Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang

89 reviews

brynalexa's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, Genocide, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Misogyny, Torture, Toxic friendship, Slavery, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Blood, Child death, Animal death, Classism, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, War, Xenophobia, Body horror, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Drug use, and Sexual assault

Minor: Abortion

finn_1312's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Torture, Alcohol, War, Sexism, Racism, Religious bigotry, Rape, Blood, Colonisation, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Cannibalism

sannesbooks's review

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, War, Rape, Vomit, Violence, Torture, Suicide, Sexual violence, Self harm, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

becausebrenna's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

AHHHHHHHHH 
I stayed up until 1:30 in the morning to finish this

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, Drug use, and Rape

Moderate: Animal death, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, and Vomit

Minor: Abortion

winterwoodbooks's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, War, Ableism, Cultural appropriation, Medical content, Pedophilia, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Racial slurs, Addiction, Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Classism, Excrement, Misogyny, Vomit, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Toxic friendship, Abortion, Animal cruelty, Torture, Chronic illness, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Rape, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexual violence, and Slavery

flamesocks's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Classism, Vomit, Drug abuse, Drug use, Medical content, Colonisation, Rape, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Violence, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, War, Death, Murder, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Xenophobia

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

4.0

Coming straight out of the first book and into this one was very interesting. After the first book’s rather awe-inducing end (

Rin’s use of the Phoenix to completely level an entire curry

) I already anticipated that Kuang would have to find a way to “nerf” Rin in the second book. After all, if it was all just easy wins, nothing would feel very climactic, would it? So, with that in mind, it’s safe to say that the first half of this book was exceedingly frustrating. I don’t mean that in a negative way, but rather, that Kuang found the bruise that conjoined both Rin and the reader and she pushed down, hard. It thoroughly sucked for awhile there, especially considering my standing-critique of Kuang’s writing style that she tends to sum up Rin’s various relationships with a handful of informative scenes but too little transition in-between (imho). This occasionally made those relationships and characters feel a little flat in comparison to the rich intimacy we have within Rin’s character and arc. However, I think that particular flaw took a hard turn for the better around 2/3 through the book (

Rin and Kitay’s bond

). After that point, the emotions, stakes, and overall well-roundedness of every character beside Rin felt much more vivid than before, and Kuang even delved a little deeper in adding casual exchanges here and there that really enriched the dynamics. By the end, I truly felt immersed in this world and found myself longing for exactly what Rin herself is headed towards: purpose. I’m going right into the third and final book now, and hope this journey finds a satisfying end!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, War, Violence, Death, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Blood, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Genocide, Gore, Religious bigotry, Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, Xenophobia, Racism, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Grief, Self harm, Abortion, Alcohol, Cursing, Ableism, Animal death, Gaslighting, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Cannibalism

As with the first book, please check trigger/content warnings before reading.

There is an incident involving a woman being r*ped in the second half of the book that is moderately graphic and could definitely be triggering for some.

_justjess's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Grief, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual assault, Violence, Vomit, Blood, Gore, Addiction, War, Classism, Physical abuse, and Torture

Minor: Child death, Chronic illness, Abortion, Alcohol, and Cannibalism

loup's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Murder, Mental illness, Grief, Death, Blood, Abandonment, Torture, Sexual violence, Animal death, Alcohol, War, Violence, Sexual assault, Self harm, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Gore, Vomit, Genocide, and Police brutality

mpbookreviews's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Rape, Racism, Vomit, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Addiction, Animal death, Confinement, Classism, War, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture