oh Rin, where will you end up? I'm terrified for her and also cheering for her to no end.
Now, I could go to bed, but I'm starting the next one now. Wish me luck.
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
fareehareads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Jinzha's death was great, super satisfying.
Qara's death I could see coming from a mile away since she got lines for the first time the whole series, but I like the little moment where she told Rin that she wasn't overpowered by Chagan she was simply in the spiritual world, that was nice. Ramsa, Suni and Baji's deaths were just unfair. They should have gotten a watery end in battle instead of on a chopping block. It also felt a bit cheap to me since it was acknowledged earlier that if the Hesperians knew that they were shamans maybe they would have been spared (tortured for sure, but with potential of a jail break). But it looks like the whole Cike plotline is being burned as a part of Rin's past. Chagan being the last among them is still annoying to me. All the annoying men in this that keep not dying sucks so much.
Overall this book is such a painful and incredible journey. I highly recommend it.
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Bullying and Toxic relationship
lynseyye's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Misogyny, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
caelinsullivan's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Ableism, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
moonystar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Abortion
allisonmspiers's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Torture, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
Minor: Genocide, Racial slurs, Abortion, and Alcohol
not listed above: hallucinations, human experimentation, massacres, mutilationseuclids_5th's review against another edition
- 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
Second books in any series have the very difficult task of keeping the reader interested, especially after a well done first book (like the Poppy War). Especially in trilogies, they don’t have the excitement of beginning the story or the satisfaction of ending it. In my experience, most second books fail to deliver. The pacing is off, or it’s a shaky transition, or they re-open questions that were already answered.
The Dragon Republic is not like that. Kuang performs a seamless transition from one book to the next, making it almost difficult to believe that it’s a separate text. She maintains a consistently captivating narrative flow, one that kept my heart thudding the entire way through. Y’all I finished this book in the span of 12 hours. At the same time, Kuang manages to gracefully pivot to different thematic inquiries, interrogating different sides of the topics she discussed in the first book while simultaneously introducing new ones.
Read this book.
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
hailsatan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Antisemitism, Grief, Cannibalism, Abortion, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Dysphoria, Classism, and Deportation
nkookie's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Genocide, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and War
Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
crdjrose's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Classism