Name: The Dragon Republic
Rating: 4.479592529711375 (589 reviews)
ISBN: 9780008455200

R. F. Kuang

The searing follow-up to 2018's most celebrated fantasy debut - THE POPPY WAR.

The Dragon Republic

Rin is on the run . . . 

Haunted by the terrible choices she had to make to save her people, Rin's only reason for living is to take revenge on the traitorous Empress who sold her homeland to its enemies.

Forced to ally with the powerful Dragon Warlord in his plan to unseat the Empress, Rin throws herself into the struggle using the fearsome power bestowed on her by the vengeful god Phoenix.

After all, making war is all she knows how to do . . . 

Phil Linley

I support women’s rights, but not importantly… I support women’s wrongs.

The searing follow-up to 2018’s most celebrated fantasy debut – THE POPPY WAR.

The Dragon Republic (The Poppy War, Book 2)

I enjoyed the first book more. This part was okay overall but there were things that made characters seem flat. Also, the author is allergic to romance bc wtf? all this tension and for what???

Anastasiia 

oh rinezha…. you’ve ruined me once again rf kuang

lemon

Kaitlyn

unsure if it’s only because i haven’t read something lengthy in a while, but i could only describe the pacing of this as a single tedious arc—fitting, considering the nature of war. 

this definitely doesn’t shy away from describing the damage dealt by the throes of battle. it’s graphic, but realistic.

on a personal level: as someone who hails from a country that has never been politically stable, i found myself drawing parallels. of course, this exacerbated all sorts of emotions.

if anything, i loved whenever i could see the relationships develop between the characters. kitay remains my favorite, but venka is a surprising addition to the roster.

rini

real ✰: 4.5

unsure if it’s only because i haven’t read something lengthy in a while, but i could only describe the pacing of this as a single tedious arc—fitting, considering the nature of war. 

this definitely doesn’t shy away from describing the damage dealt by the throes of battle. it’s graphic, but realistic.

on a personal level: as someone who hails from a country that has never been politically stable, i found myself drawing parallels. of course, this exacerbated all sorts of emotions.

if anything, i loved whenever i could see the relationships develop between the characters. kitay remains my favorite, but venka is a surprising addition to the roster.

I think for the most part of this book I was in a massive reading slump and just couldn’t get into it, even though the pacing of this book is a bit better than book 1. I LOVED The Poppy War. It was an infinity star read for me.

I will have to reread this book again at some stage and be completely corrected about my 4star rating! 

That said, the last 100 pages of this was BONKERS! It completely turned it all around for me and I can’t wait to see how this series finishes.

Aims

I think for the most part of this book I was in a massive reading slump and just couldn’t get into it, even though the pacing of this book is a bit better than book 1. I LOVED The Poppy War. It was an infinity star read for me.

I will have to reread this book again at some stage and be completely corrected about my 4star rating! 

That said, the last 100 pages of this was BONKERS! It completely turned it all around for me and I can’t wait to see how this series finishes.

Lydia Enge

I love how it immediately made me buy the next book

angel

Feeling all the feels while reading The Dragon Republic! From intense emotions to deep thoughts, this book really tugs at your heartstrings. It's like riding a rollercoaster of emotions with unexpected tear-jerking moments that hit you right in the feels. Can't help but get emotionally invested in Rin's journey and the powerful themes explored throughout. Get ready for a wild ride of emotions with this one!

Hey there, back in action with another round of The Poppy War series: The Dragon Republic from the #InkedLibrary collection. Finally managed to wrap up this book after a bit of procrastination. Just like the first one, this sequel packs a punch and leaves a lasting impression. Still absolutely blown away by it! The storyline delves deep into historical and political conflicts that escalate into full-blown warfare, all while shining a spotlight on the power of friendship and family ties. The character development, the rich settings, and the overall vibe are still spot on, especially with our main character, Rin, taking center stage. Just like before, this book takes you on an emotional rollercoaster, stirring up a mix of feelings, thoughts, and inner battles that really draw readers in. The author's knack for balancing humor and horror hits the mark perfectly at all the right moments. Oh, and a friendly reminder to always check the Trigger Warning before diving in, as this book tackles some heavy themes like drug use, warfare, propaganda, violence, rape, massacres, and murders. The pacing of the story keeps you engaged without rushing or dragging, but get ready for some unexpected tear-jerking moments in this second installment. So, buckle up and get ready for another wild ride through The Dragon Republic!

