rnbhargava's reviews
408 reviews

The Burning God by R.F. Kuang

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing 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

4.5

The Poppy War Trilogy caps off in amazing fashion. I hear what others have griped about with this last instalment. However, I loved reading through the further corruption of Rin as the war comes to a climax, where she gets huge victories and crushing literal and moral defeats. Rin gradually losing herself and so many senses of trust and belonging anywhere while persevering through this gruelling conflict is mesmerizing. Also, the way it wraps up definitely must have torn a chasm in readers of the books. Does she make that choice for herself or is it another instance of a female character choosing something to ultimately progress male characters that may not deserve it.

The Dragon Republic was a minor misstep but overall I would give the series a 4-4.5. I actually believe I’ll revisit this book series in the future. R.F. Kuang has a space in my heart as an author to watch. Good thing I already got Babel and Yellowface already for whenever I choose to read them. 
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Tista, Vol. 1 by Tatsuya Endo

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective relaxing sad 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

4.0

This book is a lot of fun. It’s interesting in that it’s a work by the creator of Spy x Family immediately before it. The protagonist is in a way like a composite of Yor & Loid but also Tatsuya Endo liberally riffs on street level Marvel characters like The Punisher, Daredevil and Spider-Man in quite engaging ways. You can tell he loves those marvel characters he riffs on. I was super engaged but at the same time I kind of understood why it was short lived. I think some probably just didn’t vibe with the mixed tone. I love it.
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The Drowning Faith by R.F. Kuang

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.5

These Nezha narrated shorts placed in key moments between Rin & Nezha are kind of heartwarming and heartbreaking simultaneously. We know she’s feeling so much for him. We know what he feels obligated by family and greater politics to do to her. I kind of wish each of these could have been interspersed throughout where they happen in the novels
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Tokyo Revengers (Omnibus) Vol. 9-10 by Ken Wakui

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad 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

4.25

This is a quite strong start to this arc about taking down the Black Dragons. I like that it’s so far more personal and low key compared to the large gang battles of past arcs. The dark beginning hits quite hard too. I can’t wait for Omnibus 11-12
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How Long 'til Black Future Month?: Stories by N.K. Jemisin

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing 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

4.0

This is a wonderful collection of short stories by NK Jemisin. The content is thus varied and so are the triggers. There’s a good amount of Fantasy, Science Fiction, Magical Realism, even supernatural horror in this collection. It’s not perfect. Some of the stories are arguably too short, basically the germ of an introduction or an idea. Some others are perhaps slightly plodding, though I enjoyed quite a few of the stories regardless of length.
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Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead, Vol. 9 by Haro Aso

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adventurous funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted relaxing tense fast-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

3.5

Fun volume about the group getting some economic success in the form of  cans. Akira lets success go to his head. Hijinks ensue for everyone. I liked it
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Spy x Family, Vol. 9 by Tatsuya Endo

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing 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

4.25

This is a very strong volume. I really only dinged it because of the manner that volumes are ultimately segmented out. The entire elaborate cruise ship plot that took up the last volume gets wrapped up here. It would be so much more impactful if it was all in one volume. The follow up chapters here are all really well done but they’re fun one offs rather than another massive multiparter. At least it brought out some fun new pairings like Franky & Fiona leading a story. I gotta say though that some of the art in this volume is simply among the best of the entire series. Part of me wants to bump this volume up to 5 stars but it’s not actually quite there. It’s still another great volume in this series.
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Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead, Vol. 8 by Haro Aso, Kotaro Takata

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing tense fast-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

4.25

This volume is a return to quite good form after the minor misstep that was volume 7 (it was actually just fine, I appreciated the absurdity) This volume was more silly then ended with  a surprising thoughtful chapter. 
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Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead, Vol. 7 by Haro Aso

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted reflective relaxing sad tense fast-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

3.75

Pretty solid volume, that said it’s a well written and drawn, light in tone, manga about being young in the apocalypse. 
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Tokyo Revengers (Omnibus) Vol. 7-8 by Ken Wakui

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad 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

4.25

This volume is quite something. It whips you through fights, vengeance, shared backstory, key choices, deaths and also some fun slice of life material to round it all out. I did not see the end of this volume coming. I can’t wait to see where the story goes next.
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