The Dragon Republic

 The Dragon Republic bk 2 by R. F. Kuang 654 pages

Synopsis: 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.

My Thoughts: This book was just as rough to read as the first in the trilogy, "The Poppy Wars". This book is very war heavy and pretty graphic, but it's also a very very good book series. This book is based on actual historical events, but with a fantasy twist. Rin is a wonderful main character and the aftermath of book one, how she deals with her emotions, and learning new things. We have amazing supporting characters. We lose even more characters, essentially not one character is safe in this author's hands and its a gut wrenching read, but so good.