finn_1312'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
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, War, Violence, Xenophobia, Torture, Sexual violence, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Suicide, Sexual assault, Sexism, Murder, Misogyny, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death, Confinement, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Rape
Moderate: Self harm, Eating disorder, Excrement, Vomit, Sexual content, and Animal death
historical fantasy, informative, challenging,cowardlyteaman's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
There's so much to say here that I'm sure other readers in these reviews can express much better than me.
Currently in history class, we're learning about the history of Emperial Japan (where much of it is also taught from the perspective of the Chinese), and the parallels are prominent. Sometimes it becomes hard to distinguish between what is real and what is fiction, because just like the Mugenese, the Japanese soldiers were terrible—terrible—terrible.
There's so much of this book to praise, and I did love Rin for a while. However, as she continued to go against her master's advice, I continued to dislike her. I see where her need is coming from, but it was very frustrating and frankly quite uninspiring to read about these very predictable consequences to her horribly naïve decisions.
This, however, is the ONLY complaint I had about the book, and I still very much enjoyed the book. I am looking forward to the coming books!
I deeply recommend this book, but be aware of the warnings. Many of the warnings are descriptions and mentions made from character's rather than the direct actions, but they can still be disturbing.
Graphic: Abortion, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Misogyny, Rape, Blood, Animal death, Body horror, Miscarriage, Torture, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Child abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual violence, Violence, and War
Moderate: Racism, Suicide, Self harm, Animal cruelty, and Classism
Minor: Excrement, Adult/minor relationship, Genocide, and Vomit
bookishreadersclub's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Torture, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Mental illness, Abortion, War, Trafficking, Slavery, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gore, Grief, Excrement, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Death, Addiction, Abandonment, Bullying, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Hate crime, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Vomit, Violence, Self harm, Genocide, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Racism, Pandemic/Epidemic, Murder, Forced institutionalization, and Cursing
atomicrobin'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
4.25
Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, Animal death, Drug abuse, Death, Classism, Body horror, Blood, Infertility, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Violence, Sexism, Sexual violence, Bullying, Alcohol, Addiction, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, War, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail
winterwoodbooks's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Whlile I always want to give the benefit of believing that maybe that was just how the character felt, this does not seem to be the case here.
Spoiler
The Fact, that there were mere chapters between the setup of the facility and arriving there annoyed me SO much. And then they were out again just as fast, ughOne of the strongest parts of this book is the bluntness of talking about themes- as well as just vivid and brutal pictures, actually depicturing horrors and topics often glossed over. I have to mention the feminism here, loved everything about it!
Overall a great book with some annoying points, I am interested to see more and hope for an in depth journey of the mind of our main character!
Spoiler
The worst part were the animal deaths tho :cGraphic: Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, Animal death, Suicide, Slavery, Blood, Death, Abandonment, War, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Murder, Infertility, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Cursing, Body horror, Hate crime, Violence, Torture, Sexual assault, Rape, Mental illness, Excrement, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Animal cruelty, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, Drug abuse, Child death, and Abortion
dragongurrl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: War, Rape, Grief, Drug use, Addiction, Body horror, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, Genocide, Drug abuse, Violence, Child death, Death, Self harm, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Suicide
Moderate: Child abuse, Classism, Mental illness, and Colonisation
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Infertility, Bullying, and Animal death
freyaturtle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Torture, Rape, Suicide, Violence, War, Drug use, and Genocide
yatesanna's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Genocide, Drug abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Child death, Death, Drug use, Sexual violence, Violence, War, Colonisation, Confinement, Addiction, Suicide, Rape, and Sexual assault
amirahazhar's review against another edition
- 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
Politics and military strategy play a major role in this story. R.F.Kuang also touched a lot on classism, colorism, colonialism, and the collateral damage of unnecessary wars that span through generations, which I appreciated.
I can't recommend this book enough. To say that I'm blown away would be an understatement, especially owing to the fact that this is R.F. Kuang's debut novel, and she started writing it at 19! So excited to read the rest of this trilogy.
Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, Blood, Suicide, Racism, Pregnancy, Addiction, Sexual violence, Self harm, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Body horror, War, Violence, Torture, Suicide attempt, Child death, Rape, Vomit, Trafficking, Infertility, Grief, Gore, Genocide, and Drug use
pages_to_go_until_i_sleep'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
4.25
Graphic: Child death, Blood, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Suicide, Slavery, Murder, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Genocide, Bullying, Addiction, War, Violence, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Sexual assault, Drug use, Racism, Gore, Drug abuse, and Death