A review by marah
The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

I loved this book!! Rin’s character development was so satisfying to see. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Medical content, Addiction, Confinement, Gore, Murder, Violence, War, Blood, Child death, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual violence, Body horror, Colonisation, Death, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Racism, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture

Moderate: Alcohol, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Abortion, Self harm, Slavery, Vomit, Child abuse, Cannibalism, Child death, Police brutality, Bullying, Cursing, and Death of parent

I think that because of these topics, this book had potential to fall into trauma-porn territory but it definitely did not. R.F. Kuang writes about this material very well.

BUT ALSO THE DUMPLINGS PART WAS SO FUCKED UP