Reviews tagging 'Child death'

The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang

170 reviews

brynalexa's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

It was an odd experience to want to know what’s going to happen next but also despise almost every decision made by every character. There were SO many battles that it got muddy in the middle.  Trying to remember which battle they were referring to later made the book tricky to follow at times. I think that experience would be different reading it in print. I’m excited to see where the third book takes the story… hopefully to some moral evolution but also revolution. 

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joepyeweed's review against another edition

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

5.0

Hard to read but hard to stop. I don’t always enjoy politics, but here it worked for me because you don’t know who to trust or which side should win. 

Rin is frustratingly rash and impulsive, but there are consequences for her actions every time (even when I might expect another book to let her off easy). She’s the main character, but is not a hero. I like that.

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persephonefoxx's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • 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


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winterwoodbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75


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broccoli_j's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75


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bacook0403's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark sad tense medium-paced
  • 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


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flamesocks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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cort_03's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective tense fast-paced
  • 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

4.75


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ireadtoescape_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • 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

4.5

Pain. 
All the trigger warnings. 
And pain 😭😭😭😭😭

Always a ride with my girl Rin. 
I’ll get to book 3 next year. I can only take one book per year from this series. 😂

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darkclouds's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious 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

Now, how does one go about in suing Rebecca Kuang for emotional and mental damages?

Being my 100th book of the year, I'm feeling quite the swarming tidal of harrowing sensations. I've read an exceedingly well written book, two in fact within the space of a month and reached a milestone I thought I'd never hit again, all at once.

The Poppy War had brought me to my knees and extracted the tightly bound tears that I caged so well with it's vengeful, and riveting appeal and war conflicted trauma. It took me a year to find my footing and any semblance of recovery to continue this series.

There's a sense of loss, perhaps grief, a kind of hollow feeling of emptiness but fulfilment as well - once you complete reading one of these. Anyone seen/read Attack on Titan? If you can withstand *that* abomination of a series then you absolutely have enough gall to pick up Poppy War and face it's events headstrong. There's almost a deep guilty pleasure in facing one tragic loss after another, of chasing a cast of characters with complex arcs and a ghost inkling of found family trope. You cannot stop pushing forward and experience the absolute brutality that these characters face one chapter after another. The way Kuang has readers ensnared within an endless loop of gaining some hope, she just as quickly tears it away. Even though you can expect this when going into the series, it's never quite so black and white. There'll be elements of surprise.

Whilst Poppy War had shaken me to my very core with it being so incredibly unforgiving, Dragon Republic truly throws you into a position of complete helplessness. It's truly frustrating and compulsive and I absolutely devoured every page. Every word. Rin is every part the fearsome, yet fragile protagonist with compelling characteristics that can really irk a reader. But her unlikeable traits doesn't stop us from wanting to root for her and I think that's true power in writing.

Rebecca Kuang continues to devastate and bind us readers with her incredible prose and impactful storytelling. I fear for my sanity when I eventually read Burning Gods. 

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