I’m slowly trying to finish some series I’m in the middle of and when of them is the Poppy War series. The first book was absolutely amazing and last month I listened to the audiobook for the second one. Today I want to share my thoughts with you all, so let’s get to it!
In the aftermath of the Third Poppy War, shaman and warrior Rin is on the run: haunted by the atrocity she committed to end the war, addicted to opium, and hiding from the murderous commands of her vengeful god, the fiery Phoenix. Her only reason for living is to get revenge on the traitorous Empress who sold out Nikan to their enemies.
With no other options, Rin joins forces with the powerful Dragon Warlord, who has a plan to conquer Nikan, unseat the Empress, and create a new Republic. Rin throws herself into his war. After all, making war is all she knows how to do.
But the Empress is a more powerful foe than she appears, and the Dragon Warlord’s motivations are not as democratic as they seem. 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. Because there is nothing she won’t sacrifice for her country and her vengeance
The sequel to R.F. Kuang’s acclaimed debut THE POPPY WAR, THE DRAGON REPUBLIC combines the history of 20th-century China with a gripping world of gods and monsters, to devastating effect.
The Dragon Republic (The Poppy War, #2) by R.F. Kuang
Published by Harper Voyager on 06/08/2019
Pages: 654
Goodreads
It has been a while since I’ve read The Poppy War and I’ll admit I forget a lot of important details. But over the course of the book, the important things slowly came back to me.
The Dragon Republic picks up not too long after the events of The Poppy War. We see Rin getting to terms with everything that went down and mostly just trying to forget everything. I had no idea where this book would take the story, I’ll admit I hadn’t read the synopsis so that might be part of it haha.
“Fire and water looked so lovely together. It was a pity they destroyed each other by nature.”
This second book gives us the start of a new war and once again Rin is in the middle of it all. As with the first book, there are some brutal descriptions and the book does not shy away from all of the ugliness of war. I do appreciate that a lot about this series. Some books, especially YA fantasy books, act like everything is okay after the war ends and that just isn’t realistic.
Rin is far from okay and that shows. She makes questionable decisions and you probably won’t like her all the time. It does make her very realistic and Rin goes through an amazing development throughout this book. I loved reading about her and the long way she comes. And yes, she still makes some stupid decisions but I guess there’s always book 3 ;).
We learn some more about this world, we see more of Nikara but we also meet the Hesparians. It was interesting to read (and also infuriating but that’s okay) and I’m curious to see where all of this will end after book 3.
The Poppy War managed to make me love characters I hated at first and I wasn’t sure what would happen in the sequel. I don’t want to say too much, but oh my, my poor heart could barely take it! So much happened and I’m very very scared for the final book in regards to certain characters.
All in all this was a fantastic sequel end I’m so happy I got back into the series. I can’t wait to pick up the final book as you can probably tell from this review haha. This series isn’t like any other and I would highly recommend it to dark fantasy fans. Just be mindful of all the trigger warnings, they’re not exaggerated.
Have you read The Poppy War? And have you picked up The Dragon Republic yet? I would love to hear from you in the comments!
Great review!