The Dragon Republic: The award-winning epic fantasy trilogy that combines the history of China with a gripping world of gods and monsters: Book 2 (The Poppy War)

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The grudges of gods are as deathless as their flesh, and men with everything at stake are dangerous. That alone would have been enough to entice the Yin children, all of whom were adventurous to a fault. The more Rin learns, the more she fears her love for Nikan will drive her away from every ally and lead her to rely more and more on the Phoenix’s deadly power. The first time I saw this, I thought it a cool tip of the hat but now I’m thinking, there are multiple mentions of a book that exists on earth, in a Fantasy book. Kuang truly ignited her skill in writing great military fantasy within the last 20% and I honestly can’t wait for more.

Aratsha’s death: She was disappointed because he was “an immensely useful chess piece and now she couldn’t use him anymore. I did wonder where the author was going to go from there, since having a book end with your main character committing a grave atrocity is definitely a choice. All they do is veil the injustice that forms the roots of this world, and by forgetting our history there is no way to shape a better future. But with a plot that does not fall into the passivity trap of TPW, added intrigue, improved writing, and awe-inspiringly deeper dive into intended themes like trauma and addiction, TDR managed to steal my heart in the way I’d been all but begging for, despite slightly lacking in development of some relationships ( not characters, which were all stunningly layered and shaped)—but we’ll get to that in time. she was strong before, but now she is straight up lethal and i fully expect the next book in the series to be the death of me.I truly don’t want to get into spoilers for the middle book of this series, but when I tell you the end of this book had me gasping for air like a fish out of water, I’m not lying. The Great Britain was obviously bothered so, you guessed it, they showed up with their ships and guns in June of 1840 and demanded unjustified rights. Rin propped herself up on the prow, trying to conceal the twitching in her limbs and to ignore the throbbing pain in her temples. I defended her character in the first book, claiming that she was morally grey and largely unlikeable but well written.

Shattered by a storm of Federation soldiers during the Third Poppy War, port security still hadn’t recovered and was almost nonexistent—especially for a supply ship flying Militia colors.Rebecca Kuang and this series is truly a treasure for Asian-inspired military fantasy and I simply can't wait to read the conclusion of this trilogy. The backdrop of war will only ever be a backdrop, and heinous acts can be committed in the safest seeming of cities and places.

The newest rising queen of fantasy is back with her newest book, The Dragon Republic, and it managed to live up to my super high expectations. I had so many moments that I felt for her, so many moments I wanted to strangle her for being so stupid and childish. Actually I already fell in love with the first book but second installment was like more ripen, juicy, well-rounded, detailed and perfectly developed! Yes, we got to see Rin getting treated as lesser because of her darker skin, but in this second installment we really get to see how colorism runs rampant in this whole world, not just in small towns, or private school settings, or military branches. The first book is a bitter tale of how that war began, how it went back before her, how she inherited it with all else that she inherited.A chant of “no no no” did not stop me from careening head first into the twist so cleverly layed out. I am going to try to be a little vague about the plot in this review, and just focus on the important themes and discussions, while also talking about the characters who own my entire heart. J. Barker, another book I really loved which involved the main character being driven heavily by darkness and rage, but came out all the better once the character was able to overcome it. At this point, the book kind of feels like a gussied-up YA title with flat, two-dimensional characters that uses its violence to shock and titillate. The Poppy War left me wondering if the author would be able to follow up a solid first entry, or would it be another franchise with a promising start that rapidly fizzled out.

I felt connected to her in the first book, and the trauma and resulting emotions that she went through I found compelling. When Rin aced the Keju—the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies—it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn’t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin’s guardians, who believed they’d finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. Not only was the world-building expanded, but Kuang also provided revelations and more in-depth lore to the history of her world.Ebooks fulfilled through Glose cannot be printed, downloaded as PDF, or read in other digital readers (like Kindle or Nook).