Breed'Reem

Feeling all the feels while reading The Dragon Republic! From intense emotions to deep thoughts, this book really tugs at your heartstrings. It's like riding a rollercoaster of emotions with unexpected tear-jerking moments that hit you right in the feels. Can't help but get emotionally invested in Rin's journey and the powerful themes explored throughout. Get ready for a wild ride of emotions with this one!

Hey there, back in action with another round of The Poppy War series: The Dragon Republic from the #InkedLibrary collection. Finally managed to wrap up this book after a bit of procrastination. Just like the first one, this sequel packs a punch and leaves a lasting impression. Still absolutely blown away by it! The storyline delves deep into historical and political conflicts that escalate into full-blown warfare, all while shining a spotlight on the power of friendship and family ties. The character development, the rich settings, and the overall vibe are still spot on, especially with our main character, Rin, taking center stage. Just like before, this book takes you on an emotional rollercoaster, stirring up a mix of feelings, thoughts, and inner battles that really draw readers in. The author's knack for balancing humor and horror hits the mark perfectly at all the right moments. Oh, and a friendly reminder to always check the Trigger Warning before diving in, as this book tackles some heavy themes like drug use, warfare, propaganda, violence, rape, massacres, and murders. The pacing of the story keeps you engaged without rushing or dragging, but get ready for some unexpected tear-jerking moments in this second installment. So, buckle up and get ready for another wild ride through The Dragon Republic!

rf kuang u are a genius i cant even get mad at u rn

turtle

khush

plot twists and betrayals around every corner

plot twists and betrayals around every corner

had a good time

character development and personal drama definitely got better, although I still don’t understand how talented student in the first book forgot all her politics and strategy military training. I guess it shows her nature and connection to fire and whatnot, but sometimes her actions feel rather stupid

Eugene

“Fire and water looked so lovely together. It was a pity they destroyed each other by nature.”

It took me two years to finally read the second book in this series and I am not going to lie, this series so far has been exhausting and mildly traumatising. When I wrote my review for the first book I think I was in a state of shock because I barely even mentioned how it affected me, Part 3 of The Poppy War took a very dark turn and felt like a completely different book to the first two parts and, spoiler for book one, 

the fact it ended on a genocide borne from revenge and hatred of an entire country of people didn't sit well with me.

For a long time I wondered if I would ever even pick this series up again, to be honest, and I am glad that I did but also I think this series, while very well written for the most part, just isn't developing in a way that I completely vibe with.

It's actually not so much the topics, I think a story about war and oppression is always going to have very tough subjects discussed, betrayal, poverty, treatment of refugees, prejudice, murder, rape etc those, unfortunately, all come part and parcel with war and the way they're added into these books is realistic but I am not sure they're handled as well as they could be. For one, Rin's character is incredibly flawed - and I like a good morally grey character - but, especially through The Dragon Republic, she just does not have any character growth. At the beginning she is battling with grief and guilt for what she did and ends up addicted to opium because those feelings plus the rage she feels fuels the Phoenix and causes her to lose control of her fire. I think this would have been a great place for the story to segue into a deep dive into those feelings and a chance for Rin to grow and learn to be better, have some emotional stability and only access the rage purposefully when she needs her powers. But instead she become infatuated with a man who is very similar to Altan, the man who wrecked her and basically abused her previously, and is strong armed into sobriety and control, which somehow happens cold turkey over a miraculously short week... 

Rin then goes on to lose access to her power through Daji's Seal and basically throws tantrums and then gives up and becomes a shell of herself, and is only happy again once she finds a way to access her rage again. She yells and screams about basically committing near genocide again on the remaining Federation soldiers, the Hesperians and even, at the end, the Dragon Republic itself 

Through all of this, Kitay remains my favourite character. His friendship with Rin is amazing, his balance of knowledge and morality juxtaposed against Rin's chaos and hatred is so refreshing, and as we learn in this book he's fuelled by anger himself but the way he channels that is just so much healthier than her. At the end of the book, 

when everything goes down with Nezha and Vaisra's betrayal, Rin talks about wanting to find other kids just like her, wanting to harness their rage to fight a civil war and Kitay is resigned to going along with this plan even though it's clear he hates it. 

I just hope he gets a happy ending, I don't really care what happens to any of the other characters because honestly, I don't really like any of the other characters, but Kitay deserves peace and his dream of becoming a scholar. The other side characters are kind of non-consequential to be honest, they're still pretty 2D in my mind. We lose a lot of pretty important people in this book and I just didn't feel attached enough to them to be upset, sadly.

