Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

Płonący Bóg by R.F. Kuang

6 reviews

themoostconfused's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective sad tense fast-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

having finished the series i feel a profound sense of loss and grief.
it will stay with me for a long time and i will keep reflecting on it over and over and over again. i don't know what to put in this review, since everything i write does not seem to do it justice, so i will just say this:

in my studies as well as through (social) media i see pictures and accounts of war, brutality, famine and starvation regularly and reading about it described in such tremendous detail resulted in me having shortness of breath and feeling like that moment close to having a panic attack when the world becomes blurry and everything seems to fade but be amplified at the same time 

deep down i had known she had to die and that something was bound to hapoen with kitay but it still shook me. however, i feel the end (especially the last two chapters) was a bit rushed

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, and Abortion

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! 

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Content Warnings

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

winterwoodbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful slow-paced

• 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

The ending was perfect for this amazing series and I loved everything about it.
The character work is immaculate.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

justlilah's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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

5.0

Never again in my life will i find something like this. Never again will a book leave me so thoroughly devastated. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

cemeterygay'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? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Additional CW: Colorism and Implication of incestuous feelings

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