Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Płonący Bóg by R.F. Kuang

90 reviews

erynelle's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Blood, Cannibalism, Alcohol, and Colonisation

middumullu's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

still really enjoyed it but i think by this point i had gotten a bit tired of all of the same circles that have been happening over the past few books. still really enjoyed the characters

but i missed them all being together all the time,

and i felt like some of the newer characters were a lot less fleshed out. i think i liked the ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Torture, Cannibalism, and Abandonment

Minor: Miscarriage and Abortion

again there was so much goin on in here that it is hard to remember in totality if something should be graphic/moderate/mild. for instance - there isn't as much medical content/trauma in this book as there were in others but it was mentioned several times and (to me) clearly informs character's actions (as do many of these tags). theres a scene where the characters visit a town that has been taken over by the west/Hesperians .

tasneeem's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

doodeedoda'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? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Genocide, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Vomit, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, and Pregnancy

katiemcgregor's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

On one hand, I think this was a brilliant and satisfying conclusion to, what I imagine to be, an extremely difficult series to wrap up. On the other hand I think some of the pacing and character build up could have been taken a step further. This doesn't really hinder my overall enjoyment of The Burning God or the overall series, but there are just things I wanted more of. More madness, more development for minor characters, more drama to the fated confrontations that could only end in blood. But at the same time I think most of how things are handled is fitting for both the chaos of war and Rin's character. (view spoiler). I actually like the final ending of this book, but I think some of the things that are wrapped up in the middle may have felt a little anti-climactic (view spoiler)

What this book did really well is evoke intense emotions and instill an overall feeling of impending doom due to enemies that our main characters potentially can't even compete with. They're battling the colonization and "natural progression" of the world and it's hard to imagine that being a fight that can be won under these circumstances. Throughout the whole book it just doesn't feel like things can end well. No matter how many victories Rin achieves, the writing does a really good job of conveying her hollow feelings associated with them.

I think the other thing I maybe wanted a little more of was action between the original trio. It was obvious that everything was going to come down to them in the end, but The Dragon Republic was filled with more collaboration, fighting, and tension between them. Since they're all spread out, especially Nezha, throughout this book it just didn't lend itself to the type of interaction I would have loved more of.

All that being, said, I'm kind of nitpicking here because it's been a long time since I've been this invested in a series. This book really is very good and I understand why this has already become such a renowned trilogy. It is an experience.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cannibalism

lettuce_read's review against another edition

dark

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Rape, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War

stellarengine's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Genocide, Gore, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

urastrologygf's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cannibalism

kirbylover16's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

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

3.0

The story starts strongly in part one, flops in part two, and is salvaged but rushes in part three. I love that women are at the forefront of this series and the focus on the East. All of it is super refreshing. The narrator in the audiobook is great. Rin's speech about ignorance and slavery was exemplary. But her continued growth from a naive child to a war commander feels unfinished. She never gets over the loss of her arm or Alton. It's only because of others that Rin lives (Jiang/Kitay/Souji/etc.)

If she had practiced with her arm as Kitay told her over and over when they were traveling the entire book, she could have won the sword fight against the weakened dragon emperor. She could have confronted Jiang and Daji about how they let Riga bully them and about not learning their lesson. Tell Jiang he can't forget Hanelai or what he's done but, he could do something now. Then go into a fight against the airships. Then have the Trifecta die. Instead, Jiang must save her again. They never fought anyone as the whole Trifecta and, Riga's only there for one scene." in one blow, she rid herself of the Trifecta ... two of the greatest forces the empire had ever seen, gone" Rin wasn't even the one to kill them. How anti-climactic! Then part three starts with another flashback and talks about silicones in the shadows like maybe they're not dead after all? I kept hoping they would show up, but no, they're gone. I thought Jiang's mental fight was one of the better subplots and the theory of him being Rin's father interesting, so his death was even more disappointing.

She squandered the Trifecta, especially Riga. It feels like the whole book was pointless or, the subplots overtook the main plot. The inconsistencies/plot holes/pacing makes this an annoying read that drags.

Why is Alton in this book at all! With everyone who died in these books, Rin never shows any emotion besides Alton and maybe Kitay. Which really shouldn't count. Kitay isn't even his person in this book as he's just her Horcrux.

half of the book Kitay isn't even with Rin. Nezha had him but, that doesn't make sense. Kitay refused to work for him, and they didn't know Kitay was her anchor, so why did they keep him alive? They knew Kitay was clever and would betray them.

Her blood family? her adopted family, the fate of the Speerly or the Cike? Nope, she doesn't care. 
What was Nezha doing? His motives make no sense and, Rin's motives keep switching. I shouldn't need to read a different book to understand the main character's motives. None of the relationships are healthy or wholesome. In general, there are too many characters to keep track of and, it feels like this book could have cut down and got to the point a lot faster. Why didn't she start teaching shamans at the beginning instead of at the very end? You can't introduce new characters so late in the story that only makes the ending feel even more rushed. Overall this was disappointing and, I don't understand how anyone can say this is five stars. 
Poppy War 5/5  
The Dragon Republic 3.75/5 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, and Sexual harassment

mazomazli's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Make no mistake in assuming a happy ending for this very realistic and grounded in Chinese history book. Kuang shows the brutality of war and what happens after the revolution ends. Most fantasy books call it a day and everyone gets to go home and be happy. In reality, that’s the furtherest from the truth. There’s a lot to think about coming away from this book when you’re done crying. Seriously, you’ll probably cry a lot. There’s no answers or good choices and that’s the point. Part of me wishes the author decided “hey it’s fantasy I can do whatever I want” and wrap it up nicely in a way that brings closure. That wasn’t the point and I respect that. 

5/5 tissue boxes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Cannibalism, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Colonisation