I think I am in a bit of a shock again writing this review too to be honest, so I am probably going to take another break before I read the third book but overall, I did enjoy this story. The plot meanders quite a lot and I do think this book suffers a bit from middle book syndrome but altogether I found it action packs, thrilling and fascinating to read. If I wasn't so entertained by the story itself I think I probably would've given this book less stars, but I'm settling on four because it's something I would absolutely recommend to some people but there is just a little something missing. If you are going to pick up this series you 

 to check your triggers because this is not an easy read, but I do think it's good writing to an extent. RF Kuang is clearly an accomplished writer and has important things to say, but I do think it could use a little bit more refining to give those messages punch rather than resorting to endless trauma and shock value.

Genevieve 

“Fire and water looked so lovely together. It was a pity they destroyed each other by nature.”

4 ⭐

It took me two years to finally read the second book in this series and I am not going to lie, this series so far has been exhausting and mildly traumatising. When I wrote my review for the first book I think I was in a state of shock because I barely even mentioned how it affected me, Part 3 of The Poppy War took a very dark turn and felt like a completely different book to the first two parts and, spoiler for book one, 
SPOILER
the fact it ended on a genocide borne from revenge and hatred of an entire country of people didn't sit well with me.
END SPOILER 
For a long time I wondered if I would ever even pick this series up again, to be honest, and I am glad that I did but also I think this series, while very well written for the most part, just isn't developing in a way that I completely vibe with.

It's actually not so much the topics, I think a story about war and oppression is always going to have very tough subjects discussed, betrayal, poverty, treatment of refugees, prejudice, murder, rape etc those, unfortunately, all come part and parcel with war and the way they're added into these books is realistic but I am not sure they're handled as well as they could be. For one, Rin's character is incredibly flawed - and I like a good morally grey character - but, especially through The Dragon Republic, she just does not have any character growth. At the beginning she is battling with grief and guilt for what she did and ends up addicted to opium because those feelings plus the rage she feels fuels the Phoenix and causes her to lose control of her fire. I think this would have been a great place for the story to segue into a deep dive into those feelings and a chance for Rin to grow and learn to be better, have some emotional stability and only access the rage purposefully when she needs her powers. But instead she become infatuated with a man who is very similar to Altan, the man who wrecked her and basically abused her previously, and is strong armed into sobriety and control, which somehow happens cold turkey over a miraculously short week... 
SPOILER
Rin then goes on to lose access to her power through Daji's Seal and basically throws tantrums and then gives up and becomes a shell of herself, and is only happy again once she finds a way to access her rage again. She yells and screams about basically committing near genocide again on the remaining Federation soldiers, the Hesperians and even, at the end, the Dragon Republic itself 
END SPOILER

Through all of this, Kitay remains my favourite character. His friendship with Rin is amazing, his balance of knowledge and morality juxtaposed against Rin's chaos and hatred is so refreshing, and as we learn in this book he's fuelled by anger himself but the way he channels that is just so much healthier than her. At the end of the book, 
SPOILER
when everything goes down with Nezha and Vaisra's betrayal, Rin talks about wanting to find other kids just like her, wanting to harness their rage to fight a civil war and Kitay is resigned to going along with this plan even though it's clear he hates it. 
END SPOILER
I just hope he gets a happy ending, I don't really care what happens to any of the other characters because honestly, I don't really like any of the other characters, but Kitay deserves peace and his dream of becoming a scholar. The other side characters are kind of non-consequential to be honest, they're still pretty 2D in my mind. We lose a lot of pretty important people in this book and I just didn't feel attached enough to them to be upset, sadly.

I think I am in a bit of a shock again writing this review too to be honest, so I am probably going to take another break before I read the third book but overall, I did enjoy this story. The plot meanders quite a lot and I do think this book suffers a bit from middle book syndrome but altogether I found it action packs, thrilling and fascinating to read. If I wasn't so entertained by the story itself I think I probably would've given this book less stars, but I'm settling on four because it's something I would absolutely recommend to some people but there is just a little something missing. If you are going to pick up this series you NEED to check your triggers because this is not an easy read, but I do think it's good writing to an extent. RF Kuang is clearly an accomplished writer and has important things to say, but I do think it could use a little bit more refining to give those messages punch rather than resorting to endless trauma and shock value.

my life is forever changed this book series has literally changed me

The Dragon Republic